It’s a beauty. I’m seriously considering something very similar. Just really nervous about selling my Tarmac and believing I can be happy with one bike for both road and gravel.
How do you like this bike? What’s the max tire clearance. I’m thinking of selling my Aspero and getting one of these. There is a shop near me that has one for sale for $2500.
Just curious - why are you thinking of selling your Aspero?
I’ve had a GRX 2x Aspero for almost a year and it’s been pleasant, but it’s also the only gravel bike I’ve ridden
I don’t know. I haven’t ever felt comfortable on it in terms of fit. It feels heavy and the GRX 2x has given me a lot of nightmares. I’ve had my chain sucked in between the frame and cranks twice now and it’s totally chewed the paint up down there. Plus there are a lot of things on it I want to replace such as; seatpost, stem, bars, I want to go GRX Di2 1x, and the saddle has been the most uncomfortable saddle I’ve ever ridden.
I don’t think I ever wanted that bike but the circumstances surrounding when I got it kind of influenced me to get it.
I’ve had my Aspero for a few months now and changed stem (and stem length), saddle, seatpost, tires, and still want to do a lot more. I really like the bike but still want to make quite a few more changes, and I really think that’s the key to really enjoying the bike. Maybe just me, but I don’t know if I’d be entirely happy with any bike off the shelf. That’s the beauty of not being sponsored 
. Make it exactly how you want it.
Chris B
I agree with you. I guess I was hoping I’d like it a bit more than I have considering I’ve had other bikes that I fully enjoyed off the shelf. It’s hard having to be buying new components for 3 different bikes to make the personalized but I guess that’s the price we pay to play in all the disciplines.
Anyone here ride 650B? I’m thinking of stripping my gravel bike and going 1X AXS and putting on 650Bs.
In my head I feel like my gravel bike is a heavier, worse handling version of my road bike and I want to change it up. I’m not committed yet just trying to get a conversation started.
This is mine. Open Wi.De, Sram Force, DT Swiss GRC 1400 wheels and Zipp carbon finishing kit.
I run both 700 and 650b on my Kona. I find the bike a bit more responsive with the 650s, and maybe it steers a little lighter as well.
I built the 650 wheels with a set of Stans hubs that were on the bike when I bought it, and Light Bike Carbon rims. It’s been bullet proof, though I’m sure it helps having a LOT of tire to absorb impacts.
I didn’t build it up, but just picked up a Trek Domane. Technically considered a road bike, but I chose it over many “gravel bike” options as my gravel race bike.
I’ve been waiting for someone to come out with a gravel bike with low travel suspension and an aero frame and I got sick of waiting while racing gravel on my XC MTB bike. I see some companies experimenting on the suspension side, but everyone seems to be ignoring aero for gravel. I honestly don’t get it with some really fast sections in gravel races and higher likelyhood to be out in the wind by yourself compared to road racing. Anyway, I settled on the Domane which has the iso-speed pseudo-suspension front and back and some consideration for aero with tube shapes borrowed from the Madone.
The frame geometry is crazy tall and short, but that’s similar to most of the gravel frames I was looking at. I sized down and put a longer stem on and the fit is good. Trek offers a more aggressive geometry for the Domane through their project 1 program, but that might have been a little too low for me (I’m an old inflexible guy).
While the Domane only officially support 38 tires, there is a ton of clearance with 40’s and it would be fine running 44’s as long as it’s not super muddy. That’s on 25mm internal width rims, so it’s got pretty serious rubber clearance. I think Trek is actually sandbagging on the tire clearance to make it less similar to their Checkpoint gravel bike. I don’t run anything wider than 38’s for racing, so it’s more than enough for how I’m gonna use it. A nice bonus is that the Domane is actually a decent road bike running 28’s or 32’s.
Thank you for this. It is so nice when people take the time to really share their thoughts on their bike. It really helps when looking at options.
would be interesting to see the clearance with 33 CX tyres on
33’s would fit no problem. I mounted up some 45c Maxxis Rambler gravel tires last night and they are too wide. They clear in the front, but it’s tight with no room for mud. In the back, they were almost touching the front derailleur, too tight even without mud. You could probably get away with the 45’s running 1x or with the new AXS “wide” FD, but only in dry conditions.
AL model?
Yes, this is the inflite 5 AL model.
looks great! i’ve been waiting for them to get my size (which i think they just did) and am so tempted to pull the trigger. how’s the ride and bike like?
I really like the racey feel this bike has. The steering is direct and if you slam the pedals after a turn it shoots forward. This bike is so much fun! The components are okay, but I can’t say anything about the durabilitity. SRAM Apex is a cheap groupset, but everything works great (shifting, brakes).
My Gravel x Adventure x Bike Packing Bike:
Open Cycles WI.DE with SRAM Force 1x (44T) x SRAM Eagle XX1 10-52, both AXS.
The wheels for Spring though Fall are 9th Wave Anath 700c with 40c semi-slicks.
Wheels for the winter are heavy duty Stan‘s Arch 650b with Schwalbe Rock Razor 2.25“
The bike is around 9kg with pedals, lights, and top tube bag attached. I don‘t race on it, but just have fun and enjoy myself hitting muddy forest paths and minor trails.
PS.: I know that chimney isn’t a beauty, but I like the stem slammed, but have borrowed this bike to friends and family, who need a little more stack.
It’s a beautiful bike. Love the matching luggage too.
My back is very jealous of your ability to slam the stem on a gravel bike! I wanted to buy an Open UP, but when I dove into the geo, I knew it was the wrong bike for me personally.