I rented a Revolt for a day with that semi-hydraulic set up. This was for gravel biking north of Boulder. I didn’t like it. It works but it doesn’t feel nearly as smooth as a full hydraulic setup.

I have an aluminum Cannondale Topstone that I really like. As you mentioned, tire clearance is a top priority. If I was going to replace my bike, I would be looking at the Revolt, like you, and the Specialized Diverge and newer carbon Cannondale Topstone. That rear suspension system on the Topstone is pretty intriguing, especially after you’ve spent some long hours on gravel, you’ll want every bit of smoothing you can get.

Although for a point of comparison, I took my XC mountain bike for a 2 hour gravel ride yesterday, and it’s so much more comfortable at handling the bumps in the road. It isn’t aerodynamic, you have only one hand position, and you can’t add all the bags like a gravel bike, but it was great for just enjoying a smooth ride on rough roads & trails.

The revolt is low compared to the Topstone and checkpoint.

Hydraulic comes at a cost no getting away from that. The semi hydraulic seems to review better than mechanical not as good as pure.

Issue is is it that big a point of difference. A checkpoint 5 will probably do me though

Ive been using a Crux and it's fun bike...but...refer to #2. I've been looking at the Diverge, 3T Exploro, Cervelo Aspero, Evil Chamois Hanger or the Mason Bokeh. Long list...I really don't know what I want is the problem.

I think I want super wide 650b tire clearance...but how much do I really need? IDK.
I think I want as many bottle bosses and mount points as possible...but will I really go bike packing with it? IDK.

Ive only ever used hydraulic disc brake setups...save for my P5x with the TRP Hy/RD setup which I guess is still technically hydraulic.

this is a decent list of bikes for your research
https://bikepacking.com/...x/650b-gravel-bikes/

Buy a Lynskey titanium frameset and build it up with your custom parts.

The mechanical / hydro brakes aren’t that big of a deal. But is Tiagra 11 speed? If so, that brake system plus a non-11 speed drivetrain would make me turn to other bikes.

I think the new Exploro is cool, but I would be mainly interested in hunting Strava segment and having a bike that is less painfully slow on the nearly inevitable stretches of pavement between dirt roads.

It seems like the Exploro and the Cervelo are more road bikes reconfigured to haul butt on gravel and less about comfort, stability and bike packing utility. The fact that you can de-tune them a bit to be better for bike packing and general use is a handy bonus

Coming from a different angle (I design and build frames, so handling becomes paramount before the details are dialed in), determine this first -- do you want something that leans more toward road race bike responsiveness, or longer-range stability? It makes a big difference.

You'll be encountering things off pavement that you'd never see on pavement, and they're going to want to throw you off your line. If you're comfortable battling that on road-neutral geometry, then go for it. I've found that maximizing front center and upping trail towards the MTB-like range makes all the difference in the world for ease of descents, staying steady on rougher terrain, etc., and saving endurance on long and potentially abusive rides. The caveat is that you have to balance it with wheel flop.

But once you determine that feel you really want, and what the geometry is that will get you there, you'll find the market pared down for you significantly.

---

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Some are born to move the world to live their fantasies...

https://triomultisport.com/
http://www.mjolnircycles.com/

 
I think the "gravel geometry" that most brands are using sucks.
Tires bigger than 40C are not necessary unless you are bikepacking, going slow, or are a heavier rider.

It mostly is determined by what "gravel" means where you ride. In the PNW Cascades, it usually means a lot of up and down, not a lot of flat, and rocks the size of baseballs half-buried in the till.


Regardless, having the clearance for big shoes doesn't necessarily mean you have to use it all.

---

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Some are born to move the world to live their fantasies...

https://triomultisport.com/
http://www.mjolnircycles.com/

where do you live, and on what sort of stuff do you intend to ride? i ask because 45mm is not a wide tire. 53mm is a wide tire. in my opinion, the gravel bike of my present is the gravel bike of a lot of peoples' futures: one bike with two sets of wheels: 50-55mm tires on a set of 650b wheels, and another set of 700 wheels that might have 28mm to 32mm tires for road or mostly road with rideable dirt.

this of course requires disc brakes, because you can't use multiple wheel sizes and rim brakes. if my strategy becomes your strategy, this informs the choice of bike, because most bikes fail in the ability to accept this fatter 2" and wider tire. it's an OPEN WI.DE or a 3T Exploro or something like that. all this assumes that you'll want/need that wider tire. i went riding with a buddy over the weekend, a lot of steep and rocky dirt, he had 38mm tires on 700c wheels, and he had a lot harder time than i did.

think about your use case. the 3 most important things in a gravel bike are, in my opinion, it has to fit you, the gearing has to be right (esp on the low end) and the tire size you want has to be available on that bike.

---

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

I have a Tiagra 10 speed Bikesdirect bike. Main thing is to look at what gearing you want. I have a 46/36 in front and an 11-34 in the rear. For the most part its plenty. Yes its an CX bike, but it works pretty darn well. I have 38mm tires on it.

I upgraded to TRP Spyre brakes, top of the line mechanical disc brakes, works worlds better then the crappy bb5s I had on. I don't know if hydraulic is necessary on a gravel bike, but on my Mtn and fat bikes they sure are nice.

A lot depends on the type of gravel you have around you. Mine is mainly limestone in the Midwest and there really is no need to go wider than 40s.

I think the best gravel bike is a XC hardtail with a rigid fork.

The top "gravel" tires over at bicycling rolling resistance are a pair of treadless XC tires from continental.

I guarantee you a 2.2 inch 700 c tire will be faster on gravel. It may not feel like it in the first 1 min, but after 1 hour...it'll be faster.

Watch: In ten years, gravel bikes will be running 2.2 tires.

The best XC rider in the world is running basically treadles 2.4 tires.

Some areas just have a lot of aggregate that merits using tires bigger than 40mm.

Oftentimes people say that if the surface demands tires bigger than 40mm, it's better to use an MTB. I think this misses the point of what an MTB actually is: optimized for technicality. Not all routes with chunky gravel are technical. If you've got roads with chunky aggregate that aren't technical, and especially if your riding also has pavement mixed in, using fat fast-rolling tires on a road-esque gravel bike can be significantly faster and more fun than using a mountain bike.

And in my area, even on roads that are mostly pretty smooth, sometimes there's spots where giant aggregate was dumped to ensure good drainage or whatever on the cheap. Here's a particularly nasty one from a recent ride:



I see wheels and tires damaged all the time on that kind of crap, and nobody wants to hike-a-bike every time they see a rough patch. Bigger tires reduce the risks, protect equipment.

Personally, I think you're still a bit premature on that...if only for the fact that there aren't any 650B tires in that size that perform as well as the best 700C x 38-43C range tires out there.

Then again, if tire makers get smart and...and let's say...create a 650B x 50+ version of a Conti Terra Speed, then I'll fully agree.

---

http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

Not any more...you may not have looked there lately: https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/cx-gravel-reviews

The top is a "slick", and the next 4 are arguably not "treadless XC tires".

---

http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

i'm riding schwalbe g-one bites. i have no trouble with that tire. and, btw, my gravel bike with those wheels weighs 18lb with pedals, with my behind-the-seat bag-o-tools and inflators. so, the bike isn't heavier. but my gravel is not everyone's gravel. my gravel tends to be 40 to 60 percent pavement and then 40 to 60 percent stuff where you'd arguably go faster if you were just on a XC mountain bike. so, i bridge up to MTB performance with a gravel bike that has those tires and gears.

---

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Seems like it. I think the question we all probably face here...is how are we actually going to use this bike? Are we going KOM hunting off road. Or are we just getting away from it and want to be able to ride anything the trail throws at us? That sort of informs what you need for tires and for mount points.

I think it's pointed out perfectly here...two sets of wheels will probably be where we all end up, a set of 650b with really wide tires and 700 with 30 to 40s range. I know that's exactly what I want to do. More because I dont want to have to switch between say a dry pack trail and a wet muddy trail tire on the same rim. But the use case pointed out also makes sense for what I want to do as well.

I almost forgot to respond to this...with the help of these little puppies, and the adjustability range of my Magura HS33 Hydraulic mounts , I intend to prove your assertion incorrect ;-)


That said, since the bike I'm using that on has adequate clearance for 700x44C, I'm not really seeing a big incentive to also be able to run 650B.

---

http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

My usage is similar to yours...hence why my latest build has gearing arguably "MTB-low".

---

http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/

i'm writing to the guy who's asking to buy a new bike. it's much easier just to be the right tech to begin with.

as to your wheelsize + tire choice, this is the very last thing i would run on a bike, for wheel radius reasons (wheel axle out to the inflated tire). when you design a bike, you have to design it for a particular radius. shoe overlap, BB drop, steering geometry all assume that radius. chain stay as well, altho i don't find any downside to a long chain stay (say, 425mm or even 430mm). but i ride a lot of steep, rocky, rutty uphills, and this is a likely place where shoe overlap could bite you. if a bike assumes, say, a 32mm or 35mm tire on a 700c wheel, and you put that 44mm on there, it changes the steering and gives you a possible overlap problem. i likewise have a bike built for 700c, and i only have myself to blame for the fact that it handles GREAT with a 30mm road tire on it, and progressively less great as the tire gets larger, and larger, and larger.

---

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Thanks, for getting back to me. When thinking of use case off course I didn't know the answer. So here is my attempt:

Terrain primarily fire trails which can in places have significant gravel and rocks.

longer day trips into the hills where predominantly dirt roads and 4wd terrain and on occasion stuff that would be better suited to a MTB.

I think I'm headed to touring and comfort, but I keep feeling the need to lean towards CX and racing.

Bike with two sets of wheels sounds like the way to go.

there is very little downside to a bike with the clearances i'm talking about. you can always ride skinner on a big-clearance bike. you can't rider fatter on a smaller-clearance bike.

---

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Norco Search does the 650 for smaller frame sizes but their 700C models say they can take a 2.1" tire

I think 2.1 is the cutoff. Your gold if the bike can take this.

---

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman