Hi everyone, got a question from a friend and wasn’t sure of a good suggestion.
They currently have a giant gravel bike and want to start doing more road riding and having something faster or at least feeling faster. They will be doing their first tri at the end of the year and will doing from around 50-100+ km rides.
She said she is very not gentle on her bikes and wanted something which won’t break with her putting it in the car or bumping around in the garage etc and was hesitant about carbon as an option because of it. Looking at her bike it did have a fair few paint scuffs so don’t doubt what she’s saying about being rough
I suggested the specialized Allez Aluminium but unsure if carbon is an option she should look at or just stay alloy. She’s based in Melbourne and something with bike shop support is a plus.
Gravel bike geometry has diverged from road bike geometry quite a bit in the last few years. What was considered a gravel bike is now basically an all road bike. If your friend has that older style of gravel bike, they may want to consider just getting an another set of wheels and with some nice road tires like GP5000s.
If not, perhaps something like an aluminum Domane or similar would suit them.
As a big fan of alu bikes, the lightweight ones can dent quite easily. Maybe something like a Fairlight Strael? Might not have bike shop support though.
Otherwise the second wheelset idea is a great one - worst case she could use the road wheels on a new road build if she decided to go that direction anyway.
A bike fit or position change on the gravel bike could also help with speed.
The Strael has quite thin butted tubes, and might well dent; the tubes are heat treated but still…
Older carbon, with smaller diameter, thicker tubes would probably hold up better than modern lighter and thinner stuff, but scratching or gouging carbon can cause notch failures, so I’d be wary about that.
Disclaimer: I know next to nothing about current triathlon stuff, where they buy bikes, etc, so can’t offer any useful suggestions.
I would lean to titanium if cost is no object. If your friend is looking for something a bit more traditional, something all-road worthy like an Argon18 Grey Matter (aluminum frame), the new CAAD, or the Allen as you suggested.
If she wants carbon, err for an overbuilt brand like Davinci rather than something more razor’s edge like Factor.
Plain gauge titanium from someone like Waltly should be relatively hard to kill and not overly expensive, but some people are really good at destroying things.
Maybe consider buying used and replacing things once they’re done?
Savages can’t have nice things… Look, is it an art piece or a tool? If the savagery is that bad get a high end steel bike. It almost certainly won’t fail catastrophically like carbon may. Aluminum is very cost effective for weight vs stiffness and also likely won’t fail catastrophically if it’s dinged up. I ride my bike in gravel/mudfests, but that’s what bikes are for, aren’t they? I tell my kids every ride, I don’t care if you bang it up, I can fix it and that’s what riding is all about! Alu Domane is what I have and will say with some obvious bias that it’s a great pavement tilted all-rounder. Check the wheelbase vs some of the gravel bikes out there…
If say Ti is outside the price range but thanks for the recommendation. Doesn’t want anything super high-end, just nicer on the road than her current bike
Go carbon. Something a bit aero if possible. Groupset doesn’t matter too much but some reasonable race wheels helps.
Get some 3m or helicopter tape and tape up as much of the bike as possible.
It’s not much fun racing other people on the road if you are on a gravel bike and aren’t as strong as them, but as others have suggested throwing on a borrowed set of tyres or wheels will give a starting place to see if road racing is for her.
If nothing else, it’s the best way to improve fitness
Carbon can handle quite a lot, the paint wont’t last but the subject wont care. Just make sure the owner wouldn’t throw the bike from the second floor into the truckbed.
