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I live in MI! There are Salsa and Jamis dealers around me. Not sure how they handle orders that are returned. Depends I guess.
I thought a diverge was a little sluggish – I think it was the low bottom bracket that bothered me.
For a new bike my first questions are:
What size tires do I want. Do I need a range of sizes?
Do I expect it to be light and nimble, or stable and easy? (more roadie, or MTB like)
Do I care about weight?
chas wrote:I live in MI! There are Salsa and Jamis dealers around me. Not sure how they handle orders that are returned. Depends I guess.I thought a diverge was a little sluggish – I think it was the low bottom bracket that bothered me.For a new bike my first questions are:What size tires do I want. Do I need a range of sizes?Do I expect it to be light and nimble, or stable and easy? (more roadie, or MTB like)Do I care about weight?I live in MI! There are Salsa and Jamis dealers around me. Not sure how they handle orders that are returned. Depends I guess.
I thought a diverge was a little sluggish – I think it was the low bottom bracket that bothered me.
For a new bike my first questions are:
What size tires do I want. Do I need a range of sizes?
Do I expect it to be light and nimble, or stable and easy? (more roadie, or MTB like)
Do I care about weight?
NoCoGreg wrote:IMHO - if the top priority is on feeling quick and fast then go for the lightest and most CX like bike. If the budget won't support full carbon fiber (frame, fork, wheels, etc) then I would go for an entry level CF bike and plan to upgrade parts as they wear out. Your Fargo is a great heavy duty go anywhere bike so for going fast on road & gravel I'd look for a CF CX (aka race) bike.
The wheels and tires have a much larger impact on speed than any other component. Period. Swapping tubeless tires is a PITA. You may want to budget for two sets of wheels (28's for road and 38-ish for gravel). Just a thot...
For long distance races the equation does change from what bike is "quickest" to which will be fastest. Vibration absorption saves energy. Longer wheelbase will be more stable. Fatter tires will roll more efficiently if you're in deep gravel.
Based on the bikes you listed, I'd be most interested in the Warbird and Renegade. Just one man's opinion. :-)
Greg
2xfnord wrote:There's a 2017 Warbird in my size at a local shop for $1800. Right now I'm thinking that or the Renegade Expat.
Jim_H wrote:I understand the preference for threaded bottom brackets, but they too have their downsides.
The 'issues' with Press Fit bottom brackets (i.e.creaking) can be overcome by using threaded adapters (depending on which crankset you use). These are widely available and fairly easy to install.
I have four bikes with PF30's in them right now and have had no problems.
I guess my feeling is, that everything else being equal, a threaded bottom bracket is nice to have, but I would put it very low on the list in terms of must haves for a new bike. I would not let that be a determining factor in my choice of bikes.
These are some of the BB adapters I've used with good results.
Praxis:
https://praxiscycles.com/conversion-bb/
Wheels Manufacturing:
http://wheelsmfg.com/products/bb-crank-adapters/bb-adapters.html
teoblar wrote:If your current ride is feeling 'sluggish' then I wouldn't blame the weight as much as the material and geometry. Like some have said, a CX type bike will give you a good road feel and clearance for bigger tires (maybe not a full 40c, but close). The shorter wheelbase on a CX bike (head tube angles and chainstay length) really effect the feel of a bike. Carbon and aluminum will feel much different than steel, adding that zip you are craving. Yes, there will be tradeoffs from a more comfortable 'adventure' bike, but I don't believe that there is one single do-it-all bike. Thus, n+1; a bike for every situation. Embrace the madness!
I also like the idea of having two wheelsets. Maybe a carbon deepish set for the roads with some plump slick tires and a wider alloy set with knobbies for your off-road adventures. When the budget gets crunched, putting my money towards wheels makes much more sense than blowing it all on a carbon frame. Rotational mass, blah blah blah.
There are a lot of fans of Raleigh bikes on here. They offer a really good value, nice designs, and leave you with extra money for wheels. Personally, I find the RX line to be excellent on the road. Happy hunting!
teoblar wrote:Raleigh, in addition to a slew of adventure type bikes, has a cyclocross line that includes the RX 1.0 (base build, alloy), RX 2.0 (upgraded build, also alloy), RXC (full carbon, higher end builds), RXW (an RX for the ladies) and the RXS (a single speed RX, used to be belt driven, now chain).
I'm not 1) a racer, 2) very young, 3) very supple, and I find the feel of the RX bikes suits me nicely. Slightly more aggressive than the Warbird in the geo, but a good balance of zippy and stable.
In full disclosure, I am trying to sell both a Warbird and an RX. I love them both and will keep whichever one doesn't sell and be very happy about it. If mine isn't your size or flavor, I would still highly recommend giving Raleigh a look. (I also have an RXS which isn't going anywhere, love that bike!)
teoblar wrote:You really have a thing for steel, eh? Well, conventional wisdom would say that steel would feel better on a long stretch of the rough stuff vs. aluminum. The different geo would likely get you some of the 'snap' that your current steel rides are lacking.
Get thee to a Raleigh dealership, with haste!
chas wrote:I have a stupid stiff aluminum bike. But with 40mm tires, appropriate pressure, and good seat post - its nice and cush. I kind of like a responsive frame, but you can tune anything to be cush. Most new CX designs take 40mm tires (but not if the design is a few years old).
Ya need a new bike for this ride: http://micoasttocoast.com/
That route looks like too much fun!!!
Smale Rider wrote:All-City Cosmic Stallion is what you want. It’s basically a more modern upgraded version of regular space horse. It rolls larger tires than either the space horse or warbird. Thru axels (cosmic) vs QR (space). Nice threaded 68mm Bottom bracket (cosmic) vs BB86 (warbird). BB86 doesn’t play nice with 30mm spindles which is a majority of those “adventure” cranks use. I understand that you don’t want to break that 2k limit, but for 600 more you genuinely get a bike that does everything that current gravel bike trends do.