Barrettscv 

Mongoose Selous Expert user review;

I've been looking for a gravel bike to supplement my Carbon Cyclocross bike with cantilever brakes and limited tire size capacity to be used when the gravel is deep and pavement performance is not a consideration. I attended two gravel events in Missouri last year. The first event exposed me to deep and technical gravel that demonstrated that a tire larger than 700x35 was going to be needed.

The Selous Expert is the only gravel bike with Shimano hydraulic brakes, 2x11 Shimano drivetrain, thru axles and tubeless ready wheelset anywhere near the price found at Nashbar, especially after using the additional 23% discount available recently. I'll change the crankset to a 46 & 33 and I'll use alternative tires, but the bike is well equipped for demanding gravel roads.

The 58cm frame size complete bike weighed 24.6 lbs with stock tires and pedals but without bags or the water bottle.

FRAME Gravel Grinder double-butted aluminum, Tapered head tube, English thread bottom bracket, 12mm thru-axle, Top tube-routed cables, Clearance for 40c tires

FORK Carbon fiber, 12mm thru-axle

HEADSET Tapered headset

CRANKSET FSA Gossamer, 50/34T chainrings

CASSETTE Shimano 105 5800 11-speed, 11-32T

SHIFTERS Shimano STRS-785 2x11-speed

FRONT DERAILLEUR Shimano 105 5800

REAR DERAILLEUR Shimano 105 5800L, 11-speed

BRAKES Shimano hydraulic disc, 160mm rotors front/rear

TIRES WTB Nano 700x40c tires (replaced with Clement immediately)

mstateglfr 

What is the 46/33 crankset you will use? Just curious since i heard there is a 33t 110bcd ring, but it isnt still made or something like that.

Also if you find you need help up hills, an 11-36t cassette works great with the rear derailleur mated to a wolftooth roadlink.

That is just such a deal for what you get. Tough to think there is anything better for the money available.
I like that you routed the bag ateap under the top tube cables. I just toss mine over them and keep it loose to(in my mind) keep the resistance down.
Ill have to try tucking em under.

wheelsmcgee

solid looking bike. Good choice with the 40mm MSO too. Ive been running one on the front and it's a great tire on gravel and even does well on pavement.

Barrettscv 

I'm going to install a TA Zephyr 110 bcd 5 hole 33t chainring on a Shimano CX50 crankset from Ribble;

TA Zephyr Chaining 110mm - 9/10 Speed
Colour Black
Size
33T Inner
TAAACHRI251BK0033TIN 1 $27.25

Shimano CX50 Double Chainset - 10 Speed
Colour Black
Size 175 36/46
SHIMCHAX180BK0075366 1 $71.73

Vittoria Latex Tube
Size
700x25/28 LV51mm
VITTTUBE207000075851 1 $8.82

Subtotal $107.80
Delivery $0.00
Discount (USWINTER1) -$10.60

Grand Total $97.20
Grand Total to be Charged £73.39

Shipping method: Standard Delivery


Contact

Ribble Cycles
363 Leach Place,
Preston,
Lancashire,
PR5 8AS
UK

Spoonrobot 

How much was the bike?

mstateglfr 

Nice! Wish ida seen that when i changed my cx50 from 36t to 34t. Every tooth counts!

travbikeman

That's a nice looking bike! Your pictures look a lot better than what the pictures on Nashbar's site.

Barrettscv 

Nashbar was running a 23% off sale on January the 23rd for 23 hours. I purchased the Mongoose Selous Expert for $1078, which included shipping (1145.36 with taxes).

NormanF

Reason why people are ditching road bikes for gravel road/adventure bikes is the latter are cheaper and can do double duty.

Why pay for two bikes?

biketampa

I'm not sure that gravel bikes are much cheaper, if at all, but it definitely has to do with the fact that gravel bikes serve double duty. My road bike doesn't have clearance for tires larger than 25c so I'm looking at a gravel bike for some of my area gravel roads. Long term a gravel bike will probably be my only bike (maybe)

Jackmen

Mike, what is the deal with the latex tube? This thing is set up to go tubeless. You need to run those wheels tubeless. Just some experience. I was running some panaracers brand new and ended up with 4 flats in 120 miles of gravel riding. Friend of mine Dennis Noel, about the same thing, Tubed bontrager tires 4 flats in 100 miles of gravel. Both of us switched to Schwalbe G Ones 38's tubeless with 2OZ of sealant, no flats since. Gravel is just very abusive on tires and with tubes you get too many flats. The latex tubes will be even worse.

You can also get the pressure down which helps smooth out the ride. With the aluminum frame you will need the smoothing that running tubeless at about 40 PSI will provide. Do that with tubed and you will get pinch flats .

Barrettscv 

Hi Jack,

No worries, I'm with the program!

The latex tube is a spare for use on one of the vintage bikes. Pushing the subtotal above $100 gave me an additional 10% discount. :-)

I put a pair of Clement tubeless MSO on this morning. Installed the tape, mounted the tires and added sealant at home. I actually have a small inventory of of tubeless tires: a pair of Clement MSO, WTB Nanos and WTB Riddlers. I'm good to go!

Tubeless rims were a top priority with this purchase. I even purchased a second tubeless wheelset for my roadbike. The flat I had had Cubu shortened my ride. That roadside repair motivated me to find a new bike with tubeless ready rims.

mstateglfr 

Ive ridden central missouri and the roads up here are similar...where are you riding where all this happens?
I have tubes, friends have tubes, no flats happen. I dont go down to where i have to worry about pinch flatting though as the tires become too slugggish for me at that point, so maybe thats the difference.

Jackmen

Michael, sorry for the overreaction. I should have known that you were on board with the tubeless as you did have some flat issues in Cuba. Glad to hear that you are running the tubeless clements. Best wishes to you tomorrow in Rocheport. I assume you are doing the 50? That will be a good test on the new bike.

Jackmen

If you ride hard on gravel roads around mid missouri flats happen all the time. Our gravel roads have a lot of loose larger peices of crushed limestone that cause flats. If you run tubes on gravel you are always fixing flats. You put on tubeless with sealant and then run the pressure lower and you get way less flats and a smoother ride to go with it. Tubeless is the way to go especially for gravel riding.

mstateglfr 

Ive apparently found all the hero gravel in central missouri to have not experienced such frequent (or any) flats. Everything i rode was similar to southern and central iowa gravel...which i dont consider to be hero gravel, but since most everything that i didnt ride down there is apparently shards of sharp large rock, what we have here is downright tame and simple.

Ill have to venture into new territory next time im down in CMO, and ill be sure to bring plenty of tubes since ill be riding atop proverbial nails.



Tubeless is a fine way to ride, no disagreement. I just havent experienced such terrible tube riding which you describe. That must be frustrating.

Barrettscv 

I find the roads that Jack is discussing to have an uneven thickness of loose gravel over an uneven and inconsistent substrate. Every few 100 yards a rocky ridge will rise up and pinch the tires with little warning. Now, I'm above 220 lbs and need large enough tubeless tire to avoid pinch flats. My 170 lbs riding friend uses 700x35 tires at 40psi with tubes and is able to avoids flats.

Tubeless is the way to go unless your lighter than average riding on a 700x35 or larger tire with higher air pressure.

bcpriess

OP: What part of the Katy do you ride? Those wooden gates your bike is leaning against...

Barrettscv 

I rode most of the 50 mile Rocheport Roubaix gravel ride yesterday. That picture was taken directly west of Columbia, MO near the town of Huntsdale. I actually didn't use the KATY trail, but set my bike against the gate near a crossing.

See: https://www.bikeforums.net/recreation...avel-ride.html

Route map: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/18244266

Barrettscv 

Nashbar has an additional 25% discount and free shipping today. $1050 net price (plus tax in some states)

Barrettscv 

Ride report;


I took a short shake-out ride on the Serous Expert. The ride included some gravel, grass and wet mud. The bike performed very well, it's a well developed and designed product. The bike never felt cheap or slow and it handled the more challenging surfaces better than expected. I'll discuss the positives and the negatives.


Features and experience;


Handling: While the frameset is robust and stiff, the handling is ideal with high levels of responsiveness in tight turns, excellent stability on rougher surfaces at moderate to fast speeds and excellent handling and balance when the tires begin to slide. The route included both on-road, off-road and gravel road. The off-road section includes one grass and dirt covered downhill turn that is off-camber and has a double radius turn shape. This can be a tricky turn when dry. This morning the fastest part of the turn was damp, muddy and soft and the not-made-for-mud micro-block tires slid out twice. The first slide was easy to catch, both front and rear tires slid evenly and it was easy to straighten out the line and stay upright. The second slide required gentle braking and the bike remained upright and on line. I felt like a hero and I knew the bike was well designed for this kind of hooligan riding. Job well done by the design team.

Having said this, the frame is industrial-duty stiff and accurate feeling. Thru-axle wheels and a tapered headtube provide an all-business structure and the frameset is robustly built. The ride is not punishing but it's not plush in any way. I had the tires in the 50 psi range, so some ride comfort can be obtained by lowering the pressure.

The second positive result was observed while climbing. The route includes a few short-but-steep climbs. The first climb was loose gravel over damaged pavement, I usually need to stay seated to avoid spinning the back tire on the loose gravel. The Serous Expert maintained traction while I stood up and the climbing was smooth and easy. The second climb was playdough like clay and again I was able to smoothly stand on the pedals and climb. The forth climb was firm gravel, easy-peasy. The final climb was pavement. This climb was easy enough at a moderate pace. Overall, the bike is a steady climber with better than expected traction at all times.

Braking and drivetrain: The Shimano hydraulic brakes are a radical improvement over road bike rim brakes and make those systems feel unsafe in comparison. Well worth the extra cost. The 2x11 drivetrain is flawless in it's action, but I do look forward to a 46 & 33 crankset that should come soon.

100 miles review;

I have a good opinion of the Mongoose Selous Expert. In most qualities it's an advanced gravel bike and superior to some bikes sold for more than twice it's $1078.00 purchase price. The benefits of the Shimano Hydraulic disc brakes and the reliability of the tubeless rims and tires are sufficient to justify the investment. The traction and ideal handling qualities are also worthwhile, the bike feels fully developed and well thought out.

I do miss the pure speed available from a carbon bike and will continue to use my lighter weight cantilevered brake Cyclocross bike with slicks on routes that 50/50 paved/gravel. I'll need expert skills and a little luck when riding softer gravel on a Carbon Cyclocross bikes on fast rolling tires, but the speed on pavement will mitigate the caution needed in soft gravel.

The Mongoose Selous Expert will be my go-to bike for local off-road riding and for Gravel events that are 90% gravel. My local off-road riding includes grassy Cyclocross conditions and single-track. The Mongoose Selous Expert will be ideal when speed while on pavement is not important.

The Mongoose delivers super-reliable braking, trouble free tubeless tire performance and industrial grade toughness and durability in a high-value well-designed package. The combination of a moderately heavy frameset and knobby tires means you will be working harder to keep pace with lighter carbon bikes on riskier low rolling resistance tires while on pavement. However, I won't be as worried about handling or braking control and 25-35mph descents on gravel will be taken with improved safety.