Gravel bikes

[mecheng89]

On 4/23/2024 at 7:43 AM, 100Tours said:

Yes, in theory. Aluminium has a finite number of fatigue cycles until it will break (unlike steel or carbon). I'm still riding a 20-year old aluminium cannondale however, and it hasn't shown signs of damage yet. Might happen during my lifetime, might not. I've seen fractured Titanium frames that are only a few years old, but not Aluminium.

Alu was the material of choice for h/bars, pedals, and so on for Paris Roubaix up until a few years ago because it is more forgiving than carbon (carbon will kill road buzz, but not corrugations), and it likely represents a lot better value as a gravel bike material at the moment. If you have 50k+ to spend then go Carbon, if you're in the 10-20k ballpark then Aluminium is a really good choice.

 

Everything has a finite number of fatigue cycles! 

[100Tours]

12 hours ago, mecheng89 said:

Everything has a finite number of fatigue cycles! 

I'm not a mech eng, but there's this..

Fatigue life N_f is the number of stress cycles of a specified character that a structure sustains before failure occurs. For steel, there is a theoretical value for stress amplitude below which the material will not fail for any number of cycles. This value is called a fatigue limit or endurance limit.

 

[rock]

no one talking about this yet?

[El Duderino]

24 minutes ago, rock said:

no one talking about this yet?

Very Naas!

[Spinnekop]

 

 

https://bikepacking.com/news/2025-cannondale-topstone-carbon/?fbclid=IwY2xjawI9HZFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHYmOWB6iY4Z_Lpuh-nBkFqCfAWuMijZr1QwjFLNJhu0DptYPxiGkPqyxtQ_aem_Bb8UZnDiXe2UGSXRiEB6-w

 

[RossTopher]

6 hours ago, rock said:

no one talking about this yet?

it looks great, and i was a favourable voice for the Dust... but R31000 retail for specless wheels, tyres i've never heard of, a boat anchor prowheel crank with a stupid chainring size for the allround spec, and an l-twoo groupset that is great on paper, but has so many poor reviews between the RD and shifters. paying for the carbon frame, which i'd need to know more about, given its their first foray into carbon. I am all for the entry point Avalanches, but this is a bit dear.

i'd be snapping one up if it was around 20-22k, but not at over 30

[Mongoose!]

11 hours ago, rock said:

no one talking about this yet?

looks like only in two sizes but no geometry chart on their website  🤔

[guidodg]

7 hours ago, RossTopher said:

it looks great, and i was a favourable voice for the Dust... but R31000 retail for specless wheels, tyres i've never heard of, a boat anchor prowheel crank with a stupid chainring size for the allround spec, and an l-twoo groupset that is great on paper, but has so many poor reviews between the RD and shifters. paying for the carbon frame, which i'd need to know more about, given its their first foray into carbon. I am all for the entry point Avalanches, but this is a bit dear.

i'd be snapping one up if it was around 20-22k, but not at over 30

crazy price....the Titan Racing is so much more value for money...

[RossTopher]

27 minutes ago, guidodg said:

crazy price....the Titan Racing is so much more value for money...

100%. For 6k less, you can get the titan with microshift sword and better gear ratios

Still, the Merida silex 4000 is often on sale for 36-37. If you can afford 31, you can afford 37.

[JayLow]

1 hour ago, RossTopher said:

If you can afford 31, you can afford 37.

This concept is one that has cost me a lot of money. You can start anywhere and with the same logic end up anywhere in 20% intervals.

9-11-13-15-18-22-26-31-37-44-54-65-78-94-next thing you know you bought a bicycle for R100k

[rock]

11 hours ago, RossTopher said:

it looks great, and i was a favourable voice for the Dust... but R31000 retail for specless wheels, tyres i've never heard of, a boat anchor prowheel crank with a stupid chainring size for the allround spec, and an l-twoo groupset that is great on paper, but has so many poor reviews between the RD and shifters. paying for the carbon frame, which i'd need to know more about, given its their first foray into carbon. I am all for the entry point Avalanches, but this is a bit dear.

i'd be snapping one up if it was around 20-22k, but not at over 30

wonder much the RRP could drop if they ditched the carbon integrated stem/bar combo?

[Shebeen]

11 hours ago, RossTopher said:

it looks great, and i was a favourable voice for the Dust... but R31000 retail for specless wheels, tyres i've never heard of, a boat anchor prowheel crank with a stupid chainring size for the allround spec, and an l-twoo groupset that is great on paper, but has so many poor reviews between the RD and shifters. paying for the carbon frame, which i'd need to know more about, given its their first foray into carbon. I am all for the entry point Avalanches, but this is a bit dear.

i'd be snapping one up if it was around 20-22k, but not at over 30

https://www.avalanchebikes.co.za/products/avalanche-roam?color=thunder%20blue%2Fmatte%20black&size=m%2Fl

 

will wait for ride reports

 

[droo]

2 hours ago, JayLow said:

This concept is one that has cost me a lot of money. You can start anywhere and with the same logic end up anywhere in 20% intervals.

9-11-13-15-18-22-26-31-37-44-54-65-78-94-next thing you know you bought a bicycle for R100k

No point buying one beer, so I'll get a sixer. Actually, while I'm here I may as well get a case.

(One thing led to another and now I own a bottle store)

[Mike Dewing]

3 hours ago, JayLow said:

This concept is one that has cost me a lot of money. You can start anywhere and with the same logic end up anywhere in 20% intervals.

9-11-13-15-18-22-26-31-37-44-54-65-78-94-next thing you know you bought a bicycle for R100k

This.! I was once told if you spending over ten grand you may as well spend twenty.. 

 

so 11/12 grand I may as well pay another 8 grand.? That’s rent for the month.! Well at the time it was🤣🤣.. or your car payment or groceries.. mental attitude.! 

[Zebra]

1 hour ago, rock said:

wonder much the RRP could drop if they ditched the carbon integrated stem/bar combo?

on this very topic, I may buy a Gravel bike in the future, and will likely AVOID one with an integrated stem/bar combo, since for (frequent) travel, it is so much easier to remove regular bars, etc.

[splat]

53 minutes ago, Zebra said:

on this very topic, I may buy a Gravel bike in the future, and will likely AVOID one with an integrated stem/bar combo, since for (frequent) travel, it is so much easier to remove regular bars, etc.

I would avoid internal routing through an integrated stem from the point of view of road side repairs.
It might look awesome (for racing), but its not practical (for touring).
But that's just me...