So, either

Merida CX bike, 40c tubeless gravel tyres, alpkit flared bars, 46/36 and 11-32. 10.2 kg

Or

Cube reaction carbon HT 27.5, 2.25 tubeless rocket rons, 40/30/22 and 11-36 10.6 kg

Did it on the Merida last year, but hill training on it is a right slog and I don’t want to spend money on a new crankset to get smaller rings on as I only do one big gravel race per year. 3500m of climbing is a lot to do, so I’m leaning towards ditching the Merida for granny ring happiness when the hours roll on.

Thoughts? MTFU and ride the Merida in the spirit of the race, or go for more comfort and easier climbing?

I’ll be on a rigid single speed, I’d say mtfu 🙂

Damn you!

one big gravel race per year

It’s NOT a race 😉

Can you not put the 11-36 on the CX bike for the day?

Nope, it’s 10 speed XT v 11 speed 105.

And it’s definitely not a race, you just get a numbered and categorised finishing time 🙂 looking to come i under 10 hrs this year