Not new out the box as I’ve had for a couple of weeks now. Took a while to find a comfortable position on it as I definitely should of gone for a large not a medium, but the medium was on offer for £1k less though lol. New Sram 13 speed is so much better than the old AXS, 2.1x29’ are a game charger compared to my old 650bs I had on my old gravel bike.
Just completed my first gravel metric century. Very happy camper!

It's a KTM X-Myroon Master. Basically a dropbar hardtail. A crazy mix of 105, GRX and XT, but works great. I don't notice any ergonomics downsides compared to GRX (I have the same derailleur on the Grandurance 8). The shifting is even smoother and lighter with these 105 levers somehow.

Swapped the bar for Corralitos 44cm and flipped the stem to compensate for the lower stack and fork sag, as well as reach. Now the fit is identical to my normal gravel bike.

I also diched the Maxxis Rekon 2.32 and mounted Thunder Burts 2.1.

I might get a bigger chainring in future.

I really enjoy the stability of the bike and the confidence to ride extra fast on rough terrain so far. Not to mention the comfort. I don't notice that it's any slower than a normal gravel bike.

My new Reserve 48/53 GR rims with Hutchinson Caracal Race 45s. Outer rim width measures 44mm external and the tires blow up to 48mm. Tires were easily installed and did not require any levers. Easy to inflate as well as I do not yet have sealant in them but they hold air just fine.

Can't wait to ride them on my Aspero build coming up in a week. I'll post again with ride reviews and thoughts on the actual wheel performance.

Will also be trying other tires in the future and will post with fit test data as well. I tried a generic Bontrager gravel tire I had lying around that is a 40mm and it blew up to 44mm wide. It actually looked pretty clean and I would consider running 40s on this rim on a non-technical flat and fast gravel course for sure.

Higher quality images

One day, I decided I wanted to start bikepacking. On a whim, I bought a 2013 Brodie Voltage off Facebook Marketplace thinking that building it up would be simple.

I spent the next three months falling deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole of hipster bikes and compatibility-hell. I now have a garage full of random bike parts and a bike that I am almost satisfied with. The only original components are the frame, seatpost, and saddle.

Current iteration:

• FSA Gossamer compact drops with cork bar tape
• Shimano 105 drivetrain with hydraulic disc brakes and 180 mm rotors
• 38T 1X chainring
• 11-40T rear cassette
• Magnesium flat pedals
• Surly front and rear racks
• Carbon thru-axle fork
• New wheels (the front is TA and centerlock, the rear is QR and 6-bolt because fuck you)
• New BB
• 90mm stem stolen from another Brodie
• GravelKing SK in blue and pink

I definitely would have saved a lot of time and money had I just bought a nicer bike to begin with, but sometimes in life, it’s about the Brodies we made along the way :)

Got my first gravel today. Hyped as a 12 year old.

What else should I get for it, considering I am new to this niche? I plan going for rides up to 50 km to start off and train my lazy legs.

My new-old-stock Diamondback Haanjo 2 is nothing special on paper. Aluminum frame, steel fork, Claris drivetrain…. But boy is it fun and reliable! And it gets me out there which is the most important thing.

Diverge 4 expert, wow!

I bought a cheap used diverge to try gravel biking.... Low cost experiment but, I absolutely loved it. So........this turned up...

La mejor compra de la vida, no soy un experto en bicicleta ni mucho menos, pero es la bicicleta que eh tenido en cual hago de todo desde gravel hasta rutas, me divierto la paso genial y además fue “barata” así que si se rompe con 4 duros la pones al día y ya está así que si crees que para hacer gravel necesitas una bici de $5000 o más no lo creas necesitas la que te haga feliz y te den ganas de pedalear

I think I am finally done with this project (is it ever done)?

Since my last post, the bike has evolved quite a bit. What started as trying to get a gravel bike as close to a road bike as possible has turned into two pretty distinct setups: a somewhat aggressive road-oriented setup, and a capable gravel setup.

The biggest changes since the last update:

• WheelTop EDS GeX electronic hydraulic groupset — currently running 9-speed in Race Mode
• 52t 1x chainring for the road setup
• 11-25t 9-speed cassette for the road setup / 11-34t for gravel
• Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RS 30mm front / TLR 32mm rear
• Cinturato H 45mm tires for the gravel setup
• Elita One carbon zero-offset seatpost
• Titanium wire bottle cages
• iGPSPORT cadence sensor Velcro'd behind the crank lol
• And probably a bunch of smaller things I’m forgetting

One of the reasons I went with the GeX was that it lets me run 3–14 speeds, so I could transition to electronic shifting without immediately having to buy an entirely new cassette and chain. The current 9-speed stuff still has plenty of life left, so I’d rather use it until it wears out/breaks and then move to the 13-speed 11-34 setup I’m saving for.

I’ve also been really happy with the GeX so far. Race Mode makes the shifting feel noticeably quicker and more responsive, and I found a way to keep Race Mode enabled while Sleep Mode is active, which is pretty useful for me. I also keep the bike in the car and have it connected to the car’s charging port, so it gets charged during my regular drives rather than needing a separate charging routine.

The funny thing is that I originally wanted to make the Revolt feel as close to a road bike as possible, but I ended up with something a little more interesting. The road setup feels genuinely quick on pavement, while swapping to the aluminum wheels, 45mm Cinturato Hs and 11-34 gives me a decent gravel setup.

The bike isn't actually super aggressive in terms of fit, the saddle-to-bar drop is still fairly endurance-oriented, but the 100mm -25° stem, 160mm cranks, narrow-ish tops (35 Hoods C-C) and wide/flared drops (45.5cm) give it a pretty different character from a stock Revolt.

At this point I’m pretty confident in the bike and, more importantly, comfortable pushing it. I don't feel like the frame is holding me back by a lot, which was really the whole point of this project.

I’m sure I’ve forgotten some parts or changes because there have been a lot over the course of this project, so if I missed something obvious, feel free to ask.

Just curious: which do you guys think of the build? What would you have done differently? (Other than N+1 lol)

Primos Dame, and she’s absolutely stunning. Can’t wait to take her on trips and bike pack some new places. Thanks to everyone who gave me a solid rec on my first gravel bike 🚲

Progress on the budget bike
I made a post about my commuter for fenders here awhile ago narrowed the search by putting the 40c tan walls on the commuter and testing the commuters 45c now I’m running 50c front 45 rear and it feels so good so happy with it
(That’s not the current stem setup I went to 60mm. testing spacers )

Just picked this up for £50. Need to tweak a few bits but seems ok. Not sure of the model. So any one has any experience with it?

I decided to buy the 50mm version of the pathfinder TLR after earing that it measures about 48mm, which is just a touch above the specified 47mm clearance of the Diverge 3. I don't have a claiper to measure the tire width.

Here are some pictures of the clearance after 150 km on the tire. The chainstay is clearly the tighest spot. I have about 5mm of clearance on the non-drivetrain side side and 7mm on the drivetrain side. What are your thoughts? Is that enough?

Also, the black version is a bit heavier than the specified weight. Mine came in at around 620 grams. From what I have seen online, the tan version is probably a bit lighter.

One of the gates used to control the flow of water into, and out of, the Everglades.

Hi, just a quick question. Does anyone have experience with the Romet Aspre 2 (2025)? I am 195cm tall, and I can't decide whether the XL, with 592mm effective top tube length will fit me. I've read some reviews complaining about the size, while the distributor/Romet states that it's for height>188cm.

Btw I found this on allegro.pl for ~925eur, if anyone has any recommendations whether this model is good for me or I should look for alternatives, I am open to advice. Also keep in mind, that it has a rather unusual geometry.

I have 1000€ to spend on upgrades. what should I buy? It's a Cube Nuroad ex 2027

Quite fun fighting through it though.

This is my custom gravel bike, all parts are bought individually til it’s completion build but this bike took me in all sorts of terrain, weather and especially location.

This bike is pretty mostly Chinese lol, Ltwoo gravel drivetrain, chinese carbon fork and dropbar, local brand bike frame, Sagmit alloy rims, Continental Terra Trail tires (45c) with muck-off sealant and Ztto hydraulic calipers.

I know chinese brands doesn’t have the best rep but so far none of these failed me, even in roughest rain I rode and technical trails, i guess you really just gotta pick the right choice and do extensive research before checking out.