Gravel Bike for Clydesdale

Hey Everyone,

I've gotten into cycling with a hard tail single-track bike a few years ago, but I'm finding that most of my rides are on the road or gravel and want to upgrade to a gravel bike. The problem is I'm 6'6 and about 270lbs (working on that last bit, hopefully the bike will get me down to 235) so finding a bike that's not custom is kind of hard.

I've gotten a ton of recommendations for the Canyon Grail (which does come in XXL), but my question is about the weight limit. I called Canyon support and they listed the max weight of rider + bike at 260 lbs. Most of the people I've asked have said the frame shouldn't have a problem with the extra weight, but that I may need to upgrade the stock wheels it comes with to something with 32 or 36 spoke rims.

Is this a crazy idea? Should I be focusing on getting something like a Niner RLT Steel?

Good questions.  Well, if you hit your target weight...

Gravel bikes are designed to have the wheels leave the ground.  They are not designed for jumping like a mountain bike, but something more like a bunny hop.  If you are not doing little jumps and pounding down a rocky/rooty path you'll be OK.  If you are going to ride it hard, steel might be better.  It will ride better (all things being equal), is more ductile - and I don't think the 2lb weight difference is going to make a big impact at your weight.  

The DT swiss the canyon comes with are good rims.  I doubt you'll have problems with them (unless you are beating on them).   I have some beefy 36 spoke wheels on my tandem - and its nice that I don't have to worry about them going out of true.  But again, its going to depend on how hard you are riding it.  Try the stock wheels, and if they are a maintenance hassle, you can always upgrade.  

If you are concerned about weight, I would think that anything designed for backpacking would do you well.  I though that something like the Specialized Sequoia (steel) rode very very nice (although its not fast) or the Trek checkpoint which was a bit more agile (just some alternatives that should be easy to find to test ride (Given the load on your bike, having "free" maintenance that comes from buying local may be valuable to you (if you don't do your own wrenching))).  I don't know your riding style, but to get low pressure we seem to love on gravel, you might be better off with some of the bikes that take 45-50mm tires.   

The Canyon is a great bike (I have a similar model).  It is fast, versatile, well built and a good value.  If you are riding regularly and get to your target weight, it could be ideal.   

Thanks for the tips Chas! I tried looking at the Checkpoint first (since my single track bike is a Trek Roscoe 7), but they don't have an XXL and I've realized that my Roscoe XL isn't quite big enough for comfortable rides over any kind of distance. I'm not really planning on beating up this bike much. I have the Roscoe for doing dedicated offroad stuff. It's really more like I want a road bike with the ability to handle grass or some hard packed dirt/gravel/fire road type sections if I need to take a shortcut or want to get away from the cars. 

I'm hopeful that the Grail works out. I'm really psyched about the cockpit, since I've never really ridden a drop-handlebar style bike. I think it will really help with the transition. Hopefully they come into stock soon or else I'll have to go look at Specialized. Them and Niner and maybe Burly seem to be the only ones with a bike size designed for 6'5+ without totally breaking the bank.

I'm 6'5" 330lb and ride lots of MTB and Gravel. Yes I'm a big guy but dont let that slow me down and hang with guys much smaller and more classicly "fit" then me without much issue. The gravel bike that fits me and lets me have fun on chunky gravel and even some single-track is the Kona Sutra LTD. I built mine frame up and I did build a 29r MTB wheel-set on her to add to the do anything without worry goal of the build. I have over 1000 miles on her now and have had zero issues absolutely love the bike. 
   

Take a look at the Lauf True Grit. https://www.laufcycling.com/product/lauf-true-grit

Their XL has a really long reach. It's 20 mm longer than my 59 road bike. I don't understand Canyon's reach+ and stack+ to make direct comparisons. Lauf claims to build their frames and forks to "mountain bike" ISO standards instead of road. I think that means they are supposed to be able to handle mild drops. Others around here might know that stuff better.

Not sure you need to get too worried about spoke count as long as the wheel was built well. I'm right around 200 (which is quite a bit less) and have raced the last 4 years on a 24/24 two cross set for cyclocross with just a couple of spoke turns. I would think a well built 28/28 or 32/32 three cross would be great. There's a few wheelbuilders around here that know their stuff.

Good advice Dangle! I did look at Lauf and man, those bikes are pretty (and I feel like it would be nice to have suspension). However, I wish they had one more size up. The Stack+ and Reach+ on the Grail sound like different measurements, but basically, because of the weird handlebar, they are Canyon's attempts to get an apples to apples comparison to a normal reach and stack measurement. I would love a Lauf and would seriously consider one if they had an XXL, but I'm learning from my Roscoe that a bike designed for 6'3 (especially since I have a super long torso, I'm like the top half of a 7' guy and the legs of a 6' guy) just won't cut it for me.

I'm glad you think the weight won't be a problem. I'm in the same boat as you as well, I often can keep up with much smaller riders. Hopefully with an actually road capable bike I can do even better.

Sth9669 wrote:The Stack+ and Reach+ on the Grail sound like different measurements, but basically, because of the weird handlebar, they are Canyon's attempts to get an apples to apples comparison to a normal reach and stack measurement.

I'm fairly sure those were designed to be the figures of where the theoretical stem would clamp the handlebars. The stem would be theoretical because of the double decker handlebar design and the actual stem is much lower. Instead of the XY to where the fork pops outs of the head tube (like normal stack and reach), this would be the XY of where the 'stem' clamps the handlebar. If you have ever played around on http://www.bikegeo.net/, I think their stack+ and reach+ is semi related to what bikegeo calls stack reach (stem) and stack (stem). That doesn't mean the XXL Grail wouldn't work, you would just have to figure out if that position and the integrated handlebars would work for you.

I was eating lunch and played around with bike geo for more insight. It looks like a 15-20 mm spacer below the stem and I'm guessing that handlebar raises it ~80 mm. When I assigned 100 mm to the 'spacers height' field, it gave me nearly identical stem stack and reach numbers as the Canyon stack+ and reach+. 

Sth9669 wrote:I would love a Lauf and would seriously consider one if they had an XXL, but I'm learning from my Roscoe that a bike designed for 6'3 (especially since I have a super long torso, I'm like the top half of a 7' guy and the legs of a 6' guy) just won't cut it for me.

That may hurt the argument for something with an integrated cockpit like the Grail. It's pretty darn hard to get a different sized stem if needed. Typically the integrated setups works better with people who are proportioned a bit more on the averaged side of things. As a 6' with 6'4" arms, I feel ya.

The non-integrated handlebar version of the XXL Grail is big. 20 mm longer and 20 mm taller than the Lauf I mentioned. That may mean their carbon fiber integrated version is for pretty big people too.

Out of curiosity, I used the same methods to see how their XL lines up with my 58 cyclocross bikes with 120 mm stems. Somehow, the Canyon XL is identical stem reach (and their integrated handlebar is only 5 mm less reach than my current bar). The stem stack is 28 mm higher and I already have 30 mm of spacers under my stem. That's a tall bike.

Some of my numbers might be off a little. I was just goofing off over lunch and didn't doublecheck things.

An option might be Salsa. The puts a maximum weight of 300 lbs rider weight for the gravel bikes.https://salsacycles.com/files/tech/Bicycle_Owners_Manual_EN.pdf
I have a 2019 105 warbird and when I started riding I was close to 260 (and 6' 4', mostly torso height and the 62 cm has lots of reach). I ran road tires on the DT Swiss wheels that came with it (after about a month of gravel) and got some Hunt 4-season x wide for the gravel tires. I broke one spoke on the DT Swiss after about 3K of road and the Hunts have been fine. 

6'6" and 275# currently here. 
My bikes:
Steel - Surly Crosscheck (62cm) was what I started on gravel with. It's my current commuter bike. I think it's a great and solid bike.
Carbon - Raleigh Roker Comp in XL. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this bike. I like it a lot. Unfortunately for it, I got a deal on a Cutthroat and fell in love with that one. But it's a perfectly competent bike and lighter than steel. Had no problems with it at all. It's been BB deep in muddy water, hitting sunken logs, and come out fine. (After washing all the grit out of the brakes and drivetrain...)
Carbon - Salsa Cutthroat. My favorite bike. This is my go-to bike for anything and everything. Supremely comfortable to me. I don't think I ever need another bike - not that I'll stop buying them anyway.

Another suggestion: 
Soma Wolverine. I'm building a 62cm version 3 right now. Similar to the Crosscheck. They make a 66cm version if you need really big.
Salsa Vaya or Fargo, if you like the Cutthroat geometry but don't want to go carbon.

I will say - don't be concerned about the weight limit on frames. Most often they're more stiff than comfortable/springy anyway, and you're not likely to have a problem. 

And for wheels: I will always say - ride the stock wheels. Stock wheels are generally a little cheaper, a little heavier, and a little beefier than they need to be. They'll probably hold you up just fine. They will definitely get you rolling to start. Make sure the wheels are true and built properly. If you break more than one spoke, then look at upgrading your wheelset. There are a couple of custom wheel builders on this site that can help you out without breaking the bank. I'm pretty sure every wheel I have right now is 32 spoke. I might have 36 on my commuter wheels, now that I think on it. But decent quality 32 spoke wheels will likely hold up and serve you perfectly well unless you're really hard on them.

Welcome to the gravel world, and best of luck with your weight loss goals!  IMHO i would avoid carbon, stick to steel frame, good suggestions here such as Soma, Salsa, etc. As a 210lb rider, my focus is not on saving a few grams here and there on the bike, but rather on strength and reliability of the frame and parts. I ride a Masi steel frame with alloy wheels and sturdy tires. Best way to avoid getting stranded in the middle of nowhere is to go with stronger reliable equipment.

Consider Titanium as well, its like steel but lighter & (more crucial for me) its weatherproof. I absolutely love my Vassago TKO. The price is right, and if you wanna save you don’t need the latest & greatest components for it to ride great. 

I had the same issue when looking for a gravel bike. I'm 6'4, 325 so finding a frame and wheelset worthy of riding were essential.  Co-motion (steel), All City (steel), Surly (steel), Bearclaw (Ti), Seven (Ti), and Parlee (CF & 500+lb at limit) were the frames I looked at. I settled with the Parlee because it rode far better than the rest. Second place was All City. I have a Surly instigator and absolutely love it, but the All City felt more precise.
The Parlee came with DT Swiss wheels that would not support me. I looked at Rolf Prima's (500 lb rating), Spinergy (no weight limit), and a few other wheel sets. I have to give thanks to the guys at Co-Motion for the discussion on the wheel sets they use for their tandems.  I ended up with a custom built set of Velocity Chukkers and White Industries hubs. This bike has excelled at everything I throw at it from commutes to work to singletrack. 

I'm 6'4" 260# and ride a steel Jamis Renegade Exploit w/carbon fork. Very happy after 1000 miles last summer.

Check Jamis Renegade out as their sizing is more tailored.

That Renegade looks awesome! However, I worry that the 61 won't be nearly big enough. I worry that the 61 Renegade has 640/405 vs the Canyon Grail XXL's 729/516. I think if Renegade had a 64 frame, that might work, but thanks for the recommendation!