lalibertef

Hello,
I had ridden bikes from age 10 to age 26 and then almost completely stopped until now (age 48).
I am 5'9'', 215lbs, out of shape, but biking is generally the easiest sport for me, since I rode so much.

I am researching new bikes. I am think about a gravel bike with two wheelsets:
(a) original wheelset for gravel
(b) lightweight wheelset for road cycling only.

I have a road bike that I dislike very much, since I am so heavy, I always feel I am riding with a flat tire. It feels mushy and flexy. Columbus SLX steel, cheap carbon fork.

What I need to endurance type geometry, and a bike that can accelerate. I am thinking about a carbon Diverge. Please let me know your thoughts about:

(1) Does the idea of a gravel bike for road (60%) and gravel (40%) make sense?
(2) Does the idea of two wheelsets make sense?

Thanks !!!

Francois

unterhausen

I did that for a year, and I think it's a great idea.

biketampa

Yes. That makes sense. I have road bike purchased before the gravel bike craze and a gravel bike. I love the gravel bike and throw 28mm tires on it when I will be exclusively on pavement. If I could have one bike it’d be the gravel bike. Good all purpose bike

bikemig 

Hard to beat a gravel bike for an all around bike.

fietsbob

If you are 'Clyde' heavy a touring bike will come with rugged wheels, and there is no reason why you cannot ride it on unpaved, ie gravel roads.

RayLee

I just never got into riding on the road, tried again on a borrowed bike to start exorcising more other than just my mountain bike but the little 28c tires made it rather stressful here (lots of sand, potholes, branches, car parts)

Found a good deal on a new old stock gravel bike and just went for it anyway. The slightly more relaxed geo and 42c tires made the difference, a year latter has a few thousand miles on it. Most of the miles are road but I link the road sections with dirt power line trails, parks, and even fairly mellow single track, breaks up the monotony. Dirt riding I am constantly slowing down and accelerating while standing on bike, feels like much more of a work out than say 3 hours steady spinning seated on the roads.

An added bonus was I would road ride when it was just too hot and humid in the woods for the slower mountain bike speeds... that breeze made a massive difference keeping me exorcising the heat of the summer.

*if it were not for the sand here and riding single track/roots I dont think I would need 42c tires... 38c would be plenty to give me better stopping performance and take the edge off the ruff roads and gravel paths.

jbell_64

I'm 5'10" and 235 lb currently. I ride pretty much exclusively on rural chip sealed roads that get a lot of farm vehicle traffic. I've found that my tamland with 700x32 is pretty much perfect for me on these type of roads.

Danny01

I don't think you need 2 wheelsets unless you plan on touring. A 32 spoke build on a stiff rim with spokes that aren't butted too aggressively should serve you well. A gravel bike sounds like a good fit for you.

tangerineowl

5' 9.5" here. I came from a road bike to my gravel bike.

Chose a 650b wheelset to start with, using 2.1" and 48mm tyres for gravel.

See if there's a bike around with 650b x 42 tyres on it that you can test ride.
That is a good 650b size for the road.

Big Rides on Little Wheels: First Impressions of 650b Plus Woven Precision Handbuilts Carbon Wheels and Compass 42 and 48mm Tires ? Tekne

TimothyH

I agree.

Two wheelsets are not needed.

There are lots of wide tires which roll wonderfully on pavement and are also great for gavel. The Schwalbe G-One Allaround comes to mind. There are many others. There are also wheels which are light and strong, sub 1600 grams and 32 spokes.

johngwheeler

[QUOTE=RayLee;20136928]... tried again on a borrowed bike to start exorcising more other than just my mountain bike .....
... that breeze made a massive difference keeping me exorcising the heat of the summer.

Sounds "diabolical"!

RayLee

LOL

[QUOTE=johngwheeler;20137329]

gravelfan

I ride my gravel bike all winter. I put on 35 Continental Gatorskins and enjoy the plush ride if the ride is all pavement. 46x11 is a big enough gear to sprint at over 30mph with the boys at the city limit signs and who wants to descend super fast in cold air anyway.

tyCycler

The diverge with the future shock is a nice bike, I've done 3 longer gravel/trail/road rides in the last 3 weeks of ownership. I would like to outfit it with some road tires too. I can't decide on another wheelset or swapping tires, which is not as easy with a tubeless set up on the factory 38 trigger pro gravel tire.

Cyclist0108

I do the same. Two wheel-sets is a great convenience, but I doubt there will be much weight difference.

My gravel bike is less stiff than my SLX-tubed bike.

Koyote

This is good advice.

chas58

Salut Francois, Ihave 40mm gravel tires and 28-32mm road tires.

But for you, I think some good 40mm tires (like G-one mentioned above). They have incredibly low rolling resistance, and can absorb minor road imperfections without pinch flatting (or bottoming out if tubeless).

I don't think you need smaller tires. I use smaller (28/32mm) tires in the summer because:
- they are a little lighter (climb & accelerate better)
- They are more agile (lower trail, more responsive handling)
- I need them to keep up with fast road riders on 23-25mm tires.

Is any of that important to you?


Although I ride 40F/40r in the winter,
in the summer I tend to put a 32 on the rear (which can do just about anything) and swap the front out from 40 to 32 to 28 depending on the ride I'm dong.

The most important things for your bike:

• Accept larger tires (at least 40mm, maybe 45mm)
• Fit.
• Tubeless tires

bch238

I have a Boone with two disc wheel sets. One with 28 mm Continental GP 4000s tires, the other with 38 mm Schwalbe G-One All-Rounds. Love the flexibility. Others have said that you don’t NEED two wheel sets/tires. This is true, but the Schwalbes are tubeless and more expensive than the tubed Contis. And they wear very fast on the road. And as good as the Schwalbes are, the Contis are noticeably faster on the road.

jitteringjr

I think that something more of an endurance road bike is going to be better here. I know the Canyon Endurace can take 32mm tires that can handle gravel if you are going to be looking at doing more road riding. I'd argue the Diverge is more of an endurance bike than a gravel bike though and would be a great pick. The Trek Domane gravel is a good pick too but as in this review: its more of an endurance bike than gravel bike too:


As far as wheel sets goes for me having two sets is essential because I hate playing around swapping tires. I'm actually wanting a third set for my gravel bike: One for fat tires, one for road tires, and one for the trainer.

Keep in mind though that the fatter the tire, the more mush and poorer acceleration. When I stand up to sprint in my steel framed cross bike while riding 40C tires, I feel about half the energy is going into mushing the tires down into compression and not into going faster. The same frame with my 23C road tires and road wheels feels pretty lively while sprinting.

ksryder

I have two wheelsets for my gravel bike, road and gravel, no problems keeping up on the fast group road rides.

Two wheelsets might not be needed but they're nice to have. Let's face it, nothing about biking is a question of need.

RideMyLeMond

I just pulled the trigger on a new 2018 Diverge Carbon Sport. Going to upgrade to Shimano Ultegra FD/RD and shifters/brakes and ultimately be running two wheelsets as well. I'm thinking of a nice light road set and possibly 650B with 45-47 for our larger gravel fire roads. I've only owned steel bike thus far so this switch over to a modern steed with disc brakes is going to be a treat. I haven't purchased a new bike in over 20 years and the three that I own add up to ~95 yrs. I'd say I'm due...

Champlaincycler

Are you sure you can fit tires more then 38 or so? I bought a carbon diverge this past summer and it comes with 38's, although they're probably closer to 36's. Doesn't look like their's much space left for wider tires. Tightest spot is just forward of the rear tire where its closest to the seat tube. Specialized actually carves out that section of post a bit just to fit 38's.
I love my Diverge. I put 32's on once in a while but I really like the ride on 38's .

RideMyLeMond

I've been looking at this for awhile. First off, the 2018 is quite different from the model that's been out for 3-4 yrs. It has improved clearance both front and rear and now sports the Future Shock (FS) in the HT like the Roubaix. There's a table of suggested tire sizes for both 700C and 650B and it states;

Carbon Frame 700C 28 - 42mm will fit, but 32 - 38mm are best
Carbon Frame 650B 45mm will fit, but 47mm are best.

The alloy version have considerably less clearance.

If you bought one last summer I suspect that it still the prior non-FS version.

bogydave

Start with the bigger tires till you get into it again
More comfort & will work for road & gravel
Once you get the “body break in “ period over, then decide if you need to go with another wheel set