I'm super new to the gravel world, but I'm thinking about building up a bike for our wet winter and I thought why not put together something with huge tire clearance to try new things. I'd appreciate any tips regarding sizing, reach / stack compared to road bikes or any general tips picking a fast bike that's capable to handle gravel roads.
A few things to consider:
x) If I'm between sizes, should I size down or up in gravel / cx bikes? In road bikes, I always size down and add a longer stem.
x) I have absolutely no gravel/dirt experience except a few short rides on my road bike.
x) I have very short legs and prefer to ride a size smaller road bikes with low stack and long stems. (I'm 5'6" / 29" inseam and I ride a cannondale supersix in 48 with a slammed 110mm stem).
x) I was thinking that CX bikes with fender mounts might be the perfect solution for me with the racey gemoetry.
x) I feel terrible on bikes with high stack values and I'd use the bike for road too in heavy rain.
x) I'm looking for bikes with a 369-378mm reach and stack that's lower than 530mm.
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So far the following bikes seems to be on my short-list:
x) Trek Checkpoint SL5 - surprisingly racey geometry for a gravel bike with great features. Any experience with this model?
x) Cannondale CAADX - I feel like I'm between sizes. The 46 seems to be very short (4 mm shorter reach than my current bike). The 51 has a HUGE standover height that might be an issue for my short legs...

x) SuperX - same as above, but I'm not sure I need carbon
Any other suggestions? Any tips? Thanks.
