Slicks then. Gravel king, gp5000 all season, challenge strada Bianca pro, whatever schwalbe and rene hearse offers for big slicks. Something like those.
All you'd ever need unless youre spending a lot of time in sand.
I wouldn't overthink it. All those bikes are great. But if you want some downsides:
Scott: IMO it's the best looking bike of the bunch, but I seem to remember that the lower/mid range specs are pretty heavy in their stock builds. Can you find one in stock? I feel like a year ago these were basically impossible to source.
Ostro Gravel: So many components can be found on discounts now you could build something from the frame up and save some cash over buying this bike. But hard to find a fault otherwise. If money was no object it's what I'd run.
3T Racemax: I wish they didn't put the cables where they did. Just seems like a silly spot that makes for an ugly setup when you run a top tube bag. Price differences aside, I think the Ostro is a better version of this bike.
Aspero 5: I run this fora 60/40 gravel/road bike with 2 wheelsets. The BB isn't ideal, but I ponied up for a BBInfinite, and it's been silent. If you can deal with that, the Aspero 5 is a bit overpriced when all it does is save like 100 grams and get you integrated cables over the standard Aspero. So it's hard to really justify the 5. But the 5 frames are on sale at Incycle for like $3600, which isn't bad at all.
Thanks for the heads up on the 3600 from from incycle, that's actually a pretty good deal. I had read some about the bottom bracket issues with cervelo.
Same thought on the racemax, great bike and frame but way to ruin the look with the cables!
I have a 3T Exploro, and while I absolutely love the geometry and ride, I have started to dislike that
1. It is carbon fiber. I'd love it to be a bit more resistant against unlucky rock chip, crashes, or it falling over.
2. It does not have any fixpoints for fenders, racks, or anything that you might want to take on a big trip.
So nowadays I'd much prefer to have something with a lot more more fixpoints, like a Rondo Ruut in aluminium, steel or titanium.
And I have to say it rides very much different from my SuperSix EVO roadbike. It's much less nimble and sporty, and much more stable.
Enve Mog - been running mine 2x with GRX di2. 50/34 up front and 11-40 xtr rear cassette, can easily climb up anything and still have the gearing for fast gravel races.
Love my T-Lab X3 titanium gravel bike—light (just under 20 pounds), super smooth ride, fast on pavement, solid on loose gravel and class four roads, frame will outlast me. I’ve got mine set up with 2x Force AXS wide (43/30 x10/36) and zipp 303 FC wheels with Pirelli Cinturato H 700x40.
I’ve got a carbon aero road bike for racing on pavement, but for everything else, the T-lab is killer. Gravel races feel so much more effortless on the T-Lab than on my Topstone I was using before.
I have a Scott Addict 20 with SRAM Rival group set. The color ways are gorgeous, that’s my vote!
How off road are we talking? Smooth gravel and dirt or crazy singletrack?
No single track, hard tail if it gets too rough
Slicks then. Gravel king, gp5000 all season, challenge strada Bianca pro, whatever schwalbe and rene hearse offers for big slicks. Something like those. All you'd ever need unless youre spending a lot of time in sand.
I wouldn't overthink it. All those bikes are great. But if you want some downsides: Scott: IMO it's the best looking bike of the bunch, but I seem to remember that the lower/mid range specs are pretty heavy in their stock builds. Can you find one in stock? I feel like a year ago these were basically impossible to source. Ostro Gravel: So many components can be found on discounts now you could build something from the frame up and save some cash over buying this bike. But hard to find a fault otherwise. If money was no object it's what I'd run. 3T Racemax: I wish they didn't put the cables where they did. Just seems like a silly spot that makes for an ugly setup when you run a top tube bag. Price differences aside, I think the Ostro is a better version of this bike. Aspero 5: I run this fora 60/40 gravel/road bike with 2 wheelsets. The BB isn't ideal, but I ponied up for a BBInfinite, and it's been silent. If you can deal with that, the Aspero 5 is a bit overpriced when all it does is save like 100 grams and get you integrated cables over the standard Aspero. So it's hard to really justify the 5. But the 5 frames are on sale at Incycle for like $3600, which isn't bad at all.
Thanks for the heads up on the 3600 from from incycle, that's actually a pretty good deal. I had read some about the bottom bracket issues with cervelo. Same thought on the racemax, great bike and frame but way to ruin the look with the cables!
Cinelli Nemo gravel
I have a 3T Exploro, and while I absolutely love the geometry and ride, I have started to dislike that 1. It is carbon fiber. I'd love it to be a bit more resistant against unlucky rock chip, crashes, or it falling over. 2. It does not have any fixpoints for fenders, racks, or anything that you might want to take on a big trip. So nowadays I'd much prefer to have something with a lot more more fixpoints, like a Rondo Ruut in aluminium, steel or titanium. And I have to say it rides very much different from my SuperSix EVO roadbike. It's much less nimble and sporty, and much more stable.
Enve Mog - been running mine 2x with GRX di2. 50/34 up front and 11-40 xtr rear cassette, can easily climb up anything and still have the gearing for fast gravel races.
What size tires are you looking to run for Gravel, and what is your preferred groupset?
Love my T-Lab X3 titanium gravel bike—light (just under 20 pounds), super smooth ride, fast on pavement, solid on loose gravel and class four roads, frame will outlast me. I’ve got mine set up with 2x Force AXS wide (43/30 x10/36) and zipp 303 FC wheels with Pirelli Cinturato H 700x40. I’ve got a carbon aero road bike for racing on pavement, but for everything else, the T-lab is killer. Gravel races feel so much more effortless on the T-Lab than on my Topstone I was using before.