rickyk76

One challenge I'm facing is the ability to actually find the bikes to test ride. I tried to find a Cutthroat in Houston with the authorized dealers, and none had any in stock. I could place an order, but then it was mine as they weren't willing to carry the bike if I didn't want it. Same is true for many of the others on my list. None of the Cannondale dealers had a Slate.

I'm ok with this, because I'm really thinking of doing my own build. And I'm leaning toward an off-road touring bike with additional wheel set for road rides. I'm not completely sure yet how I'll want to spec it out, but I have some ideas.

So, question: should I get a professional fitting to help know what frame size, stem, crank, etc. would be optimal for me before I spec out, or should I just go with what I think I know regarding my sizing and see how it works out? What would you do?

tangerineowl

I'd get that fitting from a thorough, reputable fitter in town. Assuming on one of those adjustable bike contraptions, which punches out a bunch of numbers you can hold on to. Then track down that frameset.

rickyk76

Thanks! Apparently this guy is pretty good. I'll have to set an appt.

rickyk76

Well, up until yesterday I was pretty much set on just doing my own custom build. I hadn't been able to find any bikes to test ride or rent that were on my list. And then I finally got to see the Cutthroat. Man, what a machine. I stopped into an LBS I hadn't been to before yesterday and they didn't have any in stock, though it was the first LBS that had any Salsa bikes in stock out of the many I've visited. But, a guy was there dropping his off to get new hubs put on his wheels and some other upgrades. He'd ridden the Tour Divide on it and was setting it up to do it again. And now I'm back to thinking the Cutthroat may be the bike for me. The Rival version is cheaper than the bike I was spec'ing out which I was going to do with Shimano 105. Decisions, decisions.

DTG

It's easier to get what you want the first time around than to not do it. Regret is a bad thing and upgrading lower components will cost more when it comes down to money and time spent upgrading. My two cents.

rickyk76

I think at first the only thing I may need to change out would be the crankset to lower the gear inches. I've got a ways to go before any real decisions have to be made.

Edit: well, if I were to get the Force 1 version, I'd most likely make it a 2x, but the Rival version would work out the way it is. Maybe then I'd just change out the fork.

vasjaz

I'm also looking at something similar...

Coming from enduro/downhill I newer used road bike... After broken hand I can not go to enduro bike for a couple of months so I'll invest in something more "roady" but do not want a true road bike as well as not and XC...

So which one is more versatile and above all fun for both gravel and road ?

Cannonadle Slate Apex 1
Canyon INFLITE AL SLX 8.0 PRO RACE
Cube CROSS RACE SLT

Anyone tried some of those?

Zurichman2

If I had that kind of budget I would buy a ti first choice and then carbon would be 2nd choice. I bought a 2016 Raleigh Tamland 1 because of a limited budget. You do have to do your homework some though as you wanted an all can do everything bike. Case in point is that the Salsa Warbird is probably one of the best gravel race bikes out there but has no bosses on the rear if you ever wanted to do bike camping. With that kind of budget you should be able to buy a bike that you don't have to change anything out and should be able to get one of the expensive forks already on the bike and probably ultegra also. I would post the question over at ridinggravel as they have lots of experience over there riding gravel bikes.


Good luck
Zman

BikeLite

27.5" titanium that allows at least 2.2 or 2.4 tire.

Werkin

Planetary Cycles has a Slate.

DerekJ_MI

Lynskey GR250. Put on a Lauf fork and an Ergon seat post and you're all set. This is my rig and it rocks everything!

09box

I've had a really good experience with the Nashbar CX-1. The GT Grade looks like a great bike as well.

rickyk76

Thanks, I'll check them out. When I called awhile back they didn't. Though, I think I'm set on my own build now. I'd still love to test ride it.

rickyk76

Just a quick update. I ended up getting a 105 Slate. I haven't had a chance to ride it other than the 2 test rides I did on it, but this thing seems like it's going to be a blast. Now I just need to hurricane to go away and things to dry up to get this thing out and about.

Ridefreemc

Just built a Kona Rive Ti with Sram 1x so that's what I would suggest Not sure if Kona is going to Ti again for 2018 so you could go similar with Lynskey GR250, although I prefer the Kona.

Edit: see now that you pulled the trigger. Enjoy!

rickyk76

Here she is. I can't wait to get her out on the road and trails and put some mileage on her. The bike shop has ordered the replacement rims so they should be here in a few weeks. Then I'll run tubeless.

justbill

The 2018 Trek 920 will have some nice upgrades. 22 speed, brifters with hydro brakes. It's good all around.

Lazyass

5K budget I would get this.

Gravel | All Road | Titanium | Litespeed Bicycles | Litespeed Bicycles

youcoming

I have a Parlee Chebacco, I freaking love it. Can pretty much fit the bill for anything.

speshelite

There really isn't a single bike that can excel both road and off road. It will either excel on road and be severely compromised off road or vice versa. Or, it will be mediocre on both.

The slate is yet another example of the severe compromises inherent in "all in one" designs; namely, it doesn't make a lot of sense design wise. It has criterium race bike gearing for one. A 36x28 low gear for a gravel bike? Even ultegra has a 34x34 low for the 8000 series. It might be fine for very flat, very smooth dirt roads but you'll run out of gears very quickly climbing, esp. if the road is in less than perfect condition and you are scrambling for traction.

The suspension and fat tires are great for dirt, but slow you down a lot on the road. Perhaps you can lock out the fork but you're still dealing with a lot of extra weight, and it doesn't make your wheels and tires any lighter.

The discs are great for fast bumpy gravity rides but unnecessary for road riding.

The geometry is a mixed bag: low bottom bracket with slack mtb angles.


If you are riding on very flat terrain on road and off road and are a very light weight rider, this bike with this gearing could work. If you do any climbing, are heavier, or ride more challenging off road terrain, I don't see how the gearing makes sense.

Stick to less challenging terrain and road rides and I think you will find the bike more than up to the challenge. Then again, if that's the case, why bother with suspension or discs?

I suppose the cycling industry is moving in the same direction that the auto industry is. Crossovers are the most popular segment with huge SUV's and sedans waning in sales and popularity.

Maybe the cycling industry will catch fire in the same way. I have no doubt that the slate will be a fun bike to ride, but on paper it strikes me as a strange not particularly well thought out mish mash of contradictory design elements.

RJM

Well, I tell you...if I could only have one bike I would probably choose my current cross bike, the Kona Jake the Snake CR bike and have a few wheelsets. One wheelset I'd stick 32mm wide Compass Stampede pass tires and another wheelset I would stick a wider set of tires with some knobs and basically max out the tire width I could run...and run those tubeless. If I were feeling like I wanted to spend more money and wanted to race cross still, I would purchase a set of tubular tires and stick a nice set of tires on that too. One bike, three wheelsets and it would do most things except the knarly singletrack stuff.

But who wants only one bike?

I could easily go with my Niner Sir 9 with the rigid niner fork too. Gear it with a big enough front ring to not completely suck on the road but have enough to ride singletrack and I would have a pretty versatile bike, and fun on singletrack too.

I used to own a Rivendell Sam Hillborne that would be a really great 1 bike to do it all bike. It was a really nice riding road bike and could still handle gravel, dirt, and even a lot of the singletrack I tend to ride, but it would do it a bit more slowly.

chas58

You are going to have fun on that one. The slate is a pretty intriguing bike.

I have one bike to do just about everything (well, it doesn't have suspension, and can't go on a velodrome, but I have dedicated bikes for that). I just swap out the wheels for what ever type of riding I'll do.

MattyMurdah

If it were me, I would pick up a 3T exploro and some bikepacking bags if you want to do longer touring . I rode one briefly at Sea Otter Classic this year and it was surprisingly light and super fun. Either that or an Open UP.

sgtrobo

I own a 2016 Cutthroat, a 2018 Diverge, a 2016 SuperX, and a Sequoia, and I just sold my (steel) Fargo. All of these bikes fit fairly well what you want, in some way or another.

Cutthroat - if you want to do long rides fast, primarily off-road, with some road thrown in to get you between trails and gravel roads (bikepacking only). Relaxed geometry, room for MTB-sized tires, pretty much designed to conquer the Great Divide MTB race
Diverge - if you want to do long rides fast, primarily road and gravel, with some moderate off-road thrown in to get you between roads (bikepacking only). Relaxed geometry, very comfortable, low bottom bracket keeps it as a gravel grinder or road bike not a cross bike or "singletrack-capable" bike
SuperX - if you want to to do shorter, faster rides, with a mix of road, gravel, and off-road (bikepacking only). Steep racing geometry. Not ideal for long days in the saddle, but stupid fast and lightweight
Sequoia - if you want to do a mix of gravel, road, and off-road (in that order) touring (bikepacking and rack-capable). High quality steel frame, heavier than carbon but not much heavier than alloy (But way more comfortable). Surprisingly, not as relaxed geometry as one would imagine. Can take racks and fenders
Fargo - if you want to do a mix of off-road, gravel, and road (in that order) touring (bikepacking and rack-capable). Moderate quality steel frame, notably heavier, stupid rugged (like, end-of-the-world-zombie-apocalypse-survival-bike rugged). or Titanium. Full fender and (proprietary) rack capable, with up to 29x3" MTB tires

For $5k, you could get a Cutthroat with a 2nd carbon wheelset (like I did)
You could get a Diverge Expert with a 2nd alloy wheelset
You could get a SuperX with UDi2 *drool*
You could get a Sequoia Expert with a 2nd carbon wheelset
You could get a Fargo Titanium frame and build it up quite well

Gotta decide exactly what you want to do. Ultimately, $5k will get you something that puts a smile on your face

EDIT - or you could just get a Cannondale Slate. Have fun! Ride report?

Zurichman2

Enjoy your Slate. I bought the Raleigh Tamland 1 because of the killer price on it. When I get some mad money that I don't know what to do with the Lynskey GR250 is going to be in my stable along with a Lauf front fork on it.

Zman