babylovege

Hi, guys.
I'm riding on gravel & mountains with 2021 merida reacto 5000 and schwalbe x-one allround 33c tyre, wearing road cleats.

Nowadays I recognize that I need smaller chanrings, rd with clutch, and mtb cleats.

I want your advises about changing crankset from ultegra r8000(50-34t) to grx810(48-31t). My other components are ultegra r8000. (cassette is r7000 11-34t)
And plz recommend mtb cleat pedals and shoes which is useful both on-road and off-road. (I'm riding with 25c tyre and 11-30t cassette when I ride on-road.)


2021 Merida Reacto 5000

off-road riding with Schwalbe x-one allround 33c, 11-34t cassette.

on-road riding with continental ultra sport 25c and 11-30t cassette.

pipeliner

I use xtr pedals and Gaerne carbon sole shoes. Xt pedals are cheaper but after bending 3 axles I switched to XTRs and they've been great.
Lots of folks use eggbeaters .

mstateglfr 

Pedals- any SPD from Shimano. It really depends on what you want to spend.
Shoes- again, how much do you want to spend? Additionally, shoes are an individual preference so what I like may not be what you like. Shoes and saddles- super individual for preference. Just determine a budget and look at SPD shoes within that budget range.

As for changing your crankset, the GRX sits outboard a small bit further than the R8000. The easiest thing is to buy a GRX front derailleur since that is designed to index with the GRX crankset chainline.

Moisture

I do not see why you think you need to go through the trouble of changing out your crankset.

34 by 34 as your lowest gear is plenty low for gravel, hills, wind, etc.

babylovege

Thanks, pipeliner. Crankbrothers is too expensive for me, lol. Can I consider m520 or m540?

babylovege

Thanks, mstateglfr. Maybe additional expense will charge if I change the crankset.

babylovege

To Moisture.
In my country, there are so many hills over 20% grade. Short hills can be covered with 34 by 34, but long hills can't be

Chi_Z

how do you get any traction on 20% gravel climbs with 33mm tire? time to get a real gravel bike with 45mm+ clearance

babylovege

Yes, it's the best idea, but my wife won't agree with that idea lol.

msu2001la

I've run just about every variety of Shimano MTB pedal on my CX bikes. XT's seem to be the best bang for the buck. I buy those or XTR's if they're on-sale. The differences are minimal between them, mostly just weight.

As for gearing, you 'might' be able to run an 11-36 or 11-40 rear cassette with your Ultegra R8000 RD. (Just avoid going cross-chain in the 50T)
If it works, this would certainly be easier than swapping out your crankset, and would still leave you with your 50T for road riding when you want it:

https://road.cc/content/feature/how-..._tabs=0&page=1

babylovege

Thanks, msu2001la.

I also thought about bigger cassette, but I have to use both road wheelset with 11-30t and gravel wheelset.
If cassette of gravel wheelset going bigger, then those two wheelset won't work well. (because of chain length, etc.)

And another pros of smaller chainring is that I can use 11t~15t for flats.
With 50t, 11~15t is too heavy for my power, but with 48t or 46t it will be useful under 40km/h.

tigat

OP: Embarked on a similar project this fall, converting my Domane to GRX components (currently Dura Ace di2), but after a few months of trying to source parts and adding up the cost, I decided I was going to end up with a slightly lesser road bike - gearing and gear spacing and GRX vs. Dura Ace - and a good but not pure gravel bike - I have the same 11-30t issue you have - with a custom paint job that I would hate to ding. I ultimately bit the bullet and decided to build a pure gravel bike and let the Domane be the awesome road bike it is (I can drop the gravel wheels with 40mm tires on the Domane if the ride warrants it). Not sure where you live, but there are some pretty good options here in the States for pure gravel bikes under $3K.

chas58

LMAO. When CX racing on those tires, I ride up things much steeper than I (or anyone here probably) ever rides gravel grinding. But then again, at the extreme limits there are just things a gravel bike can't do (even in race conditions many people are walking up these hills).

chas58

Good points.
Personally, I can do any speed I'm physically capable of doing with a 46t chainring (50+ k/hr). Then again, going from 50 to 48t is same difference as going from 11t to 11.5t in the rear (lol)
So at the high end, going from 50 to 48t will change your rpm about 2% at 30km/hr (rather like moving from a 11t cog to a 11.5t cog, lol).

On the low end, running the 31x34 setup is roughly the same as running the 34 with a 37t ring (that is closer to 1:1).

yep, max 30t cassette for the road wheel and 34t for the gravel wheel should work. Don't probably really want to go huge on the cassette if you have a tight road cassette too. I'm not sure a clutch is really mandatory with a good derailleur and cassettes that size. Its gonna help a lot more when you're talking 45 - 50t cassettes.

For shoes: anything for SPD will do. If you want something racy and road like - some CX shoes are SPD versions of the road shoe. MTB shoes are less racy and more tough. I do like BOA closures though.

Love those pictures, they are gorgeous.

chaadster

For me, I do not know why someone would choose XTR pedals over Shimano A600 for a gravel bike, let alone for a road-to-gravel conversion which probably has a lower bottom bracket which compromises pedal clearance. A600 are also lighter while still being well sealed, super durable with steel bearings, and have a wider platform for weight distribution (and better street shoe comfort if you ever hop on with those). I’ve got a pair which have got to be close to 10 years old now— and they’re still dreamy, even though they also do dual-duty as my winter road pedals, allowing me to run MTB insulated SPD boots, which I prefer for dealing with slippery snow/ice conditions. A600 are, visually and functionally, the perfect gravel pedal.

For shoes to run on A600s, my favorites are Bont MTB. I have old A2 style, but I’d suggest grabbing a pair of their Riot+ MTB which are on sale/clearance from Bont for $139USD right now. The look of the shoes is is proper gravel, too, with the styling refinement and feature set of typical road race shoes, augmented with light durability features. The outsole tread and lugs are also not very aggressive, so the look less “x-treme,” if you know what I mean. The green/black model would look dope on the Merida’s orange. Bont’s are legendary for their carbon tub-sole stiffness, and I love ‘em; I’ve had five pairs over the years, and still use four pairs for all my riding indoor and outdoor, including Riot+ road. I should mention that the Riot+ are great if your riding includes cool weather, because they’re not as vented as Vaypor or other superlight road shoes, and I presume the Riot+ MTB would be the same.

eParadiZe

Hi, man. I preordered same merida reacto, and I find very interesting that you can almost convert it into gravel, as the frame accepts wider tires. I have a question though, is 33mm the widest you can fit there? Do you think 34, maybe 36 will fit without rubbing chainstays? It would be great to see a photo of tire clearance on your frame.

babylovege

I considered A600 also, but finally I chose Shimano M520 pedals and Fizik X5 Terra shoes.
The reason why I didn't choose A600 is it's single-sided. On the trails, it's difficult to find which side is upper.

babylovege

I tried 35mm tire with 23mm inner width rim, but it never works.
I think 34mm gravel tire with 19mm inner width rim is maximum, but you would not have enough mud clearance.
Wish the picture would helpful.

chaadster

Ah, I can understand that. I’ve been riding with foot retention for a long time— and SPD since it came out— and am really practiced, so I forget what a challenge it can be. Despite my experience, I sometimes miss the clip-in, too, so yeah, I see your point. Thanks.

jonathanf2

Why not get a dedicated gravel bike? Your bike seems to be a nice road bike as-is. There's times when I want to throw a bigger chainring and smaller cassette on my gravel bike when doing more road biking!

dwmckee

The GRX crank will require a change to a GRX front derailleur also if you go that route. You can also get a sub compact crank from Easton. FSA, etc. that will be compatible with your current front derailleur and it will have 30-46 or 31-47 or 32-48 gearing (your choice). That is the easiest and least expensive option with your current setup.

LittleMS2

do you have any way of trying this setup on the newer scultras? Same korean here, deciding between those two and the only deciding factor now is the tire clearance.