Gravel / Gravé / Gnarmac / Groad / ATB

Gravel / Gravé / Gnarmac / Groad / ATB / AKA - Just get a Hardtail

Jokess, that looks lovely to ride around on. Orange forks look great.

Blue SIDs are still gravel, right?

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/bike-check-keegan-swensons-drop-bar-santa-cruz-highball-2024-leadville-100.html

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That bike makes me angry.

I am actively looking for suspension, but in the form of seatpost and stem, not forks. I don't like the maintenance attached to shocks and the Redshift stem and eeSilk post have proved to be pretty good so I'm going to put those on the Surly. The Crux is staying lightweight for now. It might get shock stem and post but just temporary while my collarbone is fuxxored.

What's the box thing behind the fork?

Same here

Would imagine it's Rock Shox Flight Attendant

https://www.sram.com/en/rockshox/collections/flight-attendant

Yep, it's the flight attendant, controlled by wireless blips on the handlebars

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Why don't we make them self riding too?

No riders, just automatic bikes.

What's the clarence like with the guards?

Pretty good.

The tyres are 2.35” and the guards are the 75mm version.

Clearance around the tires could maybe be slightly better but I don’t foresee too many problems.

SKS provides a sort of rubber spacer for between the guard and stays but I’ve got Bluemel styles on another bike and so does Mrs M_V and we’ve ditched these pieces as they hang down into the space between guard and tyre and collect mud and leaves so I didn’t fit them on this either.

I was slightly concerned about the flat guards fitting up against the curved bridges on the frame (there’s not loads of room in the frame, the fork is fine) but I’ve used one spacer on the seatstay bridge and two on the chainstay bridge and they are all good.

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Lol, flight attendant on a gravel bike, talk about more money than sense

How does it handle? Like a real touring bike/ tank or still a bit playful?
I really like the look of the frames.

Have only ridden it to and from work and back to work today so will wait till I get some more miles on it to comment.

i think having a computer on your bike further than a head unit should have you sent to a re education camp

If you’re racing, manual/remote lockout is a pain. That new tech looks fantastic.

It’s Keegan Swenson’s bike for Leadville, which he’ll probably win, setting a new course record.

I like the weird, niche bikes that racers build for these events. You only have to look at Lachlan Morton's bike from last year's Leadville to see another unorthodox setup

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Although it looks a bit more normal this year, despite the slick rear tyre

https://youtu.be/7i2RNIwflXo

Yes saw that update. Went two frame sizes up to reduce the stem length, but his bars will be a lot higher (~70mm), which I can’t imagine he wanted? Especially on a course like that.

Smells a little bit of sponsors wanting him on a more standard set-up, but maybe he just changed his requirements. He’s now on an XL, which should descend better at high speeds.

All v interesting. Anything that reduces cables and the amount of thinking you have to do at max heart rate is a good thing IMO.

You know he's won it 3-4 times in a row right so I think he's well aware of what works and do you think he's paying for that setup? :)

I wasn’t aware that it’s for a race rather than being the next dumb piece of shit thing some guy with too thick a wallet put together.

The two are often indiscernible, so I won’t lose any sleep over it.

Having watched the Leadville video from last year you get the impression that it's not the most technical of courses where drop bars would be useful

https://youtu.be/cCH90Q1ux1g

not the most technical of courses where drop bars would be useful

I'd have thought the opposite. Wide bars best for technical, drop bars best for speed when less technical

not the most technical of courses, where drop bars would be useful

Read it again, Phil

I, being of sound eyesight and mind, have read it again, checked against my quote, found you to be sneaking in extra commas, and am not impressed,

I, being of sound eyesight and mind

I only wish I could say the same