Gravel/CX builds!

I just picked this up yesterday. Awaiting rebuild of my 40/60mm race wheels with disc hubs so I can do straight swap in and out to go from gravel to road. Haven’t ridden it yet as in the sick house but looked at it for a little while yesterday smiling…

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Im planning on ordering a terra and 2 sets of wheels so I can use it as a gravel bike and my road bike, will be interested to see what you think of it!

Check out this guy. Only place I could find brake adapters. https://www.assolutions.ca/
They worked great!

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My plan was to use the 810 shifters, and graft on XT calipers. That’s kind of where I am right now…

I was almost at that point. When I found these adapters I figured I’d give them a try. They allowed me to use the 810 shifters and brakes.

I needed adapters for both front and rear. Not sure about brake interface on your model.

Im going to take a good look a these, my fork is literally exactly the same as yours except for color, so if you made it work, the proof of concept is done. It looks like you have IS mounts on the rear, where mine are flat the frame being carbon, but I see that AS Solutions has an adapter for that too…

I still have a set of XT calipers, but I’m sure you found when you were shopping that you can buy a full kit with shifters and brakes for less than the cost of the shifters alone. :roll_eyes:

I’ve got a 2018 Terra and absolutely love it! I raced CX on it last season and am excited for gravel rides this summer. Hope you enjoy yours!

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This seems like a good place to investigate options I’m looking for a gravel style bike for gentle trails, fun commuting, bike packing and anything else that doesn’t need a full aero slammed race bike. My narrowed down choices have ended up with one being a 650b 45mm bike and the other a classic 700c bike.

Is either a big drawback or advantage or is it horses for courses and both will be fun.
650b is a pinnacle arkrose X and 700c a Sonder el Camino GRX.

Going to be building up a dual purpose cx/gravel bike this year. 2020 giant tcx, Shimano grx shifters/brakes, grx disc calipers, grx rear derailleur 11-34, ultegra r8000 front derailleur, ultegra r8000 crank 46/36 rings 172.5 arms. I have a couple wheelsets, and will probably use the giant handlebars with my redshift stem.

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I love my Crux. It came as a 1X bike but I wish it were 2X. 2X is better for combo on road / off road rides. I’m not switching it back though because the parts cost some $$$. I could switch my freehub and then get an SRAM cassette with a 10 toothed cog but that is not cheap either.

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Can’t help too much, but both bikes/ frames seem highly rated on the UK gravel facebook group. Neither (easily) available for me in Ireland. I went Cannondale Topstone Tiagra which I think is the same price bracket*.

fwiw I’m impressed with the latest iteration of tiagra’s shifting and hydraulic braking - better than the 2015 version of 105 on my winter bike anyway! 100g weight penalty on the Tiagra v 105 AL Topstone is all too (and obviously 10 speed v 11).

I prefer the colour of the Tiagra over the black 105 too…

I’m on the fence with doing the same. Stuck between TCX, Diverge, Topstone Carbon, and SuperX at the moment. The dedicated gravel rigs seem awesome and I am going to race more gravel than cx, but the TCX is so cheap compared to the others and still fits 45s. Not to mention it’s been raced to second at DK just a couple years back…

I think it depends on a few things. If you’re prioritizing cx (like me), then go tcx or superx. If your riding on gravel more, would you rather have a more agressive/quicker handling bike? If so then go with one of the cx bikes because they will feel a bit closer to a road bike (which is what I want). Plus they have the clearance to do gravel just fine. If you would rather have a bit more ability for comfort oriented at gravel specifically, then I’d go with one of the gravel bikes. Plus they’d make it easier to use extra bags and such if you plan on doing any long days/events.

On a side note, I’d go giant (great value, plus Giants new carbon replacement guarantee) or specialized over either of the cannondales. Bottom bracket issues aside, the superx (and maybe the topstone) has to have the rear wheel trued 5mm to one side. This may cause issues if you want to swap wheels out because unless the wheel has been trued with that offset, things may not line up on the rear end of the bike (brake, derailleur, etc)

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I mostly agree, I would only go gravel bike over CX if I wanted to tour on it (bags) otherwise Id rather have the CX bike

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Thanks for the input. I’m leaning heavily toward the TCX, but it will probably come down to $$$. I’m on a budget and need to have something left over for a power meter. Shopping used (I never buy new bikes) so if I get a steal on a diverge I might snap it up. Living a couple hours minimum from any cx racing makes the dual purpose bike less important.

My “A-ish” race is Gravel Worlds so quick handling isn’t a priority so long as I can get in a comfortable but aero position. I size down on my road bike and have a pretty aggressive set up. I’ve done a 100mi gravel event that’s 99% off road with a fair few miles of rocky single track and lots of steep loose climbing on my Tarmac with 28s, so anything with fat tires will be a big improvement.

2017 Norco Search Carbon Ultegra

Has the original 2x Ultegra setup it came with, although I’d really like a 1x. I’ve upgraded the wheels (Hunt), seatpost, saddle, stem and handlebars over the years.

I race it with Schwalbe 35c G-One speed tires mostly. It has clearance for 42c, I think…but I’ve never gone fatter than 38c.

I absolutely love this bike - and if it had clearance/geometry for 650 wheels I’d never even consider replacing…

image

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Here’s mine I recently finished building.

Open U.P. Frame
i9 Ultralight 235 TRA Wheels
GRX Di2 w/ XT RD
3T Superghiaia bars - I love these things
Rest is easy to spot… Comes in under 7.7 kg or 17 lb with pedals and Garmin mount.

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I ended up going with a 2 bike solution. Started last year with a Canyon Endurace with Panaracer GKs - 35 front and 32 back – though they measure wider. This is great for the 50/50 road/gravel rides I like doing out in the mountains. Steep climbs and fast gravel descending. But not terribly technical. Bike is great for that. May try smaller front tire at some point bc of significant toe overlap, road nature, and wheel flop. This is my road bike too, so OK with some of the compromises.

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I recently got a Felt Breed with 1x and 47 650bs. I didn’t want carbon for a gravel bike and looked for one of the lighter AL bikes. Still can lose 2-3 pounds - wheels are heavy. This is for 80%+ gravel rides and a race I have coming up. My handling skills are not mtb pro, so I don’t anticipate too much single track, though I did some this weekend with it and it was great.

Both bikes together cost less than some of the mid range gravel options, which fits my budget. Plus I get bikes suited for the appropriate condition, and a second bike if one is in the shop, or for my son to ride. All this bike buying stuff for me is one big experiment. Getting a feel for what different geometries REALLY feel like, how 650bs handle. What a difference weight means, how a 1x really operates. I have learned a TON, as someone who has only been into bikes the last 5 years. Like some here, I have a TON of comparative spreadsheets. And they are so helpful. But real life research has been really illuminating for me.

UPDATE: now with Santa Cruz reserve carbon wheels, 11-46 xt cassette (same gears as 11-42, just swaps 42 cog for 46), and stages pm!

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Here is my Trek Crockett on the IRR 7.0

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The TCX is a great bike, my previous CX bike was a TCX (last of the non disc models, mini Vs) and I still wish I had it sometimes