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What is Gravel Biking?


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18 hours ago, Barry said:

 

 

And as it stands, I don't think there is a fork on the market compatible with the CH because it was designed with peculiar rake and AC numbers. But if I decide I must go that route eventually, I'll end up playing with an online geometry calculator to find what the advantages and trade-offs will be.  But according to EVIL: 

The Chamois Hagar features a custom fork with Evil's custom 56mm offset and 423 mm axle to crown. [...] The Chamois Hagar is not compatible with suspension forks on the marke given the custom offset and axle to crown on the Chamois Hagar

Before all this corona happened there was a post on Dave Weagles IG that showed a CH in a geometry jig that Weagle had made when they started Evil. It got me to wondering if he was considering designing a short travel Trust fork specifically for the CH. Being as Trust is now defunct I guess we'll never know. Awesome bike! I hope you enjoy it!

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On 5/12/2020 at 2:35 PM, Barry said:

Since I plan to ride this on trail about as often as I ride it on gravel or road, and since my wrists hurt quite bit when I ride a rigid fork, I certainly have looked at it. Indeed, I even closely considered the Lauf True Grit bike instead. But in the end the CH was just a better fit for my geo preferences. 

 

And as it stands, I don't think there is a fork on the market compatible with the CH because it was designed with peculiar rake and AC numbers. But if I decide I must go that route eventually, I'll end up playing with an online geometry calculator to find what the advantages and trade-offs will be.  But according to EVIL: 

 

But I still need a solution for smoothing out the ride when I'm on trail. And that's where the 700/50mm tires come in. And I grabbed a pair of the smallest HuckNorris. So while that means this bike has 2 celebrity puns, it also means I can run quite low pressures when I want without fear of pinch flatting or dinging my rims. And the ENVY carbon 46CM/60CM drop bar should also help smooth things out, based on its reviews. 

Barry, I know it’s early in your experimentation here, but what kind of pressures do you think you’ll be running? 
 

I find it to be a very tricky game on my journeyman (running 700x43s now, may go to 700x50s one day). I’m not big on changing pressures through a ride, so I tried to find something that balances everything from road to gravel to single track and found 2 sets of pressure. I have my “mostly road” pressures and my “fuck it” pressures, and on these skinnier tires, I know when I’m 1-2psi off of them. 

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1 hour ago, bestbike85 said:

Barry, I know it’s early in your experimentation here, but what kind of pressures do you think you’ll be running? 

My tires are 50mm, so if I plan to only ride trail, I plan on "skinny" mtb pressures of 25-27ish. If largely gravel, then I'll be in the 35-40 range. And if it's only road, then 50ish. 

 

That's my early plan anyway. And yeah, I'll likely choose a pressure for a ride and go with it irrespective of eventual impromptu routes. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

50mm of drop? My gravel bike has 160mm of drop! The odd thing is that I only see an internal cable routing option and not an external cable option. I can only think of 1 gravel bike with stealth/internal drop cable access. Also, Easton is late to this game. PNW has had a 27.2, 100mm dropper for a few years. 

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7 minutes ago, ebflo said:

Where do you mount the trigger? Inside of drops behind the brifter levers? In any case I'll have to re-learn how to tape bars.

I have 2 drop bar bikes with a drop posts. My fat bike (FattyFattyDropDrop) has a drop bar with with a PNW lever inside the left drop. You can put on the bar as well, but I never ride technical terrain on the hood--only in the drops. So it's where I need it.

image.png.e8af2d2c2214cf4129a14ad18926489a.png

 

But my Chamois Hagar has the best solution. It has a GRX 1x drivetrain and the 160mm BikeYoke post is actuated by the front/left "shift" lever. It's glorious! 

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I posted some comments a page or so back about the CH fork. I was concerned that my puny wrists would hurt if I rode a lot of trail with their stock carbon fork. But according to EVIL, there is no fork on the market which matches closely enough the CH's offset and A to C. What I didn't realize at the time is that the ENVE bar is super compliant, and I suppose that's why I haven't had any issues with wrist pain. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I joined a new to me gravel grinders page on facebook, and there is a topic: "Will a gravel bike do well at Moab?"

Some comments were well, yes, on gravel roads, (like White Rim Trail) and scenic dirt roads.  One guy was like, hell yeah, 26 x 1.75 was great on all technical trails.  Somebody else is "Well maybe a gravel bike is OK for Slickrock, but other stuff not so much."  

That said, Moab these days has a lot of variety, but still...

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  • 1 month later...
On 8/18/2020 at 9:09 PM, June Bug said:

I joined a new to me gravel grinders page on facebook, and there is a topic: "Will a gravel bike do well at Moab?"

Some comments were well, yes, on gravel roads, (like White Rim Trail) and scenic dirt roads.  One guy was like, hell yeah, 26 x 1.75 was great on all technical trails.  Somebody else is "Well maybe a gravel bike is OK for Slickrock, but other stuff not so much."  

That said, Moab these days has a lot of variety, but still...

I just got back from a gravel trip near Moab. We rode in the Grand Staircase-Escalante and Capital Reef areas. The riding was soectacular.

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11 hours ago, Hugh said:

I just got back from a gravel trip near Moab. We rode in the Grand Staircase-Escalante and Capital Reef areas. The riding was spectacular.

11 hours ago, St.Bernardo said:

This means nothing without Pics!

Or a trip report! 

We're going to do a  Western Spirit tour in the Grand Staircase-Escalante area. There's no technical riding; it's all on dirt roads, although the last day will have some rough two-track.  We'll be riding mountain bikes. 

Stopping on the way for two or three days in Mexican Hat, Utah to check out the rough-ish 17-mile dirt road through Valley of the Gods (scenic!) and another route (Johns Canyon Rd) for mellow bikepacking potential, probably camping at Goosenecks State Park.  Here's a random review (photos and video) from the interwebs w/photos of Goosenecks State Park and Johns Canyon Road.  Looks well maintained and very gravel-bike friendly.  Johns Canyon Road

 

Edited by June Bug
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