Gravel / Gravé / Gnarmac / Groad / ATB

Kitchen is for the waterjet cutter, right?

No, kitchen is for wheelbuilding and tub fitting. Haven't got a water jet cutter (yet) but they're pretty big things. I suspect it would have to go in the industrial unit.

Great for removing those stubborn household stains though

I consider them to be 'patina' and therefore to be cherished rather than removed.

Oh exciting. Been looking for ages for a reasonably clean looking sliding disc dropout like those Trek (and now All-City) have been using. Can think more seriously about a totally not-needed N+7 SSCX/Gravel-thing now.

Saw a pretty cool Bearclaw on the road yesterday which was quite nice

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The real answer is of course to buy a CNC Mill but I think the kitchen would start getting rather short on space and my girlfriend rather short on patience.

I think you just described @Brommers household whose I think cycliste declare that a lathe is a thing of beauty.

Found some excellent riding in the Thames Valley today. Lots of actual gravel roads. Didn't take pics of them though, also lots of bumpy as fuck field tracks.

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excellent, i miss my rag.

lots of bumpy as fuck field tracks

I can relate. Although, maybe bumpy as fuck tracks are the essence of #nogravel

Stupidly good bike/frame for the money

quite. having moved to steel i would say that tubes are overspecced and the frame lacks a bit of critical flex, but it's fast and light

100%, but thats kind of why I bought it, I wanted a bike that could race CX fast and also take 650b 2.2s.

I do wonder if the rondo AL would be any more 'refined'

I think it may get the spray bike treatment soon

not too sure whats on offer for alloy gravel frames these days, as far as i remember ridley kanzo seemed to fit that racy/650b criteria

I find this interesting, genuinely curious as to how much you can tell about frame material through like, 45mm of rubber. It's particularly relevant especially given the price of steel gravel bikes at the moment.

i rode that nsrag frame for about 6000km with 700c wheels using tyres from 28mm to 40mm, and as you say, tyre pressure was all i could use to get more or less comfort. my current gravel is a cdf with smaller (35mm) tyres and i get much more compliance from the frame

In the vertical plane, not a lot. Esp in the rear triangle where it's often said to be. But Steel bikes are more likely to have lateral twist kind of flex and that accounts for a lot more comfort and ride feel (good and bad, depends how much etc) than most give it credit for or realise. Al frames can also do this too. The Arkose was always designed and ride-checked not to be too stiff against those lateral twist forces. Eg there's a big difference in that area between an Arkose and a couple of other Al frames I've ridden - some are silly-stiff imho.

Anyone wanna share a workshop in SW London?

I will be looking spring next year as moving out my parents back yard so yes :)

You still designing Pinnacles boss?

there's a big difference in that area between an Arkose and a couple of other Al frames I've ridden

How much in actual units please? To be honest, I don't believe the difference could be detected in a proper blind user test (which admittedly is almost impossible to do).

Edit: I own a notoriously light and flexible Ti road frame, and when ridden in a turbo trainer the BB visibly moves at least 10 mm side to side. But I'm not at all sure I can genuinely detect that through displacement of my feet, and given it's clamped at the dropouts the tyre flex is removed from the problem.

I rode them, I didn't do a load deflection test. But steering and bar leverage against rider weight can all put a twist load into a frame and they vary a fair bit in stiffness there. It won't be all the frame, the whole system flexes bars particularly but from a whippy steel bike to a stiff Al frame and somewhere in between I'd say a perceptive rider can feel it. I'd agree that the finer differences would be hard to call. And I'd not be able to feel varying levels of vertical flex in a frame. I think when most people talk about what they think is vertical flex they're feeling twisting flex (or imaging the whole thing via better fit/comfort).

So did anyone do a deflection test? Personally I think a big part of it is how different frames sound.

Still..

(edited, something now irrelevant on what I think about feel/measure)

Sorry - I've edited my reply to be more constructive.