Carbon vs. Aluminum

[FIJIGabe]

I'm presently building up a Gravel Grinder/Cross Bike (mainly Gravel), and have come to a cross-roads. The frame set I originally wanted, Trek Crockett, is not available in a cantilever form, and Trek doesn't show any coming in the future, so I'm now at a quandary: should I go with the more expensive Boone frame set with cantilever brakes, or the less expensive Crockett frame set with disc brakes?

To clarify, if I get the Boone, I will only need to buy a new FD, since I bought a clamp-on 6800 FD. Otherwise, I have everything I will need to build the bike. If I go with the Crockett, I will need to buy brakes (since I already have the canti brakes) and have my wheels rebuild for discs (or buy new wheels).

Opinions?

BTW, I'm not presently considering any brand other than Trek, although I may be swayed by a good Ti frame, if I can get it at a good price.

[stormur]

Always seatposts @ 27.2 and FD brazed on fit's to everything… almost.

it depends …. do you want canti ? then Boone, Can you live with disc brakes ? then Boone or Crocket.

I rode once on Crockett ( 105 ) - feels good, but it's… heavy like a brick.

Crockett on disc's will be at least 1kg heavier than Boone on canti .



Price of brakes or FD is (almost) irrelevant in overall build price.


If you can afford Boone - go for it. It's newer, lighter, more compliant . Boone is improved + CF "Crockett" . You have (almost) all parts for both builds, so there's no issue to consider like f.e. Boone + Rival or Crockett+Red… .

[mattr]

If it's mainly for gravel, discs. You want reliability in poor conditions AND over longer distances. Not just on a race course. You can also run bigger tyres (no 33mm restriction) and tubeless so compliance and comfort from the frame is less of a consideration. Ditto with weight. Making a bike durable for gravel races/training kinda makes the weight take a back seat.

If it was mainly for cross (racing) I'd go canti, for exactly the opposite reasons.

You can probably pick up some road BB7s for not a huge amount, and the price difference between the two frames should nicely offset the cost of hubs/brakes.

[Kastrup]

I'd go with the Boone. Cantilever brakes have been considered reliable for a long time. The arrival of discs doesn't change that.
Regarding tires i currently have 35 mm tires on my canti equipped cross bike with plenty of clearance. For mostly gravel you could even consider some 38-42 mm tires with less thread?

[FIJIGabe]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. After thinking about it, I'm going to go with the Boone. I will get new wheels, however, since the ones I was going to go with we're a little too lightweight for the task (Reynolds DV3K's 20/24). I'll instead look for a budget 24/24 or 24/28 clincher wheels, and try to run a 35C tire.


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[FIJIGabe]

The boss vetoed that decision (too costly, we're moving), so I went with the disc Crockett, instead. Not the lightest frame, but at the price, I can't complain. Now I'm looking for some disc brake calipers. I was thinking about the TRP Spyre's, but I've heard some negative reviews on them. Anyone care to chime in?

[Chader09]

I'm getting Avid BB7s for my Boone. They seem to have great reviews in mags and by general riders. I like the simplicity of adjustments and reliability based on my experience with them on trials bikes (where braking is very critical to performance and safety).

[boots2000]

I am going through a similar excercise but with a Specialized Crux- trying to decide between canti (light) and disc (1.5 lb heavier). Both would be carbon s-works.
I would be using it for dirt/gravel. Probably never see a cross race.

[Briscoelab]

Re brakes: I'm not a BB7 fan. I don't like the single sided pull. The Spyre are actually really nice brakes. That's what I've been recommending to people going mechanical.

Re S-works disc vs Canti:

If you aren't going to race it. I would seriously consider saving a boat load of cash and get one of Pro versions. They make them in both disc and canti still if getting a frame. If going complete, the Crux Pro race UDI2 is sweet for the $. Carbon wheels, full Di2, carbon specialized crank.

[boots2000]

I do agree that the pro represents an extreme value compared to the cost of an S-works frame.
I am not going to race cross but I will race some events that have significant dirt and significant climbing- so I want the bike to be light.
I decided to order a canti S-works frame for 3 reasons.
1.) I have most of the parts- I can use existing wheels and such. The only things that I need to buy are some bigger tires and a set of cantis or mini-v brakes.
2.) If I went disc I would want the 785 DI2 stuff- this puts me in the neighborhood of a complete new bike.
3.) Disc stuff for road/cross is still evolving. I think there will be better options in 1-2 years.
The disc brakes may get even lighter, more wheels with no braking surface/tubeless specific, and more bikes with double thru axle. If I am going to buy a disc cross bike I would want it to have a 142mm thru axle rear and 15mm thru axle front.

Re brakes: I'm not a BB7 fan. I don't like the single sided pull. The Spyre are actually really nice brakes. That's what I've been recommending to people going mechanical.

Re S-works disc vs Canti:

If you aren't going to race it. I would seriously consider saving a boat load of cash and get one of Pro versions. They make them in both disc and canti still if getting a frame. If going complete, the Crux Pro race UDI2 is sweet for the $. Carbon wheels, full Di2, carbon specialized crank.

[FIJIGabe]

If you're looking for canti brakes, I've got a set of Shimano CX70 brakes in the For Sale section.

[FIJIGabe]

Wanted to update the thread with this teaser. Having the shop put it together as we speak. I should be seeing it sometime around Christmas, if all goes to plan.


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