Awesome thanks so much!!! Just ordered Jon Bon Pass in standard casing…can’t wait to try them!!
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The Groad Roubaix:
Nothing special to it, just installed 32mm Panaracer Gravelkings (tubeless, they measure around 33mm on the Roval C38) and then joined the local gravel ride. My rides are typically 60-70% road and the remaining on gravel/mild single track. The bike is not ideal for single track, many times I’m “kicking” the front wheel due to the toe overlap. Despite that it is still fun! I believe a 35mm tire will fit on the front, looks like there is 5mm clearance on the sides (I can fit a 5mm Allen key there). In the back I would not go higher than 33mm, the recommended maximum tire width.
A little on why I chose this one…The Roubaix wasn’t my 1st choice, I moved from South to North America earlier this year and I did not bring my diverge (moving during a pandemic is not fun). When I got to my new home I realized it’s nearly impossible to get the bike you want, I guess you all know the shortage is real. I wanted to get the Domane, Aspero or Caledonia but none was available. When I saw the right size Roubaix on ThePro’sCloset website I decided to pull the trigger. It meets the criteria I had, I can ride gravel and if crits come back I can also use the same bike to race. Unfortunately I can’t do cyclocross on it but I’ll have to deal with that.
I’m thinking about bringing the Diverge here but I know from experience that having more than one bike will lead to having one full time on the trainer and the other for outside riding. If I find a good deal on a frameset (mainly a Cervelo Aspero or Trek Domane) I might be tempted to do it but I believe I will allocate the funds on a mountain bike.
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I didnt read through everything here but honestly I use my Diverge as a;
Road Bike
Gravel Bike
Cyclecross bike
Light XC MTB
I cant find the ends to the bike, I have different wheels for different things and gearsets on it and combine that with a rotor crank switching the front chain ring is a breeze. I am primarily a 1 x user now and my two typical gear choice is 38T x 10-42 and a 38T x 11-28.
The funny thing is I have a high end road bike, CX, and MTB but I just reach for the diverge. My sundays are a ton of fun as I do part gravel, part road and part local mtb trails on it.
I find that between my road bike and gravel (road setup) that if I am going to get dropped on the Thursday night world group ride that it would have happened on my road bike also…
That’s my feeling on this.
Wheel combos;
Gravel/MTB - Zipp 303 with Pirelli Cinturato H (40) - 38 x 10-42
Road - Mavic Ksyrium with GP5000 (28) - 38 x 11-28
CX - Roval SLX with Specialized Tracer (38) - 38 x 10-42
CX MUD - DT Swiss (something cheap) with Terra Pro (33) - 38 x 10-42
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that’s the thing with multiple bikes, we usually reach for the same one over and over…this is why I like the “one bike to rule them all” idea. I also have a Diverge and I love it.
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Have been using my Factor LS as everything-bike for several months now with great success.
Geometry and tire clearance allows it to do everything well.
Very pleased
Quick steer on this wider question;
3T exploro or Canyon Grail carbon frame (similarly priced and speccws used options available to me).
Are either likely to be a ‘bad’ choice as a Groadie?
Currently favouring the Canyon based on it having a 2x chainring plus the twin bars for hand comfort
Have a Grail in XS which comes with 650b wheel size. I haven’t tried but it seems like there would be enough room for a 700c road set.
Didn’t realize when I bought the Grail that tire clearance, even with 650b, is about 42. Not ideal. Not saying I regret the Grail in any way but wish I would have been more aware of this.
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If a bike is specced 650b, there should be no clearance issues putting a road 700c set on it. Occasionally an issue the opposite direction, when the overall wideness of a 650b can cause a clash with certain stay shapes etc.
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Ooh 
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That’s what I thought but I’ve already ordered something else 
What did you order? (Being nosey) 
I’ve been waiting for my Ridley Kanzo Fast since Feb… due end of october.
Wouldn’t suit you as it’s 1x only.
Happy if it looks half as good as that 3T…
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The spec was largely due to the frame size…my guess is that if you use a 700c wheel, you’re gonna have some toe overlap issues.
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Good point. If it’s a 42mm or so 650b, then yes it seems like even a thin road 700c tire would be larger in diameter unfortunately.
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A “bad” choice? Probably not…but I think the 3T would be a “better” choice (assuming you can work with a 1x drivetrain). Like the Aspero, the 3T seems to be a “gravel bike for roadies”…well suited for gravel rides, but more “at home” on the road than most.
I had a previous version of the Exploro and sold it due to geometry and the fact that I could never really get into a position that worked for me.
My Factor LS is much better with steeper head tube (and maybe seat tube as well).
Not as aggressive for strict gravel riding but I’m convinced that marketing departments are selling us a level of aggression in gravel bikes that just aren’t needed for many of us and the terrain that we ride (my opinion, my experience)
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I also haven’t read through everything, but since about mid June I’ve been using my CX bike as my do everything. Someone crashed into me at a crit and dented the seat stay, never felt comfortable racing the allez after that. I raced steamboat gravel on it, road races, crits, and now it’s finally time to use it for cx. I do have two wheel sets - some deep dish disc wheels for road and some dt swiss something for gravel. I just put my cx tires on that. Been running a 1x: 50 t up front, 11-32 for crits, 11-36 for two hilly road races and gravel. I did switch out to a 42t ring for steamboat and after the last road race next week i’ll go back to the 42 for cross. I have three top fives, two podiums with this setup racing crits, and a couple of top tens. Def not the bike.
I think the new Domane or Aspero would be a great option as well.
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Unless it knocked the seat stay our of alignment, I would worry about a dent in a seat stay.
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I’m looking to get some insight from those who are still using their “Groadie” as their main bike.
I built up an Aspero several months ago with aspirations to turn it into my main bike for both gravel and road. In fact I went with a 2x drivetrain with this in mind.
Before this, I had both a dedicated gravel bike and dedicated road bike. In early 2020, I took up TR and paired that road bike with a Wahoo KICKR. Because I didn’t want to go through the “hassle” of removing it from the trainer, I mainly took my gravel bike on both gravel and road rides throughout the year. In fact, I only took out the road bike a handful of times last year. As of today, the road bike remains my trainer bike but I ended up stripping off the groupset to fund the Aspero build (rebuilt with mixture of cheap parts bin stuff I had around).
Now I’m trying to get more pure road riding back in, so I’m facing a dilemma about what to do:
- Get another wheelset for the Aspero with road tires. Probably the most obvious answer, but not sure if I’ll be disciplined enough to spend a few mere minutes swapping wheelsets before a ride.
- Get a new groupset and rebuild the road bike. The idea about having a pure road bike again is really nice and tempting, but I like the idea of having a single bike with familiar touch points, etc. Again with the question of whether I’d be bothered to remove it from the trainer every time. Plus my road bike “only” fits up to 25mm wide tires (I’d like to get at least 28mm width).
- Replace tires on the current wheelset on the Aspero with fast rolling smooth tread tires (GK slick, Challenge Strada Bianca, etc.). Certainly the cheapest option, but I think I’d be compromising grip/traction too much on the gravel side. The gravel around here is loose and rough with steep climbs and descents so some sort of knobs are desired.
- Try out other fast rolling gravel tires. I have probably one of the fastest rolling gravel tires out there at the moment (Pirelli Gravel H). Does pretty well on road but can’t deny that a pure road tire is both faster and lighter.
Any input is much appreciated!