Hi Everyone!
Seeking some input as I build up my ultra focused gravel rig. I’m upgrading from a Reilly Gradient with Mechanical 2x11s GRX; I love this bike and it has served me well but is limited by the tyre clearance (max 43s), no UDH, and isn’t really suitable on fast gravel. Plus if I’m being honest, I just want a new bike.
If its at all relevant, I’m top 10 competitive at some of the smaller gravel ultras - I’m not about to win Unbound XL - but I want to feel like the bike isn’t holding me back getting to the pointy end of some of the lesser races.
Key requirements for me are:
- In frame storage
- Ability to fit aero extensions
- Racy enough to feel fast doing 80-100km gravel races
- Comfortable enough to manage 1000km ultras on mixed surface + gravel
- Minimum 50mm tyre clearance
- UDH
Budget isn’t really a concern - the key snag for me is finding something that will take aero extensions but also feel fast (and look good) as a more daily driver.
Key options under consideration are the Factor Sarana, Enve Mog, Specialized Crux 4, (unreleased) new Canyon Grail.
Would love for any input / thoughts here!
The Enve MOG is reliable but the new Crux seems like the right tool for what you want to do. The in frame storage is nice but a really well thought out and fitted bag system might be easier to access in race conditions. I race a last gen crux and like. The only thing is the tire clearance is a little tight. Good luck.
The new Pinarello Grevil fits in all your needs.
The aero bar extension requirement is going to limit your options as that is driven by handlebar selection. If my memory is accurate any bike that comes with an integrated stem / handlebar would preclude aero extensions. So how important is this too you?
Aero bars are definitely possible on the Sarana - Victor Bosoni recently broke the Tour Divide record using them; dunno about the others. I presume from your list that you’re okay with 1x only….
Also, I think internal storage and racy are mutually exclusive.
Ability to fit aero extensions is definitely worth considering further, although I don’t think it rules any of those options out. Are you planning on building up from a frameset, or buying a stock bike? All of your listed options except the Grail are available as framesets, whilst the Grail stock builds allow aero extensions to be added via Canyon’s “gear groove”.
If you buy stock builds of the other bikes, I don’t know off the top of my head if any of them accept aero extensions natively - the default assumption is that modern aero handlebars or one-piece bar stems are not compatible with aero bars unless there is a bespoke extension (either supplied by the manufacturer, or a bespoke 3rd party adapter such as Deda’s TT 314 adapter). That said, if all the bikes have standard round steerers (I think those ones all do??) then swapping out the handlebar is at least relatively straightforward.
My learning from gravel ultra racing is that comfort is absolutely key for going fast over long distances. That‘s why I‘m racing a drop bar mtb with a SID Ultimate and I don‘t feel like I‘m giving up anything compared to a „traditional“ race gravel bike in terms of speed, especially beyond the 300km mark. I‘m also noticeably less fatigued as it costs your body so much energy to absorb all the bumps. A drop bar mtb is of course a rather extreme choice and it‘s probably not ideal for the short races you have planned. But I would highly recommend a bike that can fit a suspension fork. The Sarana would be top of my list if I were in the market for a new rig. You can order it with the original rigid fork and swap that for a gravel suspension fork for the long stuff.
Rodeo Labs Traildonkey 4.2 meets all these requirements, and has the advantage of allowing you to run internal or external housing. Sliding UDH dropout. Good rise for ultra events.
1 Like
Perhaps a bit basic but I’ve got a reasonably high spec Trek Checkpoint that ticks a lot of boxes for me that overlap with yours. Can fit 50+mm tyres all round, sensible bars, frame storage, UDH & good geometry all round geometry.
Not quite as boutique as what you’ve listed but it’s a solid workhorse
I just got a Parlee Taos frame which checks a lot of your boxes, has suspension corrected geometry if you want to add a suspension fork in the future, and has multiple internal cockpit system (e.g., Enve, FSA, etc.) compatibility
Maybe look at the Evolve Cima GR. There’s supposed to be a way to fit aero bars, but they don’t say how. Geometry looks good IMO, but everyone has different ideas about that.