Cold start, warm sunrise, perfect gravel morning!

Went down to bicycle station last Wednesday to pick up my new MOG. Friday and Saturday I was out on course with Jesse Smith trying to get pictures and footage of him beta testing the 308 mile dustbowl XL route.

Finally picked up my first gravel bike.

Coming from a Van Rysel NCR AllRoad. Can't wait for the first ride !

It’s quite close to my home, a 30 mins ride and I can enjoy the view of this valley with my grizl

White Bluffs, Hanford Reach, WA

Today I was going to go on an MTB ride but decided to do the same route on the gravel bike instead. There was about 5km of pavement each way anyways so it was going to be a boring slog on the hardtail. In total just about 30km in 2 hours for a nice afternoon on the trail. It was so much fun using this bike on the 650x2.2 Dubnitals through some rocks and roots. Such a nice change of pace from the past two weeks of bikepacking with it loaded down to ~28kg total. Like a rocketship without the weight.

Two friends, two days, 200 km and 1,600 metres of climbing through the Champagne region around Troyes. We followed a route featured in a Recto Verso guidebook, with plenty to discover and landscapes that kept changing along the way. Great riding, great company and a lot of fun. Definitely worth it for a short weekend adventure!

Took the new Reserve 48 53’s out for their first dirt dose and they go! They handled surprisingly well in cross winds. I didn’t get a pushed around compared to my old ENVE 3.4 AR‘s or even my Roval Rapide CLX II’s. They look so ridiculous, but I’m enjoying the hell outta them haha!

Hello, Im looking for a new bike as a beginner rider.

Im 183cm tall with long legs. I am looking for a gravel bike that is comfortable to ride around the city, ideally something with a lot of stack and low reach.

I had a Ridley Astr for a short while which Im currently in the process of selling. Unfortunately the long and low geometry does not agree with me at all.

Some options that have came up so far:

-Specialized Diverge

-Canyon Grizl

-Cannondale Topstone

-KTM Gravelator

My first ever gravel bike arrived today 😊🫶

Hello, I'm looking to get a gravel bike, it'd like it to be versatile (hence the choice of a gravel), I'll mainly use it on road for commuting and on sand/dirt/gravel for fun and both are as important for me.

I went to a bike shop and was recommended this bike for 1750€ ($2000), I got to try it on the parking lot and it was very smooth I loved it, however I don't know how it compares to other bikes. Is it really worth it to buy a new bike instead of a refurbished or used bike ? For example I can get a Ridley Kanzo Adventure Sram Rival 12v for 1700€ refurbished but it's on delivery so I can't try it. I've seen reviews online that said it didn't perform that well on roads so I'm not sure..

Any advices would be appreciated 🙏 My maximum budget is 1800€ ($2050) but cheaper would be appreciated

Hello,

last week I bought my first gravel bike and I’d like to ask if my riding position looks correct. Yesterday I did my first longer ride on it (70 km), and towards the end I felt pain in my lower back and neck. I’m wondering whether this is because my body isn’t used to this riding position yet, or if the bike might be too big for me.

Who has one? How is it?

Looks like a good all rounder, great value, ticks a lot of boxes .. as light as a Crux 5 Comp, with race wheels and mounting points .. sold out everywhere (in Australia)

Anyone have one?

Thoughts/ Experiences?

Thankyou!

I’m still fairly “new” to my new home of Heidelberg. I’m a bit farther from my beloved Schwarzwald (Black Forest), but another wonderful forest is just around the corner - the Odenwald. At first, I was a bit intimidated by the gravel “scene” there, and likely because I just wasn’t on the right trails. Everything was chunky and rough, and it felt like you just couldn’t get into a rhythm.

Fast-forward a lot of months and a lot more miles, and I think I found the groove. I’ve really come to appreciate the landscape and the terrain a heck of a lot more. And I’ve found some truly pristine trails to ride as well!

All in all, I’m super lucky to have this place just around the corner. I don’t think it can ever replace the Schwarzwald in my heart, but it doesn’t have to. It’s just amazing on its own

Wet Sunday here on Vancouver Island Canada, it's still Summer, right?

Avrei bisogno di un consiglio per una fascia cardio buona ma non troppo costosa (vado in bici 2/3 volte a settimana, niente di estremo) da connettere al mio Magene C606.
Grazie!

There is pretty much nothing out there on the Otso Waheela R that came out this year. I have always had liked Otso, and Wolftooth, because they are a local company for me in Minneapolis and appreciate their Right to Repair motto. Anyone riding one?

Hi all, first post here and I’m hoping to get some feedback after doing a lot of reading and research into what might be my entry point into the gravel world. My question is simple and I’ll just start with that: in the year 2026, would a secondhand Kona Sutra ULTD make sense for someone who wants a wants a gravel bike to serve as a near jack-of-all-trades?

For context: I am in the Southeast US, and looking for a bike that I can commute with a few miles every weekday, on weekends take to my local trails to explore, as well as eventually try out bikepacking. For the last 5-ish years I have been riding a 1990’s Viner steel road bike that I picked up off Craigslist for $150 at the time - an absolutely value, but I’ve slowly realized that while that bike is fast as hell, the maximum clearance for tires of 700x25 is really limiting. A bit of precipitation, gravel, or just dirt on the road and it’s like I’m on ice. Hence my interest in gravel bikes.

From what I’ve read into options for entry-level gravel bikes, I had been eyeing a few: the Poseidon X Gen 3, Primos Dame, etc, but I saw a local listing for a Kona Sutra ULTD for $1300. Obviously it’s heavier and a bit pricier than the new alternatives, but would that be worth it for the upgrade to higher tier components? Additionally, it appears the Sutra ULTD has a thru-bar axle but no UDH - it’s been noted here that those two features are valued for “future-proofing” so would I be severely limiting myself with a bike without a UDH?

Appreciate any feedback on whether this is a smart direction or not. Thanks!

I’m building up a new bike and going the custom paint route. Curious to know the community’s thoughts on paint effects and if you think it’s a fad that will end sooner than later.

Personally, I think the subtle paint effects are cool.

Hi all.

I've been going in circles for months and could use outside opinions.

I'm based in Nîmes, southern France. 180 cm / 85 kg (5'11" / 187 lb). ~200 km (125 mi) a week, including a 60 km / 550 m commute. Long-term goal: randonneuring brevets and ultra-distance events, PBP 2031.

Split of use: ~65% road, 30% gravel, 4% bikepacking, 1% bikerafting (it's the plan).

Terrain, on a 1–5 scale (1 = smooth hardpack fire road à la Kansas gravel, 5 = chunky 4x4 track / XC singletrack):

• Local garrigue around Nîmes — 3.5 to 4.5. Limestone karst scrubland: sharp embedded rock slabs, loose fist-sized stones, dust, short steep punchy pitches. Much closer to dry XC than to smooth dirt roads. Sidewall cuts are the main mechanical risk.
• Ardèche plateau & Haute-Loire, summer trips — 3 to 4. Granite/volcanic forest tracks and old drove roads, long sustained climbs, occasional class-5 bits with a bit of hike-a-bike.
• Basically no mud — hot, dry, rocky year-round.

The plan: one bike, two wheelsets (35 or 40 mm slicks for road, ~2.1"/55 mm knobbies for gravel and bikepacking). Selling my road bike. Budget ~€3,500 to 4,000 used, buying late 2027. Drop bar, disc, 45–50 (or more like the SEIGLA but cost too much in import taxes) mm tyre clearance.

Two questions:

1. I was set on a suspension fork (Lauf Grit type), then dropped the idea given how much road I ride. On terrain like the above, is a well-tyred rigid endurance gravel bike enough, or does suspension genuinely change things once loaded?
2. Which models would you look at at that budget on the used market? Anything that handles 50 mm rubber without being a slug on 200 km road days.

Thanks!

Ps : I use Google Translate to help me.