…with flatmount brakes and thru-axles?

There’s the Niner RLT at £2,300, and the chinese stuff at tuppence ha’penny.

Is there anything in between?!

I’ve got a Chinese road disc frame (Deng Fu R04) and it’s bloody good. Can’t imagine a Niner being 2k better.

To answer the question though, Trek Boone?

Tripster AT?

If you specifically want carbon, On-One have the Bish Bash Bosh and Space Chicken (available as complete bikes or framesets); I don’t know what they’re like though.

Picked up a Bish Bash Bosh a few months back and other than being concerned about crap building up in the odd hole under the BB which the cables run out of I’d say its a very well finished frame and feels great fun on what it is intended for – think someone posted a pic of a more recent version which had rack mounts on the rear – earlier ones didn’t so be careful. Think space chicken is 1x only – ok if that is your thing but isn’t mine – but check I might be wrong

(ignore – missed Crabon requirement, as the Capt did.)

I have a bish bash bosh, great bike but doesn’t have flat mount brakes.

Ive just built up a Genesis Datum frameset. It has just come back from the NC500 where is was fabulous bike to ride.

^^^^^and i missed the flatmount bit

The flat mount standard is new to me (a quick Google shows that it’s a new road only standard) and I don’t know much about it or what it’s suppose to offer over post mount.

Focus Paralane is only gravel(ish) flatmount carbon bike can think of and available as a frameset but pleased to be proved wrong

– think that it looks like the limited market with early adoption of disk and hence postmount seems to mean that manufacturers will be waiting a while to switch to flatmount – meanwhile gravel bikes will look ugly at the coffee shop

edit Ridley x-trail seems to be available as a frameset

The Open Upper is a carbon gravel frameset with flat mount brakes, but at €4,500 it’s more than twice the price of the Niner!!

Oddly they don’t seem to be fans of the flat mount system:

We don’t like how the bike industry keeps “inventing” new standards, so we always investigate if they are an improvement before we use them.

Post-mount brake calipers work very well, and the main argument for flat-mount is that it looks better (sigh) while a significant drawback is that the front brake always requires an adapter for mounting, adding weight and reducing braking efficiency.

I don’t know much about it or what it’s suppose to offer over post mount.

Unfortunately genuine benefits are irrelevant, it’s the new standard, you’ll struggle to find a hydro road groupset with post mounts now so you’re buying a bike/frame locked into obsolete spec (as you can’t get adaptors to fit flat brakes to PM frames).

Is the GT Grade flat mount and available frame only?

Not all new standards are long termers (we seem to have come back to threaded bottom brackets from press fit) but I take your point.

I’m interested in building something gravelish to replace my rigid hardtail (which has essentially been a gravel bike for years) but I know very little about road kit. A drop bar Swift kind of intrigues me but a complete bike may be more cost effective.

I take it that you can’t use road levers with mtb callipers?

I take it that you can’t use road levers with mtb callipers?

You can. I bought a flat mount Shimano 105 groupset and substituted BR-R785 calipers which look (and I believe essentially are) identical to XT calipers.

What would be a mountain bikers cross bike…?

Norco Threshold

You can. I bought a flat mount Shimano 105 groupset and substituted BR-R785 calipers which look (and I believe essentially are) identical to XT calipers.

That’s useful to know, thanks!

Is the GT Grade flat mount and available frame only?

No, and I don’t think so. On the other hand it’s a superb gravel bike for pretty much the same price as the Niner frame…
You can also find Ultegra post-mount disc groupsets. I don’t think 105 is available with post-mount but the new Tiagra discs are also an option. It’s not deal breaker IMO.

Did you get sorted with anything?

These look interesting:
https://handslingbikes.com/collections/cyclocross-frames/products/handsling-cex-cyclocross-disc

Not a fan of the big logo, but they do offer custom paint 🙂

Any use?

http://www.workswellbikes.com/PRODDUCT/ROAD/ALL/Gravel/2017/0323/112.html

My racing bike is a workswell and it has certainly lived up to it’s name. You’ve got a blank canvas if you want to do your own design on it too!

Hmmm – I’m playing a game of spot the difference with the workswell and handsling. Haven’t found one yet…

In fact this looks the same too:
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/2017-MIRACLE-Carbon-Cyclocross-Frame-For-CX-thru-axle-bike-cyclocross-Frame-with-cheap-price-CX028/114868_32721982214.html

Handsling:

Workswell:

The difference is the paint & marketing 😆

Workswell offers tax free shipping via the netherlands too 😈

Exactly – identical apart from the rounding in the table 🙂

Oh – actually the weights differ with the Miracle one. Significantly so.

Any use?

http://www.workswellbikes.com/PRODDUCT/ROAD/ALL/Gravel/2017/0323/112.html

My racing bike is a workswell and it has certainly lived up to it’s name. You’ve got a blank canvas if you want to do your own design on it too!

Thanks for mentioning them… looks interesting! May I ask roughly what yours cost, nathb..?

$500 landed with no fees inc headset, bottom bracket, spare hanger, di2 cable stops, carbon seatpost and seatpost clamp.

Thanks… looks very tempting.

Have has my eye on the Bowman PilgrimsX but in all honesty I can’t really justify it, especially if I can get the ‘workswell’ for half that.

Cheers!

I think I might give the WorksWell one a go.
They’ve given me a choice of 3 bottom brackets: 112-49-BB30, 112-52-BSA, 112-56-BSA
I prefer threaded, all else being equal, but does it impact on q-factor?