The Nordests look nice – the non-super Albarda is still more radical than most. However I’d prefer something that has a UK importer; plus buying frames is the easy bit at the mo – it’s groupsets that are the difficulty.

Also – things like big tyre clearance and dropper post. You don’t HAVE to use them, but if you’ve got the design details that allow them, then you do have the option to experiment. Call it futureproofing if you like.

Buy this so I don’t!

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/4216585315052990/

mid-90s sh*t mountainbiking with road links

This is UK gravel

Except with drop bars

And stuff that works

And better marketing

I’d want a dropper for this

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMnB1zoHg8a/?igshid=3zvhn7nd19i5

I’d want a dropper for this

Which is fair enough, but the OP said “fast and light”, which in the context of gravel bikes is unlikely to also mean “versatile enough to ride steep rocky singletrack”, unless you have a lot of money to build something fast that also has big tyres, dropper post etc. and/or the skills to ride it which the guy in the video obviously has

My Salsa Vaya runs 700×50 and is steel, it’s super stable snd fast , don’t think my riding would need a dropper though. I did run it with 650b 2.1’s but I prefer the 700c’s.

-700x50mm tyre clearance
-Dropper post friendly
-GRX810 1x
-BSA BB
-Full carbon fork
-Steel or Ti (or carbon at a push)
-Slackish (relatively) HA

In the usual habit of recommending what you (nearly) own, the Niner RLT ticks all these boxes in 4 or 5* GRX 1x builds, except the BB, which a PF30. Other challenge is stock is really hard to come by (though it turns out by the luck of needing a small frameset mine has just arrived in the UK!). HA 70-72 degrees depending on size, so depends what you consider slackish.

Probably doesn’t tick the light and fast option. I’ve bought it for hopefully the comfortable option.

Fast AND light would mean choosing a gravel bike that is pretty much a road bike with room for up to 40c tyres.
50mm tyres, steel frame and dropper would not be seen on a fast and light gravel bike.

From what is being described I would categorise it as an off road capable and comfortable gravel bike and forget all about fast and light.

I think I’ve gone full circle on this.
Although I’m currently on a Kinesis Decade Tripster (the original alu one predating the first ATR) I keep pondering upgrades.

Originally, I was going to build something with huge tyres and a dropper, essentially close to monster cross. Then I started to think it would be too close to my hardtail. So, something more akin to a far tyred road bike, probably with 2×11 was the order of the day with a nice flexible carbon post for added comfort. Ideal for exploring tracks and trails from the door.

So, while using the Tripster for more of that sort of stuff, what I’ve realised is that 40(ish)mm tyres seem fine and have actually cut through some of the muddier sections fairly well. I’ve been Jo worse off than the wife on the hardtail with a 2.25 riddler out back.

The one think I really want to sort on the next bike though, is toe overlap. If the trail gets even remotely steep and technical it’s really limiting.

I thought I wanted 2×11 but having played about with gear calculators until I’ve gone blind I’ve realised something that might get tedious. My current set up is 3×9, 11-34 30,39,50. It’s a great set up as most of the time, I’m middle ring middle of the cassette. I only tend to switch rings to manage chain line. If I ran the GRX 2×11, my most commonly used gears would actually give worse chain lines and require more front shifts. Fingers crossed that we soon see a 12 speed option using the 10-45 microspline cassette. That would be pretty much perfect. Going 1x would also open up the option for wider tyres that I currently don’t think I want.

As for the dropper post, I’ve gone full circle on that as well. Not for big steep gnar but where I’ve found myself really wanting one is big fast loose corners where I’d like to more weight on the outside pedal to maximise the limited traction from the tyres. 50-60mm would be ample I reckon.

Never mind all that Onzadog, what bars? 😉 🙂

Drop. FSA Omega currently I think.

Even more impressive is that all that was typed on my phone.

THESE bars…

Bars are so subjective, I love venturemax for their shallow drop and flare but got a set of redshift kitchen sink bars coming for a review. They are riser drop flared bars which I can’t get my head around but really want to try. Paired with the new pro shock stem.

@montgomery I’d recommend at least a 20mm shorter stem if you fit those much wider bars

I have gone down the CX/Gravel route over the years and although I manage the (mild)single track stuff ok and quite like the flex in flared drops on long forest roads,I still wish for flat bars when I hit any tech downhill. I think if I was starting from scratch it would be a much more carbon 29er based thing with flat bars,clip on and inboard bar ends.As someone back there said,with fast tyres it’s not going to hold you back on the road sections. For now I will stick with what I have got and plan the routes to suit 😉

singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/do-i-want-a-drop-bar-gravelbike/page/2/#post-11808430

My kitchen sinks arrived today also. Hopefully get fitted and report back after weekend. A long wait for them so interesting to see what like.

My kitchen sinks arrived today also. Hopefully get fitted and report back after weekend. A long wait for them so interesting to see what like.

Kitchen sinks arriving this Saturday, with pro stem & cruise control grips

Nothing wrong with a Spesh Sirrus for me, I just can’t get away with drops either.
Best £425 I’ve ever spent & It’s had some hammer since I got it last April.

It’s almost ready for some new transmission now though.

I accept that the advantages aren’t as great on a GB, partly because it spends a lot of time on the road

Wait for someone to win a Tour stage with one, and then all the roadies will have them.

FWIW I put a 100mm dropper (old under-lever KS from an old HT) onto my gravel bike to try it out, and promptly PR’d a tight & twisty road descent.

You’re welcome to meet up and ride my Pickenflick with 40mm tubeless rubber. It’s set up more for off-road than tarmac, but it’ll give you a flavour for hitting your regular stuff on drops. It’s not your dream-bike, of course, but it might tell you want you need to know about that style of riding. I know you’re more than capable of cleaning Stanage Causeway descent on it 😉

Now what bike are you going to swap for me to try to keep up?!

Simon
(You’ve probably still got my number!)

What about the BMC that’s just been reviewed?

Looks light and fast to me, especially the higher end models.

Was just going to suggest Nordest 😁

Regards droppers I loved mine on my gravel bike for the off road stuff, great on road descents for aero too when 1x tops out. I just swapped to a regular post when I was doing predominantly road rides.

Unfortunately I no longer have the dropper compatible gravel bike and my current one has a nice carbon post.

Your spec isn’t unrealistic.

I have a DeAnima DeFer custom steel gravel bike. It is light and VERY fast. With G One tyres, it is my bike of choice for Mallorcan road riding. For touring, I run a pair of XT tubeless wheels with Racing Ralphs (2.1 at the back and 2.25 up front) and when the mood takes me, I swap over to Pacenti 700c rims and Bruce Gordon Rock and Road tyres.

It has a carbon fork, is internal dropper compatible and has three sets of bottle mounts. Personally, I would forgo 1X for the versatility of 2X.

I like the versatility of going fast on road and off. Ok so it isn’t a technical trail bike but there are other machines for that. For a machine that I can do big adventures and long rides on, it is terrific fun. It, a fat bike and a long travel 29er full susser cover all the bases for me.

I’ve always enjoyed riding drop bar bikes off road. Gravel bikes are just a more off road capable version of my Ritchey Swiss Cross which I used to take on mountain bike club rides and never had any issues about keeping up. They have limitations but if you are cool with that then you may well be surprised about just how much fun they are. I would take a gravel bike over my old S Works Carbon Epic every day of the week for riding off road.

Cheers

Sanny

Well I’ve gone and done what any right-thinking bloke would do – I’ve N+1ed…

FunkmasterP is now rid of his Fugio, and I have a yellow and orange thing cluttering up the cellar…!

Swapped some of my bits onto it, knocking off the best part of a kilo into the bargain (600g in the wheels/cassette). I’ve done one ride on it so far.

Thoughts:-
Plus
GRX800 is bloody awesome. Even with a SRAM cassette.
The front end has much more compliance to it than the Exotic Carbon fork on the Soul. Nowhere near as wristbreakingly crashy.
Lower BB is nice – feels quite stable (in one way at least)
Not running out of gears as soon as it points downhill (this is 40/10 top, the Soda was 36/11)
Space for 2 waterbottles and a frame bag.

Minus.
Feels terrifyingly short and twitchy. I’m used to road bikes, and commute on a fixie, and this is longer than all of those, so it’s not unfamiliarity with drops. Part of it is lack of weight on the front wheel – which is not helped by…
…the drop bar setup. Run the bars high enough to make descending comfortable in the drops and the flats and to a lesser extent the hoods are too high/close to be usable. When climbing steeper/techier stuff the front wheel feels like it’s going very light. I also don’t really feel like I can attack stuff from such a high/narrow position. (the Soda looked kinda like an XC race bike, my roadies run a fairly substantial saddle->bars drop).
A 50mm dropper post doesn’t make much difference!
It feels pretty quick in a straight line through the rough(ish) stuff, but swoopy singletrack is bloody hard work.

I need to ride it more and play with setup. I’m going to try a slightly longer stem, but also see if I can find some radically more flared drops, so I can lower the hoods position AND raise the hooks at the same time. Give it a month, then try the Soda again and see which feels righter/wronger.

Riding around some fairly rutted Cambridgeshire bridleways today on my HT 29er (Stanton Sherpa), I was pondering just how awful a gravel bike would be. I think I would have spent a lot more time watching the sky and the earth swap places today on the fast rutted downhill sections.

Dropping into the sketchy clunch pit would have been much more entertaining (if you live anywhere near Cambridge, you know where I mean).

I had my Singular Swift setup with drop bars years ago before it was trendy. And it was OK, but suspension forks and flat bars are just so much better.

However, there is a shiny new perfectly flat gravel race track been put in by the National Trust at Wimpole Hall. I have no idea what they were thinking of, it’s the ugliest thing for miles around. They must have had a load of cash to burn before the end of the financial year. Anyway, for that, a GB would be perfect.

@oldnpastit – whereas my memory of Cambridgeshire riding (25 years old of date!) is that a GB would be nigh on perfect for stuff like the roman road through The Gogs. In Summer anyway…!

@JonEdwards it’s mostly those long fast descents where it turns into a mess of concrete-hard ruts made by giant industrial-scale agricultural machines; with a rigid front end you need to be paying attention that much more, you can’t just float over the top and let the suspension figure it out.

Of course, you can always just slow down.

You have to explore beyond the Roman Road and the Gogs, there’s so much more. I’m not sure it’s any better, but it’s different, which is almost the same.

Unfortunately I no longer have the dropper compatible gravel bike

Eh?

https://www.vitalmtb.com/product/guide/Seatposts,30/KS/E-Ten-Adjustable,15228

Hope you’re making more use of it than I did and with time you find a setup that works for you? The Spank vibrocore drops look pretty interesting and the Salsa Cowchipper is a good, not too flared, option.