Gravel mountain bike

[Fixed]

My off road skills are suspect at best
So I am thinking of getting a mountain bike to ride in Marin for this winter
I have found some trails off Bunker that lead off into the beautiful hills there That for me might be better exploring on a hard tail or a ridged instead of my crux .
I know some of you guys are expert mountain bike rides and roadies
So what’s your take , Oh yeah i would Ride it from pac. heights to hawk hill a about a 30 minute or less ride

Thanks in advance for the help
Cheers

[jtakeda]

Not sure what your budget is so answers are going to vary from custom to production.

Id look into a ritchey or kona.

Ive heard of people being very happy with the mone la roca with a suspension fork

[weisan]

Fixed unbroken

[markie]

Do you want to be a mountain biker or do you just want to explore. It feels like the later. I love exploring on my cross bike, but it sucks on group MTB rides. Then if you skills are that rough maybe something with some bigger tires and suspension will let you get away with a lot more...

I vote for cross bike and learn how to ride trail on it. I did that on a well used fixed cross check. That thing took plenty of abuse and spills without any drama

[Fixed]

Do you want to be a mountain biker or do you just want to explore. It feels like the later. I love exploring on my cross bike, but it sucks on group MTB rides. Then if you skills are that rough maybe something with some bigger tires and suspension will let you get away with a lot more...

I vote for cross bike and learn how to ride trail on it. I did that on a well used fixed cross check. That thing took plenty of abuse and spills without any drama

I would be walking a lot But that is fine too
Coming back from a t.b.i. injury
Thanks
Cheers

I am thinking about a richie steel with ridged Fork ..stupid me I like the way that carbon fork looks

[jtakeda]

I would be walking a lot But that is fine too
Coming back from a t.b.i. injury
Thanks
Cheers

I am thinking about a richie still with ridged Fork ..stupid me I like the way that carbon fork looks

If you want full rigid I would just use a cross bike.

[markie]

I hope your doing ok!

Sometimes it’s ok to have a bit of a walk! Get your head up and enjoy the view!

[markie]

If you want full rigid I would just use a cross bike.

I find a pretty big difference. I can hang on MTB group rides with a rigid 29er. I cannot keep up at all on the cross bike, but then the trails here are rocks and roots interspersed with small patches of dirt. I guess CA trails might be a bit more buff?

[MarinRider]

I have written here several times that a rigid MTB is all you need for Marin. Most of the bike legal trails in Rodeo valley are very rideable without suspension. I ride mostly on the north side of Tam where it’s less crowded and less maintained than the Headlands, and a front suspension is all you need for even the most technical legal singletracks. It’s not Tahoe here.

I am a roadie at heart but have gravitated toward dirt over the last 5 years. My regular rides are 90% dirt, most are on fire roads and double tracks. They can be steep and loose, so gearing, traction, and body position are often more important than type of bike. If you can put 45 knobbies tires, a 42 cassette, and a dropper post on your Crux, you can probably ride anything on the south side. Your MTB buddies will be faster on the way down but you will be waiting for them for minutes on the ups.

Another consideration are your hand positions. For us roadies who are used to flat-back-knee-over-spindle to generate power, road bars have always felt more natural to me than flat bars. I also prefer to stand to climb rather than sit and spin, and road bars provides more leverage here as well. Given the limited hand positions, flat bars can be painful for anything over 4-5 hours.

Lastly since you will be riding a bit of pavement to get to dirt from the City, your Crux will be more efficient on those pavement climbs.

Good luck!

[joosttx]

I would get an cross country hardtail mountain bike. The Specialized Epic would be my choice of bike.

[jimcav]

but I'd get the bike for the worst sections of trail: 29er.

I get annoyed when my rig is not up to the trail I'm on.

My local trails have some routes that are doable on cyclo-cross, and I did a race once in Tahachipi where there was one guy on a gravel bike. In all those cases a simple HT was MUCH faster.

I had a single speed Fisher Rig 29er, with a suspension-corrected rigid fork that was a BLAST on central Indiana trails: wooded, twisty, roots, relatively flat.

In Southern Ca most of our double-track fire roads are just a mess of ruts and small rocks, and it would just be more comfortable, secure, and fun on a 29er.

I'm 51, and my idea of fun is riding along with a grin at whatever my fitness limit allows, without fear of flatting or crashing.

[jtakeda]

I find a pretty big difference. I can hang on MTB group rides with a rigid 29er. I cannot keep up at all on the cross bike, but then the trails here are rocks and roots interspersed with small patches of dirt. I guess CA trails might be a bit more buff?

trails aren’t crazy rooty, rocky. More hardpacked and some ruts and rocks but not like a rock garden.

On 2nd though a surly karate monkey would be a great choice for a rigid mtb on a budget

[sparky33]

I would get an cross country hardtail mountain bike. The Specialized Epic would be my choice of bike.

I am also a fan of the xc hardtail for gravel. Keep it light and snappy.

The wide hbar is more capable on descents and anything tricky. A set of low profile knobbies are so quick on road and off. My gravel hardtail is a carbon Highball 29er with 100mm fork and Rekon Race tires, though I do still ride a conventional gravel bike for dirt road rides and a full-sus trail bike for real trail riding. If I had to choose one of the three, it would be the hardtail.

Mrs Sparky rides a Ibis DV9, which is also quite capable as a gravel ripper or as a trail hardtail...

[pottshead]

I’d get something on the more wild than mild side of the gravel spectrum. Maybe the latest Ritchey Outback? Hawk hill and most of the trails in Marin are pretty tame. If you wanted to start riding in Santa Cruz I’d lean towards a 29er mtb. Your biggest challenge will be finding the right gearing for road and mtb honestly. 46/30 and 11x40 GRX? For me it’s climbing the 18% gradient loose stuff that really skews that equation.

[Jaybee]

If you've already got a Crux in the stable, I think you'd find a greater expansion of your playground by adding a hardtail XC race rocket than an incremental improvement of a more MTB-influenced gravel bike.

Speshy Epic or Chisel, Highball, Giant XTC, Scott Scale, etc. (My personal lust right now is that pink-blue fade Epic).

Sparky is right - putting the right tires on a hardtail moves it anywhere on the spectrum from fast city commuter to gravel to singletrack shredder.

[XXtwindad]

Relevant thread from awhile back: https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=242683

[slowpoke]

If you've already got a Crux in the stable, I think you'd find a greater expansion of your playground by adding a hardtail XC race rocket than an incremental improvement of a more MTB-influenced gravel bike.

Everyone has their level of comfort with underbiking, but I second this idea of reducing overlap.

My local anecdote is that I've ridden a good amount of Marin dirt on my 650b light-touring bike with Switchback Hills, but I really disliked the stretched out feeling while descending in the drops and simultaneously trying to get my weight behind the saddle. My cable-actuated brakes were also not the most confidence inspiring. So I picked up a great hardtail from a fellow member here and riding dirt became easier, but still remained fun and opened up other trails.

And climbing with proper mountain gearing is better than realizing you're out of low gears.

[unterhausen]

everything depends on the trails you are going to be riding on. There are some trails I have been on that would be fun on a gravel bike. But the trails closest to my house that go up into the nearby state forest take me a lot longer on my gravel bike than they do on my hardtail mtb. So if I really wanted to go that way into the forest, instead of through town and onto the highway for a couple of miles, it would be a lot better to use the mtb.

[p nut]

I would suggest going with more of a “trail” MTB than full on XC. More relaxed riding position. ie, Santa Cruz Chameleon. Doesn’t sound like you are racing. I think a bike like the Chameleon will give you more confidence in those rougher sections of trail. Especially if you’re going to be rigid.

If you want steel, I really like my Niner Sir9 I’ve had for 4-5 years now.

[bigbill]

When Garro built my Disc Dirt Road Racer with a unicrown fork, it was a better mountain bike than anything I ever rode in the late 80s or early 90s. The only place I won't take it is rock gardens. He built me a mountain bike for that.

[Fixed]

Thanks for all the insightful advise
I have not given up totally on racing again
I just paid last month USA cycling After 9 years off
I am a cat 3 road and cross I may do some senior (games)citizens racing type thing in the future
Thanks everyone
Cheers

( I like the Santa Cruz Chameleon. it is a cool bike
And My friend at my shop would like to sell me a all city gorilla monsoon )

[CMiller]

I have a chameleon and love it, such a great contrast to fat tired gravel bikes. A Gorilla Monsoon can do a bunch of riding, but the main offering over the crux would pretty much be just fatter tires and slightly slower handling. I would keep the crux light, try the fattest tires it will fit, and potentially complement with a hardtail and dropper.

[Burning Pines]

For rough fire roads a rigid XC 29er is hard to beat. Also, those bikes were super common 8-15 years ago, and are now dated enough that you can get them for a great deal to try out the platform. New MTBs are great but mostly because the geo and suspension is improved for technical riding, which it doesn’t sound like you’re doing. I think I sold this salsa 2 years ago for under 600 dollars with a brand new drivetrain (I regret it):

https://i.imgur.com/c0TG9ky.jpg?1

[colker]

Rivendell Hillbilly is perfect for your description.