Bike of choice for upcoming gravel event...we asked 3 different (experieced) riders - a mechanic, a mtn biker, and a roadie..and Brian McCulloch

WHAT KIND OF BIKE ARE YOU RIDING FOR THE NEXT GRAVEL EVENT?

Gravel biking is one of the hottest modes of riding for its accessibility and seemless endless miles.  Take you through mountains into valleys, through and between neighborhoods.  it's the train ride of mountain biking  - hop of the gravel train!

...and gravel season is here with the Rock Cobbler 6.0, Strada Rossa around the corner on March 2nd, Great Western Reroute in late March, and the famous..infamous BWR on May 5, 2019.  That is quite the line up.

What is your bike of choice?  If you are training for one or more of these bikes and currently training on an old road bike or mountain bike and looking for some options, I asked some experienced riders what they would ride and why. 

Rider #1 - Paul Dunlap, GM of Velofix 

Paul has been riding for 50 years and gravel riding for 3.  

primary style (or preferred style) of riding:  recently switched from all road to a great mix of MTB and gravel (multi-surface) riding over the last 2 years.  A lifelong roadie, I've come to really appreciate the adventure and exploration potential of the newly coined "gravel riding". I truly enjoy the freedom of riding a gravel type bike whereby I start out on the road and simply jump off onto any little trail, any side road sand, dirt, gravel... see a steep climb of dirt and just go for it!  This is what gravel riding has done for me... brought pure joy back into my rides!

Canyon Endurace

Q: what type/brand of bike would you recommend for an endurance gravel ride?

A:  There are many and ever growing brands and models of "gravel bikes" in the market... I've narrowed it down to 5 and these are all bikes that I've not only ridden, but ridden over nice long distances, on multi surface.  The nice thing about all these bikes is that they can all be setup w/ 1 x 11, big cassettes (11/36, 11/42), but I prefer the 2 x setup for most gravel endurance riding.

- Canyon Endurace:  I love this bike for these key reasons: Comfortable geometry for long rides in the saddle, affordability (relative) can get your hands on one for just over $2k, can get a 32mm knobby tire on this baby which helps the comfort level when off road and especially descending, lastly the vertical flex in this frame surprisingly takes some of the jitter out of the washboards!

- Niner RLT9:  Another bike I love because of: Comfort and a great flexible bike to setup to your ultimate comfort level, easy maintenance, can get up to a 44mm (1.75") tire on this baby for even more comfort and control, affordability (relative) can get your hands on one of these for just over $2k, can load a big 11/42 on this bike based on the stock setup of rear derailleur and wheelset, one of my favorite bikes I've ridden in gravel!

- Sage Titanium Barlow:  I was lucky enough to ride this gem on some long distances and it was the most comfortable bike I've ridden on multi-surface, through and through.  Sage is coming out with a pure "Belgian Waffle Ride" Gem based on their Skyline frame, but that's for later :).  The geometry, the fact that its titanium and built in Portland, OR gives it some old fashioned romance.  But the ride, oh the ride...  The bike is customizable and you can go Enve crazy on it (fork, wheelset, seat post, stem, bars) and they give you the flexibility to build it to your desires.  You can easily get a 45mm tire on this baby and it is built for the long haul.  Surprisingly light weight, it works as well on the climbs as it does on the descents.  Solid but flexible titanium gives a strong and comfortable ride, with no worries of rocks pinging your carbon down tube!  A little more $ coming in at $3800 w/ Shimano Ultegra

- Canyon Inflite: Another fun, steady, comfortable gravel bike... originally designed for Cyclocross, this bike can easily be configured for the long haul gravel ride.  Can go 1x or 2x and can hold a big cassette.  The geometry is a bit funky and I like it!  A true test of this bike was climbing and then descending in Black Canyon...  this bike ate of the washboards like I couldn't believe, both through the seat post and on the bars as well.  I was truly amazed and then hit another climb soon after.  The frame is stretched enough for a longer ride and this bike is even more affordable, coming in at $1999 w/ SRAM Quarq

- Specialized Diverge: I've ridden the Diverge a few times for shorter distances, but had a chance to ride one 80mi on mostly pavement.  The bike is designed well and absorbs a lot of shock. In the cockpit, the stem loads up a Future Shock system that gives up to 20mm of travel.  This means great shock absorption.  This bike can also ride w/ multiple tire sizes and even drop down to a 650B wheelset.  It can handle up to a 42mm tire and can load up to an 11/42 on most of its styles.  This bike is in a higher price range... because its Specialized...  The Comp model comes in at $3750 w/ the Pro being $6700 and up.  Great handling and comfort with the ability to pedal this baby to high speeds.  Great for multi-surface riding!

Q: why - weight? wheels? handling?  Flexibility of the build on the bike w/ the ability to fit it to my preferences,  the price/cost, the weight which all of the bikes above are in low weight categories, the handling and comfort for the long haul, technical off road, technical climbing, and the fun meter is ultimately important.  All of these bikes are a blast to ride!

Q: what other items to consider when choosing bike of choice?

A:  The biggest consideration for a gravel bike/multi-surface bike is the size of tire you can load.  Gravel riding comes in different modes, even the local San Diego County rides.  Its important to have flexibility in the sizes of tires you can run on this type of bike.  Anywhere from 28mm up to 45mm!  I am very cost sensitive and like to get the best bang for the buck.  Relatively speaking, all of the bikes listed above are achievable and offer great overall value.  I list the Diverge simply because it is a great multi-surface bike, I could never afford one :)  Make sure to get a bike w/ disc brakes (Hydraulic or Mechanical) this makes a huge difference in gravel/multi-surface riding.  This can make or brake your ride/race! 

My 2-cents and I'm just a simple bike mechanic that loves to ride bikes!

Rider #2 - Laura May, Team TASCO-MTB, mountain biker 

Rdiing for dozens years, started riding gravel a couple of years ago on mixed terrain to build endurance for mtb racing and fell in love with it!

primary style (or preferred style) of riding - mountain bike riding but gravel riding is a close second! 

Q: what type/brand of bike would you recommend for an endurance gravel ride?
I would recommend a true adventure/gravel bike for its versatility. This style of bike has disc brakes and the tire clearance for at least 700x40mm tires, but can also handle 650b. This allows you to have two wheel sets—one for skinnier road-like tires and one wheel set for beefier tires that handle mixed terrain/gravel nicely, giving tons of stability and grip without adding too much weight. The 2 wheel sets can be used interchangeably on one frame, eliminating the need for 2 bikes (unless you’re a serious roadie).  Disc brakes are key for quick stops and wet conditions.  Also, these bikes usually have multiple mounting points on the frames for additional storage and bottles for longer trips. 

Price point vary widely, but there are a few solid, well respected brands putting these  bikes out there for <$2000, i.e. Cannodale Topstone, Salsa Journeyman, Giant Revolt, & Specialized Sequoia Elite. 

Rodeo Labs Traildonkey

Rider # 3 - Marc Aguilar,  Team Coureur, Roadie

Years riding? 19 years – basically since the end of high school

 years riding gravel – 1 year newbie! **this is how long I’ve ridden road/gravel bikes off-road. Not counting any MTB riding (but that is also limited).

what is your primary style (or preferred style) of riding - Road, with gravel becoming a close second

what type/brand of bike would you recommend for an endurance gravel ride? 

Canyon Grail carbon. This is what I’ll ride the full Waffle with this year. https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/road/grail/

Another bike some of my hardcore gravel friends are using is the Rodeo Labs Traildonkey: https://www.rodeo-labs.com/td3/

why - weight? wheels? handling?  etc.

Normally, I would recommend more of a road bike (like the Canyon Endurace – that’s ‘Endurace’, not ‘Endurance’) for Waffle, but I did it on a pure road bike last year and wanted to try something different this year, so I got the Grail. The carbon version I got is lightweight, super comfortable in terms of geometry and compliance, and came equipped with disc brakes, tubeless wheels and 38mm tires. Beyond that, the floating handlebar really makes things comfortable off road! Combined with the proper bike fit and tire pressure, you can take the Grail on some pretty rough terrain and still move quickly and comfortably. For a ride like the Waffle, where the majority of the miles are pure road, I will run narrower, less knobby tires like the IRC Serac Sand 32mm. Being a long-time roadie, I’m confident in my ability to sustain power/speed on the pavement. But during last year’s Waffle, I lost A LOT of time in the dirt sectors due in large part to having an inappropriate bike and tire setup. This new Grail setup should help me find a better balance between speed on the road and dirt sectors on the Waffle and other mixed terrain rides! Check out this GoPro chest mount video I took of a recent Grail ride in the Rancho Penasquitos dirt, including Tunnel 4: https://youtu.be/AFImekrn3hk (pardon the broken GoPro glass).

There is also an aluminum Grail with standard handlebars for a very nice price point (and it is beautiful), but I haven’t tested it.

what other items to consider when choosing bike of choice?

You should consider your ride goals (i.e. the type of rides you want to be successful in) and choose a bike that will best help you achieve those goals. For me, I wanted a bike that fit a wide variety of tire widths easily, provided comfort off road, but still allowed me to drop watt bombs on the road. I also wanted something that came tubeless ready to take advantage of tubeless benefits both on and off road. Then, make sure that bike is going to fit you properly and that you can be comfortable riding on it for whatever distance you are targeting. One of the biggest things you’ll also want to consider is the type of components you want/need. A lot of gravel bikes have followed the MTB scene and moved to the 1x drivetrains, which offer a lot of practical benefits when riding off road. On my Grail I started with a standard 2-ring setup, but there’s a good chance I’ll move to a 1x setup in the future. Remember that your saddle choice will also greatly affect your experience on rough terrain. Lastly, especially if you’re new to riding in the dirt, choose your pedal + cleat setup wisely. As a roadie I’ve always used the Shimano Dura-Ace SPD-SL setup, and I love it for road. However, I’ve found that if you get the smallest bit of dirt/mud in the pedal or cleat, it quickly becomes difficult or impossible to clip in and out. So, for my Grail, I’ve gone with the Shimano XTR PD9100 pedals and cleats which have worked extremely well through mud, dirt, and water crossings I’ve done on the Grail so far!

And of course, when you’re spending your hard earned dollars on a bike, you deserve for it to look good. 😉 So don’t be afraid to take that into consideration. Get a bike that speaks to you and that makes you excited whenever you look at it.

Want to learn which bike Brian used when he won the 2018 Waffle ride?    Come to the upcoming Gravel Training, Sunday, Feb 24 from 8-11am.  You can get more information on which bike is right FOR YOU and more insider tips.  Space is limited - we want this to be a small group experience.  click here for more information

rock on and train hard..train smart
chi