Frames with a relaxed geometry?

Hi guys,

First post here. Been reading quite a bit, but could not find info on this.

My wife and I have been road biking/touring for almost a decade. Now, this concept of off road riding looks very attractive. We live in India where prices are prohibitive [about 50% import duties], so we buy stuff/bikes when we travel abroad.

I'm looking at putting together gravel bikes for both of us. Entry level for now, but not able to find frames that would suit what we want.

For me an ETT of 55cms with a headtube of 15-16, and for my wife, a ETT of 51-52cm and a headtube of about 13-14cms. Old and not so flexible anymore :-(

Any suggestions? Frames available or shippable to the US preferably [my daughter is going to study there], or to Europe [we travel there for cycling a couple of times a year].

I still have two titanium frames that I have bought and have not yet built, and 2 folding tourers which have parts for an upgrade but not yet done, so this will likely be a long term project, during which I'll keep coming back for help :-) . As you can see, all bikes in our house are in 'twos'.

I like the 'window shopping' part too, so that would keep me occupied online for a while.

This has good reviews and looks relaxed?

https://www.ridley-bikes.com/us/en/bikes/allroad/x-trail

The two bikes above are fast sporty performance bikes. Relaxed? 
Anyway here is several more. You need to work out the geometry yourself.

http://www.raleighusa.com/tamland-1

http://salsacycles.com/bikes/marrakesh/marrakesh_dropbar_deore

http://salsacycles.com/bikes/vaya/2016_vaya_deore

http://konaworld.com/rove_st.cfm

http://www.bikepacking.com/bikes/specialized-sequoia-review/

I'm very satisfied with my Diamondback Haanjo Comp. Either the Haanjo Comp or the Trail if you want hydraulic disk brakes would be a very good entry level choice. Amazon and DB offer free ready to ride shipping (2 day for Amazon Prime). I also think that Amazon has reduced the already good price recently.

RoverAl wrote:The two bikes above are fast sporty performance bikes. Relaxed? 

Jamis Renegade fast and sporty performance bike? I hardly think so. It's a straight up relaxed endurance bike.

My point is there are varying degrees of relaxed. Compared to a full on road bike or cross yes renegade is relaxed compared to a vaya or sequoia not as much. Depends lots of variables. So Renegade is not fast,sporty or performance oriented all road bike?

deepakvrao wrote:Hi guys,

First post here. Been reading quite a bit, but could not find info on this.

My wife and I have been road biking/touring for almost a decade. Now, this concept of off road riding looks very attractive. We live in India where prices are prohibitive [about 50% import duties], so we buy stuff/bikes when we travel abroad.

I'm looking at putting together gravel bikes for both of us. Entry level for now, but not able to find frames that would suit what we want.

For me an ETT of 55cms with a headtube of 15-16, and for my wife, a ETT of 51-52cm and a headtube of about 13-14cms. Old and not so flexible anymore :-(

Any suggestions? Frames available or shippable to the US preferably [my daughter is going to study there], or to Europe [we travel there for cycling a couple of times a year].

I still have two titanium frames that I have bought and have not yet built, and 2 folding tourers which have parts for an upgrade but not yet done, so this will likely be a long term project, during which I'll keep coming back for help :-) . As you can see, all bikes in our house are in 'twos'.

I like the 'window shopping' part too, so that would keep me occupied online for a while.

\n \nLook at the "rise" on frames, not just the head tube length. Two frames with the same HT length, but different bottom bracket drop will have different rises. More BB drop = more rise. More rise = higher (possible) handlebars.

shiggy wrote: Look at the "rise" on frames, not just the head tube length. Two frames with the same HT length, but different bottom bracket drop will have different rises. More BB drop = more rise. More rise = higher (possible) handlebars.

Wow, never thought of that. I think with road bikes, the BB drop is more or less the same? So, headtube length is all that matters for bar height?

bobknh wrote:I'm very satisfied with my Diamondback Haanjo Comp. Either the Haanjo Comp or the Trail if you want hydraulic disk brakes would be a very good entry level choice. Amazon and DB offer free ready to ride shipping (2 day for Amazon Prime). I also think that Amazon has reduced the already good price recently.

Thanks. That bike looks just the right geometry for me at least, and the right price. Even the smallest might be a bit large for my wife though.

deepakvrao wrote:


Thanks. That bike looks just the right geometry for me at least, and the right price. Even the smallest might be a bit large for my wife though.

Yup - I just checked the price of the comp on Amazon - some sizes are under $1K, delivered in 2 days and ready to ride. I didn't mention this, but the tech support from DB is also excellent. You can do an online chat with them (PST) to confirm the best sizes for you and your wife. You may also want to look at the woman specific model called the Haajean which is similarly equipped and priced. Unless you expect only casual riding, or are concerned about maintenance of hydraulic brakes, an upgrade to the Trail model is also worth considering.

bobknh wrote:
Yup - I just checked the price of the comp on Amazon - some sizes are under $1K, delivered in 2 days and ready to ride. I didn't mention this, but the tech support from DB is also excellent. You can do an online chat with them (PST) to confirm the best sizes for you and your wife. You may also want to look at the woman specific model called the Haajean which is similarly equipped and priced. Unless you expect only casual riding, or are concerned about maintenance of hydraulic brakes, an upgrade to the Trail model is also worth considering.

Thanks. Never knew about the womens specific. There seems to be some error there though. This chart shows that the reach of the 47cm bike is more than the 50cm.

 

That's probably not an error - on small bikes they make the seat tube angle steeper and that pushes the top tube forwards. Even though the top tube is shorter it the head tube ends up further forwards! 

deepakvrao wrote:

Wow, never thought of that. I think with road bikes, the BB drop is more or less the same? So, headtube length is all that matters for bar height?

\nThat should have been "stack" rather than "rise." And I forgot about differences in fork length affecting this, too. Which is why stack is a useful spec. \n \nReach is also useful as it is not affected by seat tube angle. If you set your saddle position relative to the BB the reach number is MUCH more important than the top tube length. \nFor a given effective TT length the frame with the steeper STA will have the longer reach.

Thanks everyone.

Just placed the order for a 53cm Haanjo, and a 50cm Haanjenn. Never would have learned so much, so quickly if it were not for this forum.