The ultimate do-it-all bike???

The spirit of Grav-lo-cross. No but seriously, cyclocross and gravel go here!

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wallstbear
Posts: 11
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2018 4:17 am

by wallstbear

Hi, all,

I have been searching for the "ultimate do it all" bike for a very long time.

Of course what that means is very subjective.

In my mind, it needs to be VERY LIGHT, relatively quick, and able to handle very light duty offroad terrain from time to time, like dirt trails but nothing technical. Or be able to jump on the side walk occasionally. It also needs to be comfortable. Plus (excuse the vanity) it must be reasonably handsome.

I have never found anything close to it.

More specifically, it sounds more like a flatbar disc road bike that can take minimum 32c tires (preferrably 35-40c). C'dale's Bad Boy and Contro lines are somewhat close but they are HEAVY.
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Ideally without going to crazy ww parts, the whole thing should stay around 8kg (basically a decent road bike should be around 7kg and allowing for disc and bigger tires would add 1kg-ish).

My 2 most promising solutions so far are:

1. Just add 40mm semi-slicks on a light carbon hardtail plus maybe 11-30-ish road range cassette and call it a day, but then I end up with a 10kg bike (say an XTC Adv/Scott Scale/FSI/Procaliber). Right now I have a carbon hardtail with carbon rigid fork and a mix of XT/XTR parts that end up at around 9.9kg. Down side is, it's still heavy, and modern XC frames have very long wheelbases so they are not THAT great for road use (not that big a deal but still). Since slicks are smaller so I ended up fitting some 29er wheels on an otherwise 27.5 bike (wheel diameter ended up being almost dead even, 40mm tire + 29 wheels = 2.2" knobby tires + 27.5 wheels). The other thing is gear ratio (34T x 11-40 @11sp is a bit on the low side).

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2. Just get a disc road bike and convert w/ flat bar. The weight will be great, but the down side here is you can't fit tires bigger than 30c (or even 28c in many cases in fact), and also the geometry is a bit off as flatbar handles quite differently than a traditional road bike.

SO I am a bit stuck now...

Marin
Posts: 4035
Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:48 am
Location: Vienna Austria

by Marin

What's your budget? Why the flat bar?

Get a carbon gravel bike.

by Weenie


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Point
Posts: 255
Joined: Fri Aug 07, 2015 12:35 pm

by Point

Marin wrote:
Fri Jun 29, 2018 8:01 am
Get a carbon gravel bike.
Exactly this.

Gravel bike or old school mtb, ti/carbon/steel or even alu would suffice.

You cant fit panniers, bike packing kit, dynos, bar bags, mud guards, flat bar, wide bars, droppers. Ride road, cx, gravel, commute.
Road - Burls Custom Ti
All Year - Rove ST
Gravel - Carbonda CFR 696
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Priit
Posts: 67
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2016 9:22 am

by Priit

Canyon Roadlite CF 9.0. 7.6 kg, tire clearance up to 40 mm.

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MattMay
Posts: 279
Joined: Thu Apr 10, 2014 3:26 pm
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by MattMay

I was in the same quest after “graveling” my Spesh Epic HT with 42mm wtb tires. I went with the 3T Exploro, which I discovered by following Dave Zabriskie.
Billed as the ultimate all-rounder. I bought the frame, built it up, put 650b wheels, 47mm tires on it. Comes in a shade over 17lbs w pedals as shown. Rapidly becoming my go-to for long mixed surface rides which I now prefer.

https://www.3t.bike/en/products/bikes/n ... t-565.html

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Multebear
Posts: 1395
Joined: Sat May 02, 2015 10:11 pm

by Multebear

Here it is. Case closed, and you're welcome :mrgreen:


Marin wrote:
Fri Oct 20, 2017 8:07 am
Here's my TTT, road & gravel do-it-all Ti bike. I call it the Heretic CL2:

4-man team time trial setup - we made 5th / 46 in class and 10th / 96 overall - 6.75kg:

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Detail:
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"Heavy" allroad setup with 35mm Compass Bon Jovies - 7.1 kg:

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Everyday commuter/group ride/mixed surface setup with 30mm Gran Bois, 6,98kg:

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Gravel event setup with 650b x 42mm Panaracer Pari-Motos:

Image
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mpulsiv
Posts: 1384
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:17 pm

by mpulsiv

Marin wrote:
Fri Oct 20, 2017 8:07 am
Here's my TTT, road & gravel do-it-all Ti bike. I call it the Heretic CL2:

Image[/url]
Are these 650b Pacenti Brevet?
www.compasscycle.com/shop/components/ri ... t-rim-650b
Racing is a three-dimensional high-speed chess game, involving hundreds of pieces on the board.

:arrow: CBA = Chronic Bike Addiction
:arrow: OCD = Obsessive Cycling Disorder

Marin
Posts: 4035
Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:48 am
Location: Vienna Austria

by Marin

mpulsiv wrote:
Wed Jul 25, 2018 8:59 am
Are these 650b Pacenti Brevet?
Yes. There aren't many light 650b rim brake rims around, there's the A23 and the HED Belgium, and I heard that Kinlin XR31 might come in 650b later this year.

Oh, and I had 650b carbon rim brake rims made which built into a 1070g wheelset. Didn't test them yet though, the bike above is on 700c currently and the new stainless Heretic frame is getting paint currently.

thefuzzycow
Posts: 95
Joined: Sun Aug 19, 2018 8:52 am

by thefuzzycow

MattMay wrote:
Sun Jul 22, 2018 11:52 pm
I was in the same quest after “graveling” my Spesh Epic HT with 42mm wtb tires. I went with the 3T Exploro, which I discovered by following Dave Zabriskie.
Billed as the ultimate all-rounder. I bought the frame, built it up, put 650b wheels, 47mm tires on it. Comes in a shade over 17lbs w pedals as shown. Rapidly becoming my go-to for long mixed surface rides which I now prefer.

https://www.3t.bike/en/products/bikes/n ... t-565.html

Image
I second the 3T Exploro.
Best bike I’ve ever owned. Aero road bike/gravel grinder to fit up to a muddy 40c or dry 42c tire/650b up to a 2.1” tire.
It’s honestly a do-it-all bike if I’ve ever seen one! Love it for sure!
"moo"
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Tugboat
Posts: 327
Joined: Fri Jun 16, 2006 2:40 am
Location: Wellington, New Zealand

by Tugboat

I might be biased because I've just bought one but the 8-bar Mitte must be a contender. Variable geometry frame and a fork swap to adjust from CX/adventure mode to road mode.

https://gearjunkie.com/8bar-mitte-convertible-bike
Nice bike... you ever take it off any sweet jumps?
2020 Canyon Speedmax CF | 2018 8bar Mitte | 2016 Canyon Ultimate CF SLX | 2016 Cannondale Synapse Carbon | 2016 Cannondale F-Si Carbon | 2017 Scott Scale (singlespeed)

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mpulsiv
Posts: 1384
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:17 pm

by mpulsiv

Interesting https://8bar-bikes.com/shop/framesets/m ... -adventure
It comes with 700 grams (ouch) disc adventure fork and 400 grams disc road fork. I see that it's QR frame, that's a blast from the past and it's 1700 grams. Every manufacturer is on board with thru-axle on disc frames. They don't mention anything about tire clearance. :noidea:

I thought that Trek Checkpoint was a good value (specifically $960 frame) and had a good review https://cyclingtips.com/2018/03/trek-checkpoint-review
Tire clearance is impressive (e.g. 45mm) without having to do 650b conversion.
Racing is a three-dimensional high-speed chess game, involving hundreds of pieces on the board.

:arrow: CBA = Chronic Bike Addiction
:arrow: OCD = Obsessive Cycling Disorder

Tugboat
Posts: 327
Joined: Fri Jun 16, 2006 2:40 am
Location: Wellington, New Zealand

by Tugboat

What proven benefit beyond the marketing hype do through axles actually provide? To me they seem to be the solution to a problem that doesn’t really exist. They also appear to be headed the way of the bottom bracket with no common standard across different manufacturers.
Nice bike... you ever take it off any sweet jumps?
2020 Canyon Speedmax CF | 2018 8bar Mitte | 2016 Canyon Ultimate CF SLX | 2016 Cannondale Synapse Carbon | 2016 Cannondale F-Si Carbon | 2017 Scott Scale (singlespeed)

Marin
Posts: 4035
Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:48 am
Location: Vienna Austria

by Marin

The problem is rubbing brake discs. They will still rub with through axles, but a bit less.

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mpulsiv
Posts: 1384
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:17 pm

by mpulsiv

Tugboat wrote:What proven benefit beyond the marketing hype do through axles actually provide? To me they seem to be the solution to a problem that doesn’t really exist. They also appear to be headed the way of the bottom bracket with no common standard across different manufacturers.
You do know why QR’s were rushed to the market, right? Years later, they released a band-aid solution. I have 2 bikes (luckily not mine) with QR’s in my garage. Both are pain in the rear to align after wheel removal. I avoid wheel removal as much as possible. It’s utterly frustrating experience, especially when pads are open at widest position. Thru-axle create a stiffer load path and always centered.
Racing is a three-dimensional high-speed chess game, involving hundreds of pieces on the board.

:arrow: CBA = Chronic Bike Addiction
:arrow: OCD = Obsessive Cycling Disorder

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



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