Another aspect of going fast on gravel is experience. Good equipment and tire choice makes a big difference but fast on gravel has more in common with CX or mountain biking than road cycling. On loose and rutted surfaces you’ll find the bike might move around a lot. Sometimes you’ll need to let it do what it wants, don’t surprise the tires. Make smooth inputs.
Coming from Quebec, do check out the Devinci Hatchet and Argon18 Grey/Dark Matter lines.
If you are riding the roads I’m thinking of, a good all-road bike like Argon18 Krypton will more than suffice. I used to ride that area on a CAAD10 with 25mm tires.
It sounds like you have enough of a use case for an endurance/all-road bike. Could be great for road based bikepacking too, which it sounds like you aren’t too far off given the distances you speak about.
+1 on the Devinci Hatchet/Argon18 Dark Matter, not only Canadian but both Quebecois. Not to get too political but we really should be supporting Canadian companies given the current situation.
I have a Hatchet (James Huang gave a positive review a few years back on “the old place”) and it’s a really fun bike. They’re reasonably priced new but also seem pretty common secondhand (I bought mine on FB Marketplace).
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Great thread!
So much good information.
The only thing I’d add to the conversation is that there is actual fast and feels fast. For the riding you describe which is on the tamer side of gravel I’d look for something with a low trail figure. This will be more responsive, agile, I think it will give you the joy of feeling fast. But it bucks the trend of most new models having higher trail figures.
The gen 4 crux is such a bike. It’s also light, discounted, and widely available second hand. I own one. My suspicion is you want something to keep for a long time and not think about too much though. If so, the Crux is probably the wrong choice with their headset woes that need constant monitoring.
I echo looking at metal bikes. Something titanium in your price bracket and possibly marketed as all road rather than gravel with 40mm clearance. The other bikes that spring to mind are the Orbea Terra, Cannondale Synapse, Previous generation Canyon Grail and BMC Road Machine X (40mm clearance with 1x drivetrain)
Not sure I agree with that. A permanent solution is very achievable without much bother. They’re such a popular bike that I’d expect most shops to know about the issue and have a way to fix it. For me it was a $3 shim.
Definitely good to be aware of in terms of a purchase though. I personally think the other positives of the crux outweigh this as an issue. It’s such a versatile road/gravel bike and the threaded BB and external cables make for easy maintenance.
Rent several different gravel bikes and see what you like before deciding what you want to buy. Many of them will not be perfect for you but one will likely stand out as “your bike.”
I could tell you what I ride and like but that’s unlikely to also be ideal for you. There is no replacement for personal experience.
The OPEN U.P./U.P.P.E.R is a bit outdated for tyre clearance, isn’t it? If I was buying an OPEN gravel bike today, I’d definitely be looking at the WIDE 2.0. I was on a ride with someone who had a WIDE 2.0 recently and it looked very nice (although I will admit in large part due to the snazzy custom paint scheme and custom component choices).
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There are very few roads in the are OP is talking about that require obscenely wide tires.
How about a titanium Gravel bike? There are lots available. Obviously plenty of “high-zoot” custom options like No 22, Moots, Mosaic, etc… just to name a couple. And there are also options that are more budget friendly like Otso, Bearclaw, Litespeed, etc… I’ve got a bunch and enjoy them all. Also my (carbon) Time ADHX is a blast to ride, as is my Lauf Siegla with front suspension fork. Good luck and hopefully the OP lets’s us know what he ends up with
Yah, only 46mm. I just mentioned it because it’s comparable to the crux as a gravel bike with road-like manners. The other obvious (and less expensive) choice as a road/gravel one-bike solution would be a Cervelo Aspero. Again, only 45mm clearance, but if really wanting a single bike for everything, compromises are a given:-)
I would test ride because there is a huge spectrum of geometries and setups. You dont need to understand it all; but you will definitely feel major differences between frames, tires, drivetrains.
I would go with a carbon frame and fork if budget allows. Weight matters more on gravel than road bc the speed is slower and lighter bikes will cope with rougher surfaces a bit better, ime.
If you come from a road background, 45mm clearance probably enough.
I think the Crux 4 is easily the best gravel bike ever. Also consider a Giant Revolt.
Personally, I disagree. I have steel, carbon, and Ti gravel bikes - about 20. There is a ton of overlap of weight. Not all carbon is the same, just like not all steel and titanium is the same. So much of the total bike weight depends on much more then just the weight of the frame…such as wheels, cranks, 2x or 1x, tires, and all those other parts like saddle, bars, seatpost, ect… Not to mention size and number of water bottles, how much you carry in tools/spare tubes/sealant, power meter, headlight, tail light, GPS unit… I don’t know precisely what type of riding the OP will be doing but it seems to me he wants a bike he can ride and have fun with and one that is not going to slow him down. The difference of a couple of pounds one way or the other will for sure not matter. I would say my fastest gravel bikes are my titanium No 22 Drifter built with frame couplers for travel, Lauf Siegla, and Time ADHX (the latter two being carbon). On paper, the Time is the lightest (although not by much). However when these bikes are actually ready to ride with spare tubes, full water bottles, GPS unit, lights, etc… they weigh much more than what the manufacturer suggests and all within a pound or so…two at the most. Unless you are at the tip of the professional racing spear, weight matters less and I think what makes you fast on gravel is how comfortable and predictable the bike handles on whatever type of gravel surface you are riding on. And a lot of that depends on the nuance of the frame’s geometry and the size and type of tire. If you just decide based on weight - if that is the #1 priority, you may not end up with the best possible match for a particular use case.
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Test ride whatever you can - it’s a quick way to find out if you really like or dislike something; even a few minutes is usually enough. (Same goes for skis, where it takes even less time.)
As for tyre sizing, if it’s steep and or rough where you are and the tyres are too small you will spend way more time on the brakes, and fade can be a significant issue, as can numb hands and sore forearms. On a descent one can blitz on a MTB with 55+mm tyres, flat bars and suspension, <~45mm or so can be both painful and tedious.
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All I said was that weight matters more on gravel than road because the speed is lower, and I think it’s pretty safe to say that this op will end up with a lighter bike if it’s carbon, since I don’t get the $12k custom bike vibe from them.
Thanks for sharing about your bike stable. How do you choose which of the 20 to ride on any given day? Does your butler ensure the sealant is topped up lol?
No, silly…the butler handles the chamois and jersey choices. My valet fetches and sets up the bike. Now as far as which bike…well that is certainly a challenge. Sometimes it’s based on which one I haven’t ridden in a while. Sometimes based on specifics of the ride. Nothing usual, just weather, surface, expected grades, distance, goals of the ride. Or, as you see below, perhaps which one is towards the front of the basement storage room.
As for the weight question my understanding is that over a long gravel ride, with some rolling hills, of say 3-6 hours of moderate effort the difference of 1-2 pounds will make a difference of maybe 20-30 seconds up to 1-2 minutes. Maybe 3? If one is riding alone, that’s basically no difference. On gravel you can gain more speed by better tire and/or tire pressure selection than you can by purchasing a bike that weighs 1-2 pounds less. I do think if you have one bike that is 16 pounds dry and another that’s 28 pounds dry that would be a more significant difference. But I think in this context we are talking about a difference in weight of around 1-3 pounds. So if I had the option of buying a carbon fiber Trek Domane vs an aluminum Trek Domane and ALL other parts/wheels are exactly equal I personally would not expect a major difference in speed from the relatively small difference in weight alone. Perhaps one handles larger tires or one has more frame compliance such that I am more comfortable…those two factors might have even more influence on speed.
So why do I favor Ti (or steel) for gravel? Well at least where I ride gravel rides tend to be rocky, muddy, and wet than road riding. So I worry less about an unpainted Ti or stainless steel frame in those circumstances than I do a painted carbon fiber frame. On my carbon bikes I do apply “helicopter tape” quite liberally and that helps protect the frame.
In addition to comfort, wide tires also provide more grip on fast descents. My gravel bike is limited to 38mm tires officially though I can get a 42 on the front with “adequate” clearance. I frequently get distanced on descents in Pisgah National Forest from those running wider tires simply because I don’t trust the grip of the more narrow tires.
Cervelo. Have ridden an Aspero in the eastern townships and it’s a good fit. And… Canadian. Guaranteed trump-free.
Joe has some great advice. I was in the same mindset and went with a titanium as it looks and performs so well. Lynskey has some amazing sales so you can get a durable awesome looking bike for less than a number of the prices suggested here.
Joe about covers it.