Gotta buy some new bikes. Gravel and mtb. Bang for buck?

[TronnyJenkins]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

I'm so stoked for you!!

North Table is a rough intro to the dirt if you're new to the mountains. Try South Table or Green Mountain - you'll get the climbing and fitness but a lot less tech. And Rooney Valley Flow Trail will make you realize what the point of this sport is.

Thanks all! I’m pretty pumped. Though I lost my confidence about halfway through the black diamond that I accidentally took. Need to take it out somewhere I can ride in my comfort zone and really feel it out.

And yes- good to know on North Table. I had no idea. The guy wanted to meet there and I thought I’d try it. And stupid me went/tried to go up that crazy steep road to the top, lol. I’ll try those other trails asap.

[TronnyJenkins]

Reporting back here just for fun. I did a proper North table route for my skill (route shown below) today and it was a blast. Last time I foolishly went up that crazy hill right off the bat from West trailhead and won't make that mistake again. This route was legit. (I did fall once, but that was just me being a bit too full gas beyond my skill level)

In case you don't want to read back, I ended up with the 2015 Anthem X (carbon) that my buddy had modded to awesome specs. Step cast Fox 34 fork (120mm), upgraded Fox rear (100mm), Enve wheels and handlebars. Suspension controller (Twinloc) by Scott. Stages left side power, XX1 crankset and RD, Red shifters, and XTR brakes. He just got a new top of the line Spark and funnily enough the weights on the two bikes are about the same. He just has slightly better geo for 'trail', but I don't think this bike will hold me back on much terrain.

Also, I ended up with a Canyon Grail 7 eTap that I lucked into finding locally and gently used. I sized down to a small because I wanted a racier fit. I have a gravel race on October 1 that should be a confirmation of it working (or not). If I don't love it after that, I plan to sell it and get a higher end carbon gravel bike that is race geo and get two nice wheel sets. Road and gravel.

Thanks for all the input.

[DMC707]

Originally Posted by mtbmoose

That 2015 Anthem has no dropper post and the cassette for that 1x drive train looks a little small, maybe tops out at 46t? You’re going to want 50t or 51t if you will be doing any significant climbing on steeper terrain. The Anthem and Epic bikes lean towards XC race. If that’s what you’re looking for, great, but if you want something more multi-purpose, then be looking Stumpjumper, Trance, or Fuel, in the most common brands. I’d probably look for something less than 5 years old for better geometry and newer components.

Oh my! How did we ever get by without dropper posts !! Or -- PNW has a guy covered for those economically also

Regarding gearing - the dude's a road Cat 4 , so is likely height/weight compliant - a 46t on the big end wont hold him back

[benb]

Now that I've rode with a dropper post...

It is such low hanging fruit. So easy and cheap of a thing to install. Once you start using it correctly it just feels so effective... it encourages better technique.

[DMC707]

Originally Posted by TronnyJenkins

Reporting back here just for fun. I did a proper North table route for my skill (route shown below) today and it was a blast. Last time I foolishly went up that crazy hill right off the bat from West trailhead and won't make that mistake again. This route was legit. (I did fall once, but that was just me being a bit too full gas beyond my skill level)

In case you don't want to read back, I ended up with the 2015 Anthem X (carbon) that my buddy had modded to awesome specs. Step cast Fox 34 fork (120mm), upgraded Fox rear (100mm), Enve wheels and handlebars. Suspension controller (Twinloc) by Scott. Stages left side power, XX1 crankset and RD, Red shifters, and XTR brakes. He just got a new top of the line Spark and funnily enough the weights on the two bikes are about the same. He just has slightly better geo for 'trail', but I don't think this bike will hold me back on much terrain.

Also, I ended up with a Canyon Grail 7 eTap that I lucked into finding locally and gently used. I sized down to a small because I wanted a racier fit. I have a gravel race on October 1 that should be a confirmation of it working (or not). If I don't love it after that, I plan to sell it and get a higher end carbon gravel bike that is race geo and get two nice wheel sets. Road and gravel.

Thanks for all the input.

That is a very nice bike ! I just scrolled back a page or 2 to check it out -- Have fun!

Regarding moddern geometry vs 2015 geometry -- that bike may be all you need for a while

I am back-pedalling from my new-ish Yeti SB-100 to my 2014 Yeti SB-95 as the older geometry is more comfortable for me for a lot of my riding

Good luck off-loading the C&V stuff ! I have not , but then again Oklahoma is an entirely different market than Denver area