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HenryJLittlefinger posted:I guess my main reason for leaning toward a bigger wheel over my 26 set is mostly for speed and efficiency. I assume (but don't know) a 27.5/650b set with tubeless 40-45 mm tires will be more enjoyable to ride, and likely save a little weight over my current Alex TD24 + Serfas Drifter setup. I just don't need big ol fat 2" tires and the inertia and ability to roll over stuff of a big wheel sure is nice. Maybe part of it is just wanting to try something new and seeing a bunch of buzz about 650b/27.5 and pictures of pretty bikes with slightly chubby road wheels. And it seems like the easiest way to try it out with the frame and other parts I already have in hand. There are a couple of smooth/light 26" big tire options, though they're pretty specialized and probably gonna be pricier than 650B. Though of course not more expensive than getting the 650B wheels, too. quote:Clutches on derailleurs is a new concept to me. What's the advantage? quote:but I guess now I'll need to plan a road set into my budget.
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May 29, 2022 06:16
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kimbo305 posted:Oh, I'm not opposed to going to 27.5. I'm just saying you can start working on the build without switching the wheels right away. Last step would just be to swap the wheels over, though you could stop early if you somehow decide the fit or other part choices don't work.  I keep having this mental block about how the neat thing about bikes is you can do a ship of Theseus with them. I think I'll start with this new fork, mtb drivetrain, and more road-oriented tires then. Losing that fat bastard of a fork and taking 10-15% off the tires plus gears should feel like a new bike. quote:I think I have a set of road BB7s, as well. Lemme know if you want me to look through my parts bin. I will check in with you, thank you for the offer. I still really appreciate the headset.
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May 29, 2022 06:34
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FYI I'd be looking at the Microsoft Advent X group set for this.
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May 29, 2022 12:41
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Advent X only has mtb shifters, and they say the cable pull is proprietary. It might very well match some road shifter, but I don't think someone's done the experimentation yet.
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May 29, 2022 14:47
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They make an advent drop bar shifter too. It actually comes on some new bikes like the cheap cannondale topstones we have. The upshift paddle kind of sticks out a little too far so you're rubbing it/almost pushing it just holding the brake from the hoods. I haven't tried it more than just riding around in circles inside though. Related note- anyone know of a clutched derailleur that will work with an 8-speed claris shifter? I think shimano uses the same pull ratio between all 7-8-9 speed stuff and also 10s road, so I guess probably a grx 10s derailleur?
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May 29, 2022 16:54
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Oh yeah, there it is: https://www.microshift.com/models/sb-m100a/ Just not listed on the Advent X group page. Makes sense that they would broaden the capability of the product lineup as much as possible now that they have some OEM traction.
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May 29, 2022 16:59
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In my new side quest to make my 26” wheelset nicer to ride, I think I’ve settled on Continental Contact Travels in 1.75”. This should save me about 200g per tire. Will that plus swapping the very heavy Manitou fork for a carbon Toseek make a noticeable performance difference?
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May 30, 2022 20:49
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HenryJLittlefinger posted:In my new side quest to make my 26” wheelset nicer to ride, I think I’ve settled on Continental Contact Travels in 1.75”. This should save me about 200g per tire. Will that plus swapping the very heavy Manitou fork for a carbon Toseek make a noticeable performance difference? A lot of the feel of speed (as opposed to measured speed) comes down to have mushy or lively the tire feels, which is related to tread thickness and design more than just weight. Slicker tires tend to feel less dead when rolling. That said, 200g per tire will definitely be noticeable when you're starting from a stop. More so combined with the fork. The 26x1.75 Contact Travel is 590g with folding bead for about $55, and 670g with wire bead for $40? The 26x1.75 Contact Urban is 565g at $33 shipped, from here: https://www.tradeinn.com/bikeinn/en/continental-contact-urban-reflex-26-tyre/137576731/p There's a 2.0 Urban sizing as well, though it's really only 3mm bigger in the metric sizing. Another $50 option is the Panaracer Ribmo 26x2 at 540g: https://www.ebay.com/itm/134065406966 e: heh, if you want to drop another 130g per tire, for triple the price, apparently Conti makes a wide tire using their Black Chili road tire rubber: https://www.ebay.com/itm/153303524829?epid=1540741893 kimbo305 fucked around with this message at 22:08 on May 30, 2022 |
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May 30, 2022 21:58
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Buying bikes and bike parts in TYOOL 2022 is ridiculous. I've been waiting on a Ritchey outback for over a year, and now I'm second guessing myself constantly because I can't just throw money at it and get the decision over with. I have almost an entire bike worth of parts except for a frame and groupset.
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Jun 11, 2022 05:43
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Hypnolobster posted:Buying bikes and bike parts in TYOOL 2022 is ridiculous. I've been waiting on a Ritchey outback for over a year, and now I'm second guessing myself constantly because I can't just throw money at it and get the decision over with. I have almost an entire bike worth of parts except for a frame and groupset. Here you go: https://blackmtncycles.com/shop/frames/la-cabra-frameset/
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Jun 12, 2022 06:45
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I saw a California King Snake, my favorite of all snakes, on my gravel ride today. It was big and alive. So that made my day. Unlike the previous 2 that I saw, which appeared to have been run over by careless bikers.
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Jun 13, 2022 03:18
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Cat rear end Trophy posted:I saw a California King Snake, my favorite of all snakes, on my gravel ride today. It was big and alive. So that made my day. Saw a pretty good rattlesnake on my (san diego area) ride today. 3 rattles on it, so a young one.
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Jun 13, 2022 16:54
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I went and did a thing this Saturday. I said two years ago I wanted to do a metric century the next year and an imperial the year after that, and now I’ve done it with a 109 mile gravel ride from one Deadwood to Edgemont on the Mickleson Deadwood trail at a supported event called The Big Mick. The entire trail is made on former railroad tracks, and except for a few short 4-5% pitches mostly stays around the 2-3% grade area. (Note that the ride went backwards on this elevation map) A friend (we can call him Bob for this trip report) and I drove out with our families for the ride and a weekend in the Black Hills at a cabin near a ski resort. Morning of the event made it down to the trailhead parking lot at about 5:45 am, got our bikes ready and loaded up, and checked in about 6. There were some other riders milling about the lot, including a dude in a Trek travel guide van with lots of fancy new equipment and matching kit along with a guy on a slightly older Bianchi. There were a total of 100 riders starting the event, 70 of whom were doing the full 109 miles and the rest doing 50, though with start time being open from 5-6:30 we didn’t see a ton of them. I ended up bringing my road bike with some 28mm gravel king sk+ tires because it’s a good 11lbs lighter than my other option, and loaded it up with my usual saddle bag plus a frame bag full of extra tubes, tools, and about 3x as much food as I ended up needing. I still had room for two small bottles plus a third in the jersey, all just full of water. I ran 65psi in the front and 68 in the rear, for those who care. The ride was a little bumpy at times, but I felt pretty good about my grip.  Ready to ride/ How it Started Gotta rep dat trash kit Bob made a quick watts/kg adjustment at the trailhead outhouse as the Trek/Bianchi duo powered past. We got started up the trail at about 6:10. Our planned pace was for an average of 13mph for a moving time of roughly 8hrs 40min, and about 10 hours overall. Starting out with a big climb right away let us know that we weren’t going to be going that fast all the time like we could on the flats at home, and we settled in as best we could through some gorgeous wooded mountains. Not pictured: a little babbling brook that followed the trail off and on.  The crest of the first climb The long following descent brought us through a picturesque mountain valley just as temps started to creep into the 60s F from the mid 50’s it had been. It was the perfect time to take in a little scenery and have a snack as we barreled across old railroad bridges on the well maintained and smooth rolling trails.   Peanut Butter Bagel Time for Bob. You make be thinking of a certain Fight Club quote at this time, but I promise that's just the wind in his jacket. I don’t have any more pictures from here until lunch in Custer. There was a water and snack station at Mystic trailhead where we used the facilities, refilled on water, ate bananas and cookies and catted with other riders for 10-15 minutes. The next climb went alright and was over faster than expected after the opener from Deadwood, plus it featured the first of the old railroad tunnels we got to go through. By the time we got into the third climb after Hill City my legs were starting to feel the sting. Our uphill pace had dropped a bit and I could feel myself wanted to cramp up a bit, so we took 5 to shake it off and slam some water and dehydrated/candied pineapple rings (my choice of sugar intake du jour). By the time we rolled into Custer at 11:05 I was thankful for the stop. There were piles of sandwiches, chips, gatorade, water, cookies, and fruit for riders at a cool restaurant/bar/venue called The Beacon. We also met up with the fast Trek/Bianchi duo and had a chance to chat. Trek dude was living as a traveling bike tour guide for the company and his buddy was a schoolteacher and long time friend. They also brought it to our attention that the Bianchi in question was single speed. Dude riding it is a champ whe expressed that he thought the course was “perfect for it.” He chugged along uphill and “you just spin at 110rpm downhill and you can rip at 27mph.” He was not running a small gear, and said when he hit the first really steep part into a hairpin he had to stop to turn around and get a big run at it. We joined them in a lunchtime beer (Bob referred to it as either the best or worst decision we’d make all day) and left ahead of them after a good 45 minute break.   Sammich and beers, plus gatorade in a powerade cup.  The fabled Bianchi. I didn't catch the exact ratio he was running but it’s bigger than I could have handled. The next water stop was in Pringle, and since temps were in the 80s and forecasted for low 90s we took full advantage. We were the first century riders to get there, and as we filled up the fast bois blasted by. We chased them for a while but it was pretty obvious after a couple of miles that it wasn’t sustainable for us. The last we saw of them on the course was from across a valley as we entered and they left.   There were still hills in the terrain here, but much gentler and dotted with old mining equipment. As things flattened out, we also saw more desert plants, including a few small cacti. By 25 miles out by core strength was failing and my shoulders had really started to hurt from the extra weight on them and the trail vibration. I moved my hands back on the bars and stuck with it until the snack stop/check-in at 16 to go. More water, gatorade, and twizzlers and pineapple rings put some pep back in me while my shoulders rested for 10 min and we got into the final stretch.  The view backwards from the Minnekahta trailhead, 16 miles to go. We had a bit of a flat drag for a while in the open heat, and we counted down the trail’s mile markers until we hit 100 miles, the first official century for both of us, and celebrated with shooters of fireball.  Tastes like victory https://i.imgur.com/zjhJnkl.mp4 Responsible adult riding With 6.5 miles to go, Bob cramped up hard on the final little uphill section (we can't imagine why) about 200 yards from the top. It was beautiful up there.   Afterwards it was all downhill between some train tracks and the highway into Edgemont, where were greeting by the mostly-dried-up Cheyenne river and junkyards full of “gently caress Biden” signs as the trail turned into the sidewalk- and shoulder- free small town streets that led to the final trailhead marker in the town’s park.  How it ended We arrived at 2:56. We beat our goal time by over an hour, both in overall time spent and moving time with an average pace of just over 14mph. The event was explicitly not a race, but we were the 3rd and 4th century riders to finish, after the fast dudes. There was a free spaghetti dinner at a little bar with barn fans for AC and wood-burning stoves for heat, where they were clearly more comfortable with a different kind of biker but more than happy to have 100 people and their families walk in and buy drinks. We put back a few rounds and talked with the two fast dudes. According to their Strava data, we climbed 5,874 ft over the course. I’m super happy we came out and rode, it made for a really memorable first century ride and a beautiful day on the bike. I’m hoping I can keep coming back for future years. As a bonus a few days later, the family and I went to Badlands national park while we were in the area and hiked a bit, and also met a cute little magpie friend.     Magpie captured both mid-flight and in ruffling-up BORB MODE
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Jun 14, 2022 04:14
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cool pics and that is some supremely nicely graded gravel!
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Jun 14, 2022 04:27
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trashkit spotted  epic ride
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Jun 14, 2022 05:06
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dude you repped trash kit so hard! rules!
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Jun 14, 2022 18:46
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Hell yeah, awesome ride and even better trip report
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Jun 15, 2022 01:14
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Apparently there's another trail about 5-6 hours away that will give you a free patch if you can prove you did a 150 mile ride on it, so I guess I know what we're doing next. I mean, it's a free patch.
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Jun 19, 2022 02:21
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Hey not sure if shilling is ok, if not let me know, but my partner has a side-business making bicycle bags, mostly for bikepacking but also things like cycling-specific hip packs and even a giant bag for a cargo bike. Thought it would be appropriate to share in this thread given that gravel bikes often pair well with some bags for overnight trips. We live in New Zealand but she has shipped stuff overseas (shipping can be kinda expensive these days though). On the positive side the NZ dollar is weak as hell right now so if you're overseas the prices are probably relatively cheaper. She sells via her instagram, which also has a lot of examples of her work: https://www.instagram.com/paperroadsaotearoa Here are some pics for attention.   
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Jun 20, 2022 06:25
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Those look really great!
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Jun 20, 2022 06:57
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Blackhawk posted:Hey not sure if shilling is ok, if not let me know, but my partner has a side-business making bicycle bags, mostly for bikepacking but also things like cycling-specific hip packs and even a giant bag for a cargo bike. Thought it would be appropriate to share in this thread given that gravel bikes often pair well with some bags for overnight trips. Shill this errday. I want one!
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Jun 20, 2022 15:34
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Those are rad. I've been thinking about making a couple simple bags for my bike. The tiny saddle pack for repairs just doesn't fit a couple other emergency things I'd like to have, like a first aid kit. HenryJLittlefinger fucked around with this message at 15:49 on Jun 20, 2022 |
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Jun 20, 2022 15:42
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HenryJLittlefinger posted:Those are rad. I like picking up used bikes over new ones, so reasonable custom frame bags are always welcome. I'm still shopping for a good Salsa El Mariachi 3 from 2014 frame bag, everything seems JUST too large for my size medium 
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Jun 20, 2022 18:32
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Blackhawk posted:Hey not sure if shilling is ok, if not let me know, but my partner has a side-business making bicycle bags, mostly for bikepacking but also things like cycling-specific hip packs and even a giant bag for a cargo bike. Thought it would be appropriate to share in this thread given that gravel bikes often pair well with some bags for overnight trips. Congrats on the new house. Looks like some great stuff, will be checking back in in August to see about getting a frame bag for my dad for Xmas.
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Jun 20, 2022 19:47
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Cannon_Fodder posted:I'm still shopping for a good Salsa El Mariachi 3 from 2014 As someone looking at an El Mariachi did they reinforce the chain stays at all in the later years? I worry about snagging one and then freaking out about having to buy a 110v welder and adding another hobby to my bucket.
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Jun 20, 2022 23:19
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Jonny Quest posted:As someone looking at an El Mariachi did they reinforce the chain stays at all in the later years? I worry about snagging one and then freaking out about having to buy a 110v welder and adding another hobby to my bucket. I had no idea they had an issue. Mine has been pretty excellent.
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Jun 21, 2022 03:24
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Has anyone done a tour in Belgium/Holland? I looking into riding from Dunkirk to Amsterdam over ~7-10 days later this summer.
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Jun 21, 2022 05:40
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Chinatown posted:Has anyone done a tour in Belgium/Holland? I looking into riding from Dunkirk to Amsterdam over ~7-10 days later this summer. Dunno if that's all gravel, but there's a touring thread as well: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3933885
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Jun 21, 2022 17:48
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kimbo305 posted:Dunno if that's all gravel, but there's a touring thread as well: Ah thanks m8.
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Jun 22, 2022 04:33
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Jun 25, 2022 02:51
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I also rode my bicycle on gravel today    
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Jun 25, 2022 05:32
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Jun 25, 2022 05:41
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Dog case, is that out near Baker Lake? Looks familiar
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Jun 25, 2022 21:36
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BraveUlysses posted:Dog case, is that out near Baker Lake? Looks familiar Yep, all the paved parts are Baker Lake Rd.
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Jun 25, 2022 22:08
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CO goons, this is your reminder that Old Fall River Rd in RMNP is still closed to cars and is amazing. Get it before it's full of lifted trucks and jeep bros.      $15 day pass for cyclists but no timed-entry reservation required.
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Jun 27, 2022 04:48
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drat you picked a perfect day for it. When is it open to vehicles again?
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Jun 27, 2022 04:51
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HenryJLittlefinger posted:drat you picked a perfect day for it. When is it open to vehicles again? Was great except for thunderstorm with mad hail at the top, I could have really used another layer and a waterproof shell for the gloves. Not sure when open to traffic but it can't be far off. The road is completely clear of snow now, all the way to the visitor center at the top. Perhaps they're planning some improvement work 
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Jun 27, 2022 04:54
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How many sets of tires must I own? I'm probably signing up for the Tour de Big Bear Dirty Bear gravel ride next month. I've got a set of Gravelking SS and a set of WTB Resolute. I know the WTB Resolutes are brilliant and confident on any kind of dirt, gravel, sand, rocks etc. Especially on the descending switchbacks and tight corners coming down Blackstar Canyon, for example. They're fine on straight pavement, but absolutely terrifying if you're trying to do any kind of aggressive cornering on pavement. The Gravelking SS are great on pavement and hard pack, but not effective in deep sand, and you have to corner carefully on dirt, but they're otherwise adequate. This race is 50 miles, 4700' of elevation gain, and half dirt and half pavement. Unfortunately it's got aggressive descents and cornering on both the dirt and pavement sections. I might have to stop swinging so far in either direction and just go with something that's a bigger compromise. Maybe the Gravelking SK. Is mixing a front and rear beneficial at all?
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Jul 11, 2022 07:08
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If you aren’t racing for first, you just need however many tires you want to play around with an afford. I haven’t changed gravel tires in a year and ride pavement/gravel. I think Ramblers are pretty darn good all around gravel tires. If you want to mix and have something more aggressive up front a Ravager would work. SKs are good too, and pretty light, but they meet their limit cornering in loose stuff ime and kick up rocks a bunch off the back which can be super annoying for people riding w you.
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Jul 11, 2022 13:55
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FogHelmut posted:How many sets of tires must I own? How big are the GK SS tires? I know the Resolutes only come in the 42mm size, and I wouldn’t run them for something with that much pavement simply because they’re not all that quick and you’re going to put a lot of wear on them. I loved them for really bombed out gravel but doesn’t sound super useful here. Something like a Spesh Pathfinder or Byway might get you more middle of the road.
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Jul 11, 2022 14:42
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