ti for gravel

[chiasticon]

Originally Posted by boomforeal

why is that?

because when you hear that gravel ricocheting off the down tube, you can be comforted with the knowledge that its not chipping your beautiful paint job

[gomango]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

just want to remind everyone that to go out and have fun riding off pavement doesnt NEED the tip top of the line.

Exactly.

When our oldest son said he wanted to do some of the gravel events with us this year, we grabbed a Kona Rove ST. Nice bike for the $$$$.

https://www.konaworld.com/rove_st.cfm

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by chiasticon

because when you hear that gravel ricocheting off the down tube, you can be comforted with the knowledge that its not chipping your beautiful paint job

They make 3M tape for that - if it can protect your hood/headlights from rock chips at 100mph, I think some gravel kicked up at 20mph will be just fine.

[happycampyer]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

if we're talking about the ideal material, and the ideal overall bike, that's cool, and all well and good for the discussion, but i think for a lot of people, these discussions can be a bit dangerous.

it sometimes seems like when we talk about gravel bikes, you can go down the road of thinking that you need a bespoke titanium bike, fitted with 200 bucks worth of tires, carbon wheels to keep the weight down, wireless drivetrains and hydraulic brakes.

you're easily into 5 figures when you think about a bike like this.

just want to remind everyone that to go out and have fun riding off pavement doesnt NEED the tip top of the line.

Very true. A Cannondale Topstone alloy with 105 is $1,750 complete at REI. I’ve seen all-road bikes that end up costing 10x+ that, but they aren’t 10x+ more fun to ride.

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

if we're talking about the ideal material, and the ideal overall bike, that's cool, and all well and good for the discussion, but i think for a lot of people, these discussions can be a bit dangerous.

it sometimes seems like when we talk about gravel bikes, you can go down the road of thinking that you need a bespoke titanium bike, fitted with 200 bucks worth of tires, carbon wheels to keep the weight down, wireless drivetrains and hydraulic brakes.

you're easily into 5 figures when you think about a bike like this.

just want to remind everyone that to go out and have fun riding off pavement doesnt NEED the tip top of the line.

Careful, that's a slippery slope you're on..

Next thing you'll be telling us we don't need to obsess over bikes

It is true though. I had a blast riding a down-spec (Tiagra!) Speshialized Diverge in CA last week. Granted, it was brand new, so the brakes and shifting were fresh, but it didn't keep me from having fun. I undoubtedly would have been faster on tubeless and a lighter bike though

[AngryScientist]

i'll bring up in this thread what i just said elsewhere too:

for some people, and some riding....

a thinner, lighter gauge steel tubed bike, with a light, curved blade steel fork may very well ride a lot nicer on gravel than a super stiff fat tubed ti bike with an enormous bottom bracket area and rigid as hell carbon fork.

modern "gravel" bikes seem to emphasize a really stiff frame and fork, and add dampening with big fat tires and other features. well designed, purpose built steel bikes have been "taking the buzz off" rough roads for decades, using skinnier tires.

depends on the kind of riding and surfaces you're on, but personally, if i'm out for a century on quiet country roads, including dirt sections, i'd prefer a skinny tubed steel bike with a light steel fork and 30c tires over a stiff ti bike with 48's.

just another thought.

[tomato coupe]

Originally Posted by boomforeal

"researching" my next gravel frame last fall, i noticed a high proportion of the bikes posted on this site were titanium

then, in the "Tell me about your dream gravel bike" thread dbnm started last week, it seemed like virtually every bike posted was ti

why is that?

This forum is popular with people who like Ti, so they post pictures if Ti bikes and dream of owning Ti bikes. It represents one segment of the cycling world.

[unterhausen]

I like the idea of a nice, light steel frame on a gravel bike. I was going to make myself a Spirit for Lugs gravel bike, but I have a 2OS tubeset and some nice Llewellyn lugs so I'm going with that. I want to do bikepacking with it, and my current gravel bike is a gas-pipe All City, so I figure I'm not going to be increasing the weight much.

As ridiculous as it might be, I still have a left-over anti-titanium bias from my Teledyne Titan experience.

[colker]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

i'll bring up in this thread what i just said elsewhere too:

for some people, and some riding....

a thinner, lighter gauge steel tubed bike, with a light, curved blade steel fork may very well ride a lot nicer on gravel than a super stiff fat tubed ti bike with an enormous bottom bracket area and rigid as hell carbon fork.

modern "gravel" bikes seem to emphasize a really stiff frame and fork, and add dampening with big fat tires and other features. well designed, purpose built steel bikes have been "taking the buzz off" rough roads for decades, using skinnier tires.

depends on the kind of riding and surfaces you're on, but personally, if i'm out for a century on quiet country roads, including dirt sections, i'd prefer a skinny tubed steel bike with a light steel fork and 30c tires over a stiff ti bike with 48's.

just another thought.

You want that new crust w/ rim brakes. Lovely bike.

[Dekonick]

Originally Posted by boomforeal

"researching" my next gravel frame last fall, i noticed a high proportion of the bikes posted on this site were titanium

then, in the "Tell me about your dream gravel bike" thread dbnm started last week, it seemed like virtually every bike posted was ti

R3awak3n noted that the material is


why is that?

If I could go back 19 years I would have 3 custom Ti Serotta Hors Categorie bikes.
1) Road geometry, disk and rim brakes, room for up to 32 tires. set up for internal routing.
2) Touring geometry - same as my Bedford Steel - BUT with Disk and Paul brakes, custom steel fork. Much more relaxed. Room for fatties, up to 35 with fenders and racks. Internal routing...
3) gravel - Disk + Lauf fork (I know they didn't exist then...) room for up to 40's... fender mounts... internal routing, etc...

[Hilltopperny]

I have run all kinds of gravel bikes with varying builds over the past four or five years. I have tried all the materials and widely varying geometries. At the top level they all ride great and if the intended purpose is dirt/gravel roads then the paint or powder should be sufficient to prevent major chips and dings, but with titanium it just isn’t an issue.

My Kirk MRB with terraplane stays and steel fork was awesome and I put a reasonable amount of miles on it for the season that I kept it. It had clearance for 35mm tires on wide rims and rim brakes and I didn’t feel it lacked anything for the kind of dirt/gravel riding I do. The brakes always worked perfectly and I typically road it with 32mm tires. It was custom for another member here, but fit within the necessary parameters for me. The Joe Bell paint was never an issue, but I would never allow it to be ridden in the salty winter up here which was a determining factor when I decided to sell it.

I briefly owned a Parlee that has made its rounds around the forum and that was also an excellent bike. It had large tire clearances, a lightweight frame and a smooth, but stiff enough ride. It was a bit on the small side for me and I ended up passing it along.

I picked up a NOS Stigmata and built it up with a 1x drivetrain and took it out on some adventure riding. I was impressed with both its functionality and it’s ability to just ride wonderfully through anything I could throw at it. It was my favorite drop bar carbon bike that I can recall riding. It was almost like riding a rigid drop bar mountain bike.

I had a Moots Routt that was also an excellent bike. It was super plush with good power transfer, but a bit more upright with a 1” extension of the head tube. Another wonderful bicycle, but definitely felt more endurance oriented. It made for a very comfortable ride.

I picked up a wet fade painted aluminum Zanconato cx. This bike was 1x only and fit up to a 40c tire no problem. I tried it out in both 700c and 650b and was always impressed by its ride characteristics. Snappy when power was applied and smooth riding like steel. It came to me with a ding which I assume came from a handlebar impact. I could see where a bad enough crash could end its life due to its very thin tubing.

My current bike is a No22 Drifter. It is an excellent all around bike and I did have it built up with fender and rear rack capabilities. It is responsive enough to input and still maintains an all day level of comfort. I can ride it on road rides and not really feel a disadvantage and it is capable of riding pretty much any terrain I would like to with a quick wheel change with the appropriate tires.

I think it all depends on what you will be riding. I prefer a 32-35mm tire for climbing and anything less than single track or rough trails. I like 42-48 650b for more technical and harsher terrain. I am also 200-230lbs at any given time of year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[happycampyer]

Originally Posted by Dekonick

If I could go back 19 years I would have 3 custom Ti Serotta Hors Categorie bikes.
1) Road geometry, disk and rim brakes, room for up to 32 tires. set up for internal routing.
2) Touring geometry - same as my Bedford Steel - BUT with Disk and Paul brakes, custom steel fork. Much more relaxed. Room for fatties, up to 35 with fenders and racks. Internal routing...
3) gravel - Disk + Lauf fork (I know they didn't exist then...) room for up to 40's... fender mounts... internal routing, etc...

^ This is why I'd like a Routt YBB...

https://moots.com/bike/routt-ybb/

[Kirk007]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

if we're talking about the ideal material, and the ideal overall bike, that's cool, and all well and good for the discussion, but i think for a lot of people, these discussions can be a bit dangerous.

it sometimes seems like when we talk about gravel bikes, you can go down the road of thinking that you need a bespoke titanium bike, fitted with 200 bucks worth of tires, carbon wheels to keep the weight down, wireless drivetrains and hydraulic brakes.

you're easily into 5 figures when you think about a bike like this.

just want to remind everyone that to go out and have fun riding off pavement doesnt NEED the tip top of the line.

buy a Lynskey. They're fine.

[robertbb]

As AngryScientist said, absolutely no need to spend thousands!

My "gravel" bike is a 2012 Giant cross city which I bought used (but mint) off gumtree for AU$400.

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/au/cross-city-1-2012

It uses Giant's 6011 aluminium, which has added copper for extra strength. It can take 35's easily, has every rack and fender mount you could want, a 27.2mm seatpost, external cable routing, threaded bottom bracket, v-brakes, a clamp on FD (so very clean looking when run 1x).

The pics don't do it justice. The tubes are very beautifully shaped and designed to take heavy load (massive head tube and bottom bracket) and the welding is superb.

It's currently a flat-bar running the stock 105 groupset but I have plans to switch it to a drop-bar Campy 11 set-up soon.

[robt57]

It is really "All Good"

I always say, you want zoot and have the coin, you can't take either with you. So you can ride the money, or leave it for your kids...