Gravel / Gravé / Gnarmac / Groad / ATB

Yeah I’ve read and heard conflicting anecdotes about the paint, think it depends on batches maybe.

I had a frame bag on for two days and the paint on the top tube underneath the bag lashing was all smeared and rubbed away

I had a frame bag on for two days and the paint on the top tube underneath the bag lashing was all smeared and rubbed away

That would happen with most paint finishes. Applying helicopter tape or equivalent before fitting frame bags is essential on a painted frame.

i dunno, hasn’t happened with any other bike I’ve had 🤷‍♂️

£695 on Merlin. Is that as good as it gets?

I've had it on almost every bike and component. I helicopter tape the fuck out of everything these days but I always miss something and the paint will be rubbed to fuck. I'm kinda over it now, although I've not thrown any bags on the Crux yet - I'm trying to keep that bag-free.

You can get a crux size specific kit. I’ve got it on my Bronze one

From Spesh or from that aftermarket company that does it? I know you can get it as an add-on when ordering a Mason Macro, for example. I'm more likely to just take the MTB when I go bikepacking these days so it's not that big of a deal. I might put some pieces on the Crux for using front bag or stem bags though for 'shorter longer' rides...

Invisi frame think it’s £90, I think you can pay someone to fit it if desired.

Yeah, it must be a ball ache to install because I think it's like £200 extra to have it done by Mason on their bike. I get my poor missus to do mine :D

I only struggled with the top tube as it’s a huge part on a 61cm frame 🤣
It’s generally pretty easy.

Yeah, the hard part is when you have a very complex/flowy carbon dual sus frame like the Scott Spark and you're cutting your own pieces off a roll of tape, rather than using the pre-cut stuff.

Luckily I'm doing it to protect the frame, rather than giving much of a shit about looks. I mean, most of my bikes are covered in bags and leccy tape most of their lives anyway :D

i dunno, hasn’t happened with any other bike I’ve had 🤷‍♂️

It also depends on ride conditions, if any mud/dust gets in between strap and bike it works like sanding grit

Not to throw another option in, but my mate has a Genesis CDF that he swears by. The Fugio is a bit spennier but also good.
Elsewhere there's the Sonder Camino, which is always on sale (they have loads of ex-demo bikes up on there). Weird bar shape as standard but I imagine they'd be willing to swap out for a more conventional bend bar.

Can anyone shed some light on good shoes? Not looking at gravel specific, but a good MTB clipless shoe. I hear Quoc are pretty good and I've seen some nice cheapish Shimanos as well.

I think the main thing is to figure out what kind of fit you need, wide or narrow and then find the brand that has the right shape.

oh crikey. And the camino comes in orange....

.

What size are you? As I've got a pair of shimano mtb things just sitting around.

I've seen Quoc dramatically fail (whole upper shoe coming unglued at the toe), but that was after 3h of hike a bike..

I've been on Giro (Empire VR90/Sector) for the past 4-5y, they're ok, slightly overpriced for their quality imho. Shimano have upped their game in recent years, but the top of the range looks very race specific. Spesh Sworks are good, but spenny, Sidi are narrow fit generally. Lake are also supposed to be good.

I'd recommend carbon sole if you can.

If you're GX Race curious at all you're welcome to have a look at mine or take it for a test ride (it's a 54 and horribly set up by me though).

Pretty good! I got mine for £700 from a little bike shop’s online site in October, that £695 on Merlin wasn’t around then, seems good

Like loz said, same here, can test mine if ya like

i second gio on having heard of quoc’s coming apart (with serious mileage though)

Lake all tha way for moi

@ltc - I think a 54 might be too big, have you got a tiny stem on it?
@ojwithbits - where are you based?

I've had Fizik in the past and ride Sidis for road... just feel like a change I guess.

Not sure tbh... my Sidis are 44 and my old Fiziks were a 43.5 from memory.