PDKL45

I have the Deluxe model with stock fenders and agree with everything you say. Have you looked into the Wolftooth Roadlink? Sunrace have a very affordable 11-40 10 speed cassette available that would be perfect with a roadlink and the Tiagra drivetrain.

PDKL45

@ eastbay71: When you put the chain onto the granny and the largest rear cog (the 30-32 combo) does the front derailleur interfere with the tire at all?

Just for the heck of it, I did a rough back of an envelope calculation to see how far my BB would drop going from 700x40C to 26x2.35 and it's around 12 mm. Going to a 26er is an interesting idea, not least because 26er parts are fairly cheap and available to me, much more so than 650B parts.

JaccoW

@seeker333: As far as I know the Expert frameset is still available. Just not in the US.
The Dutch website still has it for sale for example.

This frame is still very high on my wishlist exactly because it is IGH capable and is in between two different types of bike. Some people describe it as an extra sturdy road-racing bike with room for wide tires.
I read a ton of user-experiences over on Specialized AWOL Gravel Grinder - MTBR.com that have mostly been very positive.

djb

would you mind measuring the floor to middle of crankset distance, I just measured my bikes:

Tricross with 28mm slicks on it is about 280mm from floor (maybe a few mm less) with 172.5mm cranks
my old mtn bike with 26x1.5 regular Marathons on it is 293mm with 175mm cranks
and my old touring bike is about 275mm, with 170mm cranks very close to the Tricross.

no weight on bike, no rider.

I'm curious what the distances are with your bike, and how this compared to other bikes on the market--basically to know if its a real world problem. I've had pedal strike on the Tricross and the mtn bike, but these are instances where I am heeled over a fair amount and in a rush , so realistically pedal strike is not an issue that comes up, its very rare.

mtn.cyclist

I have an AWOL and have ridden it on everything from technical singletrack to the smoothest pavement, both loaded and unloaded. I use either 2" knobby mt. bike tires or 38 cm road type touring tires. It's definitely not a trail bike but my point is that it is a versatile and very serviceable bike for varied conditions. I have run a front rack only, rear rack only, and both at once with panniers. I currently have the racks removed and am using bikepacking type bags. Overall, it is "easy" to ride, comfortable for all day, and can handle a load well.

PDKL45

@djb. Mine is 285mm on 700x42c with 172.5mm crank arms. I have had pedal strike in the past on my old Giant Yukon, but I was much less experienced then and had much less situational awareness on the bike.

djb

285mm, so take off 12mm for your 26-2.35 setup so roughly 273, not terribly different than my bikes, in my opinion not a problem on relatively smooth surfaces, but might be needed to be aware of if going over rocks or high curbs but you should get a feeling for that fairly quickly.
As for road or regular gravel touring, I really like 1.5 tires, 2in is bit much, slower, but even with 1.5s, I suspect that the bb height would still be perfectly rideable, and like I said, you'd quickly get an idea of where the limit is for going over stuff, but frankly, with a full load, we (or I do anyway) are going to be more careful and slow going around rather than over obstacles and or not pedaling like a mad fiend whilst heeled over, so I suspect it will be fine.

Like I said earlier, how it rides only you can say, get back here when you've had more varied riding on the bike and give your impressions, I for one am curious to hear how it goes.

winston63 

Two years ago I bought a 2014 AWOL Comp after test riding a bunch of different touring bikes and I still love it. I've put lots of miles on it, carried some pretty heavy loads and toured a fair bit with it. It's my main commuter (I rode it into work this morning) and I personally find it incredibly comfortable and a joy to ride. I didn't like the saddle much though and swapped that out for a B17, but it's been a fantastic bike for me otherwise.

dgodave

The shop builds mine up tomorrow.
Cant wait to get it at the end of the day!

winston63 

Awesome! Enjoy your new ride!

eastbay71

I swapped wheels and measured the difference in the distance to the ground from the bottom of the crank arm between the original 700C set and the 26" with 2.1 mountain bike tires. The distance was 3-1/4" with the 700C wheels and 2-7/8" with the 26" wheels. So 3/8" lower withthe 26" wheels. I'm not sure if that's a big difference or not but I may start looking for a good set of offroad 700x43c tires aand stick with the original wheels. I took some pictures of bike while I was at home. Since I got it I got rid of the orange headset and seat post clamp and added the racks and fenders.

dgodave

Thanks.
Hopefully the weather will permit an evening ride....

djb

So 3/8 is about 10mm, I mixed up you and the other fellow, he says ground to middle of crank (always measure to mid of crank, the middle of it) is 285 with stock wheels so you are about 275 with the 2 point whatever 26ers, which is not particularly low compared to my old touring bike--so depending on how it rides, this is not as wacky a thing to do using 2 inch 26 tires.

eastbay71

Thanks for the confirmation. I'm not an expert and try to be open to other people's suggestions or concerns. I guess it makes more sense to measureto the middle of the crank since crank lengths can vary.

Hobartoz

Hey guys

The much anticipated AWOL rocker compatible with Rohloff distinct from the ordinary one has been possible to order since April 2016. I have it so it's not speculation anymore.

At this stage I have yet to convert my TCR AWOL to Rohloff.

Gates has also updated their frame test to include rocker dropout AWOL models and not just the Expert. And so Rohloff DE has no issues with warranty for a Rohloff on a rocker dropout AWOL.

Enjoy.

edthesped

I take it that means the AWOL is not discontinued as speculated somewhere... FWIW, my daughter claimed my AWOL but is gone for summer where she couldn't take bike so I reclaimed it. I forgot how much I truly enjoy riding the AWOL, and a front triple.

Hobartoz

---discontinuation, I haven't the faintest. Some demographics are better suoli

The AWOL is popular but whether enough for a 1/2 billion dollar company is hard to say.
The lead designer Nohlin is developing accessories for the AWOL and similar (Los nevados trip this year gave a sample), and apparently it's just the start of something new according to Nohlin. What new and for who is understated.
Some demographies are better supplied than others; the more serious and astute markets for touring, probably Europe mainland have more access to Expert frame set. Australia for example saw none officially imported. Demand = supply.

PDKL45

Exactly. Specialized Korea stopped all AWOL imports after 2014. Koreans like status symbol bikes so the demand just wasn't there.

My Deluxe model with fenders and rack superficially resembles an "old man bike" in Korea, so I get some strange looks on it.

Hobartoz

The market in S.Korea sounds a bit juvenile but room to grow...

PDKL45

It actually is. Older guys really like to buy Ti 26ers with carbon mag wheelsets and full XTR for close to US $10,000 and then ride them sedately along river paths before stopping to eat noodles and drink cloudy rice wine for hours with the bike prominently on display. That or younger guys with full Rapha outfits matching the color scheme of a Cervelo/Pinarello/Bianchi, riding the Han river bike path like they're killing a stage of the Tour de France.

The market here is slowly expanding, but bling bikes still rule. Being able to show off your bike and how expensive it is is just as important as how well you ride it in some cases. That said, there are excellent riders here as well who are truly dedicated to riding, rather than their appearance while doing so.

PDKL45

Just a heads up to anyone who still rides an AWOL. Check the chainstays for cracks, as well as the thin bit of metal above the rear derailleur, but the chainstays in particular.

The AWOL's out of production now, but they're cracking on their riders everywhere. Stay safe out there if you're riding one.

veganbikes

I was like woah this is going to be an old one but this is good info for anyone and also a good thing to check on any bike. One should regularly check for any cracks on their bike and generally keep it clean so it is easier to notice issues like that.

Also note if you are the original owner of the bike and bought it from an authorized Specialized dealer you have a lifetime warranty on the frame. Yes they don't make that frame anymore and are unlikely to have any laying about but you could swap it for something different to add to the collection and then look at a different touring frame. They do stand behind their frames and my Langster after 11 years cracked at the bottom bracket and they replaced it,

PDKL45

This is also good information. Many had their cracked AWOLs replaced with Sequoia frames, and then those went out of production, while also cracking like mad. I know of one person who went AWOL - AWOL - Sequoia - Carbon Crux, after two AWOL frames and one Sequoia frame cracked on him. He sold the replacement Crux frame for some reason.

But yeah, Specialized are, by and large, honoring the lifetime warranty on their frames so all is not lost.

veganbikes

I have yet to see any of the cracked frames come in and we sold a good deal of those bikes over the years. This is the first place I heard of it happening. I have seen a few Specialized frame warranties on regular bikes but not very often thankfully. One attempted claim from someone who bought the bike on eBay had it assembled somewhere else, had us fix a flat, then he rode it at some event where a random person adjusted his saddle a few times and then it was back to us because we made his frame crack (even though we used the torque wrench as we do with carbon frames)

PDKL45

There's a Facebook group for the AWOL and Sequoia that's full of photos of cracked frames and tales of woe. One theory over there is that the seatstays were significantly thin, allowing for too much chainstay flex (vertically compliant but laterally stiff). Perhaps those chunky chainstays, in combination with the thin seatstays, resulted in cracks. Who knows? But the photographic evidence is there. AWOL and Sequoia frames are cracking on a lot of people.