Reddit for cyclists who enjoy riding and racing gravel

Hey,

Looking for a new gravel bike.

Looking for:

• price under 4500 euros;

• electronic shifting;

-carbon wheels, seatpost, etc.

Mostly riding 70/30 gravel/ tarmac, with some light bikepacking couple of times a year.

It seems that Granada and the surrounding areas are very popular among gravel riders at the moment. There is probably a certain amount of hype due to the Bandlands event. Personally, I'm actually drawn there too, I find the landscape really appealing, but I'm afraid that it could get very crowded. I'm particularly interested in riding solo, and the remote landscapes would lose their appeal for me if they were very crowded with other cyclists. What are your experiences?

Noob here, my rides are starting to exceed 50k and chaffing is becoming an issue. I was looking at shorts and i’m just curious is there a benefit to overall style shorts vs shorts? Is it just to keep your crack from hanging out? Do most people that buy shorts end up moving to overall style? Thanks gang.

Hi Guys, i'm curious if i bought a 12 speed cassette & rear derailleur it would work with my 11 speed GRX shifters? I want to slowly make the move to 12.

Dear Canyon Grizl riders, would you know the distance in-between the top tube bolts and maybe the distance to the headset? I am trying to figure out if the Canyon top tube bags can fit my Wilier Adlar. Thanks in advance!

Hi all!

Next month I am planning to do a 5 day gravel trip in Spain, starting and ending in Barcelona. Route I created (based on Komoot, Strava and some random gravel races) can be found here: https://www.strava.com/routes/3223944599278848364. This would mean approx 100 km/2500m elevation per day.

Anybody advice on the route? Sections that are currently missing or that should be avoided?

Thanks a lot!!

Hi,

I'm really close to buy a Rose BACKROAD, but I have some doubts if it really fits me. So, I'm 173cm, 85cm inseam and I usually ride with 75cm saddle height. Now, I think that for my body type, the correct size is 53, but from the site they say that it can accommodate maximum 84cm of inseam....I have no way to go to a Rose store and check which is the actually maximum saddle height that you can have on a 53 frame so I was wondering if someone could help me with this information. The frame has seat tube length of 480mm, and the seatpost is 490mm long...to

Today’s ride in Espoo, Finland.

Hi all, any one experienced with these? I quite late to getting round to this, our daughter is almost 2 but it’s a good excuse to cycle more and the jogging option too. Plus less car journeys

I have a work seminar I am looking to attend in August in Hartford. Is there any worthwhile riding in the area?

I’m looking for a gravel bike in Canada. Budget is around 2500 CAD.

I’m 5’9 (175cm) but my inseam is 30in (76cm) which is short for my height. So my inseam seems to work better for smaller sizes, like a 52 due to stand over height. Is there any brand that would fit better?

Or if you just have general recommendations

Question regarding the crown race, sorry the picture is not the best. It's what have to work with for the moment. There's about a 2.5 to 3 mm gap between the bottom of the headset and the fork, the crown race has a beveled bottom causing it to increase the distance. What is an acceptable distance between the twO? With everything tightened there is no play with the stem and handlebars and the fork. Thanks!

Hello, I have a beloved vintage steel gravel/commuter bike that has been given a neo-retro makeover with welded disc brake tabs. However, the frame is no longer holding up well. Still, I love the way this frame feels - steel, straight top tube, almost track-like geometry. My plan is to take all my swanky new parts and transfer them onto a new frame. The current frames I am considering are:

Surly Straggler/Preamble/Midnight, Omnium CXC, Brother Cycles Kepler.

I don't have many requirements, but the few I do are somewhat uncommon: a modern steel frame with a straight top tube and disc brake tabs. Additionally, it would be nice if it were affordable. :D Let me know what you've got!

Two questions i’m wondering if I could get some expert knowledge on

TL;DR:

• 25mm gravel tire or 28mm road tire?
• Can i race with the modified handlebars in the photo when the rules say “no drop-bars allowed”?

Prefix: I’m not really a gravel racer so i’m out of my comfort zone here. I’m riding a gravel race with some friends and colleagues in about a month. I have a road bike which is not the perfect option but I’m not really in the market to buy a bike specifically for this race as it’s as much a social thing as a competitive one. Alas, i wan’t to make the most of what I have within reason.

First question A: Would you choose 25mm gravel tires or 28mm road tires? I don’t have room for wider - my 28mm slicks are juuuuust within clearance. The race is mostly road, and some smooth flat gravel parts - with a few kilometers of slightly more rough trail

For good measure - here is a link of a POV through the race course if anyone would be curious enough to skim through bits of it to get a feel https://youtu.be/vFeaZQViaLg?si=MloQ8ES8_uyK0hKc

Second question B: The rules state “no drop bars allowed - only flat”. Will I be allowed to race when I’ve cut the drop-bar part of my drop bars off? Like in the photo I guess one can’t know until raceday (they haven’t answered my emails about the question). But what do people think my odds are?

Thanks for reading and hopefully answering :)

I know the trendy term is "gravel" but this is my Cross Bike and I love it! Steelisreal ❤️

Men’s Overland Trophy registration, looking to transfer if anyone is interested. Thanks.

Any good stretches of the southern part of the Appalachian trail lend themselves well to gravel biking?

You guys know if a CUBE NUROAD PRO is suitable for bikepacking for tours? Any advantage/disadvantage?

I was looking for a MARIN Nicasio+ before but because of the weight (around 13,2kg) I rather intend to chose a cube nuroad pro with 10,5kg weight.

Happy for any advices

Enjoy you day! Emre

I currently have a spare set of 1x 46t single chainring SRAM AXS Rival Groupset with 10-36t cassette.

So my understanding is that the Explore rear derailleur will allow me to run a larger cassette to 44t(42t?).

I’ve tried my 46t with 36t cassette on some steep climbs and I was comfortable with it.

How much of a difference will it make get from getting an Explore RD other than the larger cassette capacity?

Thank you!

I currently have a spare set of 1x 46t single chainring SRAM AXS Rival Groupset with 10-36t cassette.

So my understanding is that the Explore rear derailleur will allow me to run a larger cassette to 44t(42t?).

I’ve tried my 46t with 36t cassette on some steep climbs and I was comfortable with it.

How much of a difference will it make get from getting an Explore RD other than the larger cassette capacity?

Thank you!