[Closed] What Road / Gravel

Really liking my Sonder Camino Al. Currently got 40c G-one tyres with full mudguards, recent rides have been mix of road & off road.
Plenty of clearance for mud etc. Comfy offcroas and still pretty quick on road. The riding position & bigger tyres are really confidence inspiring on crud strewn winter roads.

I'm just about to list a Niner RLT9 in the classifieds. its as good as new, only done about 15 miles as the missus hates riding on roads.

105 build with R685 hydros (the good looking ones), carbon bars and post. Looking for a £1000.

I've also got an RLT9 and done everything from the Tour of Flanders sportive to trail centres on it.

What size and where abouts for the Niner?

Thing is with a lot of the new gravel bikes is they seem to be aimed more at the nu-touring end of things and that's not where I'm at. I'm wanting a road bike that can handle some rough roads, if I'm going off road then I'll take one of the mountain bikes.

I'm sure there are better riders than me who would have had no issue with the Escapade but it was just too sedate for me

It's a 53 but comes up big. The missus is 5ft 9. Mine is a 56 and I'm 6ft 1.

I'm near to Milton Keynes. I can send you some photos if you like. She only dropped the bombshell yesterday so I've not had a chance to do anything with it yet.

It's no carbon road bike but handles most things pretty well and has plenty of room for mudguards etc.

the bikes I've had are in the 54/56 range being 5.10 (just) so it might be a tad small but it'd be nice to see some pics if you could email me. Thanks

Mattbee - what mudguards are you running on the CaminoAl? Looking like an option for me as a replacement commuter.

The podge, I'm 5'10 and toyed with getting an RLT. Having checked the geo I'd be getting a 53 fyi.

crashtestmonkey - The podge, I'm 5'10 and toyed with getting an RLT. Having checked the geo I'd be getting a 53 fyi.

Out of curiosity, what's the budget equivalent frame only buy to the mason bokeh? It seems like that hits the sweet spot for capable off road and Spritely enough to live with the roadie chain gang.

Well over a grand for the frameset though.

Warbird?

Mattbee - what mudguards are you running on the CaminoAl? Looking like an option for me as a replacement commuter.

I'm just running a set of cheap Stronglight ones from PX, didn't want to spend loads if they didn't fit but am actually surprised they seem to be holding up well without rattling or falling apart.

Great, thank you.

I'm sure there are better riders than me who would have had no issue with the Escapade but it was just too sedate for me

You just want a carbon cross bike with light wheels and fast tyres. I went from a steel-framed and forked Soma Double Cross to an On One Dirty Disco and the difference is night and day. Dropped around 2kg in weight from the frame/fork for starters. The DD feels way quicker and sharper and it's really just a generic carbon cross bike, nothing special.

I don't think Cotic really 'get' road/cross bikes. Essentially they're all about mountain biking. The X I rode felt cumbersome and slow steering and the stock tyres were horrible. I guess what I'm saying is that anything that ditches a bunch of weight compared to a steel frame, steers a bit quicker and has fast, light wheels will likely feel a lot sharper regardless of what it is.

I also have a proper road bike, which is quicker and sharper, but on rougher stuff, a disc-braked cross bike with bigger, fast tyres makes sense.

YGM with photos

Hey thepodge.

I'm 5'9" and have a brand new Medium Genesis Datum frame and forks for sale.

Make me an offer!

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/carbon-genesis-datum-offers

thepodge - Member
That carbon frame looks to have ok clearance in those pics.

It does, I'm sure 40-45c tyres would fit. Unfortunately I can't measure at the moment as it's got full mudguards on. There's loads of them out there so I'm sure someone will know.

I paid $500 for the frameset, headset, spare hanger and seatpost inc delivery & taxes.

BadlyWiredDog - You just want a carbon cross bike with light wheels and fast tyres... anything that ditches a bunch of weight compared to a steel frame, steers a bit quicker and has fast, light wheels will likely feel a lot sharper regardless of what it is.

Teapot - YGM with photos

beagle - brand new Medium Genesis Datum frame and forks

nathb - I paid $500 for the frameset, headset, spare hanger and seatpost inc delivery & taxes.

I guess my issue (which Jameso and BWD have touched on) is not exactly what specific bike should I be looking at and more what geo / build should I be keeping in mind to stop me buying blind again.

I was in a similar position to you.

Ended up getting a Rose cross bike with hydraulic ultegra and light DT swiss r23 wheels. Weighs a wee bit over 8kg and cost £1400. Best mix of cost/weight/not needing to upgrade. It has all the guards and mounts you need too and you can configure the parts to fit you (cranks/stem etc)
Seems equally happy on road as it does on trails or paths.

https://www.rosebikes.co.uk/search/find/?q=dx+cross+pro

Canyon inflite is similar and comes with a fancy VCLS seatpost, but they were out of stock when I wanted to buy

BadlyWiredDog - Member

I don't think Cotic really 'get' road/cross bikes. Essentially they're all about mountain biking.

maybe right, another way to put it is that roadies don't really get Cotic/mountain biking.

when i'm out with my roadie mates, in the Peak, if i point out all the interesting trails, singletrack and old 'roads' we could be exploring, they just look at me like i spat in their soup - they're much, much more excited about getting a chain going and banging out 250 watts for an hour.

(if you are one of my roadie mates, i hope you realise that i've embellished the truth *a bit* to make a point)

Podge, tempt you with a Genesis CDA? similar to the Datum, but an aluminium frame...? i suspect that there's a whole heap of Aluminium framed bikes out there that'll tick all your boxes, it's just a question of finding one that tickles your fancy!

See I think because I have 2 good offroad bikes I'm probably leaning towards the chain gang side of things with this bike.

Riding the Bianchi made me want to attack everything and destroy my legs / lungs which was immense fun.

A couple of mates have the CDA and like them a lot but then a mate has an Escapade which he likes a lot.

Get a Jamis Renegade, I love my steel one. The carbon versions are supposed to be ridiculously good!

Carbon renegade is good, light on road and stable off it. Not quite as flighty as an out and out roadie tho but Its great value too.

I swapped mine for a focus cayo disc which I quite like at the mo but that's more road focussed which is where I ride mine 98% of the time. The focus Paralane may fit your bill but the carbon one is pricey at the mo.

I noticed the Saracen Avro is v cheap at Evans at the mo tho.... £899

These days I am a road cyclist first and MTBer a distant second. The Orro Terra is a replacement for a CX bike which while fine felt a bit dead on long road rides, this one feels like my good road bike on all but the longest climbs and is arguably faster on the flat as my Strava segments attest. This never happened with the CX bike.

An Orro user! heard about them this week and came looking to see if anyone else had. did you have a look at their aluminium road bikes https://www.orrobikes.com/ at all? If so, have you heard anything good? I'm a bit afraid to leap into a decision. Maybe there's a better place for me to ask?

Teapot - really interested in the niner if you have any pictures? Email in profile

An Orro user! heard about them this week and came looking to see if anyone else had. did you have a look at their aluminium road bikes https://www.orrobikes.com/ at all? If so, have you heard anything good? I'm a bit afraid to leap into a decision. Maybe there's a better place for me to ask?

Which model are you after? There is an owners group on Strava and lots of them have been reviewed in the mags. They tend to be well specd for the money as ibike use the brands they distribute.
The Terra is basically a road bike with extra tyre clearance, discs and mudguard mounts.