At last Cervelo have a gravel bike
01-27-20, 02:00 PM
#26
Senior Member
I bit the bullet and just got a Specialized Diverge Sport-less money than the Cervelo. I’m getting to grips with the disc brakes which I realize might not be the most convenient for long distance touring as far as maintenance is concerned, but we’ll see. I need to switch out the tires, seat post and saddle and get some decent pedals, but the future shock is nice. It will be neat to see it with an Ortlieb handlebar bag, Carradice saddlebag and Brooks saddle.
I'm only familiar with mech discs, but certainly can say with confidence that you shouldnt have to worry about braking system maintenance, my old mech discs can probably go nearly 10,000km on a set of pads--but of course, you may brake differently than I do--but given how heavy my bike has been and getting those mileage numbers, I'm sure you'll find that you are happily suprised by both pad life, and generally how painless they are to live with (does take a bunch of new mechanical techniques and habits to learn, but doable.)
From your past experience, I reckon you'll be fine picking up the new mechanical skills.
What width tires are you thinking of using? I guess it will depend on what riding you do. I can say though that it was surprising to me how I have taken to wider tires, and while yes you may want to go with narrow stuff like you are used to for pavement only rides, there are some slick tires that at wider examples still roll along really really well. Of course though if you have that future shock, you'll find a nice improvement in comfort I would imagine. Add in some 32 or wider tires that have nice riding characteristics and I suspect you find this bike to be more comfortable than your other bikes.
cheers
01-27-20, 08:13 PM
#27
Senior Member
Thread Starter
interesting bike there nun. Did you get one that has the front shock? Hydro or mech discs?
I'm only familiar with mech discs, but certainly can say with confidence that you shouldnt have to worry about braking system maintenance, my old mech discs can probably go nearly 10,000km on a set of pads--but of course, you may brake differently than I do--but given how heavy my bike has been and getting those mileage numbers, I'm sure you'll find that you are happily suprised by both pad life, and generally how painless they are to live with (does take a bunch of new mechanical techniques and habits to learn, but doable.)
From your past experience, I reckon you'll be fine picking up the new mechanical skills.
What width tires are you thinking of using? I guess it will depend on what riding you do. I can say though that it was surprising to me how I have taken to wider tires, and while yes you may want to go with narrow stuff like you are used to for pavement only rides, there are some slick tires that at wider examples still roll along really really well. Of course though if you have that future shock, you'll find a nice improvement in comfort I would imagine. Add in some 32 or wider tires that have nice riding characteristics and I suspect you find this bike to be more comfortable than your other bikes.
cheers
I'm only familiar with mech discs, but certainly can say with confidence that you shouldnt have to worry about braking system maintenance, my old mech discs can probably go nearly 10,000km on a set of pads--but of course, you may brake differently than I do--but given how heavy my bike has been and getting those mileage numbers, I'm sure you'll find that you are happily suprised by both pad life, and generally how painless they are to live with (does take a bunch of new mechanical techniques and habits to learn, but doable.)
From your past experience, I reckon you'll be fine picking up the new mechanical skills.
What width tires are you thinking of using? I guess it will depend on what riding you do. I can say though that it was surprising to me how I have taken to wider tires, and while yes you may want to go with narrow stuff like you are used to for pavement only rides, there are some slick tires that at wider examples still roll along really really well. Of course though if you have that future shock, you'll find a nice improvement in comfort I would imagine. Add in some 32 or wider tires that have nice riding characteristics and I suspect you find this bike to be more comfortable than your other bikes.
cheers
01-27-20, 10:18 PM
#28
Senior Member
Well have fun with the new toy and I'm sure its a hoot to ride. Have you ever ridden with wider tires? I ride gatorskins and like them, but a light wide slick with really nice riding characteristics is a lot of fun, over gravel and dirt etc, and if you enjoy cornering, wide is certainly an advantage, not to mention rough surfaces.
interesting to hear your impression of the fork. Didn't I read thar they come with other springs with different damping rates that you can change yourself?
re pads. Apparently there are little plastic spacer things you can stick between the pads, to avoid pad being pushedout too far with wheel removed. Maybe ask at store? Yes be extra careful of grease, chain oil, on pads and discs. I once was able to straighten a disc using a cleaned pair of adjustable wrenches, and it wasn't that hard.
have fun with it.
would be interesting to read your longer term take on it all sometime later
cheers
interesting to hear your impression of the fork. Didn't I read thar they come with other springs with different damping rates that you can change yourself?
re pads. Apparently there are little plastic spacer things you can stick between the pads, to avoid pad being pushedout too far with wheel removed. Maybe ask at store? Yes be extra careful of grease, chain oil, on pads and discs. I once was able to straighten a disc using a cleaned pair of adjustable wrenches, and it wasn't that hard.
have fun with it.
would be interesting to read your longer term take on it all sometime later
cheers
01-28-20, 10:25 AM
#29
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Well have fun with the new toy and I'm sure its a hoot to ride. Have you ever ridden with wider tires? I ride gatorskins and like them, but a light wide slick with really nice riding characteristics is a lot of fun, over gravel and dirt etc, and if you enjoy cornering, wide is certainly an advantage, not to mention rough surfaces.
interesting to hear your impression of the fork. Didn't I read thar they come with other springs with different damping rates that you can change yourself?
re pads. Apparently there are little plastic spacer things you can stick between the pads, to avoid pad being pushedout too far with wheel removed. Maybe ask at store? Yes be extra careful of grease, chain oil, on pads and discs. I once was able to straighten a disc using a cleaned pair of adjustable wrenches, and it wasn't that hard.
have fun with it.
would be interesting to read your longer term take on it all sometime later
cheers
interesting to hear your impression of the fork. Didn't I read thar they come with other springs with different damping rates that you can change yourself?
re pads. Apparently there are little plastic spacer things you can stick between the pads, to avoid pad being pushedout too far with wheel removed. Maybe ask at store? Yes be extra careful of grease, chain oil, on pads and discs. I once was able to straighten a disc using a cleaned pair of adjustable wrenches, and it wasn't that hard.
have fun with it.
would be interesting to read your longer term take on it all sometime later
cheers
01-28-20, 11:34 AM
#30
Senior Member
Forgot to mention also about the bars, read they have the same 12 degrees of flare like the salsa cowbells I have on my troll. I really like the feel of them, and very much like how they feel on rough roads in the drops, and also helping with my troll when it's heavy in terms of handling and giving more leverage when loaded and descending fast and weaving in and out of potholes etc.
anyway, a big fan of this type of bar and would put some on my other bike but am too lazy....
anyway, a big fan of this type of bar and would put some on my other bike but am too lazy....
01-28-20, 11:41 AM
#31
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Forgot to mention also about the bars, read they have the same 12 degrees of flare like the salsa cowbells I have on my troll. I really like the feel of them, and very much like how they feel on rough roads in the drops, and also helping with my troll when it's heavy in terms of handling and giving more leverage when loaded and descending fast and weaving in and out of potholes etc.
anyway, a big fan of this type of bar and would put some on my other bike but am too lazy....
anyway, a big fan of this type of bar and would put some on my other bike but am too lazy....
Last edited by nun; 01-28-20 at 12:15 PM.
01-31-20, 10:27 PM
#32
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Yes the drops are flared out. The bar also has a little step in it at the stem so the bar tops are a little higher than the stem. This makes for a relaxed position. The KlickFix Ortlieb Mount fits just fine, although the gear and brake cables get in the way a bit and I will eventually undo the factory bar tape and reposition the cables. Wit the 38mm tires my saddlebag just hits the tire so I hope I have clearance with 32mm
a Brooks Swift saddle and a NOS Carradice Overlander saddlebag. The wheels are the stock DTSwiss R470 with 24 spokes...I might change those up to
32 or 36 spoke rims.
Last edited by nun; 02-01-20 at 08:29 PM.
Likes For nun:
