Doing some geometry review, and the crux has a nice low trail figure of 69 in a 52 as compared to the revolt at 72. Not huge difference, but I like the snappy feel of lower trails. Aspero takes the cake though with the 62 trail, which almost doesn’t seem right vs the exp I had test riding. Where is our gravel bike list by trail figure!?!?
Whose cassette?
I run a similar setup on my Crux. 50 front, 45 or 50 rear with a 48/31 front and 11-40 rear gearing setup. With an easy swap to a road wheelset, found it absolutely flys on roads too.
Agree on the Aspero. I had one and it was TOO road-like for me on gravel. It feels like a race bike. Changed to the new Checkpoint and it’s better for me.
My wife has a Salsa Warbird with 700x42 tires that she loves and it’s pretty good on the road.
I have a Salsa Warbird with two sets of wheels - 650b x 47 for gravel and 700x32 for road.
Another vote for Kaius! Love how it rides and feels like free speed!
I’ve been running a Lynksey GR270 for 4 or more years now. Although it’s not a current model they still make great value Ti frames.
Why i love it:
Takes the rough stuff. I changed the fork for a Siedo which made it a little slacker and allows me to run 700c x 50mm gravel tyres f&r with no issues. I ride it on the same local routes as my 90/00s MTB.
Mudguard/fender mounts. Able to run full length metal muguards in winter (PDW Beast). By swapping wheels I switch between 650b gravel tyres or 700c road wheels. Bike fleet reduced by on and not getting covered in wet crap.
Double or single chainring. I started off with Ultegra RX but now on a single ring SRAM mullet with a 46T chainring so road/fast sections are quick but can still climb with the 50T rear.
I love this bike. Only reason to change it would be UDH.
( typo changed GX to RX)
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I will add another vote for the Kaius with the additional information that I ride a 2015 BMC Teammachine SLR01 on the road (10hrs/week). I had the chance to try a Kaius for a long weekend in southern Vermont earlier this month. It was my first time on a gravel bike (many miles on road and more than a few on modern XC MTB) and the Kaius felt quite familiar coming from the Teammachine. I think this was because of the more ‘racey’ geometry, with the long reach and low stack. My Teammachine in 56 measures 565/392 stack/reach, and the Kaius I rented in the same size is 570/405. Paired with the relatively shorter stem and more spacers than I run on the road, this setup worked nicely (longer front-center, etc). Though I will say, when I was on the class 4 gravel in the Green Mountain National Forest, I wasn’t as enthused–I wanted to be on a hardtail, to be honest. That could just be my neophyte status among the gravelers. On most of the roads and trails, it worked great.
I have a Goldix and a sunshine. Both from Aliexpress and with immersion waxed chains both are excellent. Goldix is machined steel but super light.
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2021 Revolt owner here. Very happy with it. It has GRX 600 with a Praxis 32-48 chainring. I’ve found it to be very versatile, stable on fast descents, not so nimble for sharp corners like you might have in Cx but that may be down to me. I’ve never run more that 40mm tyres but want to keep a balance between on and off road. At the time I bought it (COVID) there was no choice, just luck that a local shop had my size but I’ve been really impressed.
There’s also this in case you really want to get overwhelmed with info. 
Too long didn’t watch - This guy puts the Revolt at the top of the list back in the olden days of 2023.
Another happy Crux owner here. Mine started off as a Crux Expert but soon had a lot of upgrades and parts-bin recycled items to reach 8.52kg without spending loads. Just back from riding round some Greek islands and it was great. Main changes
- Ergon carbon gravel saddle - made with the stuff high end trainer midsoles are made from for extra squish
- An old Pro Stealth integrated handlebar in 10x42cm. Ideal for gravel and narrow/long enough not to feel like a parachute on the road. Flared 46cm bars and 6cm stems are stupid. With castelli macro splash bar tape not the nasty thin stuff Specialized puts on every bike. Plastic deda bar ends and hoses cut to minimum for weight savings.
- Dura ace discs and xt pedals. Because sram discs are heavy and these were in the parts bin.
- Tubeless
- Quarq spider and wolf tooth chainring and bolts for power stats. Plus a few other Wolf tooth bits for colour
- Custom heli tape over all frame and cranks because ride wrap is good but expensive and this came with a matte paint. Not really necessary as I baby my bikes but makes cleaning really easy and bike remains shiny.
- New stainless headset bearings and spacers because crux stock headsets don’t always work. Wanted Wolf tooth but they didn’t make the right fit at the time.
- King Ti or Aliexpress Ti cages. Aliexpress are functionally identical but have a blasted rather than brushed finish so are on another bike. Silca Ti bolts because I got them for Christmas.
- Bontrager flare light, plus various saddle and bar bags based on whatever was on sale.
Only things I’d still like to do are:
- Lighter cranks, cassette and wheels as stock are not light, but tbh not a priority as they all work fine
- Mechanical Dura Ace-like groupset as I am not a fan of AXS plasticky non click and slow shift. Latest XT mechanical on my mtb is sublime.
- Try some different tyres. Maybe wide slicks like 40mm P zeros and some mtb tread for winter
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Hi All -
I am in a similar boat where I am looking for a do-it-all gravel/road bike. I’ve spent a bunch of time looking at geometry, and I think I’ve narrowed it down to the (new) Canndondale SuperX or Specialized Crux. I would run SRAM.
I have 2 questions:
- Thoughts on Crux v. SuperX (has anyone had a leg over the new SuperX)?
- Thoughts on x1 v. x2?
- Seems like a 44 chainring w/ a 13 Spd 10-46 cassette puts me close to a 35-48 x2 chainring with a 12 Spd 10-36