• This topic has 48 replies, 34 voices, and was last updated 1 year ago by leesus.
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  • Allroad/Gravel Frame considerations
  • skybluestu
    Free Member

    Need toneeplace creaking dented frame with something of a do it all element. Moon on a stick maybe but also needs to be cheapish given current climate!
    Wants are as follows
    1. Threaded bb
    2. Clearence for 40mm tyres and mudguards
    3. Robust enough for future light touring/bikepacking so multi mounts and pannier compliance
    4. Disc
    5. Sprightly enough for another set of wheels for road riding days out

    Thinking pinnacle akrose is the closest to what im after. Thoughts/advice?

    ogden
    Free Member

    Sonder Camino? The previous gen one if you can find it sonds like its fit the bill.

    Love mine

    honourablegeorge
    Full Member

    Fearless Warlock

    jodafett
    Full Member

    Mason Bokeh. I will have a 54cm frame in green going soon. I’d recommend it if your feet are size 8 or below!

    ElShalimo
    Full Member

    @ogden – what are those wheels and tyres?

    ogden
    Free Member

    @elshalimo

    They are Light Bicycle AR46 rims with sapim d light spokes on Dt350 rear and hope pro 4 front hubs. The tyres are specialized pathfinder pro in 38mm.

    ElShalimo
    Full Member

    Thanks

    skybluestu
    Free Member

    The mason is a lovely bike but out of my price range and im a 58-60cm in most road bikes but thanks for the interest!

    Ill take a look at the sonder as an option.

    The warlock looks like a bit too far offroad as mist of my miles in this bike would be road/rough lanes.

    finbar
    Free Member

    Pinarello Grevil ticks all of those except #3 😉

    n0b0dy0ftheg0at
    Free Member

    Boardman ADV 8.9 in stock in some sizes in dark/white.

    andrewh
    Free Member

    Cotic Escapade?

    Daffy
    Full Member

    PlanetX Freeranger /Carbonda CFR 696 fits every requirement.

    devonboy
    Free Member

    +1 for the Freeranger.I normally run mine on 38mm Schwalbe G One Bites,but on my spare wheels I have tried 25c Schwalbe Pro One on which it felt very sprightly.

    If you don’t like lurid paint schemes Tifosi do a black version albeit higher cost.

    lotto
    Free Member

    Flat or drop bar?

    fatbrad
    Free Member

    Another for the Freeranger. On 650b wheels you can when run 2.1 Nobby Nics

    Mister-P
    Free Member

    I am coveting my mate’s Ritchey Outback

    https://ritcheylogic.com/bike/frames/outback-frameset

    infovore
    Full Member

    I did similar last year – find a gravel bike that also works as an endurance road bike with a wheel swap.

    Things not covered that might fit:

    Genesis CDA/CDF? Will take the tyres, threaded BB, new ones come with generous fork mounts.

    Big brands: Cannondale Topstone? Giant Revolt? The alloy versions have threaded BBs I think. Those might not have all the fork mounts you’d like though, but that can be solved with straps.

    The carbon frames listed – not sure if they have threaded BBs – but how much of a priority is that?

    This year’s Camino is a notch more ATBish than the previous gen, hence the recommendation above specifically for a 2021 / V3 frame.

    dc1988
    Full Member

    I was going to say Arkose, I recently bought one because it seemed to be the best mix of gravel and road that I could find. It’s got masses of tyre clearance (even with the 700×45 stock tyres fitted), rack mounts, front mech compatible. It also isn’t too racy, I struggled to find a frame with a decent stack height.

    cookeaa
    Full Member

    merlin-malt-g2x-gravel £389.95 says it clears 700×40/650×42 and they have 59cm in stock…

    jodafett
    Full Member

    My last bike was an Arkose 5 with SRAM Force. It lasted years and was bombproof! It had a rough life and I never had to adjust the gears once. Not sure of current spec/geometry but going on my last one I’d highly recommend.

    ElShalimo
    Full Member
    skybluestu
    Free Member

    The kenisis is very nice but too pricey for me.
    I like the look of the tifosi ifni can find one on offer as well.
    Merlin Malt was another thought as well but not sure its going to be a bit boring for the road ride wise.
    Im on a 58cm spec diverge smartweld 2015 currently but ive had enough of the ceeaking pressfit bb and stupid rear wheel spacing.

    Stainypants
    Full Member

    Freeranger now has new colours including black.

    ogden
    Free Member

    If I hadn’t gone for the Camino the Carbonda/One One Free Ranger would have probably been my next choice if i was going to spend more. The on one is 600g lighter that the camino. On one is £600 more than what I paid for the camino frame.

    damascus
    Free Member

    I was going to recommend the ribble cgr Al frame and fork but it’s not as cheap as it once was. Ticks all the boxes except cheap! It does have rack mounts, mudgaurds, threaded bb and tyre clearance for 700×50.

    I really like mine. Fast as a road bike and capable as a gravel bike.

    https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-cgr-al-blue-frameset/

    I like the gravel frame as it has the fork mounts.

    https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-gravel-al-frameset/

    Having said all that, I think it’s hard to see past the sonder camino which is almost half the price

    Camino Al Frame And Fork

    ElShalimo
    Full Member

    @skybluestu – where are you based?

    I’ve got a v1 XL Camino AL that I’ll be selling next month (W Yorks)

    infovore
    Full Member

    Isn’t the Carbonda/Tifosi/Free Ranger all press fit? (I may be wrong here tbh)

    chestrockwell
    Full Member

    New Salsa Journeyer looks like a very flexible frame.

    Nordest Albarda or Super Albarda?

    funkybaj
    Free Member

    Free Ranger has a threaded BB.

    I like mine. Did a 200km road ride on it yesterday, but equally as happy with it loaded up with bags on an adventure.

    cookeaa
    Full Member

    Merlin Malt was another thought as well but not sure its going to be a bit boring for the road ride wise.

    You’re kind of in the territory of “beggars can’t be choosers” here, wanting gravel bike tyre clearances and a sprightly road ride are a wee bit contradictory, those chainstays inevitably have to be a bit longer to squeeze a 40mm tyre in, plus there’s a budget to consider (what actually is your upper limit for spend?). It might be more workable if you have 650bx45ish gravel tyres and 700x28ish road tyres, but sprightly

    Personally I don’t quite believe the ‘one bike, two wheelsets’ thing quite works, but if it’s going to you have to compromise somewhere.

    infovore
    Full Member

    Personally I don’t quite believe the ‘one bike, two wheelsets’ thing quite works, but if it’s going to you have to compromise somewhere.

    Agreed. It is doable, but all depends on the compromise you want to make. If you’re realistic about goals/usage it’s doable.

    To illustrate with my own example: I ended up with a Giant Revolt; my compromise was pressfit, and 2x. The Giant is at the less rowdy end of gravel, but still capable: 700×45 or 650×47 (maybe 50) clearance; 11-34 out back and 48-32 up front (and you could go 46-30 with GRX now). The geo works ok as an endurancey road bike, albeit a slightly chunkier one, and it’s fun off road. No fork mounts, 3x bottle mounts. I really get the appeal of 1x off-road, but on – was riding 1x today – I always found the ratios a bit spread out. The front mech is maybe annoying off-road, but makes for nicer road gearing.

    But it’s not going to compete with a rowdy, steel 1x ATB – Surly or Richey or Brother Mehteh, etc – or even, really, the Carbonda (and Free Ranger and Tripster). But it’s working for me. You just have to pick which end of the all-road spectrum you’re going to aim for, and by extension, which you compromise on. (I think a lot of the best fits perhaps fall out of your price range – Ribble CGR, Fairlight Secan, some of Brother’s frames)

    Bazz
    Full Member

    Spa cycles Elan?

    I’ve been eyeing one up for pretty much what you describe, may not have all the mounts that you want though

    igm
    Full Member

    No one had said PX Tempest yet.

    BSA BB, disc, mounts etc

    I run mine 2×11 with rack and guards for commuting 2x 20 miles on 700c wheels. Takes up to a 43mm Nano tyre happily enough in that guise. (PX say 48mm but that probably doesn’t include mudguards)

    When I stick the 650b wheels on it, I run 47mm but I could go bigger. (PX say 50, but I suspect that’s conservative)

    Yes my road bike is faster / but not much. And it’ll do most of what a 90s mtb would do – had it round (selected bits at of the red at Dalby)

    Price-wise – work out what you want to pay and wait until PX offer it at that price. Presently there’s only £400 difference between the frame a a Rival hydraulic build.

    footflaps
    Full Member

    Really impressed by the Free Ranger offload (and on). Only bought one as a punt to see what this gravel malarkey was all about. Very impressed by how well it behaves.

    [url=https://flic.kr/p/2nrA4nJ]On-one Free Ranger[/url] by Ben Freeman, on Flickr

    £1500 with SRAM Force build in one of their every other month sales.

    skybluestu
    Free Member

    Would a carbon bike with panniers be a concern regarding load weight in general or am i overthinking things! Chances are ill be using it mainly for just a rough rural road/occasional bridelway bike with the occasional bikepack and asperations for a bit of touring! I reckon 90/5/5 split.
    Obs, 2 bikes would be better but only got capacity for one really (plus proper bike that is of course)

    infovore
    Full Member

    Would a carbon bike with panniers be a concern regarding load weight in general or am i overthinking things

    Maybe. To wit: how much do you weigh? I’m 90+kg, which is the same weight as an 80kg person with 10kg of crap in panniers – and my carbon bike is fine. By which I mean: in general, the heaviest thing in a bike is a rider. If it’s got rack mounts, that means it is expected to take a rack and all that entails. Some manufacturers do spec a max weight for rider+load and it’s often around, say, 110-120kg.

    Also: if “loaded touring” is an anticipated 10% use case, then yeah, it’s almost certainly fine.

    wooderson
    Full Member

    Winspace G2

    Far more interesting than a Sonder, Pinnacle or Planet X

    rOcKeTdOg
    Full Member

    The warlock looks like a bit too far offroad as mist of my miles in this bike would be road/rough lanes.

    It isn’t with the right wheelset. I tried 3 configurations
    Fearless Warlock Frameset Review

    lamp
    Free Member

    Another vote for the Planet X Freeranger – out of my stable of bikes, it’s by far one of my favourite rides and really versatile. I have 38mm gravel tyres on and i can take it pretty much anywhere. I love it and it was really well priced (as a complete build – no idea what the frame retails at).

    prezet
    Free Member

    I’d say the Specialized Diverge ticks pretty much all the OPs boxes.

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