Never gravelled before - need suggestions

[slow_poke11]

Hi

I recently finished a road bike build. My road bike build ended up around USD $2,800 (Winspace t1500 frame, Lightbicycle wheels was where most of the cost went, but took advantage of black friday deals).  However, I have to say every penny seems worth it.   

I'm now considering a gravel bike build.  There's a reasonable bit of gravel on the island I live on (very hilly) and a gravel bike would expand my riding options.  However, I know nothing about gravel bikes. I've never ridden a gravel bike.

Ideally, I"d like to keep the budget around $1,500 on this one, but hey, if there's a lot of value in going above this, let's say $2,000 inc shipping is the absolute tops.

My situation is:
- I live somewhere hilly - Hills are not longer than 1km each, but they are steep.
- I weigh 107kg and am 188cm tall. I ride XL road frames (58/59).
- Ideally, I'd like to use the bike for bikepacking one day (does my weight once the packs are added on discount carbon here?).  It would probably only be one or two trips of 1-2 weeks.
- I suppose weight of the bike is not so much an issue, as long as power to forward motion transfer is decent.
- Geometry-wise, I don't need a racer,. I would quite like to do some gravel sportives for fun but something a bit more comfortable than a racer, but not quite as laid back as a touring bike would be my want.
- I'd prefer carbon, but I'm not averse to alloy/steel frame and rims so long as it doesn't perform like an entry-level bike. - I'm assuming comfort is not an issue with alloy given wider tyre widths on gravel bikes.
- I really enjoyed the road bike build, so I don't really want to buy a prebuilt/preloved bike.  Happy to buy used wheels though.
- 2x groupset is preferred (never tried 1x) but happy to moved on this if suggested.

Does anyone have any suggestions on frames and what route you would take with the groupset and wheels?

Thanks!

[Tijoe]

I went down this rabbit hole...   I built up a Gravel grinder almost 3 years ago because where I live vehicle drivers are becoming more anti-road-rider and I started fearing for my life when I road ride, plus we have hundreds of miles of forest service gravel roads.  My carbon framed gravel bike has about 70% parts purchased via Aliexpress and weighs about 20 lbs, I believe that I invested around $2K.   This being written, after riding this bike for about 7K miles, I found out that as I became addicted to gravel roads/grinders, descending long hills with lots of washboard and ruts, I was being beaten to death.

Therefore I built up a couple of 29er hardtails with 100mm travel front suspension forks. (These bikes were built with dropper bars, and one of them is a slacker that I use for bikepacking)   Now I find myself riding most of my gravel road rides on one or the other of these hardtails.  - My carbon framed 29er hardtail weighs 19 lbs.,  My Custom Waltly super boost TI 29er slacker Ti framed bikepacker/gravel grinder weighs 23lbs. 

This being written, I recommend that you spend some time reading online about the differences/convergence between 29er drop bar hardtails and gravel bikes.   

Current generation gravel bikes, for people in our weight and height class, often run 42 to 50mm wide tires.   29er hardtails run 50+ tires, but one can always put on narrower tires if you select a narrower/compatible rim width.   Therefore rolling resistance between a gravel bike and 29er gravel bike is minimal.   

In order to help make a decision what path to take, figure out the percentages of time/distances you will spend riding asphalt versus gravel an/or mtb trails/singletrack.  If you are like me and start riding more and more gravel/trails, you might find you want a 29er hardtail with drop bars and a 1X12 setup.

[RDY]

At your weight with the potential also of using it for bikepacking, I'd definitely go steel or Ti.  A few custom Ti builders who do nice, affordable stuff out of China - check the relevant forum section.

[Tijoe]

At your weight with the potential also of using it for bikepacking, I'd definitely go steel or Ti.  A few custom Ti builders who do nice, affordable stuff out of China - check the relevant forum section.

OP stated around a $2k budget.  Std build TI frames from Aliexpress start around $800 these days.  My Waltly custom TI 29er Bikepacker cost me $1300 with shipping.
TI could be difficult to stick to his budget of $2K.  My bikepacker ended up costing me around $3.2K.  (SID SL Ultimate Suspension fork on sale $550, Chinese component wheels,  - Hubs, spokes, carbon rims, rim tape, tires, ZTTO cassette, and rotors cost me around $1K in parts.)  The rest of the parts cost me around $450. )

Before I built up my bikepacker, I was using my Seraph carbon gravel bike for weekend bikepacking trips.  I weigh over 200# most of the year, and I didn't have any reliability problems riding with the extra weight.   I just hated trying to descend fast on gravel roads with washboard, and washouts, along with seeing my fellow cyclist disappear from me while they were riding their FS or hardtails.

[slow_poke11]

29er drop bar hardtails and gravel bikes.   

Current generation gravel bikes, for people in our weight and height class, often run 42 to 50mm wide tires.   29er hardtails run 50+ tires, but one can always put on narrower tires if you select a narrower/compatible rim width.   Therefore rolling resistance between a gravel bike and 29er gravel bike is minimal.   

I didn't even know 29er drop bar bikes were a thing! Looks like they're mostly fully rigid though. 19lb (8.6kg for a bike with front suspension is impressive!).  The road bike I built is 8.1kg (with pedals) though I did go with extra spokes in the wheels, a cheap stem to test fit and 105 componentry - long cage.

Unfortunately, it's a small island I live on so it's not opening up a huge amount of gravel riding for me, but enough that I can ride with buddies when they say they're going to do the gravel loop or go on a gravel riding trip off-island if I want to.  I did look into the SID SL Ultimate fork, but doesn't look like I can get it in this part of the world at $550. Cheapest I could find on Ali Express for $850 inc shipping.  I'm open to the idea though and still thinking about it.

[slow_poke11]

At your weight with the potential also of using it for bikepacking, I'd definitely go steel or Ti.  A few custom Ti builders who do nice, affordable stuff out of China - check the relevant forum section.

Thanks, I wasn't aware of that section of the forum. Definitely worth looking into.  Yeah, I was concerned about carbon loaded it up with packs and my weight.  Do you think it's still a major issue if I only envision doing a couple of 1 week backpacking trips?

[Tijoe]

Latest generation gravel bikes should be able to handle and extra 10 to 15 KGs of a loaded bike. 

This being written,  If I went with a carbon frame, I would ask the frame manufacturer if their frame/fork can handle the total of your weight plus the weight of your gear.
107kg + 15kg + another 5kg buffer = say 139KG.   

I am not sure if many of the Aliexpress stores selling frames list weight limits, but some do. 

I love Titanium frames, (Note my login: TiJoe)   

If you do an internet search on carbon bikepackers you will find that they are becoming more common, and that carbon frames are being used a lot for shorter weekend camping trips.  (Many gravel and 29er hardtails come with fork accessory mounts, and frame mounts.)

[carbonazza]

... carbon bikepackers you will find that they are becoming more common, ...

Brands from China ?

[Tijoe]

Brands from China ?

Since I focused my attention to 29er hardtails, configured with drop bars, as my gravel grinders,  I haven't been keeping current on all the Aliexpress gravel bike frame offerings.   As I understand it, if the frame has accessory mounts on the fork and provisions for a rear rack, then in theory, the frame engineers have beefed up the frame to take more weight. 
Here is one example I found on Aliexpress that appears to have the majority of the features that popular US gravel frames have these days.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804870812637.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.3.2b0164f3Jovg2h&algo_pvid=c286efbd-4eb2-46b4-8d23-8a5e32595647&aem_p4p_detail=202305100640508984297721461520000709937&algo_exp_id=c286efbd-4eb2-46b4-8d23-8a5e32595647-1&pdp_npi=3%40dis%21USD%21768.0%21614.4%21%21%21%21%21%40212243c016837260507587446d074e%2112000031477621904%21sea%21US%21122805404&curPageLogUid=G3817lwvmbI4&ad_pvid=202305100640508984297721461520000709937_2&ad_pvid=202305100640508984297721461520000709937_2

Here is the same frame being sold by Spcycle.  My gravel frame, (different version than this one), came from Spcycle about 3 years ago. - I have a little over 7K miles on it, a lot of it on gravel and single track, I used it for 2 weekend bikepacking trips without issue.  I have ridden this bike hard on 10+ organized gravel groaners.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804500329752.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.45.2b0164f3Jovg2h&algo_pvid=c286efbd-4eb2-46b4-8d23-8a5e32595647&algo_exp_id=c286efbd-4eb2-46b4-8d23-8a5e32595647-22&pdp_npi=3%40dis%21USD%21710.0%21532.5%21%21%21%21%21%40212243c016837260507587446d074e%2112000030520935301%21sea%21US%21122805404&curPageLogUid=SRER1C8tFvQQ

Edit add:  I found my Spcycle gravel frame to very stiff.  It handles well and rides great, but it beats the heck out of me on long descents with washouts and washboard.  I installed a PNW Coast dropper, and added silicon gel to my handlebars, but I still didn't like descending at higher speeds. I built up a custom 29er with a 100mm travel front fork and 2.2/2.0 tires. This has made all the difference in downhill comfort.  I can fly down gravel roads on the hardtail that I was scared sh*tless trying to go down at the same speeds on my gravel frame.   Climbing is a bit slower, but I am more of a tourist these days, no longer a racer, so climbing a bit slower on the 29er doesn't bother me.

[Serge_K]

My 5 cents as someone who's building several velobuild bikes atm, have ordered 6 carbon wheelsets over the years, have been using aliexpress carbon handlebars for years, weighs c.80kg, have never ridden gravel, sucks at MTB, and essentially only does road cycling:
Velobuild GF003 (it's very finished and looks super sturdy)
Sensah or Ltwo 1x (for your weight & steep stuff i think a 1x with the biggest cassette you can fit is best. It's very easy to run out of gears on a 2x setup)
I have had good experience with Farsports wheels, if you contact them directly by email you can configure a lower priced option than what they advertise (get Sapim spokes, the rest, afaik, doesnt matter too much. Get wide gravel rims). Buy from whomever though.
Spend money on good tyres, that correspond to the type of riding you will do most.
Steep + heavy = hydraulic, most probably? My builds are mechanical with Jagwire KEB-SL housing, but i havent riddem them yet so i can't speak of breaking performance. Although if you use mechanical + Jagwire KEB-SL brake housing + don't route everything internally (maybe route the front brake externally around the handlebars then into the frame to limit awkward angles) + 160 rotors (or more?), you're probably going to get a bike that brakes very well.

Budget wise, you should be below 2k. Not sure if you can get to 1.5k. Maybe 1.5k + shipping?

Now i may sing a different tune after i've ridden these VB frames, but so far, handling them, they look solid. You're heavy but i think we'd hear more horror stories if carbon frames kept breaking like matches. I have friends who ride mountain bikes like pro riders, i would not recommend them anything unbranded because i know they push equipment to the limits & racers should race race cars. Meanwhile, you're "just" heavy. If you hit a big ass pothole, you're more at risk of breaking your gear, but idk if this risk is materially higher using a velobuild frame and good wheels. If you pick aluminium wheels, the bike wont feel as nice, but they will be somewhat bulletproof and much cheaper. Something you could upgrade later on maybe depending on feel?

Happy riding!

[TidyDinosaur]

My tip would be not to go for Chinese groupsets, but look second hand or at sales. You can find new parts on second hand sites for about half the price of new. If you have patience you can get most of the parts you need at a good price. When I replaced my Sensah SRX with Shimano GRX I got one never used shifter at half price and 2  never used 105 callipers incl hoses for the price of one new calliper.
And if you want to go 2x11 you can find Ultegra groupsets for cheap since a lot of people are upgrading to 2x12.