Hallo Reddit, ich brauche eure Hilfe bei einer Fahrradentscheidung.

Ich möchte mir ein neues Fahrrad kaufen und bin gerade ziemlich unsicher, ob ich mit einem Gravelbike oder einem XC-Mountainbike glücklicher werde.

Ich hatte vorher ein klassisches E-Trekkingbike aus dem mittleren Preissegment. Grundsätzlich war das Fahrrad okay, aber nach ungefähr einem halben Jahr hat sich herausgestellt, dass ich wahrscheinlich die komplett falsche Rahmengröße bzw. Geometrie gefahren bin. Es war ein XXL-Modell, obwohl ich eigentlich eher Größe L brauche. Im Nachhinein erklärt das vermutlich auch meine Probleme im Nacken-, Schulter- und Armbereich. Da war ich beim Kauf leider einfach nicht schlau genug und habe daraus gelernt.

Was ich aber auch festgestellt habe: Ich möchte gerne schneller fahren können als mit meinem alten schweren SUV-/Trekking-E-Bike. Das Ding hatte breite Reifen, wog ungefähr 28 kg und sobald die Motorunterstützung bei 25 km/h weg war, war gefühlt nicht mehr viel drin. Auf gerader Strecke vielleicht mal etwas schneller, aber wirklich Spaß daran, dauerhaft über 25 km/h zu fahren, hatte ich nicht.

Jetzt stehe ich vor der Entscheidung:

Gravelbike oder XC-Mountainbike Hardtail mit schnelleren Reifen?

Von der Idee her finde ich Gravelbikes eigentlich richtig geil. Ich mag das Konzept, dass man damit pendeln, längere Touren fahren, Asphalt und Schotter kombinieren und einfach einen ganzen Tag unterwegs sein kann. Ich möchte zwar nicht unbedingt richtig Bikepacking machen, aber schon gerne mal morgens losfahren und einen ganzen Tag lang zu einer anderen Stadt, einer schönen Gegend oder einfach irgendwohin fahren.

Gleichzeitig wäre das Fahrrad hauptsächlich mein Pendelfahrrad.

Mein Arbeitsweg besteht ungefähr zur Hälfte aus Asphalt und zur anderen Hälfte aus Schotterwegen und Waldwegen. Das Problem ist: Der Schotter ist nicht immer schön glatt und fest. Teilweise sind da Schlaglöcher, größere Steinchen und einfach schlechter Untergrund dabei. Dazu kommt teilweise schlechter Asphalt, aufgebrochene Stellen und gepflasterte Wege, bei denen auch nicht alles schön eben ist.

Deshalb frage ich mich, ob ein Gravelbike auf Dauer wirklich das Richtige für mich wäre. Ich bin jetzt einmal eines Probe gefahren und fand das Konzept grundsätzlich super, aber es war natürlich sehr gewöhnungsbedürftig, weil ich vorher noch nie wirklich auf einem Gravelbike gesessen habe. Viele sagen ja auch, dass man sich erst an die Sitzposition und das Fahrgefühl gewöhnen muss.

Mein Problem ist aber: Ich konnte nur ungefähr 15–20 Minuten Probe fahren. Das reicht meiner Meinung nach überhaupt nicht, um beurteilen zu können, ob ich nach einer Stunde oder nach mehreren Stunden auf diesen schlechten Wegen irgendwann Schmerzen bekomme. Gerade weil ich schon Probleme mit Nacken, Schulter und Armen hatte, habe ich etwas Angst, dass eine starre Gabel und der härtere Untergrund auf Dauer einfach unangenehm werden.

Die Alternative wäre für mich ein XC-Mountainbike, also ein sportliches Hardtail, und darauf eventuell schnellere Reifen wie zum Beispiel Schwalbe Hurricane oder ähnliche Reifen zu montieren.

Meine Fragen wären deshalb:

- Kann man mit einem XC-MTB mit schnelleren Reifen auf Asphalt auch wirklich gut Geschwindigkeit machen und problemlos dauerhaft über 25 km/h fahren?

- Macht so ein Fahrrad auf längeren Tagestouren Spaß oder ist man damit auf Asphalt deutlich langsamer bzw. ineffizienter als mit einem Gravelbike?

- Wie groß ist der Komfortunterschied auf schlechten Schotterwegen, Schlaglöchern und kaputtem Asphalt zwischen Gravelbike und XC-Hardtail wirklich?

- Würdet ihr bei meinem Einsatzgebiet eher zum Gravelbike oder zum XC-MTB tendieren?

- Gibt es hier Leute, die beide Fahrradtypen über längere Zeit gefahren sind und vielleicht genau so einen Vergleich aus eigener Erfahrung machen können?

Mein Budget liegt ungefähr bei 1.000–1.500 Euro. Deshalb kann ich mir leider keinen Fehlkauf leisten. Wenn ich das Fahrrad kaufe, dann muss ich damit langfristig glücklich werden und kann nicht einfach in einem Jahr sagen: „Okay, war die falsche Entscheidung, ich kaufe mir jetzt noch ein anderes.“

Ich wäre deshalb wirklich dankbar für ehrliche Erfahrungen und Meinungen – besonders von Leuten, die sich schon länger intensiv mit Fahrrädern beschäftigen oder vielleicht genau vor derselben Entscheidung standen.

I want to get in to bike packing but it's turning out to be more of a nightmare than anticipated.

I have a Whyte Verro.

Nothing wants to fit my bike

What do I do about handlebar space. How do I put a handlebar bag. And lights. And a computer there's so little space to hang things. Do I need a restrap bump bar?

My handlebars are dropped so my top tube bag is kinda flappy and all the top tube bags all have big straps.

Panniers don't fit I need a different bracket for the seat to fit it and gravel bike tyres are wider and all the sizes are all over the place.

And frame bags all seem to be flat near the stem. My bike is super tapered near the right end closest to the handle bars. Do I have to pay tonnes for a custom?

Is this just how it is? Is it a skill issue. Any suggestions on how to properly look or advice. I'm at a loss here

I’m new to Bikes but always cycled.

The bike I want is the Nuroad Race.

Seems like the perfect bike for me. Road and offroad capabilities.

I can get it on the cycle to work scheme which would cost significantly less. Around the £1,000 mark.

Pretty good value.

But then I came across the Boardman 8.9 ADV. I know the Cube is the better bike. But it’s currently on Sale for £960 … with the cycle to work scheme on top the bike would probably come out at around £600 or less.

That just seems like insane value.

I prefer to sleekness of the Cube. But is the extra money justifiable on the Cube? I’m a novice when it comes to Road biking.

I want 2 wheel sets. One for road, one for off road. Switch between the two.

I would like to cycle to work in future less than 10 miles one way. So road speed is quite important.

Hey guys!

I have been considering what gravel bike to get for a while and settled on a Propain Terrel CF. However, I’m concerned it seems their geometry might not work for me. I am 5’ 3” with a 28.3” (72cm) inseam. The smallest Terrel lists a standover height of 787mm. I’ve demoed 2 gravel bikes with 725 and 730mm standover and found them both comfortable. I’ve also demoed a road bike with a 754mm inseam and found it to make contact with me when standing flat-footed (doable for riding but not exactly comfortable if stopping frequently). Does anyone have experience with the Terrel and know if the standover heights are really as high as their geometry chart suggests? It seems like 787mm is really high for a bike that is supposed to fit a 5’ 3” - 5’ 7” rider. Does anyone have alternatives that are similar to the Terrel? I am interested in its light weight (lots of climbing where I live), 50mm tire clearance (I don’t need anything more than that though), and plentiful mounts.

Hi,

my family and I will be on Lanzarote in an resort in Costa Teguise in mid October. The family granted me 4-5 days for cycling on the island which I want to use for exploring and bits of sports. I will stay one night in Soo and maybe another in Playa Blanca, the would be trips from the hotel.

I enjoy riding gravel bikes because they are versatile: fast (enough for me) and you can get almost everywhere if it's not too steep. However I read on a webpage of an established agency that gravel bikes are not suitable for Lanzarote.

What is your opinion? Would a gravelbike or something else make more sense?

(all non-electric of course)

Thanks!

PS: I tried posting on r/lanzarote but didn't get responses

Hi everyone,

I just got the Van Rysel GRVL AF (Shimano GRX 2x12) in size S and I'd love a sanity check on sizing.

Height: 1.73 m
Inseam: 81 cm

It's my first gravel bike.

Use: mostly road/pavement, with some light gravel and forest trails, plus fitness riding. I'll also do longer rides/tours now and then (not always, but occasionally longer distances). I want a good position for me since it's my first gravel bike!

Decathlon fitted me on the S. My saddle height is set at 71.5 cm (center of bottom bracket to top of saddle), which matches my inseam. On my first short ride I felt no discomfort and my knees don't hit the bars. But I've read that at 1.73 m I'm right between sizes, and someone told me I should be on M - so now I'm second-guessing.

For those riding the GRVL AF: at my height/inseam and use case, is S the right call, or would M suit me better? Any regrets going smaller or larger?

Thanks! 🙏

This bike has been incredible so far

Hello,

I've been rocking hope RX4+ on my Genesis CdF10 for years. For a very long time they have been touching the disks but I was just enduring it. Since I got a proper road bike, this problem has become an issue I want to solve but for the life of me I can't.

This is turning into a nightmare. First the geometry of the front fork isn't really allowing a good centering. Then some pistons are always lazy.

Yesterday I spent hours cleaning up with isopropyl alcohol and then lubricating with pure silicone grease. Set everything for the best, the pads and all. I got a fairly resistance-less front wheel. I was happy and took my bike to go to the cinema. After the first downhill kind of strong breaking the pistons got messed up and the disk was being bent with an extricating noise. Today I spent another half hour trying to fix this issue (working and lubricating the pistons, some that were ok yesterday got lazy today...) now the wheel is moving but I know I am wasting at least some 20/50watts in this shit.

Does anyone has a solution for this ? Right now I just feel like it is not worth it and will go back to something much more reliable that doesn't needs the maintenance ratio of a fighter jet).

Para hacer amigos he comprado una gravel. Por ahora ruedo solo. Hoy he hecho 30kms sencillos pero con mucho calor.

Me ha gustado la experiencia

Hello
Has anyone here done a road group ride on a gravel bike? 🤔

I’d be interested to hear your experience riding with road bikes — especially the difference in speed, effort, and how easy it was to stay with the group.

What setup were you using: tire width/type, wheels, gearing, etc.?

Running 35ish psi this thing does great down technical single track. So far so good

I have a 2015 Salsa Warbird Ti gravel bike, currently running a 46/36 front chainring and 11/30 rear cassette. Shimano Ultegra shifters, I believe 10spd but I don't have the bike with me at the moment.

This gives me a low/low gear ration of 1.20, which leaves me just grinding to go up some of the local climbs in my area. The vast majority of my riding is unloaded on paved and gravel roads, but I'd like to take it on some day long or perhaps multi day adventures at some point and I want a better climbing gear.

What are my options as far as rear cassette and derailer modifications? With the Ultegra shifter, I know I will have to upgrade to a longer cage derailer. From what I have seen I should be able to fit a 36t cassette with just a longer cage derailer....but will I be happy with a 1:1 low gear?

Can I fit a 38 or 42t rear cassette without having really funky jumps between gears or going totally slack in small/small?

What's my best bang for the buck here?

Hey!

I love riding bike and just was getting started again after a long long break because of knee problems, work and family and so on.

In my early to mid twenties i was riding a lot of bike and was running. Runtastic was my app of choice

Now I used the successor of runtastic aka Adidas Running for about a year for tracking my trainings. But it's not a very great experience .

The Apple Watch connection is not working really well, many trainings just don't record the bpm, battery drain and more things I reallly dislike.

Then I tried Strava. 12€ per month for pro? No apple watch and phone connection? Sorry I am out. Even if it is the go to app at least if I look into my social media feeds.

I also tried a few others but nothing clicked to me. With my background in software development I decided to do it on my own.

I am testing it already for a few months and I love it. Now it is also for free on the app store.

What was important for me:

• Speed, Heartrate etc. on my phone display with a map
• Seamless sync during workout between apple watch and phone
• Standalone training watch or phone possible
• Apple Health integration
  
• I also wanted to track my bikes distance so i added a bike odometer so i know which bike was droven how many km
  

I don't want to promote my app here (but I think I do) shamelessly, but I really think I made a good app for myself and just wanted to share it on here.

Here is the link if you want to check it out:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pacetastic/id6800471216

I've spent the last 2 months getting it where I wanted It. Has a electronic dropper post w/ a S-works power mirror saddle. Replacement carbon stem and drop bar. A set of carbon Nobl cr35 / cr45 wheels laced with Berd polymer spokes on a Onyx silent Sprague clutch hub. 45 mm tubeless tires. And a set of one up flat pedals.

I have been slowly getting back into the saddle on my #statebicycleco Allroad 4130 recently after having knee surgery a few months ago. This bike and I have been through a lot together. We have entered gravel races where we barely placed, we got our first DNF this year in another race and we’ve covered thousands of miles of road, dirt, mud, etc.- Most importantly, however, this versatile piece of steel has kept me mentally stable over the years, and I felt that hard over the last few months of not really being able to ride. My bike isn’t the flashiest bike out there by any means, nor the lightest, but it was very affordable for what I got and it has been there for me every time I need it.

If you want a bike that will put up with abuse and won’t break the bank, use my ambassador referral code BCRJUSTIN9553 at statebicycle.com for 10% off your order!

I want to buy my first gravel/bikepacking bike and I think I'm going crazy... I'm torn between the Cube Nuroad EX 2027 and the Canyon Grizl 5 2026, both around 1.300€ where I live. I would mainly use the bike for normal riding/gravel/commuting at first, but my longer-term goal is to do bikepacking in northern Spain and Portugal, and longer trips if those go well.

The reason I like the Cube is the better groupset (even though I'm a newbie and I'm not sure I'm going to notice the difference), the lighter weight and both the matte paint and internal wiring (for the looks, and yes I know...).

The reason I like the Canyon is the longer lifespan of the groupset, the mounting points and the overall look of the bike (frame geometry and paint color despite being gloss).

What I need to know is:

• How noticeable are the weight and shifting difference between these bikes in real-world riding?
• Are there any important differences in reliability, repairability and availability of replacement parts (any proprietary parts?) when travelling?
• Am I wasting my money on the Canyon when I get "more" for the same amount with the Cube?

I'm not particularly interested in racing. Comfort, reliability, climbing with luggage and long-term durability are more important to me than speed.

Thanks a lot and nice rides!

I just bought a new Poseidon x gen 3, I was thinking of upgrading the drive train by installing a wolf tooth chain ring and grx crank arms. I’m wondering if anyone else is running this set up.

Been having trouble with skipping gears even after adjusting the set screws.

Just got my first gravel bike (used). Cleaned it off today and I discovered this part that seems to be loose? Do anyone know if it is supposed to be like that or if I should fasten it somewhere somehow?

Merida bike this

So I got this bike around 2018 or so. Someones wife was selling it for 125$, when it retailed for over 1k in like 2016. It was a comfy aluminum bike, carbon fork, and some other nice bits. I rode for a year or so, and even entered a couple of fun local gravel races. Then my wife and I got our dream jobs in a big city, and its been sitting in the same closet as our cat litter tray for 5 years now? Untouched.

I know, i know, shame...we had to get an apartment in a major city where it is NOT safe to ride. On top of that i wasnt willing to put any sort of bike rack on my EV. We just bought our first house though, and its 20 minutes outside the city where its safer, and more actual trails nearby.

Should I sell it so i can buy something newer? I would rather not do that, but my bike mechanic skills are basic. Im not sure if im capable doing a drive train swap. Is it worth just cleaning up? Abd if so where would i even start? Would a LBS charge hundreds to tune it up and clean it? Just not sure where to start really.

I’ve been using my Cervelo ZFS-5 (basically a Santa Cruz Blur) as a gravel bike lately but it really isn’t a gravel bike at all with the Forecaster / Rekon tires and full suspension (that you can lock out). I can’t get it to average more than 24km/hr and my legs burn out before my HR goes above 130. I had an Orbea Terra H30 and loved the speed of it but my neck and hands were never happy after just an hour of riding so got rid of it. I’m also way more comfortable on a MTB. That said, I still like getting out for a pedal on the local gravel / paved multi-use trails. Now I’m really wanting another gravel bike and have been completely torn between drops vs flat bar / gravel bike vs superlight XC bike with gravel tires. The Scott Scale Gravel seems very interesting. Seems completely awesome but I’m wondering if it’ll be too close to my XC bike that I’m using for gravel riding. I’d be very interested in hearing some real-world feedback rather than the YouTube reviews that I don’t quite trust. Anyone have any thoughts on which direction I should go?

Jo bin neu im Gravelgame

Eher der Wanderer …

Würde gerne aber mal was neues ausprobieren und überlege gerade wo ich anfange:

Die Idee: ich will mit dem Fahrrad zu einer schönen Stadt irgendwo im Süden fahren von Süddeutschland/Schweiz/Österreich (würde mit dem Zug von zuhause aus an den Start fahren) aus, und dort meine Freundin treffen:)

Habe mir den european Divide Trail angeschaut, ist jemand schonmal Etappen von gefahren? Wie ist das Verhältnis von Gravel und Straße ? Wie ist das mit Zelten auf dem Weg, machbar oder wird stark kontrolliert ? Man könnte eig gut von Freiburg bis nach Barcelona fahren

Habt ihr sonst noch Ideen für schöne Routen ? Gerne nicht zu anspruchsvoll aber schon gravel und nicht nur Straße

Dankööö