Show me your sub 18 or 19lb gravel bikes made out of whatever dang material makes you happy

[Duende]

Originally Posted by p nut

Nice ride. What brake calipers are you using? Are the levers Campagnolo? How well do they work?

Campy Chorus with Spyres. They just don't work good enough for me, not even close.

I've researched and tried all the different solves. I've concluded that they are impossible to use in an effective manner for off-road descending. This last weekend made that blatantly clear.

Upgrading to H11 here asap!

[Duende]

Originally Posted by joosttx

Elrigde trail will do that going up or down. Is the lower half still closed?

The closed signs were still up, but all the MTB'ers were riding past so we did too.

There was a tiny area near the end where you could see they had a recent landslide, but it was minor.

[Epicus07]

Originally Posted by Duende

Campy Chorus with Spyres. They just don't work good enough for me, not even close.

I've researched and tried all the different solves. I've concluded that they are impossible to use in an effective manner for off-road descending. This last weekend made that blatantly clear.

Upgrading to H11 here asap!

FWIW I have the new Shimano Tiagra 4700 levers and haven't been able to get them to work well with my Spyres either. Everyone raves about the spyres but i'm really not impressed. I've spent months tinkering with cable tension, pad distance etc and even with multiple trips to my local shop, the brakes are marginal at best.

I was much happier with cantilevers which surprised me because the hydraulic discs on my mountain bike are the bees knees.

I've contemplated finding some Hy/Rds but haven't heard great reviews about them either.

[p nut]

Originally Posted by Duende

Campy Chorus with Spyres. They just don't work good enough for me, not even close.

I've researched and tried all the different solves. I've concluded that they are impossible to use in an effective manner for off-road descending. This last weekend made that blatantly clear.

Upgrading to H11 here asap!

Too bad it's not working for you. I ordered a Potenza group and read it would work with BB7's (short pull road version). Hopefully that is the case.

[Epicus07]

I wonder if it has to do with the Tiagra lever pull ratio. My wife has the same bike with SRAM levers that work very well and with her interrupter brakes she can lock up the rear wheel without much effort.

[Duende]

I can't lock up the brak3s at all with my set-up. So on dirt when descending, I'm constantly riding the brakes to prevent too much momentum. As I know I don't have any real stopping power.

On pavement I can push it a bit harder, but still no where near as good as my skeleton brakes.

I don't mean to talk trash about Spyres. It's just the combo that isn't working.

[mistermo]

Originally Posted by Duende

Definitely Sub 19 last time I weighed in. Upgraded to some Enve wheels though, so that might put me under. Not with all this dirt and mud on it though.

I know.. I'm not the best photographer

I keep hearing of Campagnolo lever >> disc braking woes. Which discs do you have running with Campy? How effective do you find the braking? Tips?

[Duende]

Originally Posted by mistermo

I keep hearing of Campagnolo lever >> disc braking woes. Which discs do you have running with Campy? How effective do you find the braking? Tips?

Yeah.. hold tight until June for when the Campy version is available.

[wooly]

Here's my Ti Salsa Warbird. It's 19.2 lbs without pedals, 20 on the dot with XT race pedals.

I was surprised it came in that low considering it's hydro disc brakes, apes rear derailleur and e13 9-44 cassette.

[Sparshall]

Originally Posted by wooly

Here's my Ti Salsa Warbird. It's 19.2 lbs without pedals, 20 on the dot with XT race pedals.

I was surprised it came in that low considering it's hydro disc brakes, apes rear derailleur and e13 9-44 cassette.

Now that's a good looking bike. While I like Salsa Brand, I've never been a big fan of the warbird (not really sure why). Too bad they do make this in Ti anymore. Might have to start looking around for one...definitely the sans paint version!

[wooly]

Originally Posted by Sparshall

Now that's a good looking bike. While I like Salsa Brand, I've never been a big fan of the warbird (not really sure why). Too bad they do make this in Ti anymore. Might have to start looking around for one...definitely the sans paint version!

Thanks and I agree. I'm not a big fan of the aluminum or carbon versions. The Ti is classic. Honestly, I've been fortunate to have a lot of nice bikes. While the Salsa brand is not boutiquey like most of the builders on this site it rides quite well. And with the amount that I'm riding on the road these days (very little) this bike fits the bill.

[8352]

Are these straight forks beneficial to gravel bikes?

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

[sparky33]

While picking up at Firefly HQ today, Tyler put this bike on the scale just for kicks. 19.1 pounds as shown minus the pedals, pretty light for a 650b monster with fenders and full dynamo lighting.
It will be firmly DQ'd from this thread once I add my eggbeater pedals and a pair of ti bottle cages.

FF-648-Studio-2 by Firefly Bicycles, on Flickr

[geordanh]

Originally Posted by wooly

Here's my Ti Salsa Warbird. It's 19.2 lbs without pedals, 20 on the dot with XT race pedals.

I was surprised it came in that low considering it's hydro disc brakes, apes rear derailleur and e13 9-44 cassette.

this is sooo sweet. Love the headset choice.

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by geordanh

this is sooo sweet. Love the headset choice.

yeah, that bike is one blacked out fork enve stick away from perfection