Show me your gravelbikes....inspire me.

[saab2000]

This is mine. I haven't posted it here yet, at least not in this thread. Sadly, it's 18 months old and barely has 800 miles on it, most of it paved and then only because I feel obliged to ride such a nice bike once in a while.

The dimensions are based on my Zanconato and a few telephone conversations and they got it right, but for this bike I might do it slightly differently and actually take the time for an in-person consultation and measurement. Not much would change, but some things might. I may yet change the bars to some with less reach and a bit more drop. Not sure which ones.

My receipt of this fine machine coincided with my move to Virginia Beach, VA (for work reasons) and the elimination of the roads and terrain for which it was intended. I pretty much just ride it on the local flat paved roads now and that's a shame.

I did get one really good hilly, gravel ride on it last spring and hope to do the same again this year. It's in its element.

I need lower gears for the steepest Virginia hills. The tires are road tires. For the gravel roads I have Michelin Jets but wouldn't mind slightly larger tires. 33s or 34s maybe instead of 30s. The fork has its own gravitational field and induces tides on the moons of Jupiter. It was overbuilt on purpose and I have no regrets, but I may buy a Ritchey fork (same geo, but way lighter) and see what happens. This one was built for large studded tires and the ability to mount rack and fenders. They nailed it but it's a bit much for the gravel road mission.

Otherwise it's stable and the brakes, mechanical and all, seem to work well. I'd like to try the Shimano R685 shifters with the 785 brakes but there's no room in the budget at the moment. I'd also try some prebuilt wheels or some White Industry hubs for centerlock discs and the Pacenti SL25 rims. We'll see.

Anyway, I pulled it out of the garage and might ride it in the next couple days before I go back to the salt mines for four days.

[Schmed]

Originally Posted by saab2000

This is mine. I haven't posted it here yet, at least not in this thread. Sadly, it's 18 months old and barely has 800 miles on it, most of it paved and then only because I feel obliged to ride such a nice bike once in a while.
...

If I'm reading into the tone of your post correctly, you aren't using your IF as it was intended too often. If true, you should sell it to me! Beauty of a bike.

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by Schmed

If I'm reading into the tone of your post correctly, you aren't using your IF as it was intended too often. If true, you should sell it to me! Beauty of a bike.

I am not using as it was intended... But It's not for sale yet either!

There are no hills in my area, nor many gravel roads. I hope that will change before, or by, the end of my current lease.

If I win the lottery I might make a couple changes to the frame design and this is rapidly evolving technology I might make some equipment choice changes too, but for the most part it's a winner. On the road it's not much slower than a real road bike and off the paved surfaces it's decidedly superior.

[moran]

Yep, nice looking bike my man. Bring it to Arkansas, we will find some gravel roads!

[firerescuefin]

Originally Posted by saab2000

This is mine. I haven't posted it here yet, at least not in this thread. Sadly, it's 18 months old and barely has 800 miles on it, most of it paved and then only because I feel obliged to ride such a nice bike once in a while.

The dimensions are based on my Zanconato and a few telephone conversations and they got it right, but for this bike I might do it slightly differently and actually take the time for an in-person consultation and measurement. Not much would change, but some things might. I may yet change the bars to some with less reach and a bit more drop. Not sure which ones.

My receipt of this fine machine coincided with my move to Virginia Beach, VA (for work reasons) and the elimination of the roads and terrain for which it was intended. I pretty much just ride it on the local flat paved roads now and that's a shame.

I did get one really good hilly, gravel ride on it last spring and hope to do the same again this year. It's in its element.

I need lower gears for the steepest Virginia hills. The tires are road tires. For the gravel roads I have Michelin Jets but wouldn't mind slightly larger tires. 33s or 34s maybe instead of 30s. The fork has its own gravitational field and induces tides on the moons of Jupiter. It was overbuilt on purpose and I have no regrets, but I may buy a Ritchey fork (same geo, but way lighter) and see what happens. This one was built for large studded tires and the ability to mount rack and fenders. They nailed it but it's a bit much for the gravel road mission.

Otherwise it's stable and the brakes, mechanical and all, seem to work well. I'd like to try the Shimano R685 shifters with the 785 brakes but there's no room in the budget at the moment. I'd also try some prebuilt wheels or some White Industry hubs for centerlock discs and the Pacenti SL25 rims. We'll see.

Anyway, I pulled it out of the garage and might ride it in the next couple days before I go back to the salt mines for four days.

Really like that. Definitely post pics if you make some/all of those changes. I'd be especially interested regarding the fork.

[kppolich]

Nice build, I'd change the stem to match the frame or at least black it out. Very nice classic look though!

[RFC]

This is a no brainer. That is a great bike. Alter it to meet your present environment and future environments. It will evolve with you.

[Pastashop]

Some great bikes here. Here's my Singular Gryphon (thanks 007!), after mounting fenders... (Yeah, I know, the bike works much better when it's outdoors!)
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1427208488.718621.jpg

[ergott]

Are those 180mm rotors?

[Pastashop]

Originally Posted by ergott

Are those 180mm rotors?

Yup! The forumite who sold the frame to me lives in Seattle and needed braking power. I was completely new to disks, so he offered me a deal on including the rotors with the sale. :-)

[teleguy57]

Originally Posted by saab2000

I may yet change the bars to some with less reach and a bit more drop. Not sure which ones.

Saab, I don't recall what bars you have on here, but I'm liking my FSA New Energy bars (80 reach, 150 drop) on my CX/rain bike. I wrote about them in a thread we both participated in across the hall. I think I saw somewhere that Cav is running them this year (don't recall where, but let's hope they have nothing to do with his chain issues)

Also like the Thompson KFCs I'm running on my Hampsten (78 reach, 140 drop) but you probably don't want carbon on your IF.

[ergott]

Originally Posted by Pastashop

Yup! The forumite who sold the frame to me lives in Seattle and needed braking power. I was completely new to disks, so he offered me a deal on including the rotors with the sale. :-)

Better than having rotors that are too small;-)

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by teleguy57

Saab, I don't recall what bars you have on here, but I'm liking my FSA New Energy bars (80 reach, 150 drop) on my CX/rain bike. I wrote about them in a thread we both participated in across the hall. I think I saw somewhere that Cav is running them this year (don't recall where, but let's hope they have nothing to do with his chain issues)

Also like the Thompson KFCs I'm running on my Hampsten (78 reach, 140 drop) but you probably don't want carbon on your IF.

These are Ergosum from 3T. I have the Ergonova on the Giant and I like the tops, which have an oval section and a bit less reach. I might try some of them, but there's no hurry. Changing them out is a bit of a pain in the butt.

I'm planning to ride this bike this afternoon, but just a paved ride.

One thing I've noticed is that it's super stable with the front end geometry that's not really like a race bike and a longer wheel base and longer chainstays. I think most people would benefit from this increased stability. It's not slower in the turns, just more stable.

The bike looks way better with the PMP seatpost installed and the Thomson setback post removed.

When the time comes I'll probably have Eric of the Ergott Wheels empire whip up a set with the WI centerlock hubs and the Pacenti rims. But there's no hurry there either. These work nicely for the little riding I get to do on this bike.

[ergott]

Originally Posted by saab2000

When the time comes I'll probably have Eric of the Ergott Wheels empire whip up a set with the WI centerlock hubs and the Pacenti rims. But there's no hurry there either. These work nicely for the little riding I get to do on this bike.

;-)

[KidWok]

I got rid of the Co-Motion Nor'Wester I previously posted in this thread and built up a Gunnar Crosshairs to be my gravel bike. I've since put on 32 mm Pasela TG's with tan sidewalls on this bike.



Tai