Show me your gravelbikes....inspire me.

[Hilltopperny]

Originally Posted by weisan

Hill pal, I laughed at this because as Costco's No.1 fan, normally I will be all over these and the first in line but as rare it may seem, my tummy was full and I can't stuff any more bikes into my garage so I have to politely sit out on this one , I am glad you got some!

I picked up one of the 951 XC mtb's and it was a nice bike, so I figured why not give the 951 gravel a try! Both were solid bikes for a great price! I really like this ones versatility and so far it's made for a great riding bike for the seasons/days where I would rather not ride my more expensive bikes!

Sent from my Pixel 6a using Tapatalk

[blak_byke]

Originally Posted by GOTHBROOKS

I've had a secret love affair with this bike for years and now the affair involves embroidery. Geeze...

[weisan]

Updated to 1x
42t front, 11-52 cassette rear

[huck*this]

Added a Tailfin rack on the FiftyOne thanks to a wonderful Paceline forum member. (Iansir)

[NateM]

In its road mode GK 38's

[Yossarian]

20231115_125856 - Copy.jpg

I procured this Gunner off ebay last year, $400 and change. Stripped it down and built it up with shiny bits. I've made some changes this fall, but it is a great all-arounder bike. Gasp, even "gravel".

[StressStrain]

My 1997 Ibis Hakkalugi

[Likes2ridefar]

Originally Posted by huck*this

Added a Tailfin rack on the FiftyOne thanks to a wonderful Paceline forum member. (Iansir)

How do you like the frame set? I never heard of them till recently seeing an used one in my size at pros closet.

[weisan]

Originally Posted by weisan

One of the most often asked questions around these parts is: please help me find a gravel bike that behaves more like a road bike or I want an all-road bike. Well, here's my answer: get a cyclocross bike that has a bit more tire clearance.

Thus, the 2014 S-Works Crux which was designed as a cyclocross bike but with a wider tire (650bx42mm), it can also serve dual duty as a gravel bike.

Some may say, 42mm is not wide enough. With that, i always laugh. For a long time, I was just riding 35mm Panaracer Pasala on gravel events such as D2R2 and it was adequate. So to me, 42 is plenty.

And why a 2014 version, not the latest super duper 2024 lightweight Crux that is in the market now....simply because

a) it exceeds my personal price/value ratio as far as how much I am willing to pay for a bike. My limit is about $2k.

and

b) I don't normally chase after the latest and greatest, rather I wait for the trickle down tech or wait until the feeding frenzy is over before I jump in.

I found this 2014 Crux in someone's storage. It was completely new, never been built or ridden. I paid $400 for the frame and fork. With most of the parts I already got in my parts bin, and a few cheapo di2 bits purchased from the classifieds, a 50-bucks campy carbon crankset and lastly a Campagnolo-compatible praxis bottom bracket donated by a generous forum pal, I say the overall investment comes up to about $1000. I am pretty happy with the result.

Quick update:

Often heard people say something like "I rode my gravel bike with fat tire on the regular group ride and it didn't slow me down, I could keep up no problem...."

And I am thinking...."yeah, right....not the whole truth."

Today, I get to verify the statement myself. Brought the Crux to the regular road ride and I was expecting to work a lot harder to keep up or maybe even getting dropped but to my surprise, none of that happened, and I even took a pull in front on one of the sections where we usually hit speed upwards of 26-30mph. My perceived effort for the entire ride was a lot lower than I expected, in fact, I dare say almost identical to my "A" regular road bike. I say perceived - because I don't use a power meter or a heart rate monitor.

As a speculated guess, I would attribute this to a number of things:

1) The Crux is designed to ride more like a road bike. My position was set up more like my road bike.

2) The Rene Herse tires really do roll very well on the pavement even the wider ones (42mm).

3) I have lost quite a bit of weight and gain flexibility over the last 6 months, improved overall fitness has allowed me to perform better on the bike, regardless of which one I am riding on.

Now I am really curious how the Crux will perform in my regular GRAVEL route. If it performs 90% as good on the gravel as my regular gravel bike, then I have really found the bike that can do it all.

[StressStrain]

Ibis fanboy here. I posted my steel Hakkalugi rain bike earlier.

Now it's time for my 2022 carbon Hakka MX.

My apologies for mounting the front tire with the label misaligned from the valve stem. I corrected that in the second pic.

[Duvivr6]

Originally Posted by weisan

Updated to 1x
42t front, 11-52 cassette rear

Did you go the Garbaruk route?
I have ran 11-42 on my GRX but would not mind a few more gears.

[weisan]

Originally Posted by Duvivr6

Did you go the Garbaruk route?
I have ran 11-42 on my GRX but would not mind a few more gears.

Yes, I did, on top of using a wolf link.

Speaking of which, I rode around the neighborhood with the new 1x setup yesterday, went up a 20%+ grade hill and hit the 52 in the back. Yes, easier to spin up but kinda noisy in the back, not sure if that's because I need to finetune the adjustment screw so more or that's just the way it is with these ultra low gear under load, it was relatively smooth and quiet on the work stand and when tested on flats. On the regular flatter sections, I found myself looking for a "more suitable" gear, not sure if that's because this takes some getting used to compared to riding 2x all the time. Also as i realized later what i have in the front is actually 38, not 42 so maybe a bigger front ring is better suited for my use case.. Anyway, just want to provide some preliminary feedback before the next person jump info this. I can imagine this setup being very helpful in loaded touring conducted in some really steep terrain, those grand-granny- gears would be a god Sent.

[AJosiahK]

[BRad704]

Inspiring Action Shot? From the Midsouth Gravel 100 this year.

SS Crockett
40x18
42mm Cannonballs on Mercury G1 wheels
Sram Red carbon crankset with Magene powermeter
Zipp SL70 Aero 42cm bars
Cane Creek EESilk Carbon seatpost
Rival AXS Levers and brakes.

[feynman]

Originally Posted by StressStrain

Now it's time for my 2022 carbon Hakka MX.

I continue to really love the look of this version and color of the Hakka. I have resisted buying a frame even though they are 25% off. I wonder if I will regret this.

Nice bike.