Long Distance Touring on Gravel Bike vs. Endurance Bike?
#26
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I have never heard of 40/31.
If this is it, that is 48/31.
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/di...arbon/p/175285
But I find 31 to be a bit odd, I expect even numbers on chainrings since they almost always are. Maybe a typo and 48/32, as that would have a difference of 16T and a lot of front derailleurs are designed for a 16T difference.
My low gear when I did Pacific Coast was chainring 24, big sprocket 32. I like that better but I had my camping gear on the bike.
If this is it, that is 48/31.
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/di...arbon/p/175285
But I find 31 to be a bit odd, I expect even numbers on chainrings since they almost always are. Maybe a typo and 48/32, as that would have a difference of 16T and a lot of front derailleurs are designed for a 16T difference.
My low gear when I did Pacific Coast was chainring 24, big sprocket 32. I like that better but I had my camping gear on the bike.
#27
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ya, 48/31 and 11-34 (not that odd, as road cranks have been 50/39 and 50/39/30 for ages and ages.)
but lets face it kids, 48 is still overgeared, but this bike is clearly aimed at the strong and fast crowd hammering it with the guys. As soon as you start putting crap on a bike, smaller cranksets are appreciated--but hey, I get it, this is a compromise for fast riding unloaded, and also the marketing angle of it all. (on that note, gotta love the marketing schmarketing wording of the "SWAT" storage area)
re gearing, I guess cuz Ive never owned a really light bike, plus I tend to carry more of a traditional amount of stuff, and plus I'm not a Paris-Roubaix strong rider--never was, even 30 years ago-- a 48/31 would be overgeared for me.
But hey, I know what works for me and thats ok, plus I'm old.
a 48/11 on 700 wheels with, I dunno, 32s, would still give a pretty good top gear, I'm guessing close to my 700 bike with a 50/12 and I can spin that bike to over 70kph, so thats fast enough. Still overgeared frankly for carrying stuff.....in my humble old ass opinion.
but lets face it kids, 48 is still overgeared, but this bike is clearly aimed at the strong and fast crowd hammering it with the guys. As soon as you start putting crap on a bike, smaller cranksets are appreciated--but hey, I get it, this is a compromise for fast riding unloaded, and also the marketing angle of it all. (on that note, gotta love the marketing schmarketing wording of the "SWAT" storage area)
re gearing, I guess cuz Ive never owned a really light bike, plus I tend to carry more of a traditional amount of stuff, and plus I'm not a Paris-Roubaix strong rider--never was, even 30 years ago-- a 48/31 would be overgeared for me.
But hey, I know what works for me and thats ok, plus I'm old.
a 48/11 on 700 wheels with, I dunno, 32s, would still give a pretty good top gear, I'm guessing close to my 700 bike with a 50/12 and I can spin that bike to over 70kph, so thats fast enough. Still overgeared frankly for carrying stuff.....in my humble old ass opinion.
#28
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I can see some committee sitting in a meeting saying, if it is gravel we should drop the gearing lower than road gearing. Some say no, those that say yes can't agree how low. The one in charge of the meeting says, corporate wants an answer by 4pm. They all compromise at compact double as the base standard but drop two teeth on each ring. And none of them ride a bike except for occasional family outings. That is how important decisions are made by people that have no business making decisions.
I know a couple hard core roadies that bought gravel bikes in the past two years, they ride them on pavement but on rare occasion one of them will ride it on gravel rail trail. Marketing told them to own gravel bikes, so they complied.
My road bike came with 13/29 Campy cassette. I like having a downhill gear, I learned that Miche made a 12/29 that fits on my Campy hub so I bought that to slightly increase my highest gear for the occasional long shallow downhill. Yeah, I only ride that on pavement, so should have road gearing. I use that as an example, sometimes a high gear is nice to have.
#29
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ya, 48/31 and 11-34 (not that odd, as road cranks have been 50/39 and 50/39/30 for ages and ages.)
but lets face it kids, 48 is still overgeared, but this bike is clearly aimed at the strong and fast crowd hammering it with the guys. As soon as you start putting crap on a bike, smaller cranksets are appreciated--but hey, I get it, this is a compromise for fast riding unloaded, and also the marketing angle of it all. (on that note, gotta love the marketing schmarketing wording of the "SWAT" storage area)
re gearing, I guess cuz Ive never owned a really light bike, plus I tend to carry more of a traditional amount of stuff, and plus I'm not a Paris-Roubaix strong rider--never was, even 30 years ago-- a 48/31 would be overgeared for me.
But hey, I know what works for me and thats ok, plus I'm old.
a 48/11 on 700 wheels with, I dunno, 32s, would still give a pretty good top gear, I'm guessing close to my 700 bike with a 50/12 and I can spin that bike to over 70kph, so thats fast enough. Still overgeared frankly for carrying stuff.....in my humble old ass opinion.
but lets face it kids, 48 is still overgeared, but this bike is clearly aimed at the strong and fast crowd hammering it with the guys. As soon as you start putting crap on a bike, smaller cranksets are appreciated--but hey, I get it, this is a compromise for fast riding unloaded, and also the marketing angle of it all. (on that note, gotta love the marketing schmarketing wording of the "SWAT" storage area)
re gearing, I guess cuz Ive never owned a really light bike, plus I tend to carry more of a traditional amount of stuff, and plus I'm not a Paris-Roubaix strong rider--never was, even 30 years ago-- a 48/31 would be overgeared for me.
But hey, I know what works for me and thats ok, plus I'm old.
a 48/11 on 700 wheels with, I dunno, 32s, would still give a pretty good top gear, I'm guessing close to my 700 bike with a 50/12 and I can spin that bike to over 70kph, so thats fast enough. Still overgeared frankly for carrying stuff.....in my humble old ass opinion.
#30
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Morning stae, I was too lazy to do a gear inch chart, so guessed. Appears that its 25-119 g.i. , with 38 tires, probably a bit lower with smaller tires.
For me, 25 ish isn't lowest enough and would prefer lower when carrying stuff, even not much stuff when long steep hills are involved.
For me, 25 ish isn't lowest enough and would prefer lower when carrying stuff, even not much stuff when long steep hills are involved.
#32
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My road bike came with compact double, 50/34.
I can see some committee sitting in a meeting saying, if it is gravel we should drop the gearing lower than road gearing. Some say no, those that say yes can't agree how low. The one in charge of the meeting says, corporate wants an answer by 4pm. They all compromise at compact double as the base standard but drop two teeth on each ring. And none of them ride a bike except for occasional family outings. That is how important decisions are made by people that have no business making decisions.
I know a couple hard core roadies that bought gravel bikes in the past two years, they ride them on pavement but on rare occasion one of them will ride it on gravel rail trail. Marketing told them to own gravel bikes, so they complied.
My road bike came with 13/29 Campy cassette. I like having a downhill gear, I learned that Miche made a 12/29 that fits on my Campy hub so I bought that to slightly increase my highest gear for the occasional long shallow downhill. Yeah, I only ride that on pavement, so should have road gearing. I use that as an example, sometimes a high gear is nice to have.
I can see some committee sitting in a meeting saying, if it is gravel we should drop the gearing lower than road gearing. Some say no, those that say yes can't agree how low. The one in charge of the meeting says, corporate wants an answer by 4pm. They all compromise at compact double as the base standard but drop two teeth on each ring. And none of them ride a bike except for occasional family outings. That is how important decisions are made by people that have no business making decisions.
I know a couple hard core roadies that bought gravel bikes in the past two years, they ride them on pavement but on rare occasion one of them will ride it on gravel rail trail. Marketing told them to own gravel bikes, so they complied.
My road bike came with 13/29 Campy cassette. I like having a downhill gear, I learned that Miche made a 12/29 that fits on my Campy hub so I bought that to slightly increase my highest gear for the occasional long shallow downhill. Yeah, I only ride that on pavement, so should have road gearing. I use that as an example, sometimes a high gear is nice to have.
I don't think there's anything new with this, although tech changes mean it's so much easier for "fast bikes" to have a 11-34.
I reckon the vastmajority of riders won't ride with stuff on the bike , or very little, so the gearing will work.
For those of us who tour, and aren't as competitive or strong riders, it's just nicer to have lower gearing-- but this just leads back to the always there aspect of marketing of strong and fast young folks hammering, whether 1975 or 2021.
it's all ok fast bikes, except I really do reckon that most people don't pay attention to gearing details and would benefit from more laid back easier gearing.
partypace as the pathlesspedalled duo call it. And rightly so.
#33
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Whatever force in the market (or the minds of marketers) gave us gravel, adventure, randonneuring, all-road, and cyclocross as distinct types of bikes has done us all a great favor. We have tremendous options in frames and components that allow whatever combination of gearing and tire width you could want.
case in point, randonneuring.
Somehow, the cycling industry has decided "randonneuring" equals 650b, whereas attending any actual randonneuring event will dispel that myth. But it doesn't matter; they can sell their 650b bikes to whomever, while actual randos can put together appropriate bikes based on their personal desires. The 55-hour crowd will buy light and speedy, with appropriate road gearing and nary an eyelet. The 90-hour crowd will buy for comfort and slow climbs, with fender and rack mounts galore. Someone will run 1x narrow wide with a single downtube shifter on 650b rim discs. Then there's the fixie riding 55 hour guy riding a pseudo track bike on tubeless 28s rocking fenders, that would explode the mind of a factory Trek bike designer.
case in point, randonneuring.
Somehow, the cycling industry has decided "randonneuring" equals 650b, whereas attending any actual randonneuring event will dispel that myth. But it doesn't matter; they can sell their 650b bikes to whomever, while actual randos can put together appropriate bikes based on their personal desires. The 55-hour crowd will buy light and speedy, with appropriate road gearing and nary an eyelet. The 90-hour crowd will buy for comfort and slow climbs, with fender and rack mounts galore. Someone will run 1x narrow wide with a single downtube shifter on 650b rim discs. Then there's the fixie riding 55 hour guy riding a pseudo track bike on tubeless 28s rocking fenders, that would explode the mind of a factory Trek bike designer.
#34
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I was unable to buy tires for my 650b bike in the 1980s, put it in storage. Finally dug it out of the basement earlier this year and put on some new tires. It rolls again, but with a 3 speed hub I am not thinking of doing any brevets with it.
I however plan to ride it to the dentist today, and grocery store on the way home.
#35
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My bad, in the fog of early morning while waiting for my coffee to brew, I thought the bike in question had an 11-48 cluster. Some of the 1X gravel bikes do have really wide range clusters like 11-48 or 11-50 I guess I was thinking of one of them. The 11-32 with the 48/31 would be okay for me especially very lightly loaded, but obviously not for a lot of folks especially if carrying much. It is targeted to a different audience as you say.
#37
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Stae etc gang, I realize both of these bikes are really light bikes, so in the end the guy will just have to put stuff on the bike and see how it goes.
like I said, I'm both old and slow....
like I said, I'm both old and slow....
#38
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The old adage that goes "You can tour on any bike." is pretty much true.
Whatever force in the market (or the minds of marketers) gave us gravel, adventure, randonneuring, all-road, and cyclocross as distinct types of bikes has done us all a great favor. We have tremendous options in frames and components that allow whatever combination of gearing and tire width you could want.
Then there's Rene Herse Cycles and the cats at Open Cycles promoting 'quiver killer', 'category buster' bikes intended to competently handle so much of what one might want that there's no need to have a second (much less third!) distinct type machine.
#39
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I have never heard of 40/31.
If this is it, that is 48/31.
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/di...arbon/p/175285
But I find 31 to be a bit odd, I expect even numbers on chainrings since they almost always are. Maybe a typo and 48/32, as that would have a difference of 16T and a lot of front derailleurs are designed for a 16T difference.
If this is it, that is 48/31.
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/di...arbon/p/175285
But I find 31 to be a bit odd, I expect even numbers on chainrings since they almost always are. Maybe a typo and 48/32, as that would have a difference of 16T and a lot of front derailleurs are designed for a 16T difference.
#40
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My last touring specific bike has 45/60 front chain rings. Nice to be able to pedal downhill when able to do so.
#41
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#42
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Initially I toured on a road triple where I changed the granny gear from 30T to 24T. Thus it was 52/42/24. Later I reduced the big ring to 46T to get rid of my highest gear and gained a mid-range gear. Did that on both my 26 inch and 700c touring bikes.
#43
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May I suggest that you over load the bike and take it thru some steep mountains to ensure that the gearing is appropriate plus you need a good bailout gear for those tough days. A bailout gear will save you from walking when you get the cramps, hit that wall on a steep climb, put in too many miles that day and need a few more to get food or sleep. Have fun.
#44
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Geeze, give it a rest dgb. My 120 lb Rohloff14 heavyweight bike only had 21 to 115 GIs. I did 30 or so miles of walking up hills, including the one by the Hwy 26 turnoff near Cannon beach. So what??
That was a 3,900 mile loop to that spot in Oregon and back. I crossed BC's Roger's Pass, 98 miles in 12 or 13 hours.
This YOUNG guy's bike will be 45 lbs at most, plus drinks I guess. I do centuries up to 133 miles at home, at over 73 lbs. LOL.
My 42 lbs + load CCM 3 speed does 10% hills just FINE with 48 GI, and with it I just did 3 day centuries. Waggling gets you several GIs lower effect. I am 67 years old.
That bike is a great choice, for this ride anyway, OP. IF you change the whole back wheel, get Velocity Dyad rims, perfect for 32 to 38 mm tires. One of mine has 27,000 miles with a SA XL-FDD dyno drum brake hub.
That was a 3,900 mile loop to that spot in Oregon and back. I crossed BC's Roger's Pass, 98 miles in 12 or 13 hours.
This YOUNG guy's bike will be 45 lbs at most, plus drinks I guess. I do centuries up to 133 miles at home, at over 73 lbs. LOL.
My 42 lbs + load CCM 3 speed does 10% hills just FINE with 48 GI, and with it I just did 3 day centuries. Waggling gets you several GIs lower effect. I am 67 years old.
That bike is a great choice, for this ride anyway, OP. IF you change the whole back wheel, get Velocity Dyad rims, perfect for 32 to 38 mm tires. One of mine has 27,000 miles with a SA XL-FDD dyno drum brake hub.
Last edited by GamblerGORD53; 10-07-21 at 03:06 PM.
#45
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I'm not a Touring person but I talk to many passing through Bastrop Tx at the State Park. I was amused and impressed with a rider doing an 1800 mile ride who had a small trailer on his steel Trek. The trailer contained a huge padded sleeping bag that took up the whole trailer. When he saw me give it the eye he smiled and said, "...after the first three nights I gave up on my Snug Pack. I curl up in that big thing and all is well." Some things gather more importance as you go along. I have never done an 1800 mile ride and most likely never will, but I am sure I'll give sleeping gear comfort a high priority if I do.
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#47
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May I suggest that you over load the bike and take it thru some steep mountains to ensure that the gearing is appropriate plus you need a good bailout gear for those tough days. A bailout gear will save you from walking when you get the cramps, hit that wall on a steep climb, put in too many miles that day and need a few more to get food or sleep. Have fun.
3.2 mph walking/ pushing is EASIER than 4 or 5 wizzing.
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#48
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Absolutely nothing wrong with walking if thats your choice. However if you have to walk because you lack a granny or a bailout gear, that sucks. Not everyone has the legs to push an overloaded bike with road gears up steep hills. A simple trial run to verify your gearing matches your ability is just common sense, nothing more.
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#49
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I try to keep things light and cheap. I’m going to be doing a 6 week tour of Europe next summer on a Cannondale Topstone aluminum framed bike with 105. I usually have 2 Ortlieb 20 Liter panniers on back, and a small handlebar bag.