Help picking a gravel bike

[Snowflake2420]

I'm looking for a gravel bike as way to have fun, not be on a road, get some exercise, and ride around town occasionally. In the past I had a carbon road bike and it worked perfectly for the task of pavement only and lots of distance. I got rid of this bike as I never used it in CO. I currently own a full suspension 27.5+ MTB, which is great for real trail riding, but too much for riding dirt roads.

The Salsa Journeyman strikes me as a good choice as it's not very expensive and comes in small sizes. I'm 5'1". I'm also interested in the option of a flat bar, which gives me comfort. I plan to ride primarily on dirt roads, which will probably vary from hardpacked dirt to loose gravel at times and maybe easy smooth singletrack.

I'm really struggling with whether to go for a 650B or 700C wheel size. The 650B seems very appealing in case I get into loose gravel and as a smaller person. Perhaps I'm overstating the smaller wheel size with bigger tire as a benefit. I've benefited greatly from 27.5+ on my MTB in terms of traction and inspiring confidence.

The questions I'm trying to answer are:

1. Should I go 650B or 700C?
2. Should I go flat bar or drop bar?
3. Any other bikes I should be considering?

 

[jmeb]

• 650b makes a lot of sense for your height.
• Flat bar or drops is really a lot of personal preference. If you go flat bar I highly recommend a bar with lots of hand options. It'd be nice if they had a 1x flat bar option :-/.
• Lots of options out there, but in general QBP (Salsa/Surly/All City) bikes are a good value.

 

[Tony Storaro]

I'm really struggling with whether to go for a 650B or 700C wheel size. The 650B seems very appealing in case I get into loose gravel and as a smaller person. Perhaps I'm overstating the smaller wheel size with bigger tire as a benefit. I've benefited greatly from 27.5+ on my MTB in terms of traction and inspiring confidence.

The questions I'm trying to answer are:

1. Should I go 650B or 700C?
2. Should I go flat bar or drop bar?
3. Any other bikes I should be considering?

At your height 650B makes more sense. Also, with 650B you can put wider tyres, which might be a good thing.

Gravel specific drop bars are flared quite a lot, which I find very very handy for better control on descents. Also, drop bars give you more options for hands placement which is nice on long rides. But if you feel better with flats, by all means go that way.
By the way, if I read your post correctly, you are more comfortable with flats because of brake levers being horizontal and easier to grab.
Just for your info, Shimano GRX groupset includes the option of sub brake levers, you might want to check 'em.

 

[wooglin]

My standard advice on questions like this. Figure out your budget. Go to bike shops and ride everything you can at your price point as well as some that are over your price point. One of them will tell you to buy it.

Or a used hard tail mtb with a fork lockout.

 

[jmeb]

Also, drop bars give you more options for hands placement which is nice on long rides. But if you feel better with flats, by all means go that way.

This depends on what "flat" bar is used. There are non-drop options that allow as many hand position as drops: Jones H-bar, Surly Moloko, Velo Orange "Crazy Bars" , and of course, the classic "butterfly" trekking bar.

I do agree that the newer flared drop are much better for control than classic drops. But i think flat options are still superior for technical terrain.

 

[Tony Storaro]

Jones H-bar, Surly Moloko, Velo Orange "Crazy Bars" , and of course, the classic "butterfly" trekking bar.

None of these is exactly a flat bar and apart from that, for technical terrain bars that swipe back are a huge NO in my book. They might be OK for super randonnees, but for any sort of off road cycling-no.
And apart from that hey are ugly.

I personally prefer wide drop bars with quite a lot of flair, they are perfect for everything up to very very technical descents where flats are better. But then again, for this sort of terrain the OP already has a full sus MTB.

 

[Tony Storaro]

Or a used hard tail mtb with a fork lockout.

Yeah, that's always a safe bet.

 

[jmeb]

for technical terrain bars that swipe back are a huge NO in my book.

We've all got different books. I can tell you, Jones knows a lot amount mountain biking -- having built and designed very well received mountain bikes for a long time. Many good customer examples here: https://www.jonesbikes.com/customer-gallery/

I'm not talking about full on downhill tech mtbing -- techy in "more than gravel roads". I'm talking XC type stuff. As someone whose ridden the Jones H bar across about 1/2 the Colorado Trail (500mi variously techy trail) -- where I saw a bunch of others riding it. It's also pretty common on the Tour Divide race (with 7 of the bikes reviewed here) : https://bikepacking.com/bikes/tour-divide-rigs-2019/. I'm guessing this is the type of terrain @SkiFiore is thinking about riding.

 

[Tony Storaro]

As someone whose ridden the Jones H bar across about 1/2 the Colorado Trail (500mi variously techy trail) -- where I saw a bunch of others riding it.

I mentioned the randonnees and perhaps should have included bike packing, as I can see the advantages of more real estate in the handlebars.

You mean these right:



Nah, still no for me, the riding position is too upright, I 've seen people doing transcontinental rides with something similar tho, so there must be something in there.

 

[jmeb]

Yep -- those are them. Obviously one needs to determine what riding position they want, fit the frame/stem/handlebar to match that. No one-size-fits all.

 

[Snowflake2420]

Appreciate the responses. If possible I'll demo the flat bar and drop versions. Drops are not completely unfamiliar to me curious to see how they feel on a more relaxed geometry.

 

[Ken_R]

Appreciate the responses. If possible I'll demo the flat bar and drop versions. Drops are not completely unfamiliar to me curious to see how they feel on a more relaxed geometry.

I really like having the drops in my cross/gravel bike. I use it more like a city/gravel bike but I have gotten into some singletrack and the bars have worked well.

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Here's my review of the Canyon Grail https://www.pugski.com/threads/canyon-grail.11975/

The Grail could be a good choice for you. I've been assisting my daughter as she is shopping for a gravel bike and it is interesting how many options are out there. One that is top of her list is the Kona Libre DL. It comes with 650B wheels while it's lower-specced sister the Libre has 700C. I think one thing you need to consider is how the 650B wheels change things. In the case of the Libre it doesn't really do anything to accommodate the smaller rider. It's basically a 700C frame with enough clearance to run a really wide tire. The 650Bx47 tires are supposed to pretty much match the diameter of a 700C which means that it won't help you with toe-overlap and the like. In the case of the Grail, the two smallest sizes come with 650B wheels, but they will only take skinnier tires and the bike can't take 700C wheels. Canyon has even adjusted chainring size to offset the effectively lower gearing.

Bikes on her list include the Kona, the Canyon, Specialized Diverge and the new Cannondale which is pretty cool with it's almost rear suspension. Oh yeah, the Devinci Hatchet looks really cool too.

 

[cantunamunch]

I think one thing you need to consider is how the 650B wheels change things. In the case of the Libre it doesn't really do anything to accommodate the smaller rider. It's basically a 700C frame with enough clearance to run a really wide tire. The 650Bx47 tires are supposed to pretty much match the diameter of a 700C which means that it won't help you with toe-overlap and the like. In the case of the Grail, the two smallest sizes come with 650B wheels, but they will only take skinnier tires and the bike can't take 700C wheels. Canyon has even adjusted chainring size to offset the effectively lower gearing.

^This.

 

[Erik Timmerman]

FWIW - we paid for a Kona Libre DL yesterday. The reasoning was the desire for versatility. My daughter wants to be able to do everything from RAGBRAI to touring on dirt to mild single track. The Libre DL has 650B wheels so it will able to adapt to different terrain, the 650 x 47 tires will be great around here, but for RAGBRAI she could run 700 x 30s or something like that. We like the versatility of the 2x GRX setup too, gearing for days. The bike has mouth for 4 water bottles and all kinds of racks, so it can be ready for longer adventures. On top of that, it has cool looking shapes and sparkly color-shift paint.

 

[Tom K.]

Have you considered a short-travel hardtail mtb?

I'm not quite as fast on mine as a "true" gravel bike, but I have a LOT more fun on it, if there is any significant roughness component to a ride.

 

[Delicious]

It sounds like we have 2 criteria to satisfy:
1. Bicycle works very well on gravel roads (assuming mountain roads)
2. Bicycle fits 5'1" rider
700c is out of the question. Suspension forks are out of the question. Most modern (suspension corrected) geometry is going to be WAY too tall in the front end for a 5' tall rider. I think that the OP would be thrilled with a late 90's Stumpjumper/Rockhopper or similar Trek or Raleigh from that era. Even an "overpriced" garage sale-type find is going to be relatively inexpensive, and likely perform better for a 5' tall rider. If you HATE the idea of a retro bike, the only thing that comes to mind is the Surly Bridge Club.

 

[jmeb]

Surly Bridge Club

Says 700c is out of the question and then recommends a 700c bike.

No need for the FUD that there are no modern bikes that will work. There are tons of bikes out there that shorter men and women out there riding at a very high level with modern geometry bikes. Very very few modern all-road bikes have any suspension correction in the front end anyhow -- and they work better on gravel roads than 90s era rigid bikes.

Look -- I love that era of bikes. I have two built up at the moment in the garage (a '89 High Sierra and a '96 Axis TT Ti) because I think 90s 26er mtbs are stupidly versatile. But pretending they match the performance characteristics of a modern all-road bike on long gravel rides is simply not the case.

 

[Delicious]

Says 700c is out of the question and then recommends a 700c bike.

No need for the FUD that there are no modern bikes that will work. There are tons of bikes out there that shorter men and women out there riding at a very high level with modern geometry bikes. Very very few modern all-road bikes have any suspension correction in the front end anyhow -- and they work better on gravel roads than 90s era rigid bikes.

Look -- I love that era of bikes. I have two built up at the moment in the garage (a '89 High Sierra and a '96 Axis TT Ti) because I think 90s 26er mtbs are stupidly versatile. But pretending they match the performance characteristics of a modern all-road bike on long gravel rides is simply not the case.

Yeah, I just looked at the stack on that Bridge Club and it's much taller than I would have ever imagined. I do believe this is going to be THE driving limitation on finding a "modern" non-custom mtb for a 5'1" rider.

 

[scott43]

Check out the Trek Crockett..has a nifty 47cm frame..and 1x gearing..

Crockett 4 Disc | Trek Bikes (CA)

Discover your next great ride with Crockett 4 Disc. See the bike and visit your local Trek retailer. Shop now!

www.trekbikes.com