When are we going to find out what this is officially?
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Any thoughts on best gravel race frames that will accommodate >44mm tire and has mounts for a rear rack? Use my gravel/CX bike to commute with, so getting lots of use out of it, currently have a 2021 Norco Search XR A1 GRX 600 2x mix (42c limit, heavy alloy frame).
Currently, am aware of the Checkpoint SL, Argon Dark Matter, Diverge (rack mounts in seat collar?) and On-One Free Ranger. Would probably go for the Apex Mechanical 12 speed, 38 CR and 11-44 cassette. Am I missing anything… rack mounts on carbon frames seem to be a rarity but the commute is on paved roads, rip the rack and panniers off when riding off road. Under 2kg for frame and fork seems like a reasonable goal. Would like <9kg build, which seems reasonable as the Checkpoint SL 6 AXS with Rival is 9.05kg with an 1800g wheelset, steel railed saddle and alloy bars.
You could have a look at Tailfin, they offer a great rack that uses the rear T-axle, so it could open up more options
For example you could consider the Crux
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I love my Tailfin and it is super-quick on/off. But this is a lot cheaper and probably at least as good for commuting: ORTLIEB | Quick Rack
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Canyon
We all assume it’s the new grizl or grail. But when does it officially release?
Yeah, the new Grail
Not sure if you’ve made a decision yet but I swapped from a Checkpoint SL6 eTap with Aelous Pro 3V wheels to a Crux Expert in February and it’s night and day. Added some wider tires and a carbon bar with a little more flair and can confidently say it gets up and goes!! It might be a little less planted downhill but for the mostly flat Texas gravel I ride that’s not a huge concern, and the bigger tires help a lot.
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I sold my 3T Exploro RaceMax and the hunt is on for me. I really wanted to love that bike - it’s so damn fast and does mostly what I want: minus running 42s with 700s. No more one bike to do it all since I’m building up a Ventum NS1.
Budget isn’t super high and will probably be used. Right now I’m looking at the previous gen Giant Revolt (can do 45s) unless I come across the new Revolt. Just looking for something I can setup a little bit aggressive but run the larger tires for a few races out here in CO that would benefit from 42s. I have light carbon wheels, so would dump whatever heavy stock wheels come with it.
You could pick up a used aspero cheap i bet
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Someone did have an Aspero 2x GRX for sale locally for $1,800 but wasn’t 100% in love with it. Can it run 42s easily?
I was able to run 42s on it and I ran a 2x set up.
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I ran Rambler 45’s on my Aspero last year for Big Sugar with zero issues.
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I don’t see any good deals unfortunately - do you think people don’t like it so much?
I’ve seen the Aspero apex 1 or the lower grx 2x for like 2400$ online. Cervelo/shops are def cleaning inventory to get ready for the entry level Aspero to come with Sram Apex axs. Which, I would love to wait for but I have gravel races to do, ha!
Everyone I know with the Aspero likes it.
I was curious about the Revolt carbon previous models as you can find them easily for under 2K. Though the D post seat has had some issues it appears.
I feel like pricing on toys have dropped.
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I think I’m going previous model Revolt Advanced 2. Will dump the wheels and cassette to put on my lighter carbon wheels and cassette. That should save a bit of weight. Found one locally for a really good price. ($1,500 barely used!). Figure the bike wont be the one holding me back. I do find myself around the front of the age groupers when doing gravel.
Do you like the ramblers? I know they’re not rated as being particularly fast but I’m considering getting the size 50 ramblers for my Seigla just for a nice comfortable ride.
They were a good choice for Big Sugar…I also used Rambler 40’s in 2019 when I did DK / Unbound. At the time, they were a “top of the list” choice, now they are more mid-pack.
But they have good tread / protection, traction and are pretty comfortable…just not the fastest option today. But if you are running 50’s, speed is probably not your primary criteria so I think they would be a good choice.
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I started the year switching back and forth between 45c Pirelli Cinturato H’s and 50c Ramblers, but I pretty quickly came to the conclusion that swapping wheels is a huge pain in the ass and 50c Ramblers rolled just fine even on pavement. I spent the second half of the summer entirely on the Ramblers and was perfectly happy with them everywhere, but they’ve been awesome on the chunky stuff.
Basically, the benefits on the chunky stuff far outweigh the losses on the flat stuff, at least in terms of fun and comfort.
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