Gravel / Gravé / Gnarmac / Groad / ATB

They are tiny, unnecessary so.

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Finally built up my "gravel" bike, although it's in disguise as a roadie at the moment.

Picked up a 2018 Genesis Datum frame at a 50% discount then built it up (courtesy of SBC) with R8070 and Hunt 4season gravel wheels.

Currently with 28mm Pirelli 4S and kinesis mudguards but I'm going to pick up some 35mm Gravelking SK tyres to explore a bit off-road.

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that's really nice.

Tiny only in comparison to that last sprocket. 42t ?

Very tempted by the Ribble CGR whether alloy or steel.
I was told today that the frames are landing next month and built bikes could (should?) be delivered in time for Xmas.
Also some built weight info:
(Size M)
Steel 105 build - 10.5kg
Alloy 105 build - 9.1kg
Alloy Apex build - 10kg

I run 160mm rotors & up to a 42T on the back, so from my experience they looked small!

Eh? Their website makes it look like stock is ready to roll out the door. I honestly only want a frame, but it doesn't make sense with the prices of the full builds being so low. So I'll get a Rival one, strip it and stick Force 22 on it. One set of 700x30 and another 650bx42. Such a shame the bike builder doesn't let you do much, for instance the carbon CGR can come with eTap, but that's not an option for the Steel model, you can only "customise" it with variations of the stock options.

Edit: just seen it says pre order now. Guess I missed the boat.

I have been thinking about the Ribble CGR steel or alu. Among all the other usual things I want it for winter road riding. My head has been turned by the Niner RLT 9 Steel. Would it be daft to spend much more than the Ribble on that? Is there going to an advantage beside the looks, particularly for using as a road bike? It has a press fit bottom bracket, probably a point against it.

Thanks. Next step is to get some tan wall Gravelkings for some off road exploration. Probably need to get a 34t inner ring though, 36-30 is a bit tall.

Also unsure about the 160mm rear rotor. Had a dicey moment coming down a hill into an intersection today where I locked up the rear and nearly skidded into the path of a car. This is my first disc brake bike so I'm still adjusting to the braking, but it feels like a 160 rear rotor is overkill for road riding.

I'm a big supporter of loving the bike you ride, and if the steel RLT has your eye it'll be hard to suppress the feeling of regret every time you ride the Ribble.

That being said, the RLT is priced crazily, the sum of parts doesn't justify the extra expense in my eyes. Steel is nice, but with the right tyre choice you'll hardly feel the difference. I think the CGR alu is the best bang for buck. Although the steel geometry looks like it'll be a bit snappier for road riding.

Don't stress about press fit bottom brackets, just get a good mechanic to set it up for you and it won't creak. Worst case scenario get a Wheels MFG thread together press fit BB.

Does anyone know if the Ribble CGR Alu have internal routing for a front dynamo? It has for brakes / gears but not stated for dynamo?

I doubt it. Dynamo users are by far the minority. Very very few frames are going to be supplied with internal wiring specifically for it.

Have got an RLT9 Steel. Use it for general off-road and CX and it has been great. No issues with the press fit (so far). But I agree its a big premium for what it is, mine was NOS and much less than the list price, plus its 62cm and there are not many similar frames in that size.

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if you do ever have pressfit issues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gC1M98mWjM

I don't think anybody has any real press fit issues. As far as I can tell, all the hyped problems are with BB30(-like) systems. Which are called press fit, but really are drop fit with a retaining compound.. PF30 and PF24/BB86 are no less reliable than any threaded system.

How to make 650b look even smaller.

That's 700c

Guess that pushes my point even more.

Hahaha. Tempted to put some on just to see how ridiculous it looks

I miss my niner rlt9 even more now.

I'm going to ask in here, because, well why not?

If I wanted to swap my SS arkose for something more suited to what I use it for, what would that be?

Use:
commuting
wet winter plods
maybe do a sscx race

Needs to have
Ability to take 38c tyres
Mudguards
Panniers
Disc brake (flat mount probs)
SS - but option to go Di2 should I ever actually do something about this itch

I like horizontal top tubes.
Would like it to be not silly heavy.

more suited

In what way is the arkose not suited?
It ticks all of your boxes except the aesthetic of horizontal TT

That's the thing that really aggravates me.....
That and I don't think I've got it set up right (as in fit).

sigh

trek checkpoint ?