Can someone convince me why it would be a terrible idea to use this frame for the tour divide 2026?! Ive been hunting for something that can handle 2.2” tires and build it myself. Im a fan of the Ari Shafer 3.0 but this seems interesting.

Most people are running MTB frames so they can have suspension at the front or on both ends. Doing tour divide on a rigid gravel frameset would be quite the epic underbiking adventure

the 2x clearance should've been announced from the beginning though since there is a FD mount. there is no excuse for this missing information and throws off potential buyers.
either you don't add a FD mount, or you give FD clearance.

With such short chainstays, it's pretty safe to assume the "official" max tire width with a front der will be fairly close to the 45mm that both Shimano and Sram list as the max with their derailleurs. If someone wants wide tires AND a front derailleur, they're gonna need a frame with pretty long chainstays to get the tire away from the derailleur. Or live with the clearance being tight when in the small ring.

IMO the manufacturer providing a nice bonus feature for the few people who still run doubles doesn't mean they should have to bend over backwards to cone up with an official clearance. If it were me I'd just put 45mm on the website and call it a day

Makes sense that uber long chainstays push the tire away from the derailleur. The official specs are for any chainstay length and assume the widest point on the tire is beside the derailleur. I'm guessing you'll be fine with 50mm as long as you're like me and don't care too much about clearance

Far from it: I race a 50 for European UCI events.

I believe we mean different things when we talk about gravel racing. Euro gravel races often have a lot of pavement and play out like Paris-Roubaix or Strada Biancha. In the US when we say gravel we mean completely gravel with maybe a few small paved connectors. The Traka is a gravel race; the UCI worlds is not. I agree with you that if you're racing on pavement (or flat-ish terrain), youneed big chainrings. On the Appalachian terrain where I do most of my gravel riding, a smaller ring provides a better chainline on 8-20+% climbs, which is the majority of the terrain and where you're leaving all your power. My racing days are long past, but if I was gonna race here I'd go for the smallest ring that wouldn't get me dropped on the rare little flat section. Probably 42-46 would be ideal.

when you look at the Evolve Cima GR and the tavelo Grow, you basically already have two great alternatives for aero gravel frames to the Crux5.
When it comes to aero gravel frames, I would even dare to say its the first time the chinese brands were ahead of the western brands. This was already the case with wheels, now gravel frames and soon 32" bikes?

Those two bikes only have 50mm clearance, which is a couple years behind the curve compared to the western brands. Specialized was also behind the curve but corrected that by jumping to a modern 55mm clearance. The Tavelo and the Evolve are also kinda pricey compared to western brands outside of Specialized. The upcoming XMCS looks more appealing to me with 57mm clearance. Hopefully the price ends up being competitive

If you can't fit more than a 46, you are losing non-significant watts from your drivetrain and you will struggle to get a good cadence..

Don't get me started on the meaninglessness of the 425 chainstay obsession and its impact on packaging.

If you're racing in areas flat enough to benefit from bigger chainrings than 46T, you'd also benefit from a chainring spaced further out for a better chainline in the fast gears.

Couldn't disagree more about chainstays; If I had to pick a most important geo number for handling it would be chainstay length. This likely also comes back to you racing in flatter areas (which is fair since flatter areas are the heart of the gravel racing scene).

actually looked alot better in this picture than mondinces pictures on their website..
Wonder if they will clear 2.1" thunder burts? :-)

2.1 TBs actually measure right at 51mm on 25mm rims so any frame with 50mm clearance shouldn't be a problem