Show us your Gravel Bikes

[pwebb]

I was running WildGripper Sprints on my Orange Gringo towpath/gravel/tarmac commuter about 20 years ago - does that count?

I've found a couple of routes recently that are crying out for a Gravel type build - so I've been checking out 40cm tyres for a dusty cross bike I have.

Dusty cross bike sounds like a perfect basis

 

[wynne]

Running in 650b mode today.

 

[M_Chavez]

I think "gravel" bikes have their place, but it's not the "only bike you'll ever need" as marketed by the bike industry. It's more of an n+1 specifically for gravel (duh) tracks and poor quality roads, long rides on mixed surfaces etc. (If I was only allowed one bike, it would be an audaxer with 28mm tyres, by far the most versatile of them all).

Going back to 650B is the key here, imho. 700c with anything larger than 28mm handles like crap. Drop the wheel diameter, increase the tyre size and keep the audax geometry of a relaxed 700c road bike. Make sure the BB is low, or is loses the comfort element. This is something to write home about. It's a pity that decent gravel tyres wear too fast and are a lot more prone to punctures than a good hard set of 28c.

...And, of course, it's not a re-badged 1990s MTB, it's a re-badged 1950s randonneuse.

 

[highlandsflyer]

Every 'gravel' bike could be described as something else. The industry is spinning its wheels. Just how many of these bikes see any gravel?

 

[retroJIM]

...And, of course, it's not a re-badged 1990s MTB, it's a re-badged 1950s randonneuse

Yeah but a 1950s randonneuse is just a re-badged 1818 velocipede

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

My CX bike. First pic with claris group set. Now with sora. Been a fantastic versitile bike.

 

[M_Chavez]

I'm sure that most of you would have seen Frannie's photos, if not followed the build, but it's a 1950s frameset with "modern" (i.e. post 1999) components retrofitted to it.

One can get a modern rando frameset: "Mr Wooden" by Brother, but I wonder if anyone knows of any other rando-inspired framesets?
Hopefully I'm not taking the thread offtopic with a bit of retro-modern fusion.
Asking for the Mrs .

 

[pwebb]

I'm sure that most of you would have seen Frannie's photos, if not followed the build, but it's a 1950s frameset with "modern" (i.e. post 1999) components retrofitted to it.

One can get a modern rando frameset: "Mr Wooden" by Brother, but I wonder if anyone knows of any other rando-inspired framesets?
Hopefully I'm not taking the thread offtopic with a bit of retro-modern fusion.
Asking for the Mrs .

its a great combination , but finding nice old steel framesets with canti bosses and decent tyre clearance is actually pretty hard

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

its a great combination , but finding nice old steel framesets with canti bosses and decent tyre clearance is actually pretty hard

Agreed, with modern 80mm spacing on the cantilever posts is a challenge. Velo orange do a Randonneur frame set.

 

[M_Chavez]

but finding nice old steel framesets with canti bosses and decent tyre clearance is actually pretty hard

Especially for 650B. Hence the question about modern (i.e. being produced now) equivalents.

May I add, that a trend to market a disk-brake "gravel" frameset as both 700c and 650B is, imho, nonsense.
If a bike is built for 650B geometry with 45-48mm tyres, you're unlikely to fit a 700c with anything more than 25-28c into it. If it's built for 700c 48c geometry, swapping them for 650B won't give you the same ride, so it's a very long shot to say that it's a 650B bike.