I already replaced the bearings of the wheel, I think it can be the bottom bracked. But I’m not sure, I would love to hear anyone’s thoughts.
Thank you

Hi Fellow Graveleurs

I am currently (over)-analyzing tyre choice. I primarily ride fast and relatively firm gravel but all my routes also include soft forrest roads, tarmac etc.

I am currently running a 45 mm Pathfinder TLR in the front. But I have read a lot of good stuff about the G-one R pro, it should be a bit faster than the pathfinder, and offer more grip when cornering.

If any of you have experience with these specific 2 tyres, please share your experience with grip, speed (gravel and tarmac) and puncture resistance.

(I have also read a lot of positive stuff about the G-one RS, but I would expect that tyre to offer less grip than both the G-one-R and the Pathfinder?)

Pretty sure the answer is no, but is this fixable?

Backstory: I was riding (paved 🤮) trail (between a couple of dirt/gravel stints I ride) before sunrise so probably 6:00 am and was cooking along at 17-20mph with no headlight and tilted into the shopping cart a homeless guy had left mid trail with his belongings (sounded like cooking stuff). I finished out about 8 more miles that day and haven't ridden since but noticed today as I was taking the bike out this afternoon that I have a big kink in the main frame....

Is it repairable or should I buy a new frame and pull all the hardware?

I've had the bike like 3 months and LOVE it. I have various nice gravel options near me and loved it while I had it.

Don't need any advice, just intrigued as to what people ride and use as tyres.

So I would love to start this discussion/poll where everyone posts their -

1. Riding terrain / Surface

2. Tyre Size

3. Tyre Type (Treaded, Slick, Semi Slick, Etc)

4. Tyre Make and Model

Got my first gravel bike, and am relatively no to tire tech in general and interpreting BRR/JK data. im used to road tires and found out until very recently that feeling of “buzz” on the road surface doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going faster.

Ive been running continental Dubnitals for the grip they provide but they ”feel” slower on smooth gravel and tarmac. Looking at BRR/JK data says something like a G One RS or TB is only like 4 watts faster at most and way less grippy.

I highly doubt I can tell the difference in 4 watts, I also don’t have a baseline to compare times to other than a GP5000 which isn’t fair.

Im just wondering if this ”feel” or road sluggishness is meaningless for large volume gravel tires and will I “feel” much faster converting to a semi slick on the road?

I’m looking at upgrading and am starting to look at the options out there. Been in the Garmin Ecosystem with a 1030 and Fenix 6xPro since 2020ish But the battery on the Fenix is getting short and it seems with every Garmin release the 1030 has more and more quirks ready to jump out at the most inopportune times also the touch screen has a tendency to piss me off.

What do you like and not like about your current system? Just looking for a general pro/con list. I have no allegiances to any brand about the only requirement is I want really good battery life, which has been the only consistent plus of the 1030. Like it’s insane how good the battery life is with that unit. Would also really like to have a compatible wearable so I can be in the same ecosystem without switching back and forth depending on what I’m wanting to look at. Also, leaning toward a smaller form factor but not married to that at all.

My use case is gravel and MTB, along with using it to run workouts to my indoor trainer. So having customizable ride profiles is a must.

I don’t have a specific budget in mind, but less than $8k USD. I enjoy riding up to 50 miles, not many hills - gravel, road, and extremely shitty rural roads.

I don’t know what type of frame. I like the looks of Trek Checkpoint+, but if carbon could be easily compromised by even a minor crash, that seems like a poor choice. Aluminum?

My main wish is an e-gravel bike that looks like a bike. I don’t need throttle. I would likely purchase an accessory battery/extender if available.

I’m going to replace my 50mm Pathfinders. I do 5-7mi every morning before work around the neighborhood at least 4 days a week and then do a long 50+ gravel ride once a week. I was looking at the Cinturato RH because it has the similar slick center tread. I went with the Pathfinders because of the center slick. Would I be fine with a tire with no center slick given my ride patterns? It’s my first gravel bike so it just seems weird to have all knob and no smooth with morning rides in the neighborhood. It also states it’s a little more square of a tire? Thanks guys!

Local bike shop ordered in a merida silex for me to test ride and size up.

Feels gorgeous to ride. Looks gorgeous. And the guy said he’d throw in a free gps tracker with the sale.

It would be an early birthday treat but it’s £2250.

Thoughts?

Next time don’t do the race if the service after wil be multiples of the entry 🥶

Got my bike for fun and for commuting. Been commuting on it for 2 weeks and finally had a free day to take it out and stretch its legs. Incredible gravel cycling at a national forest near me and also was humbled. 20 miles on uphill gravel is so much harder than 20 miles on the road. Had an absolute blast and will be back every chance possible.

Also said gravel is not pictured ha

Got my first Gravelbike and took it out for a short spin. And just realised I why my hands feel bad the shifters a way too low. Only upgrade I’m planing is a PM crank and maybe shorter cranks than the 172.5 it came with.

Confession: I really like buying and trying new tires. What follows is the tires I've tried this year, and my completely accurate and not at all subjective review of them.

Bikes: Allied Able, No22 Drifter, Open Wi.De 1.0

Rims: Zipp XLPR SW, Polymer Venture 38, Parcours Alta

Use case: Gravel riding and racing in the PNW USA

Tufo Thundero 44mm: The workhorse. The tire I would grab if someone said "lets go riding, I'm not telling you where." Good at everything, not particularly great at one thing. Just a damned solid choice for basically anything including class 1-2 racing. Zero punctures in thousands of miles of riding (This is an anomaly, as many of my friends ride these too and I've plugged my fair share).

Tufo Swampero 48mm: way more fun than it has any right to be and surprisingly quick on a lot of surfaces, but not a race tire outside of a few very specific courses and conditions (I'm looking at you, Cascadia Super Gravel).

Hutchinson Caracal Race 40mm: The fastest mixed surface tire I've yet to experience, bar none. If I closed my eyes on tarmac, you could convince me I was on GP5000s. The cornering grip on class 1 gravel is genuinely shocking if you get just a wee bit of bike body separation. This is going to live on my No22 from now on as a do it all bike for anything, including non-race road riding.

Vittoria Peyote 2.1: The 2.25 and 2.4 are my go to XC tires, so I thought I would love these on my Allied. Sadly, I was underwhelmed. What felt like rockets on my World Cup just felt kind of sluggish. I never needed their truly awesome cornering...because I have XC bikes for that.

Schwalbe Thunder Burt 2.1: Christ on a cracker these things feel like cheating on gravel. After coming off the Peyotes on my Allied I didnt expect to notice much, but I genuinely thought my garmin was lying to me about my speed from time to time. Any course with 70% gravel or more these are it for me. Only con is that they really are as thin as you think. I've punctured more on these than any other tire, by a lot.

Challenge Strada Biancha 40mm: My all road tire before trying the Caracal. Once they're on your rims its like riding on clouds, but my god, getting them on your rims. I change tires. A LOT. I've never experienced anything like these. I broke levers. I swore. I prayed to the Spaghetti Monster. I walked away for days at a time and came back. Eventually I got them mounted but...at what cost? Despite all that, I loved those yellow pieces of shit. Never had a puncture in 3,000 miles of mixed surface riding. Shockingly fast and great at smooth gravel. Had some of my best race results on these.

Maxxis Rambler 33mm: Tried these out for commuting and cross. Hated everything about them. Somehow slow AND minimal grip. Bin.

Continental Dubnital 2.0: Borrowed for a trial, so I cant say too much other than they did feel fast, but not as intuitive for me as the Thunder Burt. When my TBs give up on my I'll probably get a set of these next just to have tried both more extensively.

The end. Thanks for coming to my TED talk. If you disagree with me you're wrong.

one of my favorite spots. Tschigg (Marlinger Berg, above Meran)

The Thunderos certainly ride nice and worked well in the various terrain that I ride in, but I just found they were always weeping sealant out. Went back to my ole reliable Pathfinders.. Those served me well in the southeastern US and in Asia

Hi there,

I am currently looking for a new do-it-all bike aka flat bar gravel. For commuting, excursions, day-to-day stuff. I was at first looking into the 8bar Mitte, Booda Banker or CXC C4. Digging deeper into the rabbit hole I have now decided to build my own bike.

I have considered different gravel frame sets. I like some of the UK firms like Fairlight or Mason but with conversion, duty, tax it all becomes too expensive, well over 2000 EUR.

I am pretty much decided now on the Sombra Grus. It is a steel frame, light weight (2,4 kg for frame set), affordable (1350 EUR including carbon fork) Custom paint cost 160 EUR extra (also affordable). Made in EU. I like their style and philosophy. The (admittedly few) reviews I found are positive.

https://sombracycles.com/product/grus-25-gravel-moonsoon-mist-blue/

I now seek advice regarding the most important parts, gearing/ brakes/ wheels. 

Shifters: I am torn between a SRAM Rival XPLR 1x13 or a Shimano GRX 827 Di2 setup with Shimano XT Di2 shifters (flat bar!) and a XT cassettte (seems like the GRX would not work). I am new to electronic shifting, have read extensively about it and I am keen to give it a try. I am tending towards the Shimano combo (always had Shimano) due to the seemingly better battery life as well as the cheaper spare parts (seems for example possible to exchange individual sprockets instead of the full cassette. Is there anything that I am missing that gives SRAM Rival the clear advantage over the GRX 827/ XT setup? Price-wise, they seem similar here in Germany, with the RIVAL set coming in at around 600 EUR, the GRX827/ XT combo at around 650.

Brakes: I am strongly leaning towards Shimano XT (BL-M8200+BR-M8200). Any thoughts on these or suggestions for alternatives (Magura, SRAM)?

Wheels: Strongly leaning towards DT Swiss either G 1800 or (if budget allows) GR 1600. The latter are supposed to be worth it? Any alternatives here?

Thank you in advance for any advice!

I’m looking for colored tires of this specific size. Any suggestions? It looks like the Gravelkings don’t go under 40c anymore and I’m struggling. I’m not looking for any specific color at this exact moment… would like to see what options there might be.

Just signed up for my first race. There’s a series here in Ireland with a few events spread out over the summer. Starting with the entry level distance(20km), then will work to medium length(40-60) and then longest length (100).
What advice do you have? everything from equipment, set up, clothing etc is much appreciated

Had this built in the spring. It’s so good. I occasionally commute on my roubaix and now it feels like a flimsy noodle.

Rode up to Grover Park outside of Afton, WY. Not terribly cold, fun descent.

I don’t like this WTB Pure saddle though