Gravel Bikes

[Wandering_About]

Nice ride. I tried getting out on my MTB for a bit today, but at about 95 degrees and relatively humid, I only got in a short 3.4 mile ride. Did a little overdue drivetrain maintenance on it. I only very rarely ride it any more, partly because the trails around here aren't very good, and also because riding gravel/road is actually much less unpleasant than MTB in the midsummer heat here.

[kennethsime]

Nice ride. I tried getting out on my MTB for a bit today, but at about 95 degrees and relatively humid, I only got in a short 3.4 mile ride. Did a little overdue drivetrain maintenance on it. I only very rarely ride it any more, partly because the trails around here aren't very good, and also because riding gravel/road is actually much less unpleasant than MTB in the midsummer heat here.

I grew up pretty far inland with 115° summers. Riding my road bike along country roads was one of the only ways to cool off, right up there with spraying yourself with the garden hose lol.

[kennethsime]

Took the Redwood up Mt. Tam, a local almost-mountain, today. First group ride, too!





Didn’t take enough pictures, too focused on keeping up with the group, but man what a beautiful ride.

[Wandering_About]

Well that just looks incredible! Can't wait to get back out to some mountains to do some riding in that kind of country.

Yesterday I tried some new tires. Rene Herse Umtanum Ridge. Interesting experience. For my local Nebraska gravel, they are no good. Very slow, although they do have plenty of grip, being knobby. Also they made my bike look very cool. When I got back home I swapped back to my boring old Panaracer Gravelking SS tires though. Interestingly, the Umtanum Ridge tires measured just over 52mm when mounted on my rims, despite being labelled as 55mm. The Gravelking SS tires, if I recall, measure at about 51mm, while being labelled as 48mm. So not a big difference in volume on my setup.



A friend is bikepacking on the Tour Divide route currently using Rene Herse knobby tires and he reports they are working very well for him. So if you're going slow on a bikepacking route they are probably a great tire.

[JRinFL]

You guys are killing me with all the pictures and tales of great rides. Only paved trails around here filled with people who should not be on bikes and pedestrians who should not be on mixed trails.

I wanted to get a gravel bike before COVID hit, then there were none. Right now I only have my ancient hardtail MTB setup for better on-road use.

[awa54]

an early iteration of the Slate XC mod

FrankenSlate by David Wimmer, on Flickr

[awa54]

....

I wanted to get a gravel bike before COVID hit, then there were none. Right now I only have my ancient hardtail MTB setup for better on-road use.

with the right mods a vintage hardtail can do decent duty as a gravel bike.
the biggest problem is that components are almost as in demand as bikes, so it can be hard to spec the build you really want.

[Bloke]

Yesterday I tried some new tires.

[Wandering_About]

Yesterday I tried some new tires.

So, um... where can I buy a set of those? Asking for a friend...

[kennethsime]

I had a really terrible experience with my LBS recently, which I detailed here, and so I watched some very helpful ParkTool videos about adjusting my breaks and derailleur. Helped me hit some new PRs on one of my favorite local loops.



I also installed a new suspension stem from Redshift just before this ride, and although the difference is subtle, I think it really helps reduce fatigue over rides like these.



I also got a new bottom bracket delivered, since I've been unable to get rid of a particular creaking sound. Fingers crossed that this solves it, and also that I'm able to figure it out tonight.

Gonna try some more single track tomorrow with some buddies at China Camp, a local beginner MTB park.

[Wandering_About]

Sorry about your bad bike shop experience. It's part of why I learned to work on my own bike, as well as the feeling of accomplishment that has come with learning new skills and being self-sufficient (although I can't rebuild wheels yet) when it comes to the hobby of cycling. There's a bit of a curve at first, especially if you don't have a ton of mechanic experience, but bikes are relatively simple to work on and the reward is great. The worst part is figuring out part compatibility and learning which specialized tools you need. But once you get over the worst of the curve, things get satisfying.

Learning to adjust brakes and derailleurs is a great gateway. Extremely practical, as they seem to need the most fiddling. And rewarding, because derailleurs especially seem like a total mystery until you've learned the basics.

Chasing creaks can be a huge pain though. I once thought I had a bottom bracket creaking on a bike, and it turned out to be a loose seat post collar. I've also had a "creaking BB" that was a loose chain ring. BBs are notorious though, and I usually keep a spare around.

[VooDooChild]

Ive mostly been doing quick trail rides near the house lately. I wish my area had more places to ride.

I picked up a couple vintage bikes off craigslist. I plan on fixing them up and upgrading a few parts.

Read through your bike shop thread. I wouldnt lose any sleep over it. Also some bottom brackets are just gonna creek.

[benben]

Took the Redwood up Mt. Tam, a local almost-mountain, today. First group ride, too!





Didn’t take enough pictures, too focused on keeping up with the group, but man what a beautiful ride.

Incredible pics!!

[benben]

Nice ride. I tried getting out on my MTB for a bit today, but at about 95 degrees and relatively humid, I only got in a short 3.4 mile ride. Did a little overdue drivetrain maintenance on it. I only very rarely ride it any more, partly because the trails around here aren't very good, and also because riding gravel/road is actually much less unpleasant than MTB in the midsummer heat here.

Can't quite tell, what brand frame is your mountain bike?

[Wandering_About]

Can't quite tell, what brand frame is your mountain bike?

That's a Santa Cruz Chameleon from 2017, with many upgraded components.

[benben]

Can't quite tell, what brand frame is your mountain bike?

That's a Santa Cruz Chameleon from 2017, with many upgraded components.

Thank you. For probably two years I’ve been saying I’m going to build me a slack, steel 27.5” mountain bike. I have an older 5” Kona Dawg now, point & shoot bike.

I’ve looked at the Chameleon frame several times before, but I really want to build a steel framed bike.
I know the Chameleon is one tough, burly frame!

[Wandering_About]

Can't quite tell, what brand frame is your mountain bike?

That's a Santa Cruz Chameleon from 2017, with many upgraded components.

Thank you. For probably two years I’ve been saying I’m going to build me a slack, steel 27.5” mountain bike. I have an older 5” Kona Dawg now, point & shoot bike.

I’ve looked at the Chameleon frame several times before, but I really want to build a steel framed bike.
I know the Chameleon is one tough, burly frame!

The Chameleon works well for what I do, but this one is definitely not a modern long, low, slack bike. The newest version has been moved more that way, but there are a lot of other bikes out there that would probably do better for you. That said this bike is still very fun.

If I did it again, I'd build up a light carbon hardtail, more like a "downcountry" type thing. There are some super impressive bikes getting down to the 20-25lb range that would do all I want a hardtail MTB to do. I've realized I'm much more of a trail/xc rider than a dh/Enduro rider.

[Wandering_About]

Finally got back out on gravel yesterday. July has been a very bad month for cycling for me. Too much time at work! Rode out in the Loess Hills of western Iowa, it was an outstanding route. It's been super dry though and the gravel was more moon dust than the hard pack we're used to. 37 miles and about 2600 feet of gain, plus a stop at a country bar that gave us free coca cola.

[kennethsime]

Finally got back out on gravel yesterday.

Looks like a gorgeous ride. I'm jealous of the rolling hills, and the long distance. I've been doing a whole lot of climbing, and I'd really like to try out some longer-distance, less-steep routes.

I tried out a new single track park last week and ended up in my first wipeout.



At first I thought I had just destroyed my saddle, but after a thorough workup at home this weekend, I discovered I had actually bent my fork.



I have a Whisky No. 9 carbon fork on order to replace it, which should be nice. About an hour after ordering that, Poseidon actually offered to send me a replacement folk on warrant, which I thought was really excellent of them.

I still haven't reached out to Selle Anatomica about the saddle, but I think I will. It might have just been my fault for crashing, but I'd like to see what they think of the rails bending like that.

I'm probably out of the saddle for a week, maybe two - we'll see when parts come in. Luckily, I have the fixed gear to keep me busy.

[VooDooChild]

Is it an aluminum fork?

Thats kinda crazy. If you dont care about weight you could always go with a steel fork. Plus you could get one intended for bikepacking and get triple brazons on each side. You could carry so many water bottles.

Edit.
I just looked at their website and answered my own question. Also I guess your original fork already had triple brazeons.

I went down the steel vs aluminum vs composite vs titanium rabit hole a few years back.
I personally prefer steel. Although aluminum does have some merits.