I've currently got a Ridley xtrail, been happy with it but want some thing that will take bigger tyres and rack mounts also like idea of triple fork bosses but not essential.
Was looking at a paulmilnes livery kanzo adventure frame @ £1100 as they have offered a very good price for the xtrail.
Then discovered the free rangers often come on eBay with slight paint damage for just under £600, I would have to flog the Ridley my self
I think the free ranger is an open mould that a few Companies use. The geometry is almost identical the Ridley having fork bosses. Is the Ridley frame that much better??
Also other suggestions welcome, tried a Camino Al nice geometry but heavy compared to my X trail.
Thanks
The Free Ranger is very similar to the Space Chicken.....
My son recently got a Space Chicken and so far my observations are that it is bloody excellent- quality appears to be great.
Not what I’d ‘expect’ from a ‘budget’ bike if I’m honest - really impressed.
https://www.ridefustle.com/pages/causeway-development
Got 27.5 X 2.1 in mine with plenty of mud room
https://ukgravelco.com/fustle-causeway-gr1-review/
I'm tempted by one of those cosmetic free rangers too, but the geometry seems super weird.
5'9-6'" get a medium - but the reach on the medium is 376, the large 385. My road bike is 391 and gravel bikes are meant to have longer TT's IOT let you run a shorter stem?
385 is the usual reach for an average road/cx medium?
Anyone got one and able to comment?
Yes I can't decide on size my samll Ridley has been spot on, but I could go small or medium on kanzo or free ranger, but seat tubes are long on mediums
At 6” I was advised to get a medium, but it turned out the last frame in stock had paint damage. So I went for a large. Reach is fine - I just don’t have a lot of seatpost showing but no different to the Salsa Vaya it replaced. I would say the sizing charts are spot on. They are big frames.
They only have mediums on sale on ebay. I like standover, but I also can't imagine having a bike that's only got a 375 reach. You'd surely need like a 140mm stem at 6ft!
For what it’s worth, I sit more upright on the gravel bike off road
At 6’ I have a large Tempest, so same stable but not the same bike, that gets used for commuting with a 100mm -6 degree stem and at the moment when there is no commute 90mm +6 degree stem.
The commuting set up is for a 20 mile each way country roads with panniers route and mimics my road bike set up.
Off road I want my head up a little more, don’t care about aero, and favour getting the front unweighted at times.
Probably doesn’t help at all.
Planet X sizing chart changed.I bought one of the first Free Rangers and bought a large at 6ft as recommended.Now they suggest a medium.The large fits like a glove,would not want to go smaller.Other sellers of the same frame such as Dolan/Tifosi etc make different recommendations.Frame is a Carbonda 696 and seems very good quality.
@daffy bought a similar bike I think. He had a great thread on his China carbon frame build. Some great photos and feedback.
Pulled the trigger on a med free ranger, hope it's not too big, looked at headset and it's a IS42/28.6 IS52/40
Wiggle do a cheap one which will get the build done for a tapered fork which is IS42/28.6 IS52/39.8 will it work or do I need to carry on my search?
Cheers
Free Ranger is the Carbonda as others have said
I’m 6ft and went medium - little bit of setback and 100mm stem - fits well
Hullo,
Little request to "L" size Ranger owners...
Can you please check for me if website table ETT is in fact 565mm in real life?
I'm 5'10.5" but like long frames and thinking if "L" will be long enough.
Cheers!
I.
Quick measure of my large suggests that 565 is accurate.On a personal note I feel that a gravel bike is not a road racing bike and should have geometry closer to a touring bike ie more upright posture,head up,enjoy the scenery sort of thing.
If I wanted an aerodynamic position with more seat showing and all the headset spacers slammed I would have bought a medium.
On my large I have used a set of hover bars and an 80mm Redshift stem and have a very comfortable position from which to observe the world as I potter around!
I am 6ft with relatively long legs but short arms.
Cheers!
I.