I am narrowed down my choices between two bikes. My plan is to ride them both on the road and some gravel. The two I'm going to pick from are the 2016 Raleigh Willard 2 or the Framed Course Alloy. Both look to be solid bikes. If there are any suggestions as to which one is better, I'm all ears. Any info will be greatly appreciated.
Being a Willard owner for almost a year and fast approaching 2k miles, I would buy the Raleigh. Mine fits me perfect has a super comfortable ride and has been trouble free. It is a capable road bike that excels on gravel roads. Can put racks on and tour,commute etc... Mine has a 9 speed Sora which does the job well except in group rides. Not sure what groupset is on the 2 these days.\n\nRaleigh is one of the first companies to commit to a gravel bike and the Willard has been out for a few years now. The 2016 model has a vibration dampened stem and seatpost which takes the edge off the harsh stuff. \nOne thing to consider is the wheelbase, it is longer than most bikes I looked at but something I was looking for in a bike. \nLet me know if you have any specific questions. No experience with other bike, never heard of it.
I would go with the Raleigh, it is an actual gravel/all road bike. The Framed Course is more of a dedicated Cyclocross bike with racier geometry and much less tire room. In my opinion a gravel bike should fit at a minimum a 700 x 40c. You may not think you need 40c tires, but its always nice to have the option. Also a lot of the new gravel tires coming out are larger than 35c. Also the unusual 135 thru axle spacing on the rear of the Course will limit wheel choices if you choose to upgrade the wheels in the future.
Have no bone to pick, but going to give a dissenting opinion.
If you will ride as you say "road and some gravel", then the Framed might be a better choice. And, even with the Framed maxing at 35mm for tire clearance, that may be enough (for you). Depends, on conditions, and personal preference to a larger degree.
Geometry, another preference thing...but many gravel bikes have geometry with a heavy focus on stability. Good, yes, but then some agility is sacrificed. The Framed might feel a little better going from road to gravel, and back again. But these things are subjective.
The 135mm through axle to me is not that unusual. Quite a few hubs come or can convert to that.
I have the 2016 Willard 2 and it has been a great bike. I have 1200 miles on it, 90% on gravel. The wheels come tubeless ready which is really nice, and I switched to tubeless after about 400 miles. I've used it for road riding and when I ride with my road buddies I switch to some 28c tires and the bike performs just fine. I found the reach to be a bit shorter than my road bike so I put a longer stem and off set seat post on it. I could not tell much difference from the vibration dampened stem and seat post. It is a very stable bike...so much less twitchy than my road bike. My longest ride on it has been 115 miles on gravel and I was very please with how comfortable it was. I hope this helps.
My 2cents about having ability to run 40c tires besides the extra rubber for cushion. I have 3 sets of 35c tires Actual inflated size is 36,38,41.5mm lots of variables here.
All of them are capable in gravel but having the room to fit is paramount.
After going from a 35c to a 40c tire....I'll never buy another bike that won't easily accept at least a 40c tire. It would be a deal breaker for me. IF I wasn't so concerned...another bike to look at might be the GT Grade. It's a 35c max frame which is why I didn't get one last year even before I knew how awesome a 40c tire was. So happy I didn't get it.
Nubster wrote:After going from a 35c to a 40c tire....I'll never buy another bike that won't easily accept at least a 40c tire. It would be a deal breaker for me. IF I wasn't so concerned...another bike to look at might be the GT Grade. It's a 35c max frame which is why I didn't get one last year even before I knew how awesome a 40c tire was. So happy I didn't get it.
Its funny how many people say "you don't need a 40c tire." But I would bet most of those have never run a nice set of 40c tires, because once you do you will never go back. I realize a lot of pro gravel racers run narrower tires, but racers tend to do a lot of stuff that doesn't make sense for most people. Pro roadies still think a 25c tire is wide.
