Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Cyclocross and Gravelbiking (Recreational)
Reload this Page >

The most exciting gravel bike for 2020 is...

Notices
Cyclocross and Gravelbiking (Recreational) This has to be the most physically intense sport ever invented. It's high speed bicycle racing on a short off road course or riding the off pavement rides on gravel like : "Unbound Gravel". We also have a dedicated Racing forum for the Cyclocross Hard Core Racers.

The most exciting gravel bike for 2020 is...

Old 05-31-19, 04:44 AM
  #1  
sweetspot
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 167
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 82 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 8 Times in 8 Posts
The most exciting gravel bike for 2020 is...

It is still may and we already had a 3 very exciting new bike announcements:

1. New Santa Cruz Stigmata with a great combination of short chainstay, very ample tire clerance and overall frame comfort
2. New GT Grade with the most flexing rear part of the frame ever made and with improved tire clerance and adjustable fork
3. New Open WI.DE. with both chainstays dropped (once again Vroomen surprised everyone) and a HUGE tire clerance for 650b tires.

In the pipeline are probably: carbon Cannondale Topstone, new Jamis Renegade and a 2020 Specialized Diverge which should take some cues from new Roubaix.
sweetspot is offline  
Old 05-31-19, 05:41 AM
  #2  
unterhausen
Randomhead
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Happy Valley, Pennsylvania
Posts: 24,364
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Liked 3,664 Times in 2,497 Posts
I thought the WI.DE will only clear 47mm in 650b. Doesn't hardly seem to justify the weird chainstays
unterhausen is offline  
Old 05-31-19, 06:13 AM
  #3  
sweetspot
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 167
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 82 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 8 Times in 8 Posts
Originally Posted by unterhausen
I thought the WI.DE will only clear 47mm in 650b. Doesn't hardly seem to justify the weird chainstays
from I have read it can take 2,4 650b tire.
sweetspot is offline  
Old 05-31-19, 08:22 AM
  #4  
chas58
Senior Member
 
chas58's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,863

Bikes: too many of all kinds

Mentioned: 35 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1147 Post(s)
Liked 415 Times in 335 Posts
Links?
chas58 is offline  
Old 05-31-19, 09:54 AM
  #5  
5teve
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 212
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 69 Post(s)
Liked 65 Times in 29 Posts
The new Allied Able is pretty slick. https://alliedcycleworks.com/pages/allied-able
5teve is offline  
Old 05-31-19, 10:42 AM
  #6  
mstateglfr 
Sunshine
 
mstateglfr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Des Moines, IA
Posts: 16,538

Bikes: '18 class built steel roadbike, '19 Fairlight Secan, '88 Schwinn Premis , Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross V4, '89 Novara Trionfo

Mentioned: 123 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10902 Post(s)
Liked 7,393 Times in 4,148 Posts
Originally Posted by 5teve
The new Allied Able is pretty slick. https://alliedcycleworks.com/pages/allied-able
When i first saw it, it took me a few minutes to figure out, but that chainstay is like a modern carbon version of the Nishiki Alien from a quarter century ago.
mstateglfr is offline  
Old 05-31-19, 02:52 PM
  #7  
FlashBazbo
Chases Dogs for Sport
 
FlashBazbo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 4,288
Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 983 Post(s)
Liked 141 Times in 94 Posts
Originally Posted by unterhausen
I thought the WI.DE will only clear 47mm in 650b. Doesn't hardly seem to justify the weird chainstays
The OPEN new U.P. and U.P.P.E.R. easily clear 650b x 47mm, plus a lot of mud clearance. The WI.DE is 650b x 2.4. It's as if a new U.P. hybridized with a fatbike. (Not for me, but if I were coming at gravel as a MTB guy . . . .)
FlashBazbo is offline  
Old 05-31-19, 10:12 PM
  #8  
jan nikolajsen 
Mostly Mischief
 
jan nikolajsen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Moab, Utah
Posts: 1,500
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 37 Post(s)
Liked 58 Times in 24 Posts
Jan Heine and BQ posted a WI.DE. first look today:

https://janheine.wordpress.com/2019/...new-open-wide/
jan nikolajsen is offline  
Likes For jan nikolajsen:
Old 06-01-19, 01:20 AM
  #9  
trailangel
Senior Member
 
trailangel's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Pasadena, CA
Posts: 4,847

Bikes: Schwinn Varsity

Mentioned: 22 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1931 Post(s)
Liked 741 Times in 421 Posts
Just one flatbar away from a XC MTB. "Gravel riders!...See The Light"
trailangel is offline  
Old 06-01-19, 09:12 AM
  #10  
mstateglfr 
Sunshine
 
mstateglfr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Des Moines, IA
Posts: 16,538

Bikes: '18 class built steel roadbike, '19 Fairlight Secan, '88 Schwinn Premis , Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross V4, '89 Novara Trionfo

Mentioned: 123 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10902 Post(s)
Liked 7,393 Times in 4,148 Posts
Originally Posted by trailangel
Just one flatbar away from a XC MTB. "Gravel riders!...See The Light"
That's like saying a glider is just 2 jet engines away from being an f15.

A flat bar XC is a fundamentally different bike than a drop bar gravel bike.
I get it, some gravel frames are creeping closer to some XC geometry.
But many arent at all doing that.

As for this bike- the drop bars, rigid fork, and shifting style are so different from flat bar that it's a fundamental different preference for riding.
mstateglfr is offline  
Old 06-01-19, 07:12 PM
  #11  
trailangel
Senior Member
 
trailangel's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Pasadena, CA
Posts: 4,847

Bikes: Schwinn Varsity

Mentioned: 22 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1931 Post(s)
Liked 741 Times in 421 Posts
Don't get all hurt because the MTB group shifts better.
trailangel is offline  
Old 06-01-19, 07:59 PM
  #12  
mstateglfr 
Sunshine
 
mstateglfr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Des Moines, IA
Posts: 16,538

Bikes: '18 class built steel roadbike, '19 Fairlight Secan, '88 Schwinn Premis , Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross V4, '89 Novara Trionfo

Mentioned: 123 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10902 Post(s)
Liked 7,393 Times in 4,148 Posts
Originally Posted by trailangel
Don't get all hurt because the MTB group shifts better.
I don't understand this comment.
I have a SRAM 1x11 mtb. It shifts fine.
I have a Shimano 2x11 gravel bike. It shifts fine.

In my relatively limited experience, they both shift fine.
mstateglfr is offline  
Old 06-02-19, 07:19 AM
  #13  
Rides4Beer
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: VA
Posts: 1,437

Bikes: SuperSix Evo | Revolt

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 733 Post(s)
Liked 815 Times in 414 Posts
Originally Posted by 5teve
The new Allied Able is pretty slick. https://alliedcycleworks.com/pages/allied-able
Elevated chainstay to fit 43's?
Rides4Beer is offline  
Old 06-02-19, 08:06 AM
  #14  
PumpedUpKicks
Senior Member
 
PumpedUpKicks's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Northwest Arkansas, a cyclist's paradise
Posts: 110

Bikes: 2017 Santa Cruz Hightower C S+ Kit, 2020 Salsa Fargo Apex 1, 2015 Salsa Warbird Ti, Burley D'Lite double trailer

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 27 Post(s)
Liked 16 Times in 11 Posts
Originally Posted by Rides4Beer
Elevated chainstay to fit 43's?
I haven't seen one in person yet but I would guess that is a conservative tire size. Their other Alpha Allroad claims a max tire of 35mm but I've seen one running 38's with mud clearance. I'm anxious to see the Able in person. This bike just won the Dirty Kanza yesterday. Being from Arkansas I might have a bias for this company. The new OPEN Wi.de looks awesome too.
All that said, I ride a gen 2 Santa Cruz Stigmata and it would be hard for me to find a more comfortable bike. If I would shopping, the new Stigmata would be at the top of my list.
PumpedUpKicks is offline  
Old 06-02-19, 11:24 AM
  #15  
tdilf
Full Member
 
tdilf's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Southeastern PA
Posts: 294

Bikes: Niner RLT RDO, Trek Remedy 9.8

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 108 Post(s)
Liked 117 Times in 70 Posts
Originally Posted by PumpedUpKicks
I haven't seen one in person yet but I would guess that is a conservative tire size. Their other Alpha Allroad claims a max tire of 35mm but I've seen one running 38's with mud clearance. I'm anxious to see the Able in person. This bike just won the Dirty Kanza yesterday. Being from Arkansas I might have a bias for this company. The new OPEN Wi.de looks awesome too.
All that said, I ride a gen 2 Santa Cruz Stigmata and it would be hard for me to find a more comfortable bike. If I would shopping, the new Stigmata would be at the top of my list.
The new Stig would be at the top of my list too. Maybe I can pick up a used one in a year or two 😉
tdilf is offline  
Old 06-02-19, 12:30 PM
  #16  
sweetspot
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 167
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 82 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 8 Times in 8 Posts
Originally Posted by PumpedUpKicks
All that said, I ride a gen 2 Santa Cruz Stigmata and it would be hard for me to find a more comfortable bike. If I would shopping, the new Stigmata would be at the top of my list.
Could you tell me more about comfort of your stigmata? Is front of the bike comfortable? What tire are you using? What bikes you have ridden before stigmata?
sweetspot is offline  
Old 06-02-19, 02:56 PM
  #17  
PumpedUpKicks
Senior Member
 
PumpedUpKicks's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Northwest Arkansas, a cyclist's paradise
Posts: 110

Bikes: 2017 Santa Cruz Hightower C S+ Kit, 2020 Salsa Fargo Apex 1, 2015 Salsa Warbird Ti, Burley D'Lite double trailer

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 27 Post(s)
Liked 16 Times in 11 Posts
@sweetspot In my opinion, my Stigmata feels like the kind of bike that you can ride all day. The geometry of the bike and the cockpit positioning are perfect for me but I believe the quality of the carbon and layup of the bike play a big role in the comfort. Santa Cruz make some of the nicest carbon bikes in the industry. The front of the bike and fork have worked great on gravel rides and I'm not exactly a small person at 6'2, 220lbs. The cockpit is alloy Zipp. I typically run 40c Scwhalbe's but also swap some 32c's for the tarmac. The bike is fast and lightweight. Planning on a new set of hoops soon hopefully adding to the comfort. I can only imagine how comfortable the new stigmata is with 45c's or fat 650b! Hope this helps.
PumpedUpKicks is offline  
Old 06-02-19, 04:55 PM
  #18  
fraba
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Longueuil, Quebec, Canada
Posts: 196

Bikes: 1973 Raleigh Super Course - 1981 Velo Sport Criterium - c.1988 Colnago Master Piu - 1991 Merlin Road - 1991 Eddy Merckx Corsa Extra - 1995 Pinarello Cromovan - c.1999 Lemond Maillot Jaune Team Saturn - 2002 Colnago C-40 - Also modern stuff

Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 51 Post(s)
Liked 38 Times in 22 Posts
Originally Posted by sweetspot
from I have read it can take 2,4 650b tire.
Yes, exactly. And the UP is good for 2.1 inches on 650b.
fraba is offline  
Old 06-03-19, 04:19 PM
  #19  
thehammerdog
Senior Member
 
thehammerdog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: NWNJ
Posts: 3,704

Bikes: Road bike is a Carbon Bianchi C2C & Grandis (1980's), Gary Fisher Mt Bike, Trek Tandem & Mongoose SS MTB circa 1992.

Mentioned: 9 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 722 Post(s)
Liked 353 Times in 226 Posts
SAGE seem nice if you want gravel worthy and have $$$$ titanium is the only choice

https://sagetitanium.com/products/ba...m-gravel-bike/
thehammerdog is offline  
Old 06-04-19, 11:05 AM
  #20  
gus6464
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: San Diego
Posts: 2,235
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 353 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 92 Times in 67 Posts
The Stigmata v2 geometry is right between full blown race cx and gravel so it lends itself to being able to setup either way. I also have a v2 stigmata and it's a great bike. I've even done some rides where I should have been in a mountain bike. It's a great frame plus you get the best warranty in the business as well. I might wait for the end of season sale and pick up the new v3 frame.

I would have liked they stuck with 15x100 for the front though. You get tons more wheel choices with that.

Last edited by gus6464; 06-04-19 at 11:09 AM.
gus6464 is offline  
Likes For gus6464:
Old 06-04-19, 07:08 PM
  #21  
shoota 
Senior Member
 
shoota's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Stillwater, OK
Posts: 8,128
Mentioned: 33 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1871 Post(s)
Liked 689 Times in 467 Posts
Originally Posted by Rides4Beer
Elevated chainstay to fit 43's?
To fit 43s with short chainstays, that is the kicker.

Originally Posted by PumpedUpKicks
This bike just won the Dirty Kanza yesterday.
Twice. On the same day. You can't buy that kind of publicity.
__________________
2014 Cannondale SuperSix EVO 2
2019 Salsa Warbird
shoota is offline  
Likes For shoota:
Old 06-05-19, 03:01 AM
  #22  
sweetspot
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 167
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 82 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 8 Times in 8 Posts
Originally Posted by shoota
To fit 43s with short chainstays, that is the kicker.
To be honest I don't see this as an extraordinary achievement. Look at Specialized Diverge which has 421 mm chainstay and clears 42s tires without any chainstay trickery at all. Fitting 46s tires with 420mm chainstay of Open Wi.De. is an achievement. No question about it!
sweetspot is offline  
Old 06-05-19, 06:17 AM
  #23  
shoota 
Senior Member
 
shoota's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Stillwater, OK
Posts: 8,128
Mentioned: 33 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1871 Post(s)
Liked 689 Times in 467 Posts
Originally Posted by sweetspot
To be honest I don't see this as an extraordinary achievement. Look at Specialized Diverge which has 421 mm chainstay and clears 42s tires without any chainstay trickery at all. Fitting 46s tires with 420mm chainstay of Open Wi.De. is an achievement. No question about it!
I'm not sure anyone said it was extraordinary, it's just the design they chose in order to pull it off. I agree, it's all pretty standard at this point.
__________________
2014 Cannondale SuperSix EVO 2
2019 Salsa Warbird

Last edited by shoota; 06-05-19 at 06:43 PM.
shoota is offline  
Old 06-05-19, 07:21 AM
  #24  
Rides4Beer
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: VA
Posts: 1,437

Bikes: SuperSix Evo | Revolt

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 733 Post(s)
Liked 815 Times in 414 Posts
Originally Posted by shoota
To fit 43s with short chainstays, that is the kicker.


Twice. On the same day. You can't buy that kind of publicity.
Gotcha. The Revolt that I'm waiting on fits 45's and the chainstays are 5mm longer than the Able. I don't know enough about geometry to understand how much of a difference 5mm makes.

Top M/F will definitely help their sales, no doubt!
Rides4Beer is offline  
Old 06-05-19, 07:40 AM
  #25  
mstateglfr 
Sunshine
 
mstateglfr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Des Moines, IA
Posts: 16,538

Bikes: '18 class built steel roadbike, '19 Fairlight Secan, '88 Schwinn Premis , Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross V4, '89 Novara Trionfo

Mentioned: 123 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10902 Post(s)
Liked 7,393 Times in 4,148 Posts
Ok, im sure this wont get much traction since its a bike by GT, but how has the new Grade not been discussed after the initial post?!?

That is a really cool bike.

- fits 42mm tires
- sensible unpaved gearing of 46/30 with 11-34.
- fork has an adjustable dropout to change trail depending on riding preference/style.
- seatstays are fiberglass core and dont attach to the seat tube at all now.
- all are 2x drivetrains.
- the seat tube is cut out to allow space for large tires and fenders(curious how this affects stiffness?).
- mounts all over the place- fork, bento, bottle cages, rack, fenders.
- external cable routing for easy service.


Really interested in the fork- that is interesting and allows it to feel like a couple different bikes.
As far as tech- this is way cooler to me than some elevated chainstays that are inherently more flexible and seem kinda gimmicky since other brands accomplish the same result with a more traditional/established setup.
mstateglfr is offline  
Likes For mstateglfr:

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.