Show me your gravelbikes....inspire me.

[vav]

bike finished. Swapped the 700 x 28 tires



and put some 700 x 37.

[fourflys]

LOVE seeing all the Black Mountain Cycles Crossers on here!

[bismo37]

Originally Posted by sjbraun

What is this? I can't make out the name on the downtube.
It looks perfect.

What's the largest tire it will hold?

[/QUOTE]

The biggest tire I've put in there is a 34mm, but there's room for bigger with Paul Racers. It's a fun bike.

[PaMtbRider]

My current gravel / rainy day bike. I love that this thread is up to 18 pages and isn't off topic or Lance related.

[DRZRM]

Well, here are mine. I keep planning to race CX, but on the whole these are being ridden as all around frames with trails and dirt roads mixed in. Love them both. If I were starting from scratch, I'm not really sure I'd need a road bike. The Zanc fits as well and performs about as well as any of my road bikes. The IF has a traditional CX high BB, but it rips on trails, and I get used to it on the road.

Been running around with my 4-year-old and I think he is really taking to the dirt.

Zanc CX



IF CX

[redir]

Wow what an amazingly awesome bike pr0n thread

I would just use my CX bike, Lemond Poprad for any gravel rides.

[sc53]

Well, here are mine. I keep planning to race CX, but on the whole these are being ridden as all around frames with trails and dirt roads mixed in. Love them both. If I were starting from scratch, I'm not really sure I'd need a road bike. The Zanc fits as well and performs about as well as any of my road bikes. The IF has a traditional CX high BB, but it rips on trails, and I get used to it on the road.

Been running around with my 4-year-old and I think he is really taking to the dirt.


I agree with you, if I were starting over I would not buy a road bike. I would buy a gravel road bike and just use different tires for good roads. Also, I
could probably use bar end shifting for all my needs and save $$$ there as well. I would have 2 or 3 sets of wheels for different conditions and call it a day, many thousands of dollars sooner.

[firerescuefin]

Originally Posted by DRZRM

Been running around with my 4-year-old and I think he is really taking to the dirt.

Another one of the reasons it's really appealing to me is getting my boys into cycling in that environment...rather than road or MUTs.

[classtimesailer]

But lately, a Richard Sachs with 22mm Sprinter Gatorskins has been fun on the dirt and gravel stretches. I don't think that a CX bike is a Gravel Road Bike. But, you can ride your CX bike on gravel or dirt or single track or whatever -- Just as you can ride any other bike.
BTW, I race my Gravel Road Bike 9 or 10 times a year in the local CX series.

[RFC]

These gravel grinder threads are great fun and tend to energize your inner outlaw.

These threads all deal with converting rigid steel MTB frames into drop bar grinders and allarounders. That's what I did to the Fisher, above.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ar-Conversions

http://forums.mtbr.com/vintage-retro...ad-659324.html

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/vie...lit=+drop+bar+

[spaced_ghost]

i have an old AL Giant MTB frame I plan on doing exactly that with at some point. that Fisher is badass, btw.

[spaced_ghost]

this thread has made me realize that a good steel road bike with clearance for larger tires is really all I need in a bike. sure, I'd like to have a couple other bikes around for different purposes now and again, but seriously. Something like that green Ellis? what else do you really need? commuting? check. gravel roads? check. long asphalt road rides? check. light touring even, check. probably wouldnt hang on single track like a cross bike, but hey. if you need that, keep a MTB around for that anyway.

[krhea]

Geoff, I don't think I can "inspire" you buddy but I have started a gravel grinder build of my own. I'd been riding my cross bike on gravel adventures the past 2 or 3 years and then I got hit with a bad case of "bikeitis". You know the illness, suddenly you realize you haven't added a new bike to the stable for a few months, your mouth gets dry, you begin to twitch, palms get sweaty and you get that feeling deep inside that you need a new bike. You try your hardest to combat the symptoms but your resistance is low and your need is great so ya just roll over and give in! That's what I did. It's build a gravel grinder time at in KRhea's shop!

This is a budget gravel build where I allowed myself up to $300 for a frame or frame/fork. My frame want list: aluminum w/some tube shaping, disc ready, braze-ons for fenders and or racks, more road geometry then crossish and room for some meaty rubber. The remainder of the parts I'm hoping come from the various boxes, drawers and hidden places within the shop.

I began my frame search using CL, local and online forums including Paceline as well as Ebay. Shockingly I scored, what for my use, is the perfect foundation for the build:




This frame was brand new, cost $50 plus $25 shipping!!!!! Nothing like a bit of patience combined with closeout sales to get whatcha need without breaking the bank! It's aluminum, disc ready, fork was included(non-disc), has plenty of braze-ons for fenders, racks and the geometry I was looking for. Had it put on a frame table and it's straight and ready to be built and ridden. No, it's not a multi $1000 Gazuletti aluminum race monster but the build quality is really good, it's straight and it'll serve my purpose perfectly, plus, it's really cool looking with it's buffed ano look. And, I saved $225 of my frame budget which now allows me to build a nice rear disc wheel!

Here are more pics of the frame and I'll update the project as I decide on the parts spec. I already have a 9speed XTR rear derailleur I'll couple with Campy 10speed Ergos, a Centaur compact crank, Crank Bro pedals and a Tektro 926AL linear pull front brake. The rear brake will be a road BB7 of course. No idea of bar/stem, wheels etc.

[Gummee]

Now THAT'S a score. I thought I did pretty good with my Sette mtn frame for under $100. Before that it was an Access frame for about the same price. If the seatpost on that Access hadn't kept slipping, I'd still be riding it.

My hat's off!

M

[kevinvc]

and it is an awesome ride. I've only put about 100 miles on it so far, but did some steep fireroad climbing as well as paved pacelines and 35+ mph descents. The feel is amazing. Unfortunately, the frame is the wrong size for me and I'm going to have to sell it. I'm not trying to advertise, but it's definitely a worthwhile gravel bike and likely will be on the classifieds forum soon.