Originally Posted by
srode1
RLT 9 Aluminum and RLT 9 RDO (Carbon) both have internal cables and would work well as road bikes. I've used my RLT9 Aluminum many times as a road bike. I even beat a friend on a morning ride sprint on it (who is typically faster than me) and he was quite surprised! Both of these bikes have lots of mounts for stuff including on the forks. You really will not give up much in terms of performance with a gravel bike used as a road bike unless there's a significant weight penalty. My RLT9 RDO is under 19 lbs with road wheels and tires.
On tire size, yes I think for any gravel stuff I wouldn't consider something that didn't have room for 40mm tires with room to spare for mud clearance.
Damn, i didnt even bother checking out the other RLT versions... how's the ride quality of the RLT9 Al, may i ask - specifically, the BB stiffness when climbing and comfort over broken roads (i realize wheels play a big role here)? If it is a comfy bike, it may be a contender as well.
Also - any love for the Canyon Grail here? It's quite competitively priced and gets pretty good reviews/