Gravel / Gravé / Gnarmac / Groad / ATB

That's pretty tidy! Love the green GK SKs!

Bike is lovely and it's almost hard to believe that's in the UK

I love a farm gate, just ordered the same.

I think they're tanwall/black wtb tyres?

Ah yes you're right. The gravel dust is deceiving from a cursory glance!

Just saw the Ribble CGR 725 at the bike show today and it's a very handsome bike. But I think the winner for me was the Surly Midnight Special. Seriously considering selling my Di2 Carbonda to get this.

Before i ditch it, If anyone wants a singlespeed 'dropout hanger' (think mech hanger without the drop down bit) for an Arkose 2018 frame let me know, will pop it in the post in a tiny envelope.

Follwoing all the advice above I found the Vitus Energie Cyclocross Bike (Apex 1x11 -2019) on sale for £749.99
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/vitus-energie-cyclocross-bike-apex-1x11-2019/

and the Vitus Energie VR Cyclocross Bike (Rival 1x11 - 2019) on sale for £959.99
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/vitus-energie-vr-cyclocross-bike-rival-1x11-2019/

The Vitus Energie VR Cyclocross reads well but personally I am not a fan of the colorway (I know this is the last thing you should probably worry about but you need to love that bike right?). Could just get it custom painted right?

What do you guys think worth a punt? :)

I wouldn't personally say its worth the extra £200 for a worse colourway and rival
The rest of the build is the same.
You could easily buy rival cranks or mechs down the line for less than 200 second hand.
The green is cool

Green is much nicer & as above, can always 'upgrade' some of the parts with the savings. The only difference with the rival crank is the spider which allows for direct mount rings.. otherwise they are the same weight. Go straight for Force ;)

Anyone else heard about the Fairlight Secan recall?

Pal of mine had an email over the weekend saying he needs to stop riding his immediately as the fork may fail....

He's pretty bummed to say the least... he only just got it built up after six month delay on the original ETD!

Only going off second hand info here - it may well only effect few frames. Might be worth getting in touch with them if you have one though. Was suprised it hasn't been mentioned on this thread yet TBH.

Might be best to wait until Fairlight make it official, it could easily be one bike for all we know (as that did happen before).

could be april fools?

@pjhobs had a similar email about the Secan Fork he got from them

Yep, can confirm I received an email, it made reference to a specific batch of forks.

I got the email over the weekend too. Seems fair enough, they have acted as soon as they had information which may indicate a problem. As @pjhobs says, it doesn't affect all Secans supplied. Only those shipped between certain dates apparently.

They're currently investigating and speaking with the factory before giving additional instructions, but given the risks I would like the next email to tell me that a new fork is in the post.

Rival isn't really anything on Apex, and if your going to ride it off road you can use that £200 for a set wheels. I work with someone who has the green one it's an absolute bargain for the money

I have the green just because not another black bike. It's nice and glittery in the sun. And cheaper

Deletes Fairlight from grav grav list.

How does frame handle?

I'd say it's like a more aggressive Arkose, but maybe it's because the front it's lower.
So far the only road riding I've done on it it's trying my other wheelset around the block, and linking off-road paths in big knobbly tires so can't really say

From: https://bartthebikeman.wordpress.com/2013/06/28/schwalbe-racing-ralph-shaven-as-a-road-tyre/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BvwOZMbFWd9/

1 Attachment

Just went to pull the trigger on the Vitus Energie in the green and they are out of stock in the XL at chain reaction and Wiggle Nooooooooo. Onward I guess.