All Road / Endurance build

[moijk]

I changed jobs and the distance was compatible with me commuting. I have the intention to commute all year, and in the winter we have snow. I used to do it twenty years ago because I spend my money on a car, now I want to do it again just because it is convenient way to get exercise in my week. Got a gym a work, so no problem.

Now I do have two road bikes already,
- a 2012 Storck Fenomenalist is going to be on my trainer. Or sold if I put the other bike on the trainer in the winter - it is a rim brake bike with manual gears.
- a 2019 BMC Roadmachine 02 Two upgraded to Ultegra DI2.

The storck has a positive rise on the stem and the roadmachine has a 0 degree. which makes them surprisingly similar despite different geometry.

I was considering building a titanium bike with a frame from walty titanium because in the winter it can be ice and snow and I thought titanium was better in a crash. So i started looking at walty titanium, but the number of choices I had to make plus the thought of a possibly 50-60% heavier frame - that got me back to carbon.

Given the first gen AXS eTap was on its way out, I bought a 1x SRAM Force AXS eTap set (without crank and cassette). So that's as far as I've come.

I was thinking of a gravel frame to fit studded tires in the winter, but it's going to be ridden on pavement, and in the summer I'll be running 28 or 30c, so doesn't need to be that burly. More an all road frame or a race-oriented endurance frame geometry like my BMC.

Any ideas? This is the geometry of my current bikes:
https://geometrygeeks.bike/compare/storck-fenomalist-2012-55,bmc-roadmachine-02-two-2019-56/

And I run a few spacers on both. I'm a 47 year old computer software engineer, not a 20 year old triatloner. So doesn't need to be more race oriented than those two.

[ENEP]

Big positive with many gravel frames for commuting is dedicated fender mounts. Personally I would never commute without fenders and fenders mounted to a frame with dedicated mounts are superior. Would also choose a frame with externally routed cables for ease of service.

The classic and trusty Carbonda CFR696 would be a great option. Should have enough space for studded tires, fenders and room for mud/snow clearance without clogging up. https://www.carbonda.com/road/gravel/80.html

[moijk]

I googled that frame and found a very ASMR -esq video of a build on youtube (?v=tbjMTeJIiVw on youtube)

So that looks like a very nice frame option. I have been eyeing the Lexon mountainbikes for a couple of years, but I realize that I would never get the time to drive to suitable terrain. So I initially looked at their gravel options - but looking at this board they are not in high regard - rather than the opposite. Like on the Lexon GFE that was the one that looked most suitable - https://chinertown.com/index.php?topic=4085.0

But people kept mentioning a list of companies they reccomended, like winspace and ican. So I found this:
https://icancycling.com/collections/gravel-bike-frame/products/gravel-bike-frame-graro

Not that far off my BMC, internal routing but I only has to route the hydralics. My sram force axs etap is wireless. And that example in red just looks gorgeous.

Compared to my two current bikes,
https://geometrygeeks.bike/compare/storck-fenomalist-2012-55,bmc-roadmachine-02-two-2019-56,carbonda-cft896-d-2023-m,ican-graro-2024-56/

The carbonda is quite alike my storck and the ican is not far off my bmc it seems. given botht he storck and bmc fit me well with the setup I got on them, shouldn't both be within the same size spectrum? large in carbonada is a bit longer and that I don't need. unless I go for a short stem. but. the terrain i'm seeking is more road/endurance/adventure than gravel-wish-i-had-a-fullsuspension-bike-right-now.

[ENEP]

You've added Carbonda CFT896 to your comparison. Here you go with CFR696:
https://geometrygeeks.bike/compare/carbonda-cfr696-2020-560,carbonda-cfr696-2020-580,bmc-roadmachine-02-two-2019-56,ican-graro-2024-56,storck-fenomalist-2012-55/

Never rely on producers naming of sizes, always look at the geo tabel and compare measurements to find the right size

[moijk]

ah, that was a lot better. I really didn't get the gist of the other frame. That's my fault for searching up a frame with numbers and not double checking that the numbers it found was the same. But then the carbonada frame looks very much in the same ballpark.

the 896 is a very different bike - it is a TT bike. which explains the low stack.

How is the frame priced, with normal non fancy paint and logo added? I seem to see $1000, which is about the same as the ican. Now I have to look how much work it is to wire up hydralics on fully integrated vs the solution on the carbonda. I mean, I've built two bikes so far but not yet one integrated.