I have been convinced by a friend to do some gravel events here in Kansas in 2016. I am looking to get myself a good gravel bike. I am looking at doing a few events next year, I am just wanting to "get my feet wet" next season before potentially trying to tackle the Dirty Kanza in a few years.
I have heard the Felt line of cross bikes are particularly good, I have also found a Few BMC's that look pretty nice as well.
Being a long time roadie, I am a little hesitant about the hydraulic disc brakes that the felt's have, but I am really enthused about the new Sram 1x group, It just looks cool. The thought of not having to worry about a front mech sounds like a interesting idea. I have always had Shimano on my bikes, and I have always liked the look of Sram, I've just never had it before and would certainly like to try it.
All three of the bikes allow tires up to 38mm tires So i guess my first question is; Frame Material: Is it worth the extra money for a Carbon frame? Or can I save money and go Aluminum?
Secondly; Sram 1x group: For the type of terrain I am going to be riding on (Southern Kansas, particularly flat, with some short climbs) Would it be the right drivetrain for me?
Thirdly; Brakes: Are Hydraulic brakes worth it? I have never used them before (I've never used discs at all for that matter) They seem like they take more care having to bleed them.
Fourthly; If you had a choice of bike which would you chose?
I look forward to hear your thoughts / suggestions!! Thanks everyone for your help!!
1. Go Steel if you can. Its a smooth ride. I have a jamis renegade and its bombproof.
2. I cant help you with 1x, but I have heard good things about it. Dropped chains would be your worst enemy with 1x, but there are some good systems out there
3. Hydros are a good bet. Better modulation and safer in the wet and muck. I have TRP spyres and they are fidgety to get right. They are great brakes, but I have to modulate them. TRP Hy/Rd gives you the mechanical cable advantage with the hydro reservoir in the caliper. Its a nice setup and you dont have to deal with a reservoir in the Lever.
4. I looked at Spec AWOL, Norco Search, Giant Revolt 1, Jamis Renegade Expat, Kona Jake and eventually settled on the Renegade because of the steel, the tire clearance and the price was in my range for a steel bike. My second go to would have been Norco search and thirdly, would have been spec awol. I wanted something with some flash and practicality. I get lots of looks on my jamis and its not one of the big three so people are curious. Also, no one is going to know or care what it looks like with crud all over it, so your components are going to need to be good. The hydros are good for what I hear. I am trying to save up for the TRP Hy/Rd since i wouldnt have to replace the STI levers.
If I were racing cyclocross - a 1X setup may appeal to me. For rolling road rides - I'd prefer the tighter ratios afforded by a double set up in the front.
From here on out - i do not see myself buying a bike without hydraulic discs. I was skeptical until I owned a bike with them. I prefer the looks of traditional road bike brakes - but discs are worth the money and weight penalty.
#1 -- Frame material. In my opinion, aluminum is fine for rides of less than 100 miles and rides of just about any distance where the roads are paved or smooth gravel. Dirty Kanza has some very rough rocky sections. For those sections (and with the 200-mile distance), my aluminum bike beat me up. (But I'm an old guy -- 55 years old). I switched to titanium this year, but ONLY because I plan to do the DK200 again. I don't ride any other races where the roads are as rough for as long. Aluminum is good for anything else, in my opinion.
#2 -- The 1x. I've been riding a 1x setup since just after this year's Dirty Kanza. I became interested because I realized 140 miles into the DK200 that I hadn't shifted the front derailleur yet. If you don't use the other ring, why carry it along for the ride? I used to live in south central Kansas (Pratt) and a 1x setup would have been perfect for those roads. No second ring required, ever.
IF you get the right 1x gearing setup, you can ride it anywhere -- road, gravel, flat, mountainous, etc. My setup includes a Shimano MTB rear derailleur with an 11-42T cassette. With that cassette, I get nearly the same spread of ratios that I used to get with a 2x setup -- but yes, the ratios are a little farther apart. (I used to shift two cogs at a time most of the time, anyway. I very rarely find myself wishing I had a cog between two in the back.) I live in Middle Tennessee -- the land of steep climbs. My daily ride includes grades of 10% and higher and my weekend rides almost always include a little that's over 20% -- sometimes over 25%. The 1x works fine for me.
As for dropped chains? Most MTB rear derailleurs (like mine) have a clutch that maintains tension and prevents chain drops. Also, the SRAM 1x chainrings have teeth that fit closely with the sides of the chain. The teeth alternate wide/narrow like the chain does, from link to link -- so the chain must be timed with the crank (not a big deal, unless you forget to do it). The result is silent and secure.
#3 Hydraulic Brakes -- My first bike with hydraulic disc brakes was set up by the bike shop. The front worked great but they never got the air out of the system for the rear brake. It has always been spongy. (In the spring, after I take that bike off the trainer, I'm going to take the rear brake and brake line loose from the frame and bleed it right.)
My second bike with hydraulic disc brakes I built up myself. I filled the brake system with fluid (from the bottom) and bled the system BEFORE I mounted the calipers or fastened the lines to the frame. With a straight shot (straight up) from brake caliper to brake lever, it was very easy to get all the air out of the system. It's not difficult to do. The result is, without a doubt, the best brake performance I've ever experienced. By comparison, rim brakes and cantilevers feel as if you're just dragging your feet to stop. Modulation and power are excellent -- even in the rain, on long descents, in the heat, dust, mud, etc.. I use Shimano R785 brakes and they are easy to modulate -- never grabby.
I wouldn't buy a gravel bike without hydraulic disc brakes. They've got to be set up correctly. But when they are, there's nothing else that comes close.
I just started the gravel thing about 6 months ago. I bought a slightly used Trek Crockett 5 (cantis). For someone new to the gravel scene, this bike has been great. I like the cantilever brakes over the discs, but that may be because i am more of an old school guy. Due to a back injury from years ago, I did put a Cane Creek Thudbuster on it for the long rides. That made all of the difference in the world. I can stay on the bike for several hours instead of just 2-4.
That bike can handle 38s in the rear with no problem. I was hesitant to buy tires that big, but they are fine. I could probably go bigger on the front if I needed to. The bike also does VERY well on single track....long story short, I took a wrong turn and was convinced by my riding buddies that gravel was just around the corner. That corner was 17 miles long.
Nonetheless, the Trek Crockett 5 has been a great gravel bike for me, as a rider new to this type of riding.
I'm wondering about the Thudbuster, not sure between the ST and LT models. Are you happy with the LT or wish you went ST at all? I wonder about pedal bobbbing on it.
I am happy with the LT. I considered the ST, but I thought the more travel I had the better. I have no issues with bobbing at all. Most of the riding I do here is either rough or very rough, and it is unpredictable...so I figured the LT was the best bet. Besides, it will go well on the next hardtail I get.
Yesterday's gravel ride out near the Bald River - I confronted a rather long down hill (2100 feet over about 8 miles with just a couple of breaks in the action) that started out with a less than smooth section of about 2 miles. This section had numerous points of -14%. While I still felt pretty beat up, once things smoothed out - I was dang glad to have had hyd discs in that situation.
Suspension seat posts: Cirrus Cycles Bodyfloat is better than Thudbuster, imo. Ergon and Niner make flexible carbon posts that are worth a try. There may be others. GT or someone did a seat post shootout last year.
Wheels: stock wheels on many lower-end bikes suck. Budget for a good pair of durable wheels, such as the American Classic MTB Race 29er. Make sure they are built in such a way that nearly any bike shop can repair them for you with parts they are sure to have on hand. My gravel bike's wheels require far more maintenance than any other wheels I have, so I buy quality, durable wheels and maintain them well.
Tire clearance. If you want to run wide tires (and trust me, eventually you will) then make sure your frame and fork has clearance (also for fenders). The Pickenflick I mentioned previously has huge clearance.
Components: you will trash components, so buy good but cheap stuff that you can afford to replace. Sram Rival is just as good performance-wise as their more expensive gruppos imo, it just weighs a bit more.
Disc brakes. You might not care coming from a road bike background, but mountain bikers are used to really good brakes that have been getting better and better. I found I could never get cantis to work as well as I wanted, so I got disc brakes on my gravel bike and never looked back.
