Like the title says I'm looking for recommendations! Here are my wants/parameters
Must haves:
-Strength is the priority, don't care much about weight. I ride a fair amount of singletrack, hop curbs, treat it somewhat like a MTB. I like to think I'm a reasonably smooth rider and don't have a habit of breaking things, but I'm 90kg+ and have a MTB background so in short, strength trumps weight here.
-50mm clearance. My favorite tire is the Tufo thundero 48 and I run a 29mm internal aero wheelset. I love this setup so it's got to clear it.
Would like to haves but not essential
-Fully integrated cockpit, have a bar stem combo capable of this and I like the look and don't mind faffing with cables to keep it clean.
-"Aero" frame features, I spend a lot of time at high speed on the road going to and from off road destinations so why not aero?
-UDH, have the old rival xplr right now so not needed but for future proofing purposes.
-Geo a little more long and slack than is typical, maybe something like a Stigmata.
I know a lot of these features are a bit toward the bleeding edge of trends so don't have to have all of them except strong, and 50mm clearance.
Thanks in advance!
Seems like the velobuild aero grav frame checks all the boxes here: https://www.velobuildmall.com/products/2025-velobuild-carbon-fiber-racing-gravel-bike-frame
Yes, would seem so, stumbled on that thread shortly after posting this one. Assuming it's strong enough, that's a good option. https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805961892883.html?aff_fcid=6d29efe232f7404998fcf86b047b6e5c-1754946075907-01156-_oDqZdld&aff_fsk=_oDqZdld&aff_platform=api-new-link-generate&sk=_oDqZdld&aff_trace_key=6d29efe232f7404998fcf86b047b6e5c-1754946075907-01156-_oDqZdld&terminal_id=002a4bb35c7145ed92264235ebffc452&afSmartRedirect=y&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt
I like the look of this one too but suspiciously cheap.
I was spying the CWind G40 on AliExpress. Appears to be the same frame as the Angel FM306. Long reach but slack front end. Can't find much on it though.
This looks like a winner, geo and features good, actually looks pretty clean as well.