tdilf

Can you give some details. I need to start putting my RDO on a diet.

jimincalif

I have rented a new Roubaix with the Future Shock a couple of times. It does what it says and I can feel it working when hitting bumps or standing up mashing a big gear on a hill. Another guy in our club has one and he says if he had to do it over again he would probably not get it. He thinks having clearance for 32mm tires would work as well and that sometimes the FutureShock feels like riding a pogo stick. Now he is a big guy - not obese big, he's probably 6'5", and a very strong rider. He said the shop put in the highest rated spring Specialized has for the FS but it's still a bit bouncy for his tastes. It's one of those things you just have to try for yourself.

pattrick

The post contains some nice pics and build details and as it will also take up to 38's it should make a formidable gravel machine. Sorta has me thinking along the same lines. The gentleman plans on racing his on gravel, worth having a peek.

srode1

2020 RLT9 RDO 56cm Frameset, Ultegra chain and Di2 DRs, GRX Shifters and calipers, Rotor 3D crank with 50/34 rings, Enve 3.4 wheels with Schwalbe pro one tubeless 25mm tires and Ultegra 140mm rotors, 11/28 Dura Ace Cassette, Bontrager RXL stem, 44mm Ritchey Evomax bars with Bontrager Gel cork tape, Ritchey logic seat post, Iberia bottle cages, Shimano PD-A600 Pedals, Randee Cobb saddle - a couple ounces under 19 lbs. Could be lighter with a different saddle and some light carbon bars like Salsa Cowchippers and some carbon bottle cages, but I'm happy with it the way it sits. With gravel wheels / tires and cassette it is right at 19.5lbs, that's Enve G23 wheels, 40mm continental terra speed tires, and 11/36 sram cassette.

jan nikolajsen 

The Santa Cruz Stigmata feels very road capable; meaning certainly fast enough, very comfortable, super fun on curves and switchback descents.

It also handles a 2x road crank and big tires in 700c.

I think as long as the tires are smooth (no knobs) there’s not much speed and handling sacrificed going to 40mm for extra comfort and off road capability. I run tubeless Snoqualmie Pass tires which measure 40mm at 50 psi.

guadzilla

Yeah, that was my concern as well. I really do not like flex (and can put out a reasonable aomunt of torque when climbing). Same with the bounciness and squishiness of suspension. My fear is that the bounciness of the Futureshock will spoil the riding experience for me during the 70-80% of the time when i dont need it. My plan was to go check it out at my Spesh dealer, but that's a flight away and not really feasible right now, what with travel restrictions and all...

The Open bikes look realllly sweet, but i cant justify those prices for what is not going to be my primary, secondary or even tertiary bike. Excel does have the RLT EDO on sale - but the frame colors are a bit blah. But yeah, that is increasingly .moving up to the top of my list/

Stigmata as well - had forgotten about them, thanks for the reminder, jan nikolajsen - I used to have a hardon for the Tallboy when it was released. I only wish they'd make the Stigmata in the old red or orange colors - not that yellow. It's also priced a bit more than i would ideally like to spend, but it appears that i may have to bite the bullet and up the budget to get something where i dont feel like i had made a compromise.

pattrick - thanks for that, checking it out now.

Anna_Sazzi

Hi. I came across the Colnago G3X, which really looks like a well specified gravel bike, but looks like it could belong on the road. What do you think?

Colnago G3X

DavidfGR

how about the Salsa Warroad or Warbird?

guadzilla

Among the first bikes i checked out, given their popularity. They seem a little TOO hardcore gravel oriented, though - I dont think i will ever be riding somewhere requiring 50mm tires. Or atleast so i think now.

The logical part of me says to pick a bike which gives me more options, and get something like a Salsa, Niner, Open or Stigmata, which i wont outgrow no matter how my tastes evolve. The performance difference to a road bike wont be too much, atleast not for long leisure rides or solo training rides (where the relaxed handling and greater weight dont matter as much)

The heart says get something which is fun to ride. And I know that i like cycling more if i have a responsive bike under me - not in terms of stability but acceleration (that pop you get when you 'drope the hammar'). Example - my Lynskey is a very smooth ride and certainly fast enough: I have no issues hanging on A group rides on it, i have done my fastest solo 100km on it, etc. But it isnt an exciting ride. So i am actually planning on selling it, because riding it doesnt put a grin on my face, the way my Venge and R5 do (or even the way my old carbon Ridley did). So this part of my brain is steering me towards something like a Domane SLR or Look 795 Gravel.

In any case, it looks like this purchase decision is going to be put off. Business has been savaged by the corona scare and i need to focus on making sure my employees are taken care of first.

Anna_Sazzi - Oooh. Hadnt thought of Colnago. That is also something to consider in the second category. But yeah, academic for a few months atleast....

chas58

Sometimes I'm a bit of a contrarian. But I liked the Open concept, and like that "pop" on acceleration - so I got a Canyon Inflite. Similar geometry as the Open, Certainly top tier in quality, and accelerates "pops" like my velodrome bike. Shockingly smooth rear end on gravel, washboard, patched asphalt. Yet it is something I can race crits with, and do single track (if it is ridged friendly). It can't take 650b, has boring paint job, and in some markets they don't make them 2x any more. Dialed in with 32mm slicks, and a little more relaxed with my max size of 50f/40r.

guadzilla

Oh, awesome. The Canyon stuff is definitely priced right, and that doesnt hurt. Would you know if the Grailed would have similar characteristics, albeit with a more relaxed geo? I am guessing that the Inflite is more CX-race geometry with a higher BB.

chas58

Yep, it has similar performance, with the Grail a bit more relaxed - longer/lower/slacker (wheelbase/BB/headtube).

GCN did a comparo of the Inflite and the Grail, and said the Grail was faster on gravel - although I think that was mostly because the Grail had bigger tires (33 vs 40mm) and possibly because of the gearing (1x on their test inflite).

I think the Inflite is closer to a road bike and handles a bit better on the road, where the Grail would handle a bit better on gravel (i.e. loose conditions).

guadzilla

Thanks again - this was very useful. I read the Grandfondo review of the 2 bikes, and also your comments that you had posted here a while ago. The Grail sounds interesting, but that weird handlebar is going to be a pain to pack and travel with. The Inflite sounds great, but 32-33c tires max is a bit too little - the Domane at 38c would be a better buy then. Handling shouldnt be an issue with either bike, though.

Part of my uncertainty is that i have no idea how much more off-road riding i will do and whether i will miss not having anything more 40c. As of now, i think not - but what if....

chas58

ON the Inflite, I run 50mm front and 40mm rear when I want to go big. If its dry, I put a 54mm 700c Thunder Burt on the front (great for those high speed gravel road race conditions where 50% of the group is on a mountain bike). Going big on the front gives me a little slacker geometry which isn't a bad thing when it gets loose.

Yeah, Grail isn't for everyone. I think I would go aluminum in that bike. ;-)

chas58

Hot off the press...
https://cyclingtips.com/2020/03/2020...l-bike-review/
“This is a gravel bike for the recovering roadie. It handles like a road bike, feels light like a road bike, and gets you in over your head on technical trail almost as fast as a road bike. But as long as you don’t try to take it to places where it doesn’t want to go, it’s great.

“I liked the predictable handling, particularly on normal gravel roads. And I loved how stiff and responsive it felt. For riders coming off light, fast road bikes, sometimes hopping on a gravel bike can feel disappointingly slow. Not this one. My ideal setup on this would be a set of 40 mm semi-slick tires, something with a near-solid center tread that rolls fast but lets you do some dirt road exploring, too.”

guadzilla

Canyon owes you one, cos you have pretty much sold me on one - Inflite if i go with carbon, or Grailed if i go with Al.

For the Inflite - I just want to confirm that you can fit 40c (and even a 50c up front) on it - cos the reviews I read said it maxed out at 32 or 35? If the handling isnt too shabby, I'd be more inclined to go this route, to be honest. I am not all that experienced on gravel roads to really be hammering it, so i can probably manage with slightly less stable handling off road in exchange for sharper response on tarmac. And while i know it doesnt matter in actual performance, I want a bike that is closer to 8kg than 9!

chas58

Oh no, I'm becoming a shill.

It could be the aluminum Inflite has smaller tire clearance. I'm pretty sure the original ones do. I have the carbon model (~7.9kg, or closer to 7kg with good road wheels/tires).

In the fall, I was running a 54c Thunder Burt up front for some very fast gravel training group rides. Right now I have a 50c on the front and 40c on the rear. I'm using Maxis Ramblers and Schwalbe G-One on the rear (22mm ID wheels). Rear has about 4mm clearance each side. I did dish the rear very slightly to move the wheel away from the drive side chain stay. Out of the box, it is comfortable with 38mm Ramblers or the 38mm Conti Terra speed (which is labeled 40mm, but is in reality a bit undersized). As with many bikes with a road Q-factor, 2x compatible frame, and big tires, there is slightly less clearance on the driver side chain stay.

guadzilla

Hey man, i really appreciate your taking the time to provide me this info. If i can fit 38-40cs on the bike, i am more than good. I dont think i will need anymore than that. I'll double check with Canyon on this as well. I have time anyway: with the way things are going, looks like i will wait a bit before making a non-essential purchase.

ciclista tifoso

.

i'm on a similar search and am leaning hard on the Ibis Hakka MX. Fits wide tires (45cm, i believe) ENVE fork, and in particular, it also has a threaded BB (T47), a must-have for me.
All the user reviews i've read tout its ability to handle sprints on tarmac as well as off-road terrain.

I may also wait to see if the 2021 Checkpoint (to be released later this year) will be shipped with T47 BB as well (given the use of T47 on the new Domane)... or otherwise i'll just pull the trigger on the Ibis Hakka by mid-April or so, since the Checkpoint may not be in stock until late Summer or later.

.

Anna_Sazzi

That looks nice, but for also road use, I think I really prefer 2x setups. More interesting I think is the Colnago I linked before. Though I think it can only take up to 42mm tires, which is more than enough for me. Also, it also comes with colnago's own version of a threaded BB/T47 type of BB.

ciclista tifoso

.
i agree re: 2x, which is why, if i go with the Ibis Hakka, i will buy the frameset and build it up using 2x. 1x won't work for me.

Holmsas1

Hi, I’m considering buying a new gravel bike (riding 65% road and 35% gravel), and I’m thinking about Merida Silex 300. I’m not sure if this bike is right choise for my declared riding style, because as I understand Silex has more MTB geometry, than road, but in the other way I also really like comfort of MTB 😅. At the moment I’m riding old Bulls Copperhead 1, which is 2012 26 inch bike. Maybe someome can give approve/decline choise of Silex 300 for my riding preferences?

guadzilla

My only issue with the Ibis is that asinine name (I actually remember when it was released as the Hakkalugie). Been researching it, it looks really good...

I am still circling back to the Domane as my first choice - that would be the ideal bike for the type of riding i expect to be doing, and the ISO speed has gotten great reviews from everyone who owns the bike. Atleast that's a tangible difference/advantage for the frame. Second choice would be either an Inflite, a Giant Revolt or the Stigmata, if i can get a frameset on sale somewhere.

If I decide to skip carbon and go with a metal frame, the Lynskey is probably the best value. I like the idea of the Niner, but i dont think i will be needing that level of gnarl-readiness or "epic ride readiness" - plus, if i do go steel, i might as well get my bikebuilder friend to make me a 953-tubed frameset with SS couplers.

vinuneuro

The Domane is such an obvious and fantastic bike for what you are looking for. It'd probably be what I'd buy today if I was shopping for a do it all bike again today.

dwmckee

I think you ruled out the Warbird and the Open too quickly. The Warbird is one of the best road bikes I have owned, and I now own an Open which turns out to be even more incredible at road and gravel than teh Warbird! You must rude to know.