Your Checkpoint is still 20mm shorter wheelbase and 2.5 degrees steeper than the V4 stiggy though.
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I thought you had a RaceMax? Did you get rid of that? Too much like a road bike and want a gravel bike thatâs more gravel? Ventum GS1 is a looker.
Yup, quite different bikes WRT Front Center and Head Tube Angle.
The Checkpoint is sort of an odd duck with a steeper head tube (72.2*) but longer reach (as compared to common road setups) while still shy of the Stig in many ways.
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On the topic of all these bike geo comparisons, itâs interesting how the basic geo on paper may be super similar and the ride characteristics be so different. I went from a pure XC race bike (2013 Jake the Snake) to the V3 Stiggy and even though they are super similar geo, I MUCH prefer the Stiggy. I donât think itâs just because it has disc brakes either 
Tire size, fork offset, steering trail, just a few MM really changes a bike.
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Had a RaceMax. Crack in the frame a month into riding it. Received a replacement frame that was slightly out of spec and 2x chainring bolts rubbed the frame under power. Frame would likely have been fine with 1x, really tight tolerances. At that point 3T went completely dark on me so I returned it to Excel Sports. Some other stuff and letâs leave it at a bad experience with 3T North America.
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Sure, there is more to it than these numbers. A single change in tires can make or break a bike. Add in stuff like handlebar reach & drop, hood reach/shape, final saddle position (fore-aft specifically, if there are limits like offset post in one case vs none in the other) and you can get vastly different layout on bikes with similar (or even identical) geo.
Heck, changing the spacers under a stem and/or stem length by 10mm is enough to alter the feel and performance for some people. But all else being equal, this process of chart comparison can shed real light on the howâs and whyâs of bike handling.
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Thanks for the context on that. I was so excited when I got mine, but then learned more and more about the tolerances with wheel sizes, got a rock stuck in the wheel and scraped the hell out of the seat tube. Tires that measure a true 40 seem to work best - but very small room in the rear clearance. I was set to sell it, but have since have had a better time with it. It serves as my everyday bike, crit racer, gravel machine, etc. I think the goal is to get this 1x eventually. Sadly, I have it listed for a pretty good price ($2,500 stock with some easton aero bars and decent wheels) and have nothing but tire kickers and no one slightly serious. So, going to keep it for now.
Be very wary of riding in mud. Mud and tight tire clearance, resulting in zero clearance, will eat through carbon and aluminum quite fast (a single ride).
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I have another wheelset, 650b actually that Iâll throw on when do any gravel races that have mud. Thankfully, most of the gravel in CO when it rains doesnât get too crazy. I also have a rear tire thatâs 35/36 ready to go also just in case.
Which is also why I still have it on the market to sell, haha. I may pull this dented allez sprint out of the closet and build it back up, sell the racemax, find a checkpoint or something for the grav grav
Bit of a tangent, but a silly thought popped into my head with mud issues. How long until someone really takes the issue on with something like the Hope TT bike?
More aero AND mud clearance⌠whatâs not to like 
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And here I was thinking my Lauf Seigla was a long bike.
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My first 29er hardtail had a wheelbase about that long. 
. Wonder if I should have kept it for graveling
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You probably should have.
I canât tell from specs listed online if all sizes come with a 70mm stem. But they list 70mm stem and the zipp bars have a 70mm reach.
My large Seigla came with a 90mm stem and Iâm looking to try out a 80mm stem. Itâs funny when people discuss reducing stem length online there are some who are either super sensitive to bike handling âtwitchinessâ and/or have a typical road bike geometry on mind where a shorter stem can have a bigger affect on handling. Itâd be a fun exercise to see how short a stem I could get on my Seigla to see how short I could go on a stem before a notice a significant difference in handling.
Iâd be curious how the stigmata feels with the suspension fork on it.
Wait another 6 months. They all will.
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I find Vegan Cyclist kind of annoying, but looks like the perfect bike for this kind of race: The BEST GRAVEL Race You've NEVER Heard OF! (Big Horn Gravel : Colorado) - YouTube
Personally, I bought a Factor Vista âall roadâ bike a few years ago before the latest crop of rowdier gravel or the Ostro gravel existed. Itâs my n-1 bike that I run 28s on for road and 38s on for gravel, but I canât run much wider than that, certainly not with any mud.
If I were to ever get a proper gravel bike Iâd be looking at one of these rowdier options, but not at current prices unfortunately.
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I guess if your gravel bike requires an actual air suspension fork then theyâre definitely more pricey.
And obviously depends a lot how rowdy your riding is. More and more gravel frames are supporting 700x50 or more.
I donât doubt for a minute plenty of people who do gravel would be 100% fine on a hardtail xc bike. But I get racing events vs participating in events is different. But lines are definitely getting blurred between gravel and mtb.
The guy who won Unbound XL this year was running an XC bike with drop bars. I raced gravel on my full suspension XC bike for a couple years (with solid results) before buying a dedicated gravel race bike. The gearing can be a challenge on an XC bike, my Spark maxes out on a 38 chainring. Aero can obviously hurt, particularly if you are on flat bars. But I never felt like the geometry was ever holding me back from a handling standpoint. Quite the opposite. Kept up fine on mellow stuff in the group and then have a measurable advantage on downhills and chunky stuff. The only place I really felt like it hurt is rolling solo and the aerodynamic penalty.
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I wasnât thinking about the gearing but that makes sense.
I came from a triathlon/road background to gravel so at the time it made sense, in my mind, to buy a gravel bike since I was going to be riding gravel, all my friends had gravel bikes, and there was limited mtb in the area so I didnât really have that type of bike on my radar.
I love my Seigla but if Iâd been more aware I would have considered an XC bike
Dylan Johnson recently got 3rd at Big Horn Gravel riding a drop bar MTB. He was able to fit a 42 chainring, so gearing wasnât an issue for him.
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Agreed this is the type of race for these types of bikes, posted the Vegan Cyclist vid for this same race above.
Having a HT MTB and being able to swap out to this type of config is a lot more versatile overall, but also highly impractical for most normal people. Electronic shifting makes it a lot easier, but hydraulic brakes erase a lot of that.
For Dylanâs specific bike, he said he tested it last year and determined it isnât faster for Leadville. Will be curious if he revisits that decision this year.