Spyderco Forums

Well, the bike was delivered safely today.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to play with it until next Tuesday as we’re out of town.

The anticipation is building.

I bought a Specialized Diverge 2 years ago when we were all locked down (like many people obviously). I put about 3500 miles on it the first year but I have slowed right down and haven’t even ridden it now in a month (also probably not an original story, haha).

Funny thing is, it came with 700x38 tires with hobbies and a slick center line for the road that I was never really in love with because they seemed heavy. A little less than a year ago I put some fairly slick 32’s on it. Interestingly that is about the time I started riding less. Rainy season just started here so just yesterday I put some 35’s with some traction back on it. Hopefully that will get me off my butt and back in the seat for some new off-road rides.

Overall I am very pleased with the concept and application of a gravel bike. I’ve used mine for everything from 100 mile road rides to rough fire roads through the mountains to commuting in my little beach town. I’ve always enjoyed and gravitated to “do it all” type gear.

Took an extra day of vacation today so that I could play with the Redwood.

It comes packaged pretty well in a cleverly-disguised box.


Got the bike together on about an hour, and spent another hour dialing in the fit & bedding in the brakes. One of the stem bolts was stripped from the factory, but it wasn't too tight and I was able to get it out. Had a late breakfast and hit the road.









The ride was pretty darn mixed. Fair amount of asphalt, gravel, dirt, and single-track - even had a few patches of beach sand! The Redwood handled it all with ease, although I wish I had slicks in the center of the tire for pavement.

I think the fit is pretty darn close. Slightly sore back and hands, rode up on the brake hoods pretty much the whole time. Might need a longer stem.

My front break is still a bit loose, but the rear is nice and firm. I'll need a new stem bolt, but 3/4 with the 4th finger-tight ain't bad. I definitely want to get some tubeless all-road tires on this bad boy. Overall, very happy with the bike.

Bloke wrote: ↑

Sat May 14, 2022 6:14 pm

kennethsime wrote: ↑

Sat May 14, 2022 3:11 pm

Riding a track bike

Lol, must be why they call it a gravel bike

I’ve been riding he redwood to work all week, and while it’s sure fun, I was really excited to get back out on gravel today. Picked up some cheap bottle cages and installed a set of Mallet Es before this ride.




We climbed nearly 1,000 feet in the first 2 miles then descended into the regional parks. First time climbing, and man what a workout! First time bombing a hill with a freewheel, got up to 45mph at one point - major thrill.

Unfortunately, shortly after we arrived on the nice wide gravel trail pictured above, my buddy went over his handlebars and bonked his noggin pretty good. Luckily, he had a nice helmet. Ended our ride early, but man what a great intro to gravel.

Haven't been in this part of the forum for a while so missed this... I live in rural Nebraska five miles from a paved road, so the gravel bike rules here.

This is my more adventurous bike. Rodeo Labs TrailDonkey, seen here descending Long Canyon near Moab. Usually have a 650b wheelset on this one, and for the most part I'm using Panaracer Gravelking SS tires in 48mm size.


My other bike, which has been getting the most miles this year so far, is another Rodeo bike, a Flaanimal in titanium. Currently set up with faster gearing and 700x35c tires, also Gravelking SS. It is a speedy rig as it's set up now. I built this one from a frame/fork last fall, first time doing that. I'm rather proud of this rig.

Wandering_About wrote: ↑

Sun May 29, 2022 7:51 am

Haven't been in this part of the forum for a while so missed this... I live in rural Nebraska five miles from a paved road, so the gravel bike rules here.

This is my more adventurous bike. Rodeo Labs TrailDonkey, seen here descending Long Canyon near Moab. Usually have a 650b wheelset on this one, and for the most part I'm using Panaracer Gravelking SS tires in 48mm size.


My other bike, which has been getting the most miles this year so far, is another Rodeo bike, a Flaanimal in titanium. Currently set up with faster gearing and 700x35c tires, also Gravelking SS. It is a speedy rig as it's set up now. I built this one from a frame/fork last fall, first time doing that. I'm rather proud of this rig.

You should definitely re-take that second pic with the bike facing the other direction.

`

kennethsime wrote: ↑

Tue May 24, 2022 4:32 pm

The ride was pretty darn mixed. Fair amount of asphalt, gravel, dirt, and single-track - even had a few patches of beach sand! The Redwood handled it all with ease, although I wish I had slicks in the center of the tire for pavement.

I can't emphasize enough how good the Rene Herse knobbies are on pavement (and off) with no centerline slick. Their Steilacoom 700C and Juniper Ridge 650B (the two I have experience with) are fast and smooth on paved roads.

Coastal wrote: ↑

Sun May 29, 2022 11:16 am

You should definitely re-take that second pic with the bike facing the other direction.

`

Gonna be honest, sometimes I take pictures from the non drive side for the sole reason of bothering people

Here's a drive side photo. I stopped at the local Vietnam War memorial replica during my ride on Friday. Thought it was a fitting thing to do with Memorial Day coming up.

Wandering_About wrote: ↑

Sun May 29, 2022 11:28 am

Coastal wrote: ↑

Sun May 29, 2022 11:16 am

You should definitely re-take that second pic with the bike facing the other direction.

`

Gonna be honest, sometimes I take pictures from the non drive side for the sole reason of bothering people

I don't think it is about drive side or non drive side in this case...more about a dino riding the bike

Senfkarte wrote: ↑

Sun May 29, 2022 11:38 am

Wandering_About wrote: ↑

Sun May 29, 2022 11:28 am

Coastal wrote: ↑

Sun May 29, 2022 11:16 am

You should definitely re-take that second pic with the bike facing the other direction.

`

Gonna be honest, sometimes I take pictures from the non drive side for the sole reason of bothering people

I don't think it is about drive side or non drive side in this case...more about a dino riding the bike

Well now that makes sense.

LOL! Yeah I forget the drive side thing too, and yep the dino-on-a-bike would be a nice shot!

As a guy who rides motorcycles on the road I swear I would see photos of bikes crashed when they hit gravel in a corner.

Coastal wrote: ↑

Sun May 29, 2022 11:25 am

kennethsime wrote: ↑

Tue May 24, 2022 4:32 pm

The ride was pretty darn mixed. Fair amount of asphalt, gravel, dirt, and single-track - even had a few patches of beach sand! The Redwood handled it all with ease, although I wish I had slicks in the center of the tire for pavement.

I can't emphasize enough how good the Rene Herse knobbies are on pavement (and off) with no centerline slick. Their Steilacoom 700C and Juniper Ridge 650B (the two I have experience with) are fast and smooth on paved roads.

That’s really great to hear.

I got a deal on a set of Gravelking SKs so those will be my first tubeless experience. I think I’d like to try some Teravail Sparwoods or RH Umtanum Ridges if these don’t have enough traction for me.

Gravelking SKs are not bad tires. I switched away from them because they threw up so much dust and small rocks. But they have good grip and roll pretty fast for what they are.

Have a set of Umtanum Ridges to put on one of my wheelsets sometime... hoping they make nice "adventure" tires when I need something knobby.

Wandering_About wrote: ↑

Sun May 29, 2022 7:58 pm

Gravelking SKs are not bad tires. I switched away from them because they threw up so much dust and small rocks. But they have good grip and roll pretty fast for what they are.

Have a set of Umtanum Ridges to put on one of my wheelsets sometime... hoping they make nice "adventure" tires when I need something knobby.

Can I ask you to expand on that?

My experience is mostly with riding skinny slicks on a track bike, and I’m currently riding 2.35” knobbies on the Redwood. The knobbies feel pretty slow on pavement, but on the other hand I’ve been able to ride them over loose dirt, gravel, over curbs, down big drops, etc. the only thing that’s given me pause so far was loose sand, but even that was alright as long as I kept up my speed.

I’m wondering: when do you feel like you need knobbies?

I’m hoping the Gravelkings will feel a lot faster on pavement while still providing enough traction for all kinds of fun trails.

kennethsime wrote: ↑

Sun May 29, 2022 10:12 pm

Wandering_About wrote: ↑

Sun May 29, 2022 7:58 pm

Gravelking SKs are not bad tires. I switched away from them because they threw up so much dust and small rocks. But they have good grip and roll pretty fast for what they are.

Have a set of Umtanum Ridges to put on one of my wheelsets sometime... hoping they make nice "adventure" tires when I need something knobby.

Can I ask you to expand on that?

My experience is mostly with riding skinny slicks on a track bike, and I’m currently riding 2.35” knobbies on the Redwood. The knobbies feel pretty slow on pavement, but on the other hand I’ve been able to ride them over loose dirt, gravel, over curbs, down big drops, etc. the only thing that’s given me pause so far was loose sand, but even that was alright as long as I kept up my speed.

I’m wondering: when do you feel like you need knobbies?

I’m hoping the Gravelkings will feel a lot faster on pavement while still providing enough traction for all kinds of fun trails.

I try to get away with as little tread as possible for most of my riding. Do a lot of mixed pavement and fairly hard packed gravel around home, so the Gravelking SS tires work fairly well. There's a penalty when I hit loose/deep gravel, but there's usually not a ton of that. When I'm riding mostly gravel here I use the 650bx48mm Gravelking SS tires and the volume helps out a lot while still being pretty fast tires, overall. Mostly pavement or very smooth gravel, 700c for more speed.

By "adventure" I mean loose/rocky gravel (think forest service roads) and maybe some singletrack in there. Knobs just grip better on that stuff, and none of the GravelKing tires have any real cornering knobs, which become more important for me the rougher the road/trail. I don't care as much about speed/rolling resistance on that kind of stuff either, so more tread and volume is more better. Also wanting to try a little bikepacking and I think the fatter knobbier tires will work better for what I'm intending to do.

Gravelking SKs are a decent all-around tire. But they don't have enough tread for the "you should just ride an MTB" stuff. If they didn't throw so much dust into my drivetrain I'd run SK front and SS rear, but for the most part in my home area, the SS is adequate on the front, a bit faster, and keeps my drivetrain a bit cleaner.

Another ride on the Redwood.

Climbing is still hard, but most of this was pretty manageable. I had to walk twice.

Downhill single track is really, really terrifying - but also a total blast. I’m not sure I was ready for this trail, but I only ate **** 3 times.

I think I want to get some more gravel mileage in: flat~ish trails, 20-30 miles. No more switchbacks for awhile.

Another ride today. Last time riding on the stock tires! Dropped the bike off at the shop to install the new tubeless Gravelkings, compressionless brake lines, and some new bar tape. Should look like a whole new bike soon!