Also depends a little on what your gravel rides look like. I came off a CX bike to a trek checkpoint, and the checkpoint was great over a long distance but felt sluggish to me on smooth gravel / road. Riding a canyon grizl now, and even with wide tires(45) vs the 38’s I had on the checkpoint most of the time, the canyon just feels like a snappier bike.
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Question on the Aspero 5. I plan on doing some flying with the bike. How tough is it to remove and re-install the bars with the integrated cockpit/cables? I’m a 5/10 in mechanic skill. No issue on the traditional, but the Madone disassembly just fell apart in my hands…
They ship them with the bars off, hoses still connected, and the bar off to the side of the bike. Would that be enough for you?
Putting that together is pretty easy.
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Been lurking on this thread for a while and thought I’d chime in.
I’ve been riding/racing a Lauf Seigla this season. It’s a great gravel race bike and I’d recommend it to anyone whose rides include a lot of rough terrain. I’ve owned gravel bikes with the SRAM/Rockshox gravel suspension fork, and IMHO the Lauf fork is far superior in every way for gravel and light trail use. I’ve used this bike for everything from competitive gravel racing to multi day bike packing (with a Tailfin rack) and it’s been fantastic, and the value proposition is hard to beat. To the poster concerned about “speed wobble”, the only time I’ve noticed any issue is with a heavy bag attached to the bars when bikepacking, and then it only occurs when you take your hands off the bars. Really a non-issue for normal riding.
With all that said, the Lauf definitely occupies the light singletrack-rough gravel side of the gravel spectrum more than the “could work as a road bike” side. Of course you can ride it on the road but the fork adds weight and both geometry and suspension reduce snap, particularly for out-of-saddle efforts. If you have any interest in aerodynamics this is also not your bike; the fork and down tube are both about as non-aero as you could imagine. Hence my interest in this thread; I’m at least curious about adding a more roadie-ish bike to the stable, albeit one that can clear at least 45mm tires….
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If you can stretch it another 1,000 I would grab the Rival model. Less maintenance.
Yes. And + Enve MOG. I went a bit nuts
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Whats the current thought on current gravel bikes that best for CX, anything other than Crux and SuperSix Evo that can handle a 45? So many are so long, low and slack, feel like they aren’t great between the tape.
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Have you seen the cockpits of TT bikes lately?
With wind tunnels becoming more available to cycling, it’s becoming apparent that most people are more aero when they’re narrow, not low.
Well, that’s probably the right answer.
While that article isn’t wrong persay, it is dated information.
Check how the pro peleton is evolving, cockpits in the past 2-3 years are getting narrower and bars are getting un-slammed. It stems directly from the knowledge they’ve learned in TT setups.
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The worst kept secret in the gravel world right now (new Canyon gravel bike) will be released on Saturday this week: CFS Gravel Event Tickets, Sat 14 Oct 2023 at 10:00 | Eventbrite
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Why is the supersix good for CX? BB looks low.
Ridley Xnight is a proper purpose built CX bike. Canyon Inflite too. CUBE maybe?
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Not sure what the standover is on the Ridley (doesn’t seem to be listed) but a Inflite in my size has 650Bs which I’m not interested in.
The Cube could be an option.
Here’s the new Canyon Grail:
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Yep, looks like a very well thought out gravel bike - early reviews are positive
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I’ll have to pass on the new Grail as it’s limited to 42mm tires. A new gravel frame for me would have to fit up to 45mm tires just so I’d have the option for a bigger tire if I wanted for chunky gravel courses. I guess I should just pick up a Crux since it seems to do it all and fit a 47mm tire.
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That’s why I got a Lauf Seigla, there’s so much more to explore on gravel so I didn’t want to limit me on tire size 
happy to have room for 57 mm rubber front and back. I notice that it isn’t so aerodynamic as other bikes, but I can go fast comfortably for long periods of time which is great for long distance riding and racing. Canyon seems to be a very fast bike though!
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Early impressions from the article:
- They missed on the cable integration
- They missed on the tire clearance
- It’s good they preserved the stable character of the bike.
Looks really bad on size large……as most bikes do.
Curious to see the top tier bike specs.
Old
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Reg. the looks. I think the L (my size) looks okay - especially with a slammed cockpit. But that standard setup with a 70mm stem does look wonky 
Same here. Minimum 45mm tire clearance. But maybe we’re not the target consumer for the bike. I don’t know what sort of things they’d need to changes/sacrifices they’d need to make on the frame to accommodate a 45mm tire. I’m sure many of the top gravel racers 42mm is more than enough. I believe Dylan Johnson has been running 47s.
The one piece cockpit is a deal breaker for me.