Gravel Fit? Vs Road Fit

[SuperColnago]

Taking the path of least resistance and asking on forum.
I recently bought RJ’s Soma Triple Cross, and have been thoroughly enjoying it, during Ottawa Canada’s coldest spring in 50 years.
https://forums.thepaceline.net/showt...ht=Soma+triple
Been dialing it in, and been essentially reproducing road fit on it, but wonder if I should be adjusting it at all for offroad, have no idea.... is there such a thing as a gravel fit?
I’ve got it nice and comfortable just did 100km mostly gravel, and feel great, essentially road fit reproduced, just a little less drop.
Is there a basic gravel fit compared to road?
Cheers and thanks!

[weisan]

I’ve got it nice and comfortable just did 100km mostly gravel, and feel great, essentially road fit reproduced, just a little less drop.

That's all it matters....but I understand where you are going with that, I will let the more knowledgeable pals of this board answer your question.

[Ken Robb]

I think aero effects at gravel road speeds would be less than on pavement so a higher position on the bike might be more comfortable and make it easier to see farther down the road with no loss of speed due to increased wind resistance. On deeper soft surfaces I like less weight on the front wheel so it "floats" rather than digging in too.

[R3awak3n]

I set up my gravel bikes identically to my road bikes, they see plenty of road miles (maybe even more unfortunately). I mean the gravel bike crazy is road geometry with room for big tires.

[Brusselsprouts]

I know a lot of buddies set up their gravel bikes for more of an endurance fit. I prefer a touch more of a comfort focused geometry but just off the aggressive setup of my race bikes. Also depends on what terrain you'll be riding on.

[GregL]

Summary: 1cm less drop and 2-3mm less reach for the gravel bike. I set up my gravel bike very similarly to my road bike. Saddle height/setback and crank length are the same as my road bikes. Drop from saddle to bar is 1cm less on the gravel bike. Reach to the handlebar is the same for both, but the gravel bike has a different handlebar model that incorporates 4 degrees of sweepback on the top section. This results in slightly less (2-3mm) reach to the hoods/drops.

Greg

[Hakkalugi]

My gravel and road bikes have the same STA and ETT, but I run a 30mm shorter stem, flipped up on the gravel. I find that it’s more comfortable and I like the handling better on singletrack, and that the extra flex in my elbows and wrists softens rough trails and roads. There’s no magic in the stem size, I played with several I found in my stash and settled on the 70mm. I’m also running flared bars on gravel and it’s really nice.

[bigbill]

The differences on mine is a stem that is 1cm shorter and wide flared bars. I'm a big guy so I'm using 46cm wide bars. I liked my gravel setup so much that I've been changing over all my road bikes to 46's.

[Gummee]

After all these years of riding, my body is only really happy within a very narrow range so I set up everything essentially the same.

YMMV as with all things

M

[TiminVA]

Originally Posted by Gummee

After all these years of riding, my body is only really happy within a very narrow range so I set up everything essentially the same.

YMMV as with all things

M

I concur

[madsciencenow]

Originally Posted by TiminVA

I concur

I'm in this camp as well.

[tony_mm]

I am in the market for a gravel bike and after discussing with some manufacturers and checking their models I understand that the reach is similar but the stack is higher (especially for the one with slammed stems on their road bikes)

[robt57]

Are you folks using same saddle setback as road position?

I am in the tad more stack, touch less reach, touch less setback camp for personal 'gravel' setup. FWIW

[veloduffer]

I set up my gravel bike the same as my road bikes. Upright isn't more comfortable for me - it actually hurts my back. I think an upright position makes my back more compressed.

[shoota]

Yep, slightly taller and slightly less reach for gravel. But not much. Conditions will dictate what is appropriate for you, it's certainly not a one size fits all scenario.