TimothyH

Gravel vs Adventure.

I admit it. I wanted a race bike for well groomed gravel, a Cervelo S5 with 40 mm tires or a Pinnarello Dogma F10 with knobbies...

I don't want an adventure bike. Options?

Fast forward two years and I've come full circle. Stream crossings? Bring it. Filtering water from a mountain stream? It's like Champagne. Nothing brings more happiness than heading down road not shown on the map just to see where it goes.

I've bikepacked twice with my Niner "I don't want an adventure bike" RDO and will attempt a third trip in a few weeks. Maybe Niner should call it the RLT 9 IDWAB.

It isn't about a specific bike but gravel vs adventure, pea gravel over smooth hard pack vs off the grid and I wish I had brought a tent. Like the guy who swore he would never drive an SUV and now guess what... Yeah, I'm that guy. Funny how we think we know the man in the mirror so well.

Not sure I really have a point to this. Just felt like confessing. I really did want an adventure bike after all.





-Tim-

shoota 

With terrain like that I bet you did

tangerineowl

Slowly heading in the same direction, having just purchased another small frame bag. Will be doing my first overnighter at some stage when I have some gear.
Just sold the road bike also, so that's it. One do-it-all bike.

Spoonrobot 

That was a fun thread, it's wild how much has changed in gravel bikes in a little over two years.

Always interesting how our wants/needs and perceptions change over time and experience. I think it's great that you found the bike and style of riding that is most enjoyable for you.

Caliper

Looks like adventure bike terrain there. Salsa Cutthroat? Fargo? I've got woodchippers on my fat bike currently. It makes keeping up with gravel bikes on a group ride a threshold experience, but it is noticeably faster and more comfortable than the flat bars.

mstateglfr 

Oh- it really just looks like you now want 2 bikes.

Your Niner fit what you were looking to do at the time, so it was just want you wanted. Now, you have been bitten by a new bug due to the great riding experiences the Niner provided you.
Sounds like the Niner was really great then as it met your wish list from a couple years ago and has helped lead you to a new passion.

N+1 may be a cliche on this forum, but its also quite apt in many instances.
Get a bikepacking bike to compliment your gravel road bike. You can then go ride what you want without the effort of adding or removing bags, adding or removing chainrings, etc etc.


On a related note- I recently sold by touring frame. This fall, I am going to then transition my current gravel frame into a touring bike and build a gravel frame. My current gravel frame can handle up to 50mm tires and would certainly qualify as an adventure frame/bike. The new gravel frame will be a bit lighter and should feel faster(perception is reality!).

TimothyH

No, I've no plans to buy a dedicated bikepacking bike. To me, "Adventure" encompasses more than just bikepacking. Adventure can be done-in-a-day and the Niner works fine.

If I did upgrade it would be a Trail Donkey 3.0 and the Niner would go away but that isn't going to happen. It was expensive and I intend to get my money's worth. I've yet to kill the thing

Unless someone wants to make me an offer I can't refuse.


-Tim-

Planemaker

I'm looking at doing some bikepacking myself. I don't see any reason my Litespeed gravel bike can't do double duty.

I'v even thinking of getting rid of the road bike and letting the Litespeed do triple duty.

Happy Feet

After a bunch of experimenting I'm working towards a two bike stable (well 3 if I count my FG but that's a different sort of thing).

My Endurance bike with 700c x 32 for road and 650b x 40 (or so) for easy gravel. That tire size keeps the BB height the same.

My new fatbike with 26 x 4.6 and 29 x 3 for longer bike packing.

medic75

Right now my gravel bike is a commuter / go fast on gravel bike. I have serious considered going with 27.5 x 1.9 tires and converting it to more of an adventure bike. The only thing holding me back is the fact that it would result in my mountain bike getting less attention. I spent way too much money on my mountain bike to let it sit.

TimothyH

Yeah, this would be the way to go for true Iohan Gueorguiev style off the grid exploration and trekking.

I still enjoy trying to keep up with the younger and more aerobically blessed fellas such as @Spoonrobot on occasion and so the Niner will stay. Right now it will do double duty - both fast mixed surface and gravel rides and slower bikepacking/adventure rides.


-Tim-