Jbr Posted April 17 Share 2 minutes ago, Super Sywurm said: Which one to buy, or not to buy, and why? I'm no gravel expert. Price is pretty much the same. https://titanracingbikes.com/bikes/switch-ltd-edition/ or https://www.cannondale.com/en-za/bikes/road/gravel/topstone-alloy/topstone-2 I'd go for the Cannondale with hydrolic disc brakes even if that means having one (two since it's 2x) less gears eala, Prince Albert Cycles and Nick 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinnekop Posted April 17 Share 2 hours ago, Super Sywurm said: Which one to buy, or not to buy, and why? I'm no gravel expert. Price is pretty much the same. https://titanracingbikes.com/bikes/switch-ltd-edition/ or https://www.cannondale.com/en-za/bikes/road/gravel/topstone-alloy/topstone-2 Much of the sameness there. But I miss my Topstone sooooooooo much. The ride quality on that thing was amazing! eala, Prince Albert Cycles and nonky 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffsVintageBikes Posted April 17 Share At Eroica SA in Montagu this past weekend, I was reminded once again just how versatile these old steel bikes are. Slap on a set of 28C tires (or 32C if the frame allows), swop out the rear cassette for a 13-28 and you're good it go for a great adventure. This years route even took us up & down Ouberg Pass. Rowl, Iwan Kemp, Prince Albert Cycles and 6 others 8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pandatron Posted April 17 Share 14 minutes ago, BuffsVintageBikes said: At Eroica SA in Montagu this past weekend, I was reminded once again just how versatile these old steel bikes are. Slap on a set of 28C tires (or 32C if the frame allows), swop out the rear cassette for a 13-28 and you're good it go for a great adventure. This years route even took us up & down Ouberg Pass. No AXS or Carbon...Straight to jail BuffsVintageBikes, nonky, betaboy and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betaboy Posted April 17 Share We all know real men ride steel… 💪🏻, no gram bunnies here boet! BuffsVintageBikes 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TyronLab Posted April 18 Share After being "forced" to buy another bike, I took some time to ponder and compare and spreadsheet the hell out of this choice. Wishlist: Not a carbon frame. I'm too nervous that it breaks, and I've had bad experiences with "good" carbon frames. Drop bars. Hydraulic brakes. 1x drivetrain. Nothing proprietary or hard to maintain. 50mm + tyre clearance. 3x bottle cages. Dropper compatible. I landed on this and, so far, it has exceeded my expectations: It's a Giant Revolt 1 with a 40T GRX 600 crankset and a pair of 50mm Maxxis Ramblers as upgrades from the get-go. I was unsure of the colour at first based on the online pictures, but in the flesh (and with the tan wall tyres) I absolutely love it. Still needs a proper trail test, but so far it's been efficient enough on the road and, on the dirt bits I've thrown in, supremely comfortable. The fit is also bang-on in stock form, which I was pretty sure of before purchasing thanks to Bike Insights and having quite a few bikes to use for comparison. Maiden voyage: Rowl, nathrix, betaboy and 15 others 16 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skubarra Posted April 18 Share 4 minutes ago, TyronLab said: After being "forced" to buy another bike, I took some time to ponder and compare and spreadsheet the hell out of this choice. Wishlist: Not a carbon frame. I'm too nervous that it breaks, and I've had bad experiences with "good" carbon frames. Drop bars. Hydraulic brakes. 1x drivetrain. Nothing proprietary or hard to maintain. 50mm + tyre clearance. 3x bottle cages. Dropper compatible. I landed on this and, so far, it has exceeded my expectations: It's a Giant Revolt 1 with a 40T GRX 600 crankset and a pair of 50mm Maxxis Ramblers as upgrades from the get-go. I was unsure of the colour at first based on the online pictures, but in the flesh (and with the tan wall tyres) I absolutely love it. Still needs a proper trail test, but so far it's been efficient enough on the road and, on the dirt bits I've thrown in, supremely comfortable. The fit is also bang-on in stock form, which I was pretty sure of before purchasing thanks to Bike Insights and having quite a few bikes to use for comparison. Maiden voyage: I have the carbon version, absolutely love the geometry of the bike. My roadbike and hardtail gathering dust in the garage! Only thing I changed was the 40T chainring, found that I was spinning out now and then on the flats & downhills nonky, TyronLab and BuffsVintageBikes 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffsVintageBikes Posted April 18 Share Congrats, you can't go wrong with a Revolt, I use mine on road, gravel & bike packing and even the occasional bit of MTBing 🤙 tinmug, Zebra, MongooseMan and 12 others 12 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nonky Posted April 18 Share 38 minutes ago, BuffsVintageBikes said: Congrats, you can't go wrong with a Revolt, I use mine on road, gravel & bike packing and even the occasional bit of MTBing 🤙 That's a SWEET bikepacking rig. I like very much. BuffsVintageBikes 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleedToWin Posted April 18 Share On 4/17/2024 at 9:53 AM, Super Sywurm said: Which one to buy, or not to buy, and why? I'm no gravel expert. Price is pretty much the same. https://titanracingbikes.com/bikes/switch-ltd-edition/ or https://www.cannondale.com/en-za/bikes/road/gravel/topstone-alloy/topstone-2 Take the Topstone and then make me an offer on my Stages powermeter! 😉 Akon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MongooseMan Posted April 18 Share 2 hours ago, BuffsVintageBikes said: Congrats, you can't go wrong with a Revolt, I use mine on road, gravel & bike packing and even the occasional bit of MTBing 🤙 Out of interest, how are you attaching the front fork cages, given there's only one bolt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffsVintageBikes Posted April 18 Share I simply wrapped the fork with an old inner tube and cable tied the bottom of the bottle cage to the fork. I did the whole Plett to CT tour like that and it never moved at all. MongooseMan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P555 Posted April 19 Share Looking for a bit of advice regarding buying a gravel bike. Which is better - buying a carbon frame gravel bike with alu wheels or buying an alu frame with carbon wheels? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
openmind Posted April 19 Share Gravel bikes are hard on wheels if you ride them on SA gravel roads. Often MTB-like conditions but with a narrow tyre. Not much protection for the rim. I trashed two sets of Al wheels before I got my carbon rims (South Industries) and have not looked back. But if you plan on more gentle riding then maybe a nice carbon frame with a set of nice Al wheels may be a better option. P555 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eala Posted April 19 Share On 4/10/2024 at 9:39 PM, Kom said: head of finance only tracks the color of the bike, just dont change color and number of them in the garage and you're good I did the unthinkable and changed colours .It was spotted from space Zebra, peetwindhoek and nathrix 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skubarra Posted April 19 Share 1 hour ago, P555 said: Looking for a bit of advice regarding buying a gravel bike. Which is better - buying a carbon frame gravel bike with alu wheels or buying an alu frame with carbon wheels? There would be different opinions but my preference is buy the frame I really want for the long term, and the rest I upgrade as/when the budget allows including wheels. nathrix and P555 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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