Who of you are thinking about buying a gravel bike?

[wildwindfr]

Love my Fuji. Use it as my commuter. I have 8-10km gravel to town and is almost perfect for that.

My Momson AL329 only gets ridden on the weekend.

Edited March 10, 2020 by wildwindfr

[arendoog]

I have tried the rigid fork thing .I have tried the skinny tire thing on a hard-tail.I like front suspension and i like proper reliable tires when i am on a dirt road that soak up the bumps and makes cornering and keeping momentum through a ditch safe .If i buy new now,i will buy a modern hard-tail frame ,SC Highball,Slap on a 2 x 11 XT and descent wheel set ,with a lockable suspension fork and  gravel bike handlebars 

[Grease_Monkey]

I don't do specialized

Haha as much as I dislike the brand, they do the best saddles and shoes, and lately doing some very nice things with mtb tyres... so I'll make an exception here.

[janneman72]

The new Norco's are beaut's https://www.norco.com/bikes/2019/road/gravel/

[Dubber]

If money is no object - buy the gravel bike.

 

If you have only have one road bike or multiple road bikes that don't take wheels larger than 32 mm - buy a gravel bike.

 

If you have an old hard tail mtb that you don't really ride - convert it to a gravel bike.

 

But one way or the other, get a gravel bike.  Bombing down a dirt road a 40km/h in the drops with 40mm tires is fun.  Yes, you can do it on a MTB - or even a skinny wheeled road bike - but it's not the same.

[Breezer]

I don't do specialized

Me neither, but the spaz pathfinder is an excellent tyer. I have them on my gravel bike and they are stunning.

[CdT85]

Sold my road bike last year and contemplating getting a gravel grinder in its stead.

 

Also toying with the idea of turning my merida big 7 into a gravel grinder. Just still unsure if i should go 650b or if 700c is a better option

[coppi]

The new Norco's are beaut's https://www.norco.com/bikes/2019/road/gravel/

Norco is a fantastic brand of bikes.............I ride the optic MTB ( bike of the year 2019 ! ) 

[Baracuda]

If money is no object - buy the gravel bike.

 

If you have only have one road bike or multiple road bikes that don't take wheels larger than 32 mm - buy a gravel bike.

 

If you have an old hard tail mtb that you don't really ride - convert it to a gravel bike.

 

But one way or the other, get a gravel bike.  Bombing down a dirt road a 40km/h in the drops with 40mm tires is fun.  Yes, you can do it on a MTB - or even a skinny wheeled road bike - but it's not the same.

Indeed, I was super skeptical, until I had a good on a Trek Checkpoint for the weekend. A karoo road, jeep track and road route that would have been a boring old schlep on my Pyga 110 (which i love), turned into an absolute jol.

 

The fact of the matter is that the majority of South African mountain bikers are actually off-road cyclists. Most of can do 100km without a worry, but can't ride a 1m drop off. Many may prefer a more efficient gravel bike to an MTB.

[Dyl]

I bought myself a gravel bike and then subsequently started selling my other bikes. The only bike I have left other than the gravel bike is my MTB which I am also planning on selling. In my opinion a gravel bike is the only bike you need. When you ride on the road you are a bit slower but you have the option to hop onto the gravel shoulder which is super fun. It is definitely not as capable on the technical stuff as a MTB, but that's part of the fun. On actual gravel it's amazing, you can really put the hammer down like you do on a road bike, but you are out there somewhere rather than on the roads.

 

I recently contacted the guys at Calculus Bikes ( http://calculus-bikes.com/ )  who are putting a gravel frame together for me. So I will move my components over from my current gravel bike onto their custom geometry frame. I'm really excited. I had the option to make it more on the aggressive side, super relaxed or anywhere in between. I went for a fitment where we played around with my position until it felt perfect. I haven't ridden the bike yet, but I'm eager to see how it fares on bike packing and gravel touring missions.

 

I attached an image of their design, for interests sake.

[Bikeguy]

A 100km shortcut between Laingsburg and Ladismith is reason enough - the added challenge of no suspension just adds to the excitement.  Did learn quickly that your rear mech must have a clutch or smooth gear shifts are not possible 

 

 

[xamnam]

A gravel bike with a motor aka egravelbike now that will rock 

[Farrnus]

I got two , best most versatile bikes I've ever owned .

The way SA roads are going it might become the new road bike for us all . 

 

well said Sir! 

[Grease_Monkey]

A gravel bike with a motor aka egravelbike now that will rock 

 

There are some options out there, and I am not anti e-bike at all - but do you really think a battery and motor will be at home on a gravel bike? In my mind a gravel bike is typically something people do looong distances on, and it feels to me like a battery will limit that. The range on e-bikes don't really exceed 100kms, and from what I have seen most of the nutters that ride gravel bikes do 100km as a warm-up....

[xamnam]

There are some options out there, and I am not anti e-bike at all - but do you really think a battery and motor will be at home on a gravel bike? In my mind a gravel bike is typically something people do looong distances on, and it feels to me like a battery will limit that. The range on e-bikes don't really exceed 100kms, and from what I have seen most of the nutters that ride gravel bikes do 100km as a warm-up....

This is your answer - in eco mode in elected places you can get 150km out of a battery - easy

[Grease_Monkey]

This is your answer - in eco mode in elected places you can get 150km out of a battery - easy

 

Fair enough, that's quite a distance...