Gravel bikes

[_David_]

Is it true that aluminum is more prone to fatigue and cracking over time? 

Edited April 19 by _David_

[tinmug]

21 minutes ago, _David_ said:

Is it true that aluminum is more prone to fatigue and cracking over time? 

I don't know, but it is a LOT more difficult to repair than carbon fibre (if at all possible). Upshot of alloy over carbon is price and it will slowly break, thereby saving your collarbones and spine.

[tinmug]

I'd still go carbon if I were buying. 😅

[Wannabe]

I managed to find two Mtb tires with a non agressive thread to fit to my gravel hybrid (1.95 front and a 2.0 rear for a 50mm front width and about 52mm at the rear) Pumped to 2 psi front and 2.2 psi rear, but I will play with the pressures as time progresses.

This in essence changed my bike back to a hardtail with a rigid fork, drop bar handles and road shifters. Took it out for a short test run yesterday (the start of my on bike road to recovery) and it was a very plush ride, with the big volume tires cushioning the ride and reduced the impact on my still vulnerable lower back. 

This bike will be my main bike for the time being, until such time my fitness is up and I can take the road scene on again. 

[Frosty]

Echoing some comments on being unsure of “investing” in a gravel bike, I bought a friend’s bike, for a bargain (last year). Give it’s an alu frame, has cable to disk brakes, and as heavy as 🤐, it serves its purpose. The TCX2 is a cross frame, and not gravel, so I’m guessing it’s not the ideal setup, but memories have been created while riding it.

[Mr Awesome]

Hey, Arno. I am on my second gravel bike. They are fast, but our corrugated roads causes your eye balls to bounce in your head...and after 30km of that you are just about done riding gravel. So now we all try to swap speed for comfort, going from 40mm tyres to (at least) 45mm in an effort to lower tyre pressure. Innitial frames could only take 42mm tyres so we are all 'upgrading'.  And then we double up on bar tape...  I would say you need 45mm tyres, but in stead of buying an expensive bike, just go out and pay R8k for a Vecnum stem. I went from hating corrugated roads, to not even thinking about it. See you out there!

[cadenceblur]

Shoo , that must be quite some stem for that outlay and I guess you need to do a lot of gravel to make full use of it, 

my bike fortunately takes 45mm tyres( can even go wider)  and the handlebar has some “give” as well, with a thickish tape as well. 

[eala]

On 4/19/2024 at 11:34 AM, 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?

 

 

Depends on the frame .I have a Topstone carbon frame with the compliance linkage frame and alu wheels . I can feel the frame taking the knocks at the rear while the front is more harsh on the carbon fork .It took me long before i pulled the trigger on the right bike for me .I also have a spez roubaix with future shock .I would rather pay more for a more supple frame like Diverge ,Topstone ,Revolt and worry less about the wheels .Tyre choice is way more important than the wheel rim material 

Edited April 25 by eala

[_David_]

On 4/18/2024 at 10:20 AM, TyronLab said:

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.

 

Is that a M/L frame, how tall are you? I am looking at buying the same bicycle. I am 178cm tall and i't looks like I can fit a M/L or L.

[TyronLab]

2 minutes ago, _David_ said:

Is that a M/L frame, how tall are you? I am looking at buying the same bicycle. I am 178cm tall and i't looks like I can fit a M/L or L.

I'm 177cm and the M/L is perfectomundo for me. For reference I rode a Large Titan Switch with a 70mm stem, a 54cm Specialized Sequoia with the stock 90mm stem, and generally ride Medium XC mountain bikes.

[100Tours]

On 4/19/2024 at 2:47 PM, _David_ said:

Is it true that aluminum is more prone to fatigue and cracking over time? 

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.