Gravel Bike Help.

[ozzybmx]

Yo DMan, a couple of years back I was looking for a big clearance bikepacking/gravel machine, was looking at Ti, steel and carbon bikes. I was reading geo stuff everywhere, was nearly confusing. I was seriously looking at a bike called the Bearclaw Thunderhawk but it was $$$ for the frame and US-AU rate was bad. Next min... the geo is looking familiar....

So I head down stairs to the bike vault and have a look at my IndyFab that I swore I would never sell, I hung that baby up a few years ago and stole all the shit off it over the past 3-4 years.

Here was it in 2013 when I bought it... I had just came off singlespeed (though still riding singlespeed too) man I loved the 10 gears.

Roll on 2016-2017.... 70° head angle was so 2013... I'm loving slack. The bike got a new powdercoat and decals then hung up where it remained for 2 years.

Then WOW.... I'm looking for a new frame and I have nearly the same Geo frame hanging downstairs.

BOOM ! A 35mm stem ($25) a set of Ritchey 58cm flared Adventure bars ($40) and a complete Shimano 105 shifters, rear derailleur, front derailleur and hydraulic disc brakes for $190.

Now the most ridden and favourite bike I own... still remains as the last bike I would never sell and would ever sell.

Check out the Geos between the new trendy gravel bikes and old HT bikes from 7-8 years ago before you buy.

They wont have tapered head tubes or thru axles but that also means you can grab good wheelsets and stuff cheaper than the trendy shit.

This bike runs 29 x 2.35 Thunder Burts front and back... I use it for regular dirt rides, commutes, gravel and bikepacking. Its awesome.

EDIT: Also fitted a $5 Chi roadlink, which allows me to run a 32t front and a 11-46t rear, the bike tops out at 35-40kph with super cadence but climbs well full loaded with bikepacking bags.

 

[DMan]

Yo DMan, a couple of years back I was looking for a big clearance bikepacking/gravel machine, was looking at Ti, steel and carbon bikes. I was reading geo stuff everywhere, was nearly confusing. I was seriously looking at a bike called the Bearclaw Thunderhawk but it was $$$ for the frame and US-AU rate was bad. Next min... the geo is looking familiar....

So I head down stairs to the bike vault and have a look at my IndyFab that I swore I would never sell, I hung that baby up a few years ago and stole all the shit off it over the past 3-4 years.

Here was it in 2013 when I bought it... I had just came off singlespeed (though still riding singlespeed too) man I loved the 10 gears.

View attachment 364178

Roll on 2016-2017.... 70° head angle was so 2013... I'm loving slack. The bike got a new powdercoat and decals then hung up where it remained for 2 years.

Then WOW.... I'm looking for a new frame and I have nearly the same Geo frame hanging downstairs.

View attachment 364179

BOOM ! A 35mm stem ($25) a set of Ritchey 58cm flared Adventure bars ($40) and a complete Shimano 105 shifters, rear derailleur, front derailleur and hydraulic disc brakes for $190.

Now the most ridden and favourite bike I own... still remains as the last bike I would never sell and would ever sell.

Check out the Geos between the new trendy gravel bikes and old HT bikes from 7-8 years ago before you buy.

They wont have tapered head tubes or thru axles but that also means you can grab good wheelsets and stuff cheaper than the trendy shit.

This bike runs 29 x 2.35 Thunder Burts front and back... I use it for regular dirt rides, commutes, gravel and bikepacking. Its awesome.

EDIT: Also fitted a $5 Chi roadlink, which allows me to run a 32t front and a 11-46t rear, the bike tops out at 35-40kph with super cadence but climbs well full loaded with bikepacking bags.

Thanks man. Lots of good ideas there!

 

[ozzybmx]

Thanks man. Lots of good ideas there!

Seriously look at some older HT frames, my IndyFab ^above was custom made to the exact geo of a Niner MCR9 steel HT frame that Niner made from about 2009-2013. Occasionally one in Moondust or Root Beer colour appears on the FB bike marketplace pages but I've missed them.

I also have this CX with 40c G-One tyres on it, also doing it best imitation of wall art... it got converted it back to 2x just after this photo with the intention of using it for commuting/bikepacking, then I built the IndyFab back up, this bike hasn't turned a wheel in over 18 months.

 

[leitch]

@ozzybmx the Pivot looks fast and fun but that Indi is beautiful in both guises.

 

[DMan]

Seriously look at some older HT frames, my IndyFab ^above was custom made to the exact geo of a Niner MCR9 steel HT frame that Niner made from about 2009-2013. Occasionally one in Moondust or Root Beer colour appears on the FB bike marketplace pages but I've missed them.

I also have this CX with 40c G-One tyres on it, also doing it best imitation of wall art... it got converted it back to 2x just after this photo with the intention of using it for commuting/bikepacking, then I built the IndyFab back up, this bike hasn't turned a wheel in over 18 months.


View attachment 364191

That is a rather lovely piece if wall art. It might be me, but it seems hard to find an inexpensive HT frame with about a 70 degree head angle though. Lots of slack ones

 

[creaky]

That is a rather lovely piece if wall art. It might be me, but it seems hard to find an inexpensive HT frame with about a 70 degree head angle though. Lots of slack ones

I've got a couple of steel frames with sliding dropouts, 650B, standard QR rear but would be sweet with 700c 40s or larger. Reckon they'd be a steep enough HTA for you.

They are a bit too short for me (I built one up as a SS mtb basher) but I've got a pipe dream of building one of them with dropbars in the future .... but seriously six bikes is too many already !

You are welcome to have one if you are serious about build. You'd need to find a straight 1 1/8th fork.

 

[DMan]

I've got a couple of steel frames with sliding dropouts, 650B, standard QR rear but would be sweet with 700c 40s or larger. Reckon they'd be a steep enough HTA for you.

They are a bit too short for me (I built one up as a SS mtb basher) but I've got a pipe dream of building one of them with dropbars in the future .... but seriously six bikes is too many already !

You are welcome to have one if you are serious about build. You'd need to find a straight 1 1/8th fork.

Cool. I'll message you.

 

[ozzybmx]

That is a rather lovely piece if wall art. It might be me, but it seems hard to find an inexpensive HT frame with about a 70 degree head angle though. Lots of slack ones

That's where the older ones are good, MCR9, SIR9, EMD9, AIR9 and ONE9 were all 71° and IIRC they were all the same geo, just different materials and weight.

Remembered seeing this one, would have been a good buy, I thought it was only a few months back, actually 51 weeks ago... where has this year gone. Bushfires then Covid... halfway through 2020 already.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10161995921650626&set=p.10161995921650626&type=1

 

[DMan]

That's where the older ones are good, MCR9, SIR9, EMD9, AIR9 and ONE9 were all 71° and IIRC they were all the same geo, just different materials and weight.

Remembered seeing this one, would have been a good buy, I thought it was only a few months back, actually 51 weeks ago... where has this year gone. Bushfires then Covid... halfway through 2020 already.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10161995921650626&set=p.10161995921650626&type=1

I was saying to Creaky, that by the time you buy everything you need for the build though I could've bought a new Marin or Polygon. Well with my budget anyway...

 

[ozzybmx]

I was saying to Creaky, that by the time you buy everything you need for the build though I could've bought a new Marin or Polygon. Well with my budget anyway...

Yeah if you are buying everything it will certainly add up quick. I had all the components laying around apart from the handlebars and an absolute steal - $190 for a full Shimano 105 hydraulic groupset.

 

[DMan]

Yeah if you are buying everything it will certainly add up quick. I had all the components laying around apart from the handlebars and an absolute steal - $190 for a full Shimano 105 hydraulic groupset.

I need to hoard more!! $190 is an absolute bargain!

 

[silentbutdeadly]

Sounds good to me. Pretty much my thinking with 2X. We have some decent climbs around here that I think would suck with a 46 chainring. But I'm glad to hear about the 28c tyres though. Another option I'm looking at is a roadbike that runs 28c wheels. But I like the idea of the geometry on a gravel bike leaning a bit more towards a more comfortable ride. I've realised that my present roadie is too small for me so I may as well kill 2 birds by getting a better fit bike and something more comfortable and fun on our roads around here.

That's why I call mine the DirtRoadie. To perhaps add insult to injury with @ozzybmx spam this particular frame is a Niner RLT...

 

[boyracer]

I built this up for my dirt commute - 70 kms a day.
A mate bought the Marin and stripped gears/brakes and fork for his Salsa steel build.
Easy cost less than 1500, but i am not too fussy on aesthetics. I build my own wheels too which saves a bit of moolah.
I have built a succession of 700 C to MTB conversions over the years. All rode much better than the sum of the parts.

 

[Ben-e]

I have been riding and commuting on a Focus Mares CX for about a year. It's bloody fast on tarmac and gravel roads, but painfully slow on rutted or rocky trails. So, I'm currently building up a Surely Bridge Club, rigid, sub 10kg rig, for commuting/riding/bike packing. It will have drop bars and can accommodate both 27.5 and 29. The reason I chose the bridge club was largely geometry, I tabulated 7 frames and the Bridge Club was the frame with the best geo 'compromise', I also had a budget. I suggest you do something similar - find out what riding you want to do and identify the most suitable bikes, then tabulate the geo, and go from there. It's not always appropriate to simply buy a MTB and put drop bars on it, most of the time you'll have issues with geo. But, you will find that some modern frames will work, main factors are BB height, reach, wheelbase. The other consideration is drivetrain, keeping in mind that road controls will not always operate with MTB gears, it's a different pull ratio, but you can get an adaptor for this from wolftooth. I'm using ultegra controls with ultegra RX rear mech, and Hayes mechanical discs. My gearing will be 38 or 40t x 10-40, which will provide a good range.

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[Ben-e]

Or simply buy a Marin 4 Corners, $1200!!!

Marin Four Corners Touring Disc Road Bike | Bicycles Online (AU)

Australia’s Highest Rated Bikes with Fast Delivery + Free 14-Day Bike Returns. When the open road calls, the Marin Four Corners is a bike with the utility, durability, and reliability to keep you going on tour Australia’s Highest Rated Bikes with Fast Delivery and Free 14-Day Bike Returns. Ride...

www.bicyclesonline.com.au

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[DMan]

I have been riding and commuting on a Focus Mares CX for about a year. It's bloody fast on tarmac and gravel roads, but painfully slow on rutted or rocky trails. So, I'm currently building up a Surely Bridge Club, rigid, sub 10kg rig, for commuting/riding/bike packing. It will have drop bars and can accommodate both 27.5 and 29. The reason I chose the bridge club was largely geometry, I tabulated 7 frames and the Bridge Club was the frame with the best geo 'compromise', I also had a budget. I suggest you do something similar - find out what riding you want to do and identify the most suitable bikes, then tabulate the geo, and go from there. It's not always appropriate to simply buy a MTB and put drop bars on it, most of the time you'll have issues with geo. But, you will find that some modern frames will work, main factors are BB height, reach, wheelbase. The other consideration is drivetrain, keeping in mind that road controls will not always operate with MTB gears, it's a different pull ratio, but you can get an adaptor for this from wolftooth. I'm using ultegra controls with ultegra RX rear mech, and Hayes mechanical discs. My gearing will be 38 or 40t x 10-40, which will provide a good range.

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All good advice. I will ponder over the next few months and look into it properly before I make decisions. That's strange about the MTB/Roadie thing though. I recently fitted a Deore 9sp long cage to my wife's roadbike running a Tiagra shifter so I could fit a 11-40 cassette and that works fine?

 

[DMan]

Or simply buy a Marin 4 Corners, $1200!!!

Marin Four Corners Touring Disc Road Bike | Bicycles Online (AU)

Australia’s Highest Rated Bikes with Fast Delivery + Free 14-Day Bike Returns. When the open road calls, the Marin Four Corners is a bike with the utility, durability, and reliability to keep you going on tour Australia’s Highest Rated Bikes with Fast Delivery and Free 14-Day Bike Returns. Ride...

www.bicyclesonline.com.au

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That's funny as that is a bike I'm looking at! That and the 2 Marins and the Polygon on that website. But I was a bit put off by the fact it's a 3X9. Bar that it looks very comfortable for long hauls

 

[Ben-e]

It will sometimes work apparently! With the spec I was looking at however, it wasn't possible. But, with the introduction of Shimano Ultegra RX, the rear mechs are essentially like XT with clutch but road pull ratios.

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[Ben-e]

That's funny as that is a bike I'm looking at! That and the 2 Marins and the Polygon on that website. But I was a bit put off by the fact it's a 3X9. Bar that it looks very comfortable for long hauls

Haha, I almost bought it! The reviews are astounding, and it was on special for AU$1100. I was going to convert to 1x10 though, and upgrade the wheelset.

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[DMan]

Haha, I almost bought it! The reviews are astounding, and it was on special for AU$1100. I was going to convert to 1x10 though, and upgrade the wheelset.

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Yep. I was thinking the same about the drivetrain. Great reviews though!