Looking for: Gravel bike big tyre clearance 60mm/2.35i

[zilcho]

This is starting to show up at some events, and could be a lot of fun to build and ride. But, comes with tradeoffs. They're not as aerodynamic as gravel bikes, both bike and rider position, so you will lose a lot of energy trying to hold a speed of 30 or 35km/h. But option of front or full suspension and truly wide tires 2.4" - could be huge fun too for singletrack or rough roads.

I think here in the gravel forum the best approach would be to pick a 50mm clearance frame from the list, and install 650b wheels per above. These bikes look aweseome too.

650b is not the answer. They have their place but it is not the same category of bike for someone trying to hop on board with the current trend at the pointy end of racing.

[00Garza]

This is starting to show up at some events, and could be a lot of fun to build and ride. But, comes with tradeoffs. They're not as aerodynamic as gravel bikes, both bike and rider position, so you will lose a lot of energy trying to hold a speed of 30 or 35km/h. But option of front or full suspension and truly wide tires 2.4" - could be huge fun too for singletrack or rough roads.

I think here in the gravel forum the best approach would be to pick a 50mm clearance frame from the list, and install 650b wheels per above. These bikes look aweseome too.

MTB frames are also limited in chainring sizes. 38t max for many frames. Less for others.

[Scott1234]

650b is not the answer. They have their place but it is not the same category of bike for someone trying to hop on board with the current trend at the pointy end of racing.

Sure it is. He didn't say he was racing, just that he wants big tires. My answer is you're not going to get 700c 60+mm tires on what meets most current definitions of a gravel bike, and especially not here on the forum where we discuss general use framesets available online direct. In fact those tires aren't even on sale at all as 700c x 60, they're instead sold as MTB 29er, for a reason.

If you want to buy a 'gravel bike' and fit 2.1 or 2.2" or so, your best bet is 650b / 27.5.

https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/buyers-guides/650b-vs-700c-for-gravel

The rolling diameter is similar so it's not that big of a deal.

[Aradell]

Already made a post about my bike in the MTB-forum, but it's relevant here aswell.

Just like user "Deem" on the first page, I went the MTB-frame with drop bars route. Inspired by the beachracing scene here in The Netherlands and Belgium. But the bikes makes a great and fun gravel bike aswell ! Like others have said, it does require a mix and match of different standards to get the required results.

I went with the Airwolf YFM026, which has a stated max chainring of 40t. But I fitted a 42 already without issue, 44 might be possible aswell if you start playing with the offset. Then I got some Nextie rims that were built with MTB-boost hubs.
In summer I use 2.35" Thunder Burts and it makes for a super fast and fun gravel bike!

There is one brand that started dabbling into a gravel frame with 60+ mm clearance. It's a super small Dutch brand, but they bought their previous frames from Chinese manufacturers. I would love to know which manufacturer so we could buy it direct from them.
https://stormsports.nl/products/storm-makai-beachbike-gravelbike

[Asco]

There is one brand that started dabbling into a gravel frame with 60+ mm clearance. But it's a super small Dutch brand, but they buy their frames from some Chinese manufacturer. I would love to know which manufacturer so we could buy it direct from them.
https://stormsports.nl/products/storm-makai-beachbike-gravelbike

That thing looks awesome and really well thought out. Massive tire clearance, regular chainline and 48T chainring clearance and nice geo including massive front center even in the smallest size. Also nice aero shaping yet with a regular seatpost.

[Axiomatik]

I believe the geometry complicates this solution. A combination of less than ideal ST and HT angles, reach, boost rear axle, and Q-factor, maybe some other features as well. The few I've seen were geared towards bike packing, which could work, but anyone trying to make a modern MTB tire gravel bike seemed to be dissuaded. Modern hardtails and the most modern, cutting edge gravel frames are areas that Chinese manufacturers have not moved to, and honestly are pretty niche markets even in the West.

Do you mind explaining what you mean by ST and HT angles and boost rear axle i'm new to a lot of this. I understand the concept of having adequate stack/reach in the context of a bike fit (being comfortable on the bike), but I don't understand how other aspects of geometry impact ride quality or experience.

[Scott1234]

Slack HT / ST angles generally means you're sitting back and more upright. More comfortable and stable but not as manoeverable, maybe not as fast. Downhill mountain bikes take it to the extreme.

Boost rear axle - basically a different frame standard with wider bottom bracket shell and wider pedal spacing to allow wider tires. If you get a boost frame, you need a boost crankset, as a road / gravel crankset will be too narrow. Boost is fairly common though in the mountain bike world so finding parts shouldn't be hard.

@Aradell that is a NICE looking bike! Enjoy!

So the spectrum is now:

Time trial - aero road - generall road / climbing - all-road / endurance (light gravel) - gravel - suspension gravel - gravel 650b - drop bar mtb - cross country MTB - trail mtb - all-mountain MTB - enduro MTB - fat bike, and so on

[zilcho]

Do you mind explaining what you mean by ST and HT angles and boost rear axle i'm new to a lot of this. I understand the concept of having adequate stack/reach in the context of a bike fit (being comfortable on the bike), but I don't understand how other aspects of geometry impact ride quality or experience.

Most of the Chinese hardtail frames that I'm aware of are based on older MTB trends. This means they have a slacker seat tube (ST) angle and steeper head tube angle (HT), along with longer reach than drop bar (road, gravel) frames. Using this for a drop bar build would result in the rider sitting farther rearward over the rear tire, not great for climbing, having a worse angle of attack for rolling over obstacles, and likely require a short stem which could impact handling characteristics. All of this is hypothetical and you may not be bothered by any of it, but modern frames in all disciplines have moved in different directions. Quick general notes on more modern frames: modern hardtail (and full suspension) MTB - steeper ST, slacker HT, still long reach; road - steep ST, steep HT, reach varies but usually long from Chinese brands; gravel - steep ST, slacker than road HT, shorter reach than road.

The boost axle spec has been used on MTB for a while now. It has a 148mm rear hub and 110mm front hub. Road and gravel disc use 142mm rear hub and 100mm front hub. Depending on your choice of fork (likely a rigid MTB paired to the hardtail frame) you would need to use MTB wheels.

[zilcho]

Slack HT / ST angles generally means you're sitting back and more upright. More comfortable and stable but not as manoeverable, maybe not as fast. Downhill mountain bikes take it to the extreme.

Boost rear axle - basically a different frame standard with wider bottom bracket shell and wider pedal spacing to allow wider tires. If you get a boost frame, you need a boost crankset, as a road / gravel crankset will be too narrow. Boost is fairly common though in the mountain bike world so finding parts shouldn't be hard.

HT and ST change independently based on the frames intended use. HT angle does not change the riders position nearly as much as ST angle. Downhill takes slack HT to the extreme but not ST, modern MTB is slack HT and steep ST.

Boost rear axle standard states what the axle width for the wheel hub is and is independent of the bottom bracket. It was introduced to increase wheel stiffness and improve chainline for wider BBs but does not dictate the BB standard.

[Scott1234]

Ah, right. Boost is MTB axle, not bottom bracket. I got it mixed up with Sram dub wide. Disregard that point or swap DUB wide for boost.

So if someone makes a boost gravel frame, better to use boost wheels, rather than standard road / gravel wheels and adapters. Right.