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Help picking a gravel bike

jmeb

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I do believe this is going to be THE driving limitation on finding a "modern" non-custom mtb for a 5'1" rider.

This thread isn't amount mountain bikes. It specifically says in the first post that OP has a full suspension mtb they like. They want an "all road" or "gravel" bike. Entire different styles of bikes, with entirely different geos than a modern mtb.
 

Erik Timmerman

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

Yep, that's small. Specialized offers a 48cm Diverge which is tiny as well. The 2XS Canyon Grail is smaller than either of them (and as I said before, scales down to 650B wheels).

Here's a question for the masses. What do we think about Al frames these days? I keep trying to overlook them because of the harsh ride, but I do realize that I base my opinion on a Cannonade from the 80's and an early 90's Klein. One would think that they can ride better now....
 

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This thread isn't amount mountain bikes. It specifically says in the first post that OP has a full suspension mtb they like. They want an "all road" or "gravel" bike. Entire different styles of bikes, with entirely different geos than a modern mtb.
The OP did not mention an "all road" bike. The OP essentially described a 90's mtb/atb. Let's not forget that EVERY bike is a gravel bike.
 

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Glass Cranks
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Here's a question for the masses. What do we think about Al frames these days? I keep trying to overlook them because of the harsh ride, but I do realize that I base my opinion on a Cannonade from the 80's and an early 90's Klein. One would think that they can ride better now....
OK. I'll bite! Those old Cannondales and Kleins were brutal. Even more brutal, were the "contact point" components of that era. It all added up to pain(toughness?) ..no, pain. Flash forward to the 2005-ish time period where Al was still "competing" with carbon. The CAAD8 was insanely smooth. The front triangle was torsionally well-composed, and those "premium" forks that came stock on the frames are still my favorite. The defining characteristic of these frames was the obscenely compliant rear triangle, which was also shared with the SystemSix. Too soft for some maybe, but the bike was absolutely silent rolling. This is my long way of saying "yes", modern aluminum can be as good, and in some cases better than CF. Especially low-end CF. In my opinion you generally give up two thing when choosing aluminum:
1. Life span. Aluminum gets softer with milage, scandium even more so.
2. Sound. We perceive "ride quality" with our ears. The vertical compliance variations between frames of varying materials but identical geometry is not perceivable by a human. When a bike, or car are loud, we interpret this as poor ride quality. Most carbon frames are going to make different, "smoother sounds".
Flash forward to 2020. I don't know if "modern" aluminum is awesome or not. But, to answer your question, it certainly can be good. If I'm choosing between CF and cheap wheels/tires, or Al and nice wheels/tires, I'm going Al.
 

scott43

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I simply can't justify 1 or 2 g's for carbon. Al is fine for me. Drop 5psi in your tires and you get more than CF compliance.. :ogbiggrin: If you've got good bank, go for carbon. Just not for me.
 

zircon

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

Trek's road-ish offerings do run large, though. I ride a 50cm Emonda and it feels substantially larger than my 49cm Specialized Crux and bordering on too long. I am exactly 164cm tall so by Trek's recommendations I should be between 50 and 52 but if I was buying again I'd do the 47cm and put a slightly longer stem on it.

Specialized offers a 48cm Diverge which is tiny as well.

I'd go with the 48cm Diverge over a 47cm Crockett for someone OP's size. The Grail you mentioned is also a good option. Canyon scales their stack/reach well for smaller sized frames.
 

cantunamunch

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I simply can't justify 1 or 2 g's for carbon. Al is fine for me. Drop 5psi in your tires and you get more than CF compliance.. :ogbiggrin: If you've got good bank, go for carbon. Just not for me.


Eh, not sure. I'm not at all sure gravel/allroad Alu frames are getting the design push carbon is from major design companies - or steel and Ti are from boutique makers. Precisely because Alu is reserved for budget bikes. IMO aluminium's last access to really high level design and production engineering was for MTB frames back in 2011-2014.
 

cantunamunch

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I mean..we're all budget riders, aren't we?

Err, I guess?

By the same token, we're all budget house buyers, aren't we?

CF will play the part of the McMansion here. How many architects and builders are interested in designing/building sub 3000sf single houses?

We can let the 1990s Kleins play the part of tiny houses here. My nephew likes his Pulse better than he likes his Aluxx-frame Giant. :huh:
 
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Snowflake2420

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Thanks for the recommendations!

I was able to get on the Journeyman Apex 650B yesterday and really enjoyed the simplicity of the 1x. The drops were not very aggressive. I should be able to compare to a flat bar soon. The pink apex set up was very comfortable and a leading candidate for me now. I also tried the 700C drop and confirmed I prefer the 650B.
 

scott43

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Err, I guess?

By the same token, we're all budget house buyers, aren't we?

CF will play the part of the McMansion here. How many architects and builders are interested in designing/building sub 3000sf single houses?

We can let the 1990s Kleins play the part of tiny houses here. My nephew likes his Pulse better than he likes his Aluxx-frame Giant. :huh:
We are..but..at some point you have to budget according to need or want. I suppose it's priority..and if you want something..well..is there a budget? Or a bank loan.. :ogbiggrin:
 
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Snowflake2420

Snowflake2420

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1587663762798.png


Decided to just go for it as my first gravel bike given price, looks, and simplicity. Ideally this photo would have been taken on a nice dirt road with a forest background, but not yet :). Just paved and gravel paths around town for now.
 

jmeb

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I like that paint.

Also -- so. many. braze-ons. You could take that thing on a big tour should you be so inclined.
 

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