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Gravel Bike Self Build


Sbloomer

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These will be out of your budget for the entire bike, but Carbonda do nice gravel carbon frames at decent prices.  

 

http://www.carbonda.com/road/gravel/

 

Last time I got a price from them it was under $500 for the frame.  Postage was around $85.

 

These aren't my bikes or pictures - but I can provide links to where they come from if anyone would like more info...

 

 

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Just exploring the classifieds... 

 

Anyone know anything about these frames.  Never seem a momsen looking like that

 

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You can also hunt the classifieds or Gumtree for a "Hybrid" bike.  Basically a road frame with some larger tyre clearance.  Some frames go up to 1.95" x 700c.

 

Geometry is between a Road and MTB.

 

I bought one for R900, stripped off all the parts and sold it.  Stripped the paint off and brazed on some Disc brake tabs.  Started looking around for parts to build up my bike.

 

All in all it cost me R5750.00 including all the work done, parts, etc.  (Keep in mind that I wanted a vintage sortoff bike mixed with modern components)

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Edited by Karate Monkey
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For they guys who have adopted a hardtail frame, what rigid forks does one use? Assuming you have 100mm travel fork, what rigid fork does one look for to keep the geometry about right?

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Most hardtails would have a 100mm fork, and rigid forks are obviously for hardtails, so im assuming that pretty much any rigid fork would have the right measurements. My 100mm fork measures about 52cm from where the crown meets the steerer tube to the wheel axel if that helps.

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For they guys who have adopted a hardtail frame, what rigid forks does one use? Assuming you have 100mm travel fork, what rigid fork does one look for to keep the geometry about right?

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The "Axle To Crown" measurement must match between the suspension and the ridget to keep the geometry the same. My ridget is 8mm longer than the original fork but it still works pretty good.  

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For they guys who have adopted a hardtail frame, what rigid forks does one use? Assuming you have 100mm travel fork, what rigid fork does one look for to keep the geometry about right?

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So here is the kicker.

 

If you're building a gravel bike, you probably don't want to keep the geometry the same.

 

If using a 29er frame, use a 440mm fork. You will land up with a slightly steeper bike more in tune with gravel geo.

 

If using 700c x 40 tires (even 43c panaracer SK) I would suggest using a 650b frame and 26er carbon fork. More than enough clearance and it will keep things closer to the intended geo without having massive gape between tire and stays. Which don't have any real bearing on performance but look silly.

 

You can also run 650x47c wheels if you so choose without dropping the BB too low.

 

BUT... Get something like this and build it up https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/za/en/hybrid-frames?f=2258

Edited by Jewbacca
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......  (Keep in mind that I wanted a vintage sortoff bike mixed with modern components)

This past weekend at Eroica SA there was 1 woman who rode the Nuovo 140 km on a real cool monster build. Basically she took an old steel frame from the 1980s that she bought for R150 and built it up with modern drivetrain. It looked like she managed to fit 36 mm tyres, but I suppose that will be very frame dependent. It looked awesome, partly because she used the old frame exactly as it was, 40 years of patina and all, contrasting nicely with the shiny running gear. I can only imagine it working very well as those old frames often give a great ride on rough surfaces, and with new components, the reliability gets sorted.

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You can not tell us of such greatness without a photo or 6. 

Sadly, she was off and over the horizon before I could say 'cheers'.

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