In most circumstances a fully will be faster, because of the added traction and if money is no object, I think this is the default recommendation. However, if you are on a budget, then a hardtail is a great option. Between an entry- to mid-level fully and a mid- to high-level hardtail, for your purposes a hardtail is probably the better option.
Agreed, I’d also recommend agains that.
And you need to consider that shorter handlebars will completely change the handling characteristics, especially once you put on a longer stem to compensate for the shorter bars.
I have said Ergon grips and I really like them. They are my second pair as I have worn through the first. But grips are like saddles and dropbar handlebars, what works for me need not work for you.
I recently had a similar dilemma and bought a 29er hardtail (canyon exceed) which seems a good compromise for such trails. though I find the lack grip positions tiring on longer rides and when trying to get more aero on road sections. I’ve got 100mm forks with a lockout, which I use a lot despite my initial scepticism.
I was recently surprised that there wasn’t much speed difference in me riding sections of the Tissington trail on my 29er vs road bike (with 23mm tyres). equally I’ve ridden sections of the peak bridleway on a 160mm enduro bike and it still felt rough.
living in the Midlands and riding in the Peak District, I’m not yet convinced by a gravel bike, the 29er gives me more options even though I’m more comfortable (for longer) in drop bars. just need to look at alternate bar/grip options.
1 Like
Salsa cutthroat. You can get front suspension if you want. I take it out for gravel rides and hit single trail with it all the time.
2 Likes
I was reading the thread expecting the Cutthroat to be suggested sooner.
@AldridgePrior the riding you describe sounds to be perfectly suited to the Cutthroat. It’s basically a drop-bar hard tail MTB.
https://salsacycles.com/bikes/archive/2019_cutthroat_apex_1_sus
1 Like
That bike definitely looks like it’d work for me too. Which model do you have?
I should be OK with the lack of grip variation as I’ve ridden that flat-bar hybrid periodically for a few years as a sort-of-road bike. The bar-ends help a lot by allowing adding a couple of extra positions. @handynzl may be pleased to hear I’ve already ordered some Ergon GS3s to give those a whirl!
ㅤ
I’m in the Dark Peak, not a million miles from Hayfield, so that may give you an idea of some of the off-road stuff I’m interested in riding, eg. I’m regularly on chunks of the Pennine Bridleway, and it’s the rougher/steeper parts of this and similar routes that have convinced me that drop bars and road/gravel groupsets are too far from ideal: it feels too underbiked to me, which was novel and fun to begin with, and if this terrain only formed a small part of my ride I’d still be good on a gravel-type drop-barred bike, but the reality is this rougher stuff is half or more of these rides so I want a tool that’s better suited to it.
I’ve reached the same conclusion as you regarding a “gravel bike” - my hybrid above is essentially a flat barred gravel bike, but with lower gears than any road/gravel groupset offers, and only 35mm tyres albeit with the RedShoft suspension stem, and I’ve quickly hit its limitations on the terrain I’m interested in. It’s been a good (useful!) experiment that I’ve learned plenty from 