gravelcycling: a little gravel on your travels

New to cycling? New to gravel? Don't know which bike you need to get the job done? You're in the right place!

Please use this thread to for help picking out your perfect ride. Whether you're completely new to the sport and have no idea where to start or have two specific bikes and need to know the nitty-gritty of Shimano 105 vs. SRAM Apex 1, you'll find the answer you need in this thread.

For a subreddit devoted to this type of discussion during the rest of the week or for other types of bikes, please check out /r/whichbike.

This week's topic is Ride / Race Reports.

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Have a cool local ride you'd like to share? We'd all love to hear it! Pictures, Strava routes*, and ride descriptions are all welcome here. Maybe someone would like to join you next time!

How about a race? How was the course? What went well / what went poorly? Let us know!

Looking to organize a group ride? Post it here!

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*Keep your privacy settings in mind before sharing GPS data with Reddit.

Hey everyone,

I want to buy a gravel bike and have done quite a bit of research already. The one thing where I (and from what I’ve read many others, too) struggle is to decide whether to go 1by or 2by.

Imo the biggest advantage of 2by with more narrow tyres is that it gives you more speed outside of gravel tracks and simply more gears so the bike becomes more of an allrounder for every situation, on-road and off-road.

Does anyone here use their 1by outside of gravel for longer weekend tours and can tell me about their experience?

I’m mostly debating whether to go 2by with smaller tyres for a single bike solution, or go 1by with actual gravel tyres and for weekend rides on roads get another bike, like an endurance speed/racing bike.

Would love to hear what your experiences are with either approach.

Thanks!

I’m tired of having to replace the bearings of the ZIPPs too often due to water ingress. The ZR1 seem not well designed in that area. Other than that, wheels are amazingly capable and strong, I sometimes abused them like a mountain bike wheels. I don’t clean my bike using a pressure washer or something, only in the shower at low pressure. Also I never ride my bike under the rain. In two years I had to replace the bearings tree times and every time I see water inside the hub and the bearings are shot, rusty or dying.

I just ordered the new 9Velo GV35 2.0 wheels with the new ratcheted hub. I only hope that the rims itself are as strong as the ZIPPs and that the hubs are better in terms of water protection. Also the ratcheted hub vs the classic pawl system of the ZR1 is a welcome improvement as well. Additional note, the 9Velo are hooked vs the hookless ZIPP, not a problem at all for me since I didn’t have any issue at all with this system, just something to know about from the new wheels.

ZIPPs are 40 and the 9Velo are 35. They have a 45 version as well. I opted for the shallower ones because I don’t race, the 35 are lighter, less affected by the crosswinds and probably more compliant than the 45 ones.

I will update this post or make a new one when the wheels arrive and I have a chance to try them.

Maybe I’m crazy, will see. Wish me luck. 🤣

I'm looking for advice on hooked wheels, I have little experience on wheels and they are only offering me hookless alternatives.

I would mainly use it in tubeless but in case of multi-day trails I would prefer to mount them with an inner tube and I think the hookless ones are not the right choice. I have the impression that it is more a choice of production economy than of benefits for the user.

What would you recommend? Hooked or Hookless?

Which models would you recommend me evaluate with this data?

• availability in Europe
• hooked system
• light
• 700c
• fast gravel use
• occasional light bikepaking
• max tire at least 42mm
• bike weight 9Kg, my weight 66Kg
• no preclusion to aluminum or carbon
• budget <1300€
• shimano grx compatibility

Thanks to anyone who can give me advice

Hi! I have a Canyon VCLS CF S15 seatpost with setback but the setback is not working for me and with my fitter we are looking for a zero setback option that is a good swap. Any models I should be looking at?

The ones that I have in mind are (should be 27.2, preferably 350mm)

• Ritchey WCS Carbon zero seatpost (two bolts)
• Ergon CF allroad (same as the canyon one but without setback, altho I have read that this one mostly works with setback)
• Ritchey WCS Carbon zero 1 bolt
• Zipp Service Course SL

I also considered the Easton carbon ones but a lot of people were talking about saddle slip so I have discarded them.

My saddle is a Bontrager Verse Comp.

Thank you!

Hey, I'm looking for new pair of wheels and decided to go with 650b's to fit larger tires (50C+). I'd like them to be about 40mm deep. Reynolds makes wheels in the exact spec i'm looking for, but i'm curious are there any other good choices?