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jamal
Apr 15, 2003

I'll set the building on fire
We've got a 3 day gravel race coming up, well, more like 3 day gravel time trial because mass start events seem like kind of a bad idea still. I decided to check out the courses yesterday.

It's some nice looking dirt







I don't ride that road enough. It's pretty sweet, goes along the river for like 25 miles to alberton, mt. Years ago it was the scene of a chemical spill when a train full of chlorine crashed. Also that picture of those airplanes in the river is out that way. Also no one in the store was wearing masks including the clerk.

Then it was up the other parts, nine mile road. This is a fun ride I also don't do enough, and it goes really far, over a pass, and into another valley where there's a highway and a hot springs. I've always wanted to ride over the top, go to the hot springs, and then come back. I'd probably want to drive partway out there though or it'd be like a 150mi day. The last time I went way up there I came across a moose in the middle of the road and that was where I turned around.





It's rare for me to not see turkeys on a ride



Wound up being like 95mi. The wind on the way back really, really sucked.

jamal fucked around with this message at 17:33 on Apr 13, 2021

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ElMaligno
Dec 31, 2004

Be Gay!
Do Crime!



I told my wife the prize of the bike and she wasnt even shocked, she just told me If that i sell my motorcycle Ii can literary get it at anytime i want. If i dont i have to wait until July-August timeline.

I been trying to sell said motorcycle for months already :( :( :(

OBAMNA PHONE
Aug 7, 2002

Anza Borrego posted:

I have a Jamis Renegade Escapade and it’s been very good to me.

:same: i'm still a fan of mine, there's a couple things that bug me a bit but its been a hoot thus far

ElMaligno
Dec 31, 2004

Be Gay!
Do Crime!

Been trying to find a size chart for the Jamis Renegade, I am 5' 9". The Shop has a 54cm Renegade S4 and a 56cm Renegade S3. I rode the S3 and i was comfortable but again it was a short bike.

Literally Lewis Hamilton
Feb 22, 2005



What’s your inseam? 54 would be the more typical size for your height.

ElMaligno
Dec 31, 2004

Be Gay!
Do Crime!

Literally Lewis Hamilton posted:

What’s your inseam? 54 would be the more typical size for your height.

30ish

vikingstrike
Sep 23, 2007

whats happening, captain

Literally Lewis Hamilton posted:

What’s your inseam? 54 would be the more typical size for your height.

Agree with this. I’m the same height and it would have to be a very weird frame for me to buy a 56.

bicievino
Feb 5, 2015

I'm the same height and ride both a 54 and a 56.
The 56cm frame only has 9mm more reach than the 54, and at 387 it's still quite short.
On the flip side, though, it's 2.5cm taller, and 605mm of stack is a lot - so... that could be weird for someone 5'9".

At the end of the day, either one can probably work for you, but might need some fun angled stems.

Edit: the geometry tables are at the very bottom of this poorly organized page https://www.jamisbikes.com/bikes/adventure-gravel/allroad-adventure/renegade/

ElMaligno
Dec 31, 2004

Be Gay!
Do Crime!

bicievino posted:

I'm the same height and ride both a 54 and a 56.
The 56cm frame only has 9mm more reach than the 54, and at 387 it's still quite short.
On the flip side, though, it's 2.5cm taller, and 605mm of stack is a lot - so... that could be weird for someone 5'9".

At the end of the day, either one can probably work for you, but might need some fun angled stems.

Edit: the geometry tables are at the very bottom of this poorly organized page https://www.jamisbikes.com/bikes/adventure-gravel/allroad-adventure/renegade/

Yeah, but they don't list a recommended height for their bikes. The stand over height for the 56cm Renegade S3 is 31.65CM vs the stand over height for the 64cm Renegade S4 is 30.67.

I rode the 56 with my Keen hiking shoes and it was fine, i do have some clipless pedals and shoes and it could be different with those.

MrL_JaKiri
Sep 23, 2003

A bracing glass of carrot juice!
Standover means very little, if anything. Also you misread the table, that's inches - unless you're riding one of these

ElMaligno
Dec 31, 2004

Be Gay!
Do Crime!

MrL_JaKiri posted:

Standover means very little, if anything. Also you misread the table, that's inches - unless you're riding one of these



i know i misread something lmao

bicievino
Feb 5, 2015

Yeah, stand over height isn't really relevant to bike fit outside of heavily loaded touring.

learnincurve
May 15, 2014

Smoosh

vikingstrike posted:

Everyone should have to experience sketchy gravel on rim braked road bikes with 25mm tires to properly appreciate modern gravel bikes. Off road road biking is/was really fun but it you're always on the edge of something going really wrong. I don't miss the flats though. One of my last gravel rides in Georgia, I remember we ended up on a gravel road with some chunky stuff and the guy I was riding with had 3 flats in the span of 5 miles, all from pinch flats.

Dang it. I came to this thread to see what tyres people were using in the pictures and to find out if I could shoehorn any of them on my steel and carbon touring bike (currently running 25mm Schwalbe Marathon Plus) because I’ve got to ride it 12 miles on gravel next week, the answer is no, and oh my poor back.

vikingstrike
Sep 23, 2007

whats happening, captain

learnincurve posted:

Dang it. I came to this thread to see what tyres people were using in the pictures and to find out if I could shoehorn any of them on my steel and carbon touring bike (currently running 25mm Schwalbe Marathon Plus) because I’ve got to ride it 12 miles on gravel next week, the answer is no, and oh my poor back.

Could be fine. I would run tires with good puncture protection, make sure your tires are inflated enough to help prevent pinch flats, bring extra tubes, AND HAVE FUN! I rode lots and lots of gravel and dirt roads before gravel bikes were a thing and had more rides with no problems than I did with, fwiw

learnincurve
May 15, 2014

Smoosh
On the plus side I am on gravel on this bike because it’s a massive shortcut to the LBS which will be overhauling it.


I live on the chesterfield - rother valley trail and Clowne greenway (deliberately moved here for it). There was a huge station hub which was shut down in the late 1960s in Staveley but the railway network, which goes on for miles and miles in several directions remains, what hasn’t been converted into rideable gravel trail and maintained by the council is owned by British Rail and abandoned without any fencing so you can ride on it anyway.

The bikes you see are just this awesome range of cheapest mountain bikes, to most expensive mountain e-bikes. They are ridden by families, your usual fit young men in Lycra, people in work gear, old men on top of the range ebikes, but the absolute kings are the old men on steel road bikes who all know each other and go touring round France each year.

It’s not long enough for anyone to come here for a cycling holiday but it is freaking awesome to live here and be able to ride anywhere you want to go without going on a road.

Levitate
Sep 30, 2005

randy newman voice

YOU'VE GOT A LAFRENIÈRE IN ME
depends on what kind of gravel/dirt roads we're talking
even on 25's it's not bad if it's not super chunky, loose and rocky

charliebravo77
Jun 11, 2003

I ride mixed surface/crushed limestone paths on 28 Schwalbe Marathons pretty often and it's not a huge issue. I'm also a big rider so if you are under 250lbs I think you'd have probably a similar experience on 25s.

learnincurve
May 15, 2014

Smoosh

Levitate posted:

depends on what kind of gravel/dirt roads we're talking
even on 25's it's not bad if it's not super chunky, loose and rocky

Ooh good save - the canal trust idiots trashed the downhill from crossroads to the hub by taking heavy machinery where they were told not to go, and it’s fairly aghhhh on 38s because of the grooves and chunks, but I can avoid that part on road.


Edit: thanks to charliebravo77 as well, if the consensus is that the tyres will be fine then I’m going to stop worrying about the bike and start wondering what the weather will do this week instead

learnincurve fucked around with this message at 22:02 on Apr 14, 2021

learnincurve
May 15, 2014

Smoosh
Content:

Abandoned station being reclaimed by the land on the non-maintained part of the track vs the maintained part up at Arkwright town, there used to be a mine at the end of where it forks and they would bring the coal up on a single track and load the wagons there.





Levitate
Sep 30, 2005

randy newman voice

YOU'VE GOT A LAFRENIÈRE IN ME
seems fine to ride on 25s but hey try it out and if it feels lovely then think about doing something else

Anza Borrego
Feb 11, 2005

Ovis canadensis nelsoni

BraveUlysses posted:

:same: i'm still a fan of mine, there's a couple things that bug me a bit but its been a hoot thus far



What don’t you like? This is my first Grown Up Bicycle and I don’t have a lot to compare against.

OBAMNA PHONE
Aug 7, 2002
its not a huge flaw but i'm definitely not a fan of how they ran the front shift cable at the top, which requires a stupid rear end pulley near the bottom bracket to get the correct pull direction at the derailleur

Crumps Brother
Sep 5, 2007

-G-
Get Equipped with
Ground Game

BraveUlysses posted:

its not a huge flaw but i'm definitely not a fan of how they ran the front shift cable at the top, which requires a stupid rear end pulley near the bottom bracket to get the correct pull direction at the derailleur
Took a bit to find, but I've posted a picture of that pulley previously. I totally get why they did the cable routing like that on a cx bike from 2008. I have no clue why they kept doing it for their gravel bikes in 201x. Gonna repost for Anza.

Crumps Brother posted:

That's not actually a top pull FD. It's just a wonky picture angle for a different cable run. My Jamis has the same cable run, but there's actually a little pulley or whatever that turns the cable around. Here's a better picture for you.

Dutymode
Dec 31, 2008
I wanted to give gravel riding a go last year, but my old hard-tail and touring bike were stolen. If I'm willing to go with flat bars, should I just grab a 90's steel rigid mountain bike for less than $100, vs trying to squeeze 32mm tires on my road bike? For example, this is on craigslist for $75

bicievino
Feb 5, 2015

Depend on what your local gravel looks like, and your tolerance for loving with old drivetrains (availability of spare parts is poo poo rn). 32mm slicks are fine on most of mine.

Content:


Crumps Brother
Sep 5, 2007

-G-
Get Equipped with
Ground Game
I had another gravel race this weekend. I DNFed. It was pretty awesome.

vikingstrike
Sep 23, 2007

whats happening, captain

Crumps Brother posted:

I had another gravel race this weekend. I DNFed. It was pretty awesome.



Thats freakin awesome.

spf3million
Sep 27, 2007

hit 'em with the rhythm

Crumps Brother posted:

I had another gravel race this weekend. I DNFed. It was pretty awesome.



Holy hell, nice work. Would love to read a trip report once you're recuperated.

FogHelmut
Dec 18, 2003

So climbing is one thing, but how do I train my hands for this descent? There's a lot of tight switchbacks, so I don't want to just send it, there's a lot of braking necessary.

I feel like I have better steering control especially over the bumps and ruts with my hands up on the hoods, but I don't have the leverage for extended braking. On the other hand, with my hands down in the drops, it's easier to pull the levers though a bit of a reach - I might have to adjust the brifter position a bit - but ultimately I feel like I have less steering control down there.






And if anyone can recommend some flat gravel in Southern California (I'm in OC), please let me know because my gravel bike is almost going to become a mountain bike at this point.

FogHelmut fucked around with this message at 01:20 on Apr 19, 2021

OBAMNA PHONE
Aug 7, 2002

bicievino posted:

Depend on what your local gravel looks like, and your tolerance for loving with old drivetrains (availability of spare parts is poo poo rn). 32mm slicks are fine on most of mine.

Content:




tolt pipeline? I did that earlier this week and it owned me pretty good

bicievino
Feb 5, 2015

BraveUlysses posted:

tolt pipeline? I did that earlier this week and it owned me pretty good

Yeah, just the top half of the thrilla loop, connecting on a mostly road ride.

Crumps Brother
Sep 5, 2007

-G-
Get Equipped with
Ground Game

spf3million posted:

Holy hell, nice work. Would love to read a trip report once you're recuperated.
Thanks! I put a report up in the competitive cycling thread. It's a lot of words.

Suicide Watch
Sep 8, 2009

FogHelmut posted:

And if anyone can recommend some flat gravel in Southern California (I'm in OC), please let me know because my gravel bike is almost going to become a mountain bike at this point.

Sounds like you're looking for fire roads–Santa Monica mountains seem to have some nice ones that I've yet to explore.

There’s also a Gravel Bike California fb group where people post lots of trip photos and reports. Pretty good route beta there

Suicide Watch fucked around with this message at 15:41 on Apr 21, 2021

tylertfb
Mar 3, 2004

Time.Space.Transmat.

FogHelmut posted:

So climbing is one thing, but how do I train my hands for this descent? There's a lot of tight switchbacks, so I don't want to just send it, there's a lot of braking necessary.

I feel like I have better steering control especially over the bumps and ruts with my hands up on the hoods, but I don't have the leverage for extended braking. On the other hand, with my hands down in the drops, it's easier to pull the levers though a bit of a reach - I might have to adjust the brifter position a bit - but ultimately I feel like I have less steering control down there.






And if anyone can recommend some flat gravel in Southern California (I'm in OC), please let me know because my gravel bike is almost going to become a mountain bike at this point.

There is precious little flat gravel that connects to anything in SoCal. All roads here are either paved, 25% up or down fire roads, or deep desert sand. That said, in your area the Tijeras Creek / Trabuco Creek trail rolls pretty far and isn't all death climbs and descents.

Cat Ass Trophy
Jul 24, 2007
I can do twice the work in half the time

tylertfb posted:

There is precious little flat gravel that connects to anything in SoCal. All roads here are either paved, 25% up or down fire roads, or deep desert sand. That said, in your area the Tijeras Creek / Trabuco Creek trail rolls pretty far and isn't all death climbs and descents.

I ride that are often, and pretty much the creek trails (Trabucco up, Tijeras down) are it for extended flat gravel around here. And even that is not like a gravel road except in a few places. Tabucco has several cobbled water crossing that can be a challenge, Tijeras is mainly double track with a few rocky sections. There are a bunch of nice DG connectors through the neighborhoods in that are too, but none are really much more than a mile at most.

I did Spandex Stampede #7 in Temecula, that had some nice flat sections, but there was a lot of climbing too. Catalina Island had some great flat sections, but to get to them there was a lot of climbing involved, and also a $$ferry$$ ride.

jamal
Apr 15, 2003

I'll set the building on fire
My ride around some gravel and trails today wound up being like 3800ft of climbing so yeah a lot of roads just go up. Doing that on my road bike around here means going up a whole bunch of shorter climbs.

saw some elks



couldn't go this way



That valley has a lot of trails in it and you can ride out right into town, which i did



that ridgeline back there is a pretty solid mtb ride, although in a "hang on and go straight down this steep, loose rut" kind of way.

saw this sweet ride. who needs a sprinter van

El Laucha
Oct 9, 2012




New top tube bag!

ElMaligno
Dec 31, 2004

Be Gay!
Do Crime!

I got a weird question, and this thread might not best to ask said question.

How hard is it do convert a drop-bar gravel to a flat bar gravel? I know you have to get the flat handlebar, and flatbar specific brake handles, shifters and other components. Other than that I know nothing.

learnincurve
May 15, 2014

Smoosh
The question someone cleverer than me will ask is exactly what kind of gears and brakes do you have? Cantilever limits your options a bit but it’s all still easily doable.

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CopperHound
Feb 14, 2012

ElMaligno posted:

I got a weird question, and this thread might not best to ask said question.

How hard is it do convert a drop-bar gravel to a flat bar gravel? I know you have to get the flat handlebar, and flatbar specific brake handles, shifters and other components. Other than that I know nothing.
If you're thinking about buying a bike to convert. Don't.

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