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New Bike Itch, gravelish cross road bike.


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I got to ride this today and it made me a appreciate it on BCRT more than my 2.4" MTBs. Now I kinda want to find something similar and build it up. Either way, this was an interesting/new bike to me, has one of those biopace ovals on it, which I found to be pretty unnoticeable compared to my AB oval on my MTB. 

20200725_185518.jpg

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7 minutes ago, RedRider3141 said:

 

Exactly, any recommendations on a frame/ bike to start with?

I ride a Kona Unit as an urban bike even though most use it on the trails. Fully rigid it fits the bill. Also a Redline Monocog would be a great starting point. Surly as well.

If I were you I'd look for those and build up from there. As they are 29ers the added bonus (if you have a 29er) is parts compatibility which is nice. You can upgrade your MTB bike and move the other parts down to your commuter. This is how my commuter ended up with Shimano XT brakes. 

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how do you feel about drop handlebars? I find that, on longer rides with flat terrain, I like 'em. there are a TON of interesting drop-bar "gravel" type bikes that are comfy to ride for long miles on rough terrain but can easily be pushed much faster than a mountain bike. mine is a cyclocross bike goes everywhere. I just wish I could fit a bigger tire in the back, 35mm is quickly overwhelmed when the trail gets rough.

otherwise, a XC hardtail mountain bike, maybe with a rigid fork, is great. Lael Wilcox is killing it on a Specialized Chisel that she somehow got to fit her with a drop bar.

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I'm not sure If SS is for me, I actually like shifting but having the ability to run a 1X drive train would be ideal. Drop bars are new to me but I have seen some on gravel bikes that do look interesting. What's the point of drop bars? aero? comfort? The few times I've ridden they seem so narrow and twitchy, probaly from lack of experience. 

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30 minutes ago, RedRider3141 said:

I'm not sure If SS is for me, I actually like shifting but having the ability to run a 1X drive train would be ideal. Drop bars are new to me but I have seen some on gravel bikes that do look interesting. What's the point of drop bars? aero? comfort? The few times I've ridden they seem so narrow and twitchy, probaly from lack of experience. 

All of the bikes I recommended are SS or geared capable. They all have replaceable dropouts. I have 2 vassagos with replaceable dropouts, one geared, one SS.

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I agree with AB and Mac. SS is alot of fun and I rarely need or miss gears. I took my HT and lost the gears after 1 ride and went 32x19. I've since move to 32x16. It is great on the trails.

Got bored and added the drops and switched to mechanical brakes. Bike is so much more fun to ride. So simple to maintain and experiment with.

The drops I chose are wider than most and I get less fatigue on longer rides.

I still have the flat bar and stem intact with the brakes attached so I can easily swap back if I ever want. Fun project and I am super pleased to get away from the norm to change things up.

Ride it alot at BC but it's at home all over something like SN

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Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, RedRider3141 said:

 What's the point of drop bars? aero? Comfort?

Yes, and yes.

You need a bike that was designed to fit you with a drop bar, or at least a bike that will allow you to reduce the reach a bit with a shorter, taller stem, as the forward bend and hood add quite a bit to the bike's overall reach. I've never successfully converted a flat bar bike to drops, although I've tried. It can be done but it's tricky.

Edited by mack_turtle
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