BluesDawg

I was simply adding another of Specialized's gravel worthy bikes to the comparison. This thread includes many types of bikes. The Sequoia is definitely more of an all arounder as it was developed as a more sporting variation on the AWOL theme, but the AWOL continues to be a very versatile and capable bike. Mine sees many miles of paved and unpaved roads every week.

P1020735 by Benny Watson, on Flickr

NormanF

I'm well aware of the bikes discussed on this thread and I simply pointed out that they're a different beast from a traditional road bike.

By all means, choose and ride a bike you'll be happy with and whatever you choose, I'm sure it will serve you well for many years to come.

gregf83 

To be fair that can happen with any bike.

NormanF

Specialized has a nice line of adventure bikes with one for every need and budget. The AWOL can be used for touring, bike-packing expeditions, off-trail rides, road rides and commuting. I can't think of a bike that does everything it does - sort of the Swiss Army knife of bikes. Glad to see the enjoyment your AWOL brings you every day.

mstateglfr 

At $1200 for a Sora spec to $2100 for a 1x Sram hydraulic spec to $2500 for a Tiagra hydraulic spec($2500 for Tiagra?!?!) I am confident I could find a bunch of options which could be used for touring, bike packing, off trail, road, and commuting just as competently as the AWOL.

$2500 for Tiagra mated to soe HYRD brakes? Goodness what happened to the value of money?


Its a very nice bike for sure, but hardly in a class of its own.

DrIsotope

Keeping my opinions about Specialized to myself, that's the smoothest dirt road I've ever seen in my life. I ride every day on maintained, public roads that look far worse than that. I rode on an unmaintained formerly-public road yesterday where I had to bunnyhop over expanded cracks every 10 seconds, then down a railway service road covered in 1" rocks. With my lowly CX bike on 700x28s.

Okay, just one opinion: I know a guy with a Roubaix-- it is wildly unimpressive. It's full carbon and two frame sizes smaller than my 6061-framed steel fork bike, but somehow weighs the same. I bet it's hella "vertically compliant," though.

Soundtallica

OP, I'd looked long and far for the same kind of bike you're looking for 2 years ago: basically a lightweight carbon gravel bike that can fit big tires but also has geometry as close as possible to that of a road bike. So far, the 3T Exploro and the Open Cycles U.P. are the closest I've found to that description (42c tires with 415mm chainstays? Hell yeah!) but as has been said before in this thread both are sooooo expensive ($3000 for the frame!).

I settled on a 2015 Redline Conquest Team carbon. I chose it because of the geometry: at 72 degrees the head angle isn't too slack, its 70mm BB drop is road bike low, and it has relatively short 425mm chainstays. It's been a GREAT fast gravel bike: it's stiff and feels as fast as my road bike on pavement with road tires, yet is stable enough for confidence off-road on some gnarly trails. It's also one of the most vertically compliant and comfortable bikes I've ridden too. My only gripes are stupid internal cable routing that basically requires you to punch out the PF30 BB to change a derailleur cable, and subpar tire clearance that only allows about a 36c-37c tire in the back.

For you, it depends on how big of a tire you want to run while still retaining racy geometry. If you're fine with a 35c tire, the Specialized Diverge is your best bet since it also has 415mm chainstays but can't run anything bigger. Otherwise, most CX bikes are the same way, as they have less tire clearance but racier geometry. If you want a bigger tire and care less about chainstay length, there are a lot of options out there that have been discussed in this thread. If you want short chainstays and big tires though, unfortunately the Open Cycles and 3T are your only options.

Hope this helps!

TimothyH

This is a really great post. You get it. Thank you.

The Redline looks nice but I don't see a 2015, only a 2014 and it has canti brakes.

After reading through this thread I think I might like some wider tires, maybe 38 or 40 but that's about it. It seems as if the more racier geometries accomodate 35mm tires max and so I'm still looking at the Ridley X Trail, seems to be the next best thing and trying to find one to test ride.

But seriously good post. Really appreciate the suggestions.


-Tim-

Soundtallica

No problem! Glad to help. Yeah, I mixed up my model years, so my frame is a 2014. It actually is compatible with both cantis and discs and has interchangeable dropout chips that allow you to run 130mm spacing for cantis or 135mm spacing for discs, which is really cool. 2015 and later models eschew "Team" from the name and are disc only. I'll include a picture of my bike, with 32c slick tires, below.

Actually, scratch the tire clearance issue. You can get around it by using smaller 650b wheels with fatter tires like the Cannondale Slate. I read somewhere that a bike that maxes out with a 700x28c tire can fit a 650x38c tire. This would be a cool route to go, as you'd not only gain tire volume but reduce weight by using the smaller rim.

I'll also add that if you're looking at a CX bike, pay attention to its BB drop. 65mm is acceptable, but a bit on the high side. I'd go with something at least 70mm or lower for stability since you're not aggressively cornering off road like you would in a CX race.

chas58

Got to love that read Georgia clay!!!

RockiesDad

I have his little brother the Conquest Expert (lower end components but the same frame) and I agree 110% with this description on the bike! Not sure if Redline is going to make these frames anymore but you might find a used one somewhere. Tire clearance as noted and not being able to add any racks are the only minor complaints I have. Other than that I always have the biggest grin on my face after a ride...

TimothyH

That's right. @BluesDawg is in the red clay state.

How bout them Falcons? Rise up!!!

Oh... wait... nevermind.

BluesDawg

So do I. I hope you don't think the one photo I chose to show my bike represents the range of terrain I ride. Hell, you should see the muddy, rutted mess on the steep hill less than a quarter mile behind that shot. My size 58 2011 Roubaix Expert weighed 16.5 lbs. when I sold it after six years and 20,000+ miles of smiles.

Maybe you'll like this picture better, but maybe not.

FG by Benny Watson, on Flickr

gattosilvestro

Hi all,

this is my first post in this forum. I kindly need a suggestion from you.
I have a Specialized Diverge A1 (aluminium); i would like to use it in the country, but i'm worried to ruin the fork or other parts of the bike. Roads i could do out of city have several emerging rocks, three roots....i have cyclocross tyres (33 C)...what do you think?

jedijon

Your picture shows it packed and smooth. I've taken my 700x25c on that many times - and worse. Giant TCR carbon frame.

Barrettscv 

Welcome to Bikeforums!

I'd try it on rural roads and paths without concern. I use tires smaller than 33mm often. If the surface is firm, there is minimal risk of any real issue that you haven't already encountered on urban streets.

Keep the air pressure in the tires high enough to avoid pinch flats, especially if you are heavier than average. Bring an extra tube and know how to repair a flat tires. beyond that, it's unlikely you will have a structural or mechanical emergency.

chas58

I have an A1 aluminum Specialized I beat the snot out of with 28mm tires (I can squeeze a 30mm on though). If you aren't flatting the tires, you aren't going to hurt the bike. You would have to take a pretty hard hit on a rock/hole to hurt a wheel though. The bike itself will be fine.

Welcome!

grolby

I have one of these (Swiss Cross), mostly race cyclocross with it, but I've done a few gravel races as well. It's a great bike, the only caveat I would add is high-speed descents aren't really its forté. Once you get used to it, you can go downhill plenty fast on it, it's just not quite as settled and secure as, well, a good road bike. I'm not sure whether it's the higher bars or higher BB.

I'm truly sorry you broke your leg, but your conclusion that CX bikes are therefore totally unsuited for gravel riding is just absurd. I haven't done a lot of gravel rides, but around here the faster people are mostly also cyclocross racers, and they mostly ride their cross bikes when they enter events like Rasputitsa or VOGP. I've been shouting myself hoarse on this around here forever, but I'll say it again: "cyclocross geometry" is a hopelessly broad concepts, which includes bikes that are excellent on gravel as well as bikes that are mediocre on gravel. I definitely would prefer to race on my Ritchey Swiss Cross vs my Ridley Crossbow, because the high bottom bracket on the Ridley feels unpleasantly tippy in high speed turns. But if it's all I had, I would ride it and just go a little slower in the turns. A cyclocross bike doesn't actually place you in active danger when riding gravel. The overlap between these categories is huge.

woodcraft

All this fussing about high bottom brackets is a joke IMO.

I ride a Tarmac, and a Crux, & they have exactly the same BB drop. Other bikes- not much difference.

Bigger tires put the BB higher off the ground, so there's that.

And why would the CX bike with more slack HT angle and a longer WB be less stable descending, more squirrelly turning, and some kind of death trap on gravel?

Sheesh.

DrIsotope

Agree 100%. Have any of these folks ever seen a track bike? Like 30mm of BB drop. I watched that BikeRadar video where they built a custom steel fixie to race in the Red Hook Crit series, and it had the shortest wheelbase and highest BB I've ever seen. The BB on my CX frame sits like 10mm higher than the BB on my wife's road bike, and my frame is 9cm bigger.

I do love when guys say they can "feel" the difference between 2 bikes with 4mm more/less BB drop. I rode one day with my rear tire slow-leaked down to 40psi (from a start of 80psi) and wondered why I felt slower... after I got home. I doubt I could tell the difference in +/-10mm of BB height, so long as my pedals didn't hit the ground.

gattosilvestro

What do you think about the Diverge Elite version? Is it much different form the A1? I mean, does the different fork make much differences?

mtn_cyclist

I had an AWOL, switched to this Motobecane fantom Ti. IT's light, fast, and comfortable. Takes 40 mm tires, fender and rack mounts. I highly recommend titanium.

jsigone

fast roadie but need it for mild dirt too? IMO anything that will take a 28C tire unless you need mud clearance, that will take you out of the road bike class.

chas58

How is the titanium different? Can you describe it? I would love to ride one, but it's not a material people stock.

mtn_cyclist

Titanium gives a smooth ride and can be built up into a light weight frame. Go to a Litespeed dealer for a test ride.