Some very specific gravel bike questions

I LOVE mine

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Oh! Which one do you have, and what do you think the fattest tire you could fit would be?

Thatā€™s a good question. I donā€™t actually own 650 wheels, but Iā€™ve ridden a friends. Im just about to get on the trainer, but Iā€™ll have a think on it later. Off the top of my head, I would say you could put 2.1s on there.

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Great, that may put it right at the top of the list. What kind of drivetrain do you have?

I can see this as Iā€™ve done some of this on small scale. But definitely what happens is too much of the rocky and rooty stuff makes it a less fun ride. I wonder how it would be with a gravel bike with big tires but no suspension.

But mostly what I do is decide ahead of time if I want to jump on the mtb trails during my normal gravel ride and if thatā€™s the case take my full suspension mtb. But thatā€™s ahead of time thinking.

Itā€™s sort of funny as my two bikes I own now after selling a road, TT, and old gravel bike are my lauf true grit and ibis Ripley af. And with the mtb geometry trend of longer, at least partially for stability, the two bikes arenā€™t so drastically different in that sense. But the ibis of course with 29 tires on it feels like riding a monster truck.

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I currently have Pathfinder 700x42s on there. I just measured and at the bottom bracket, there is about 7mm additional space on the tight side. Iā€™ve run 700x43 GK SK covered in mud before with no issue.

I just looked and Giant says 650b x 50mm is their spec.

Mine is a 2021 model with Force AXS.

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Ha! Well that a CX racer for you.

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Looks like Lauf sold off most of their Seigla inventory. Ship dates used to be within 1-2 weeks, now theyā€™re forecasting May 2023. Not that I have permission from the wife to get another bike, but ā€¦

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Yikes! Thanks for catching that, Iā€™m looking at a Large (which is just a January ship date), but I definitely need to make a decision soon. It was still at 6 days to ship last night when I was going back over the specs for the 1500th time.

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Iā€™m looking at the Wireless Weekend Warrior (Rival AXS) in medium. The Wireless Race (Force AXS) medium is also Jan 2023. On par with some of the other bikes Iā€™m considering but Iā€™ve really narrowed my search down to the Seigla.

The Ribble Gravel is a close second. It has fork mounts (which I like), but there are good clip on options should I need / want fork storage. I really like the larger tire clearance on the Seigla (57 mm) versus 45 mm on the Ribble with 700c rims and 47 mm with 650b rims (doesnā€™t seem like the 650b wheels are worth it for the Ribble).

With shipping to the US the Seigla is still the better deal, IMO, because it includes a PM whereas the Ribble does not.

Also, I took a quick test ride on a Giant Revolt. Iā€™m not sure the slacker geometry is for me. Iā€™m confident I could get the saddle and reach / drop to the bars in a similar / comfortable position it still felt like I was further back and more upright than I naturally prefer.

@FergusYL are you considering getting a rigid version or one with the leaf-sprung fork? If rigid, are you looking at some other type of suspension? Iā€™ve seen mixed reviews on the fork and am intrigued by the Redshift Sports ShockStop stem.

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I havenā€™t used a modern gravel suspension fork, but I love my Redshift suspension stem. Used one since they debuted and its still kicking with zero maintenance or issues today. Itā€™s just the right amount of comfort for my gravel use.

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Iā€™m looking at the Rigid version, with the only suspension being a fatter tire. Iā€™m a bigger rider (6ā€™1" and around 200 pounds now but working on losing a chunk more), and Iā€™m a little wary of a non-adjustable fork.

The Redshift stem looking pretty interesting, but it gives me some flashbacks to Girvin Flexstems and Allsop Softride stems that make me hesitate a bit. @mcneese.chad - you donā€™t have any issues with the brake levers rolling a little too much or anything that like?

The bar and all controls do roll during compression, but not excessively for my taste. It pays to set up the unloaded angle a bit more upward angle than youā€™d do for a static stem, but no issue after setting that.

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That makes sense. And no issues with bushing wear/wobbly handling?

another option is the Red Shift suspension seatpost. I have one on my cyclocross/sometimes gravel bike and Iā€™m amazed at the amount of shock it absorbs (and Iā€™m super flyweight, so I feel EVERYTHING)

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No slop even after years of use. These guys are great designers and also tested to ensure durability.

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Which sizes? Itā€™s showing inventory for most sizes

When I looked a few days ago the Weekend Warrior Wireless rigid in medium was showing delayed shipping. Now it looks like they can ship within 1-2 weeks. Maybe a website glitch?

@FergusYL - Did you ever decide on a bike?
Iā€™m fairly set on a Seigla, just trying to decide on which fork. I dislike the aesthetics of the Grit, and am skeptical about my need for suspension (especially when I have MTBs with 135/160mm and 167/170mm of travel) if Iā€™m not planning to race Unbound XL anytime soon!
I will probably stick with a Weekend Warrior wired build (old bike mechanic, kinda prefer mechanical shifting) and build up a set of more road oriented wheels with the savings.

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This!!! On one hand I have a road bike, so getting a Seigla would be to go ā€œall inā€ on gravel. On the other hand, if I felt I really wanted / needed front end suspension, something like the Redshift Suspension Stem or Cane Creek eeSilk can provide similar capability, and is easily removed if needed. :man_shrugging:

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