New gravel bike for 85% road

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

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AZR3
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by AZR3

crlincoln wrote:
Sun Mar 08, 2020 8:00 pm
Did a 120km sportive in UK today, used gravel bike but put deep section wheels on it...

It was a great ride... loads of fun.. highly recommend....


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The Exploro wears muck and dirt well, still a great looking bike.

I've been using my road aero wheels (LB AR56) with 40mm WTB Byways...figured I'm riding an "Aero Gravel" Frame so might as well have an "Aero Gravel" wheel/tire set up for my mixed hardpack/road rides
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MattMay
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by MattMay

crlincoln wrote:Did a 120km sportive in UK today, used gravel bike but put deep section wheels on it...

It was a great ride... loads of fun.. highly recommend....


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That’s a very happy bike!

Poptart242
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Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2020 11:15 am

by Poptart242

First ride on the Rondo on Wednesday - very fun bike. Still need to get it built properly but first impressions are it's going to be a right laugh of a thing!

dbnm
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by dbnm

I ordered a Alchemy Chiron after a couple of long talks with Ryan, the owner.

jencvo
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by jencvo

I'm looking at a wheelset for my gravel bike that would be used for about the same, 85% road, 15% gravel. What tires do you recommend for that? I was thinking of going as narrow as 32mm Panacer Gravelking slicks so I could use the wheels on my road bike too (it won't fit wider). Is that too narrow for some gravel?

emotive
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Location: Melbourne, Australia

by emotive

jencvo wrote:I'm looking at a wheelset for my gravel bike that would be used for about the same, 85% road, 15% gravel. What tires do you recommend for that? I was thinking of going as narrow as 32mm Panacer Gravelking slicks so I could use the wheels on my road bike too (it won't fit wider). Is that too narrow for some gravel?
Gravel varies massively by region. I have some 32mm tyres I use for mostly road, and they are fine on hard packed dirt and fine crushed rock. As soon as you add car corrugations or rougher gravel, 38mm or something wider becomes more enjoyable.

jencvo
Posts: 325
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by jencvo

emotive wrote:
Sun Mar 29, 2020 8:37 pm
jencvo wrote:I'm looking at a wheelset for my gravel bike that would be used for about the same, 85% road, 15% gravel. What tires do you recommend for that? I was thinking of going as narrow as 32mm Panacer Gravelking slicks so I could use the wheels on my road bike too (it won't fit wider). Is that too narrow for some gravel?
Gravel varies massively by region. I have some 32mm tyres I use for mostly road, and they are fine on hard packed dirt and fine crushed rock. As soon as you add car corrugations or rougher gravel, 38mm or something wider becomes more enjoyable.
A lot of gravel roads around here are pretty smooth. I've been looking at having two wheelsets, one with 42mm WTB Resolutes (current setup), which can do any gravel and trail riding I throw at it, but I've been looking at something slicker for all the rides that include sooooo much pavement (but still have some gravel so road bike is out). I want that wheelset to be able to serve as a backup on the road bike too, hence why the 32mm limit. I may just be limiting myself with thinking here though.

emotive
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by emotive

jencvo wrote:
Sun Mar 29, 2020 11:54 pm
A lot of gravel roads around here are pretty smooth. I've been looking at having two wheelsets, one with 42mm WTB Resolutes (current setup), which can do any gravel and trail riding I throw at it, but I've been looking at something slicker for all the rides that include sooooo much pavement (but still have some gravel so road bike is out). I want that wheelset to be able to serve as a backup on the road bike too, hence why the 32mm limit. I may just be limiting myself with thinking here though.
32mm will be perfect for that application. Being able to switch to the 42's means you can optimise ride by ride.

I ran a set of 32mm Rene Herse slicks for a 2 week trip through Italy, and they make great road tyres , and at the same time can handle smooth dirt/gravel well. Peter Sagan won Paris Roubaix on 32mm tubulars There is little aero penalty with 32mm width, and a heap of comfort gain on the bumps.
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MattMay
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by MattMay

Given the recent closure of most of the off road riding available in southern Cal due to coronavirus (too many people on trails in groups did it), I’ve replaced 35mm Cross Boss tires with 32mm Gravel King tubeless ready “slicks” on my 3T Exploro as I’ll be riding +95% road for foreseeable future.

spdntrxi
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by spdntrxi

MattMay wrote:
Tue Mar 31, 2020 6:01 pm
Given the recent closure of most of the off road riding available in southern Cal due to coronavirus (too many people on trails in groups did it), I’ve replaced 35mm Cross Boss tires with 32mm Gravel King tubeless ready “slicks” on my 3T Exploro as I’ll be riding +95% road for foreseeable future.
same... my local ridge is open (for now) but crowded, if this keeps up they might close it.

35mm cross boss to 35mm ReneHerse Bon Jon Pass.
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emotive
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by emotive

spdntrxi wrote:
same... my local ridge is open (for now) but crowded, if this keeps up they might close it.

35mm cross boss to 35mm ReneHerse Bon Jon Pass.
If I had one bike with one set of tyres for 85% road , I’d be going Bon Jon Pass too. I love the balance of speed, comfort, and versatility!

AZR3
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by AZR3

I've been running WTB Byways in 700x40 on my Exploro and they've been great on hardback/gravel rides and pure road rides as well.

spdntrxi
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by spdntrxi

AZR3 wrote:
Wed Apr 01, 2020 2:31 am
I've been running WTB Byways in 700x40 on my Exploro and they've been great on hardback/gravel rides and pure road rides as well.
I've run byways in 650x47 form... Bon Jon's are fast and so are Barlow Pass (700x38) .. if I get more slicks in 650bs.. it's gonna be ReneHerse. Probably baby shoe pass.
2024 BMC TeamMachine R Building
2018 BMC TImeMachine Road
2002 Moots Compact-SL- getting aero look makeover
2019 Parlee Z0XD - "classified"
2023 Pivot E-Vault - completed project, full Xplr package

Miles253
Posts: 248
Joined: Wed Apr 23, 2014 9:32 am

by Miles253

Scania123 wrote:
Fri Mar 06, 2020 10:30 pm
Miles253 wrote:
Sun Feb 16, 2020 10:20 am
I'm pretty much set on the Rondo HVRT after some rigorous research this weekend. The insurance finally paid out so I'm ready to push that button.

No sign of any owners on here, which could mean a couple of things, but bike of the year bodes well
Did you end up getting a Rondo HVRT? If so, what do you think of it?
I've actually waited so long for a frame that I'm thinking about going for an Exploro Racemax instead...

It's significantly more cash, so not an easy decision.

I'll keep you updated
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Rose Backroad | 9kg (Deceased R.I.P.)
Canyon Ultimate CF SL | 7.7kg

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MarkoP
Posts: 218
Joined: Tue Nov 05, 2019 7:48 pm

by MarkoP

Really glad to have stumbled on this thread. I ride a 2020 Scott Addict RC Ultimate and looking for a second bike to get through from fall to spring. 90% road but also some fire road rides now and then.

I've been researching at nauseam and think I have shortlisted to the following framesets...currently in order of preference:

2021 3T Exploro
Factor LS....or perhaps Vista??
Colnago G3X
Aquila gravel bike (my LBS's brand).

I want it lightweight and stiff with road/aero geometry. Something that can can also be my summer road bike if I were to travel to anywhere.

Haven't landed on wheels and group set is still a question mark between SRAM Red Axs (which I currently use) and GRX Di2.

Hoping to have it by September.

Will be watching this thread with great interest!
Current: 2021 Bianchi Specialissima I 2021 Tarmac SL6 S-Works (Sagan Edition) l 2023 Aethos S-Works

by Weenie


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