[Closed] Anyone loving their gravel/adventure/road bike that.......

It's a Giant TCX Advance 1.

I've raved about it on here for sometime now, it still excites and rides amazing. I use it for all sorts, CX racing, Gravel races, long distance off road, NCN bashing, local CX thrashes, woods, single track ... Winter road ...

I love it.

I have a few scraps on my new claud butler bike from coming off recently and looking at the scratches are irritating me. I have noticed this website selling RAL colours that are applicable to bikes. Has anyone ever used them before i think they mainly do car paint? MPEX heres a link [url= https://www.mpexdirect.com/touch-paint-products/ ] www.mpexdirect.com/touch-paint-products

In an effort to help me come to a decision I took the Horsethief out twice in the last week to Castlewellan and thoroughly enjoyed it, yes there are places where the cdf would have coped admirably but when things got a little rougher that's where the Horsethief excells.

DECISION MADE: I'M KEEPING BOTH!

Sounds like a good decision. File under 1st World Problems 😉

Picking this thread up again, and following another asking about 26" "Gravel tyres" the other day, is anyone looking at their piles of, apparently worthless, old 26" frames/forks/wheels and mulling over any sort of 26" wheeled Franken-Gravel-tourer?

I am getting closer myself but bars and tyre choices seem to be the main factor that would tip it either towards a "Gravel"/"monstercross" Build or the other way and end up with a rigid, semi-slick tyred MTB... Decisions, decisions...

Anyone loving their gravel/adventure/road bike that.......No to be the voice of dissent here but its just to limited.

Anyone loving their gravel/adventure/road bike that.......No to be the voice of dissent here but its just to limited.

Limited for your particular requirements, or 'limited' for adventure/mixed-terrain/back-roads touring, extended bivvy/camp trips and general use? (my requirements)

Picking this thread up again, and following another asking about 26" "Gravel tyres" the other day, is anyone looking at their piles of, apparently worthless, old 26" frames/forks/wheels and mulling over any sort of 26" wheeled Franken-Gravel-tourer?

I bought an old M-Trax to build exactly that. For touring and back-roads/bridlepaths. Lightened it a lot with hand-built rims and full XT, thumbshifters, whacked a Charge Spoon and some taped bar-ends on the straight bars. The rest was down to tyre choice. With winter mudguards I can use anything up to 1.75 (Land Cruisers for instance). General touring I use Marathon Racers. Considered drop bars bit the cost of converting was stacking up. It functions very well, swift, bombproof and almost handsome 8)

[IMG] [/IMG]

Though fter trying the Vagabond I thought - enough, someone made what I've been trying to make! And 29ers just feels so much more - satisfying. Feels (to me) easier to roll over obstacles with drops and 29 wheels than it does with straight bars and 26". Being picky. They also made it lighter. Just.

I am getting closer myself but bars and tyre choices seem to be the main factor that would tip it either towards a "Gravel"/"monstercross" Build or the other way and end up with a rigid, semi-slick tyred MTB... Decisions, decisions...

Well I could wander out to the garage now and just assemble it as yet another MTB, all the necessary parts are in there (somewhere).
My initial thought was to simply go and buy a 29er, but then I thought why spend the extra money when I have a cheaper, albeit smaller wheeled, option already...

Comfortable riding position(s), luggage capacity and the ability to mix on/offroad is really all I need, I won't be rushing anywhere on it, and while my London Road could do all of that I quite like it as it is...

So it's either going to be flat bars (already got several), loop bars (cheap version from SJS) or maybe drops/flared drops (although this would mean some new levers). Loops are winning at present never tried them so they would be a bit of a novelty, so more MTBish on the bars front.

As for tyres it's a sort of separate question, I have plenty of 2.1-2.5" knobbly 26ers already, but a bit less tread might suit the application, and something more like big apples would give some cushioning plus reasonable rolling and an OD not too far from a ~700x25c road bike wheel, while still being able to go offroad comfortably. I would just slap some pannier racks on an leave them fitted too so as to make it the default utility/touring/load lugging option...

That's my current thinking at least...