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Cyclocross Frames, Wheels & Components / Re: What's the geometry of your dream gravel bike?
« Last post by Sakizashi on Today at 05:35:50 PM »For racing with narrow bars on maintained gravel roads, something like a BMC Kaius is ideal IMO. I don't think there are any open molds with a comparable geometry.
If you do a lot of single track and fire roads with a lot of elevation the SC Stigmata is probably a great choice, assuming it fits you. That slack HTA works, but it can also be annoying unless you have wider bars. I think there are some new open molds that are more like this. I think the Carbonda 707 and the new elastomer suspension Light Carbon bike are more like this.
For an allrounder, I get while the Canyon Grail and Trek Checkpoint are popular options. I think a bike like the Carbonda 696 is also this kind of bike, though I have never owned one. I think most people are best off getting a bike that is this kind of geometry, sort of half way to a race bike but slightly relaxed and designed for a more upright position.
However, gravel bike geometry is pretty fraught with tradeoffs and compromises, so the question is really hard to generalize an answer for. Even if the frames can fit wider tires, unlike on the road, toe overlap can be a very consequential issue when racing. With 165mm cranks, my max tire size is 700c x 42mm treaded tired with a FC <610mm. Realistically, I personally would be conservative and go with a 40mm tire to be safe. That means that for me, most racing or allrounder bikes are pretty much limited to relatively narrow tires unless they can take 650b / 27.5" tires at which point, I want something like a 2.1" tire so the handling doesn't feel too quick as a result of the overall tire / wheel being too small. Given that the 650b tire size is dying and the remaining 27.5" tires are XC tires that are quickly becoming only available in 2.2"-2.4" there are no allrounder options that meet my needs.
The ideal solution is to buy two bikes, which is what brands like Enve want me to do. One for racing on 40mm tires and the other an ultra / trail focused rig that clears 700x50mm. The other option, which i did, was to go custom geometry allowing me to just barely get what I want without having to make these specific compromises.
If you do a lot of single track and fire roads with a lot of elevation the SC Stigmata is probably a great choice, assuming it fits you. That slack HTA works, but it can also be annoying unless you have wider bars. I think there are some new open molds that are more like this. I think the Carbonda 707 and the new elastomer suspension Light Carbon bike are more like this.
For an allrounder, I get while the Canyon Grail and Trek Checkpoint are popular options. I think a bike like the Carbonda 696 is also this kind of bike, though I have never owned one. I think most people are best off getting a bike that is this kind of geometry, sort of half way to a race bike but slightly relaxed and designed for a more upright position.
However, gravel bike geometry is pretty fraught with tradeoffs and compromises, so the question is really hard to generalize an answer for. Even if the frames can fit wider tires, unlike on the road, toe overlap can be a very consequential issue when racing. With 165mm cranks, my max tire size is 700c x 42mm treaded tired with a FC <610mm. Realistically, I personally would be conservative and go with a 40mm tire to be safe. That means that for me, most racing or allrounder bikes are pretty much limited to relatively narrow tires unless they can take 650b / 27.5" tires at which point, I want something like a 2.1" tire so the handling doesn't feel too quick as a result of the overall tire / wheel being too small. Given that the 650b tire size is dying and the remaining 27.5" tires are XC tires that are quickly becoming only available in 2.2"-2.4" there are no allrounder options that meet my needs.
The ideal solution is to buy two bikes, which is what brands like Enve want me to do. One for racing on 40mm tires and the other an ultra / trail focused rig that clears 700x50mm. The other option, which i did, was to go custom geometry allowing me to just barely get what I want without having to make these specific compromises.
