As an update to this by the way. I went for the only sure fire way to find something and asked my wife. It was somehow wedged between the 9th and 10th cog on the cassette :/
Road Cycling
- Thread starter FrenchTart
- Start date
As an update to this by the way. I went for the only sure fire way to find something and asked my wife. It was somehow wedged between the 9th and 10th cog on the cassette :/
Oh you're not in the city being there - I'd barely call Fishponds in the city, but more classic Bristol rather than the modern centre of the city isn't it. Lots of 'districts' with their own personality. Looks an ideal spot for what you want it for - a bit of a quieter place to live and school/family spaces etc (not that your old place was bad). While also some perfect quick links out into the country - along with the quick access to the motorways too! Should be lots of cycle paths there with UWE near?We've now moved to Frenchay Village. Geographically we are on the same side of Bristol but we've technically moved to South Gloucestershire. We've moved from the Red to the Green.
It's weird. It's very much in a built up area but once you turn into the village it's like going back in time. Lots of manor houses and green spaces. It's like a cheat code living in the city!
If you look on the map once I cross the dual carriage way it's nothing but green and quite a nice ride to Chepstow and a few other bits. I haven't explored as much as I should've but looks like a lot of potential
Looks easy using Bristol road or Westerleigh to get out and avoid the motorways going under/over them to link out without using biggest A roads. Although the river to the East does limit some options there's a couple of bridges, looks like could even be a cycle path along your side of it that then goes under the A4174 and the M4? But could be footpath only as is labelled 'Frome Valley Walkway'. Looks like a cycle path alongside the A4174 easily accessible from Beckspool and Penn Drive. But that just follows the A road and doesn't look to give you an easy way over it until Bromley Heath, but that would take you under the M4 too is probably going to be a regular thing. Or you reach the A432 roundabout with looks miserable, but you have a cycle path north along it which takes you most of the way to Yate along there too. #stalker
A 118 or 120 link chain is fairly common and should be easy to get with a 114 being the common 'short' one.I've used this calculator for years...
Javascript Bicycle Chain Length Calculator
www.machinehead-software.co.uk
A 450mm chainstay with an oversized rear derailleur, combined with 42T chainring and 44T largest sprocket is rounded to 59 inches (118 links).
Seems like a neat way of doing it - just new valve cores. Adaptors for pumps? Really the push has to be more than 'ease' for new riders to identify pump/valve type. As means instead of the 2 (common, there's others) easy to identify, adding a 3rd in. Yes easier to mount/unmount a pump. Are they more reliable so less pressure lost fiddling with the attachment. Are they wider and have better flow for putting sealant in. Are they less prone to failure from dirt/corrosion. Give us some benefits other than 'newbies find it easier'
Nope, not really heard of them... Just more cheap chinese carbon?
We don't know you in here, so we don't know if you're a rider, what you want it for, what you already have, or are spending that lump of cash to 'get into cycling'. We have no context to base much advice - other than the usual slamming of someone getting an e-bike 'because its easier to go up hills'.
It's a lot of bike, but also a lot of money. Without context we're left trying to justify it to someone we might think is a newbie. Yes it'll be a good bike, a good gravel e-bike. Yes you can ride it on the road, but it'll be slower than an e-road bike. Likely heavier as made to be more stable/solid for gravel. It's entirely possible the gearing is quite low for Gravel so you'll end up with a bunch of gears unused on the road along with missing a lot of top end if you're looking to keep up with friends on road bikes (if that's a thing). So even for that money without the motor it is slower on the road than a cheaper road bike. Especially when missing much e-assist at the higher speeds, you might not even get anything from the motor for 99% of your riding, in which case it would be almost a complete waste of money. Context is key!
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Nope, not really heard of them... Just more cheap chinese carbon?
not so much, elitewheels has been around for years and as far as wheels from china go they're probably at the very top, 12k+ reviews on most listings etc, many youtubers tested and so on. They have premium high end stuff too https://www.elite-wheels.com/
Yeah, i'd be pretty happy with Elite stuff. Lot of good stuff coming out about Lightcarbon stuff too, with Hambini being very impressed in a recent video too. This frame looks great, bit like an exagerated version of the Cannondale Topstone
www.lightcarbon.com
Really struggling to decide on which way to go on a gravel bike. I definitely want suspension because of the dry rocky terrain and at least 50mm tyre clearance. A hardtail bike configured with drop bars makes the most sense, but now that a few gravel suspension forks are coming out it might make more sense.
LightCarbon Gravel Frameset Micro Suspension Pivot Design With Integrated Handlebar Suppliers,Manufacturers,Factories
We are the professional manufacturer for gravel bike frame suspension. Inquiry now about more LightCarbon Gravel Frameset Micro Suspension Pivot Design With Integrated Handlebar information.
www.lightcarbon.com
Really struggling to decide on which way to go on a gravel bike. I definitely want suspension because of the dry rocky terrain and at least 50mm tyre clearance. A hardtail bike configured with drop bars makes the most sense, but now that a few gravel suspension forks are coming out it might make more sense.
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most suspensions from what i've seen are 40mm travel, not bad.. the new canyons are that but the ribble allgrits also have optional ones, I'd love to try it : https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-allgrit-al-apex-xplr-axs/build/Yeah, i'd be pretty happy with Elite stuff. Lot of good stuff coming out about Lightcarbon stuff too, with Hambini being very impressed in a recent video too. This frame looks great, bit like an exagerated version of the Cannondale Topstone
LightCarbon Gravel Frameset Micro Suspension Pivot Design With Integrated Handlebar Suppliers,Manufacturers,Factories
We are the professional manufacturer for gravel bike frame suspension. Inquiry now about more LightCarbon Gravel Frameset Micro Suspension Pivot Design With Integrated Handlebar information.
Really struggling to decide on which way to go on a gravel bike. I definitely want suspension because of the dry rocky terrain and at least 50mm tyre clearance. A hardtail bike configured with drop bars makes the most sense, but now that a few gravel suspension forks are coming out it might make more sense.
not getting another bike any time soon and my next one will probably be a Ti frameset but it's interesting to see how gravel is developing. I'm a full convert, the fun of just jumping into a random public path or blasting through empty forests in the evenings is so worth it. I don't are that it's 15w slower than an equivalent road bike, I'm too fat to tell the difference
Yeah, i think 40mm is probably fine for me. I have 100mm on my current Trek and use the lockout feature which doesn't properly lock it out but reduces the travel so it's not too bouncey. The RockShox El Sid fork looks brilliant. Where it can electronically interact with the AXS system and adjust dampening depending on torque. So if you're going up hill and mashing the pedals it stiffens the fork.
Update to the above, not sure if anyone follows him, but i reached out to Chris Hall, who does a lot of endurance cycling stuff, and has worked with some massive brands helping to develop bikes and who's used a drop bar hardtails and now gravel suspensioned bikes and asked his opinion. He was super helpful, and made relevant comments to cycling around Spain and which would be better where etc.
I now have a new front runner and you'll all be please to know it's not a frankenbike in the Mondraker Arid
Need to check it out with a local store, but there's a few reasons.
1 They're based out of Elche and it feels cool to go with something so local.
2 A MTB orientated brand, so quite a bit of compliance built into the frame
3 It looks cool
4 I could probably bring the build forward and re-use parts from my current bike (Sram force shifters, wheelset, power cranks). Then rebuild current bike to be more road focused again
Frameset seems a daft price considering a fully built bike with GRX is only €500 more
BICICLETA MONDRAKER ARID CARBON 2025
La Mondraker Arid Carbon es una bicicleta eléctrica diseñada específicamente para el terreno árido y todoterreno. Con su cuadro de carbono ligero, ofrece una combinación perfecta de robustez y agilidad. La geometría Forward Geometry de Mondraker asegura estabilidad y control en terrenos...
rotoruabike.com
Main issue for me is that i'm a cheap ******* and it's hard to justify €2k for a frameset when i can buy one from China such as the Lightcarbon one above for under half the price, and i've never had any issues so far. Even something like a Winspace which is renowned for quality is only €1100 ish
The downside of going for a gravel frame rather than a hardtail is that i'm fairly sure my justification to the wife was that it wasn't a case of N+1 because i was going to sell my Trek Marlin and replace it with a better bike. Now i've fitted the motor to that, it kind of makes sense to keep it as it serves another purpose
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that is steep! £2 is a chunk for a frameset but £2500 for a grx build seems fine? odd pricing all in.. but yeah supporting local shops is always good but I struggle with prices often being out of my reach. Like the gravel ti bike i wanted from gloria cycles, couldn't justify £4k in the spec I wanted 
To be fair the GRX build is meant to be €3200 and it's just heavily discounted at one particular retailer, it's full RRP elsewhere.
Annoyingly even though Mondraker have their head office around 15 mins from my house they don't sell direct to the public. Apparently all their bikes are hand built (frame made in Asia, assembled in Elche) by the team in the head office and then shipped out from there. Would've been handy to go direct and agree a spec including suspension forks to offset having to buy the proper forks as part of the frameset and then have it sit in a box!
Annoyingly even though Mondraker have their head office around 15 mins from my house they don't sell direct to the public. Apparently all their bikes are hand built (frame made in Asia, assembled in Elche) by the team in the head office and then shipped out from there. Would've been handy to go direct and agree a spec including suspension forks to offset having to buy the proper forks as part of the frameset and then have it sit in a box!
Wow straight in to the Traka?! Talk about jumping in the deep end...! Working to build hard towards it with lesser events, or just training with the aim to survive 20+ hours in the saddle?!Woohoo. Challenge set for around a week before my 40th
I've not done very well so far with entries to events which are a challenge though...
360 kilometers is a long way and nine other lessons I learnt on my first long distance gravel ride
I raced The Traka 360 in Girona, Spain - a brutal introduction to long-distance gravel
www.cyclingweekly.com
Ahhh, the only google search I came up with where them listed on aliexpress rather than muck UK/EU presence? Would probably consider Hunt/Scribe etc more of a 'buy chinese carbon with a UK QC/warranty' or do they do the same? Build and warranty in the EU/UK?
Like it, the rear pivot there is always something which intrigued me - as Ridley and Pinarello have done it for roubaix bikes (although they didn't stick with the idea) and my Diverge with it's 'Zertz' was a spin-off of that - before Specialized then went the 'Future Shock' at the headset which they've retained. Not that I can even really tell much difference to my Tarmac SL7 (I don't find it uncomfortable or 'too stiff' like some reports say the SL8 tweaked and solved to make more comfortable).Yeah, i'd be pretty happy with Elite stuff. Lot of good stuff coming out about Lightcarbon stuff too, with Hambini being very impressed in a recent video too. This frame looks great, bit like an exagerated version of the Cannondale Topstone
LightCarbon Gravel Frameset Micro Suspension Pivot Design With Integrated Handlebar Suppliers,Manufacturers,Factories
We are the professional manufacturer for gravel bike frame suspension. Inquiry now about more LightCarbon Gravel Frameset Micro Suspension Pivot Design With Integrated Handlebar information.
Really struggling to decide on which way to go on a gravel bike. I definitely want suspension because of the dry rocky terrain and at least 50mm tyre clearance. A hardtail bike configured with drop bars makes the most sense, but now that a few gravel suspension forks are coming out it might make more sense.
No price on the frame there? Quite interested in the seatpost if I could find pricing. My original COBL-GOBL R (name still makes me lol) the rubber zertz is degrading and bits falling off it... Did consider the Canyon leaf one but they have their own massive amounts of problems and where always crazy money.
That sounds amazing, I mean I'm not exactly experienced but the handful of times I've ridden a fullsus they're so uninspiring to ride uphill, so much wasted power and zero stiffness compared to a road bike even fully locked out. Then the hassle of locking it each time if you where riding rolling/punchy trails. Can see why motors and uplifts are preferred!
What size are you after? I've a clubmate wanting to sell a Ti and although I've asked him for details he didn't give me many - as also wanted to sell it complete (including wheels) whereas I just wanted a frame.Like the gravel ti bike i wanted from gloria cycles, couldn't justify £4k in the spec I wanted
I don't know the price, but it's a 54cm 'Mark Reilly gravel frame'. As he's very old school it'll be well looked after and maintained. According to his Strava it's a 'Reilly Gradient' and has done 9902km - but he's almost exclusively riding e-Road and e-MTB now due to his age so expect that won't be recent mileage.
He's got a Specialized Creo (13,000km), Trek Domane SLRe (1500km) & Trek eMTB (2000km). Has 5 other bikes and another 50,000 miles showing on them. Would be a fountain of knowledge for how ebikes allow him at nearing 90 years old still able to ride 7-8000 km a year! Inspirational!
Love the 'buying local' mantra and really with them being that close I'd say reach out to them! Social media or even if they're that close 'stick your head around the door' - I bet they have some bikes built up to look at, maybe not a 'showroom' but at least something to show partners/resellers they work with that they keep on hand.
They're a name which a known pedigree for trail bikes, probably their first forays into drop bars they'll be excited to engage with you and show you things. Especially when you're local to them and are after using one of their gravel frames for gravel related riding in their local areas around their HQ! Might... MIGHT sell direct to you, or with a local reseller/store who is their preferred and you might get a discount out of it.
If not that GRX build with a discount - just think, if it's new at that price, the seller (shop?) should still have a margin that Mondraker/distribution give them on it that others can match. That's how these reseller programs work. The store is guaranteed their margin on a product if others are selling it cheaper, they price match it to their distributor/brand who give them their agreed margin when they sell it. You might find a store willing to match it and tweak the things you need... A good test of your spanish bartering!
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Wow straight in to the Traka?! Talk about jumping in the deep end...! Working to build hard towards it with lesser events, or just training with the aim to survive 20+ hours in the saddle?!
360 kilometers is a long way and nine other lessons I learnt on my first long distance gravel ride
I raced The Traka 360 in Girona, Spain - a brutal introduction to long-distance gravel
Like it, the rear pivot there is always something which intrigued me - as Ridley and Pinarello have done it for roubaix bikes (although they didn't stick with the idea) and my Diverge with it's 'Zertz' was a spin-off of that - before Specialized then went the 'Future Shock' at the headset which they've retained. Not that I can even really tell much difference to my Tarmac SL7 (I don't find it uncomfortable or 'too stiff' like some reports say the SL8 tweaked and solved to make more comfortable).
No price on the frame there? Quite interested in the seatpost if I could find pricing. My original COBL-GOBL R (name still makes me lol) the rubber zertz is degrading and bits falling off it... Did consider the Canyon leaf one but they have their own massive amounts of problems and where always crazy money.
That sounds amazing, I mean I'm not exactly experienced but the handful of times I've ridden a fullsus they're so uninspiring to ride uphill, so much wasted power and zero stiffness compared to a road bike even fully locked out. Then the hassle of locking it each time if you where riding rolling/punchy trails. Can see why motors and uplifts are preferred!
Love the 'buying local' mantra and really with them being that close I'd say reach out to them! Social media or even if they're that close 'stick your head around the door' - I bet they have some bikes built up to look at, maybe not a 'showroom' but at least something to show partners/resellers they work with that they keep on hand.
They're a name which a known pedigree for trail bikes, probably their first forays into drop bars they'll be excited to engage with you and show you things. Especially when you're local to them and are after using one of their gravel frames for gravel related riding in their local areas around their HQ! Might... MIGHT sell direct to you, or with a local reseller/store who is their preferred and you might get a discount out of it.
If not that GRX build with a discount - just think, if it's new at that price, the seller (shop?) should still have a margin that Mondraker/distribution give them on it that others can match. That's how these reseller programs work. The store is guaranteed their margin on a product if others are selling it cheaper, they price match it to their distributor/brand who give them their agreed margin when they sell it. You might find a store willing to match it and tweak the things you need... A good test of your spanish bartering!
Lots of stuff to reply to!
I'm planning on the Iron Gravel Busot in September, 110km and 3100m is absolutely brutal and not sure i have that in me. The same organiser also do another route in October which is a little easier and also more of a festival/party vibe
Festival Cabo de Palos - Iron Gravel
irongravel.com
Then next April, probably the 4th they'll have the main Iron Gravel event i had to pull out of this year. I can do either 110/200/360km. 200km might be a decent outing as a final long ride and still give sufficient recovery
Main focus is to use my newly converted ebike to build up long rides on rougher terrain. I can kill myself and build strength on other rides. Luckily the Traka isn't "that" hilly with only 4000m over 360km and i don't think any individual climb is too horrific with more long 6-7% climbs rather than many silly steep things(except for one brutal hike a bike section). I can cope with those better than steep things.
No price on the Lightcarbon. They don't have a distribution network so you have to email for pricing. From the videos from Eurobike i think it was around the $700 mark plus shipping/import fees. I know the Cannondale Topstone has a similar rear pivot, as does the Trek Checkpoint. I also quite like the way that most frames now come with storage in the downtube.
Yeah the fork sounds superb, although it's also freakishly expensive (€1400ish i think)
Flight Attendant - RockShox
Flight Attendant makes you the fastest version of yourself—all you have to do is ride. The only automatic suspension system that listens to you and responds in real time, Flight Attendant analyzes the constant flow of ever-changing data to anticipate the perfect suspension setting for you, and...
www.sram.com
I think i know where their office is, so going to try and drop in on them one day. As you say there's always the hope they are open to
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Yeah, t the very least would home some things to drool over and get a 'real world' view of them, even without a showroom...!
See my local hitter took 4th in the Otley GP yesterday after his 11th in the UK Crit Nationals and his 2nd in the Welsh Crit Nationals.
This is how you train for that... Doing 3 hours at Z1/2 90km (210W avg) and throwing in 1400W+ sets of sprints in it (he's 70kg). Ouch! He's flying though - only just out of the U23 ranks!
See my local hitter took 4th in the Otley GP yesterday after his 11th in the UK Crit Nationals and his 2nd in the Welsh Crit Nationals.
This is how you train for that... Doing 3 hours at Z1/2 90km (210W avg) and throwing in 1400W+ sets of sprints in it (he's 70kg). Ouch! He's flying though - only just out of the U23 ranks!
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not much uk presence as no distributors in uk really but I think it's only a matter of time before they're here and more expensive.
I did look into hunt but wait times till october or longer is silly so I've passed on those. I honestly am not worried about quality/QC as from my research they're really good with sales and aftersales support if anything is an issue. But I guess we'll find out soon enough
Ooof, got a reply from Lightcarbon on their frame. $565 inc fork/seatpost. $70 less without a fork
Just waiting for an update on shipping costs and also some carbon wheels, but they'll prepay import fees to avoid any surprises which is also decent.
Could get it hand painted with a picture of my dog
Just waiting for an update on shipping costs and also some carbon wheels, but they'll prepay import fees to avoid any surprises which is also decent.
Could get it hand painted with a picture of my dog
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Seems like shipping is $312 for the frame and a set of wheels. With the pricing below it's a bit hard to justify the cost of a €2k frame, even if it might be a little better/better support. I've never had issues with Chinese frames as long as you're buying from a decent company and LightCarbon seem to be establishing themselves at that level
Only hesitation is compatibility with a suspension fork. Mondraker publish a lot of info. Lightspeed have effectively left it to me to research, although they do provide a lot of detailed sizing so i should be able to work it out
www.lightcarbon.com
Going to set my Wahoo Kickr up with the same dimensions of each and also a couple other bikes and try and see which gives the best fit.
| USD | GBP | EUR | |
| Frame (inc forks and bars) | 595 | 434 | 507 |
| Sram Dub BB | 10 | 7 | 9 |
| Gravel wheels with 32mm inner width, 50mm deep and DT swiss 240 hubs and some fancy spokes I've never heard of | 799 | 583 | 681 |
| Shipping (inc customs) | 312 | 228 | 266 |
| 1,716 | 1,253 | 1,463 |
Only hesitation is compatibility with a suspension fork. Mondraker publish a lot of info. Lightspeed have effectively left it to me to research, although they do provide a lot of detailed sizing so i should be able to work it out
LightCarbon 700C Disc Brake CX Fork Gravel Carbon Fork Suppliers,Manufacturers,Factories
We are the professional manufacturer for carbon fork gravel bike. Inquiry now about more LightCarbon 700C Disc Brake CX Fork Gravel Carbon Fork information.
www.lightcarbon.com
Going to set my Wahoo Kickr up with the same dimensions of each and also a couple other bikes and try and see which gives the best fit.
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Soldato
- Joined
- 18 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 7,058
- Location
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Not cycled for quite long - lived in SEA for years which was terrible for it (climate and the roads / traffic)
Got back on my old Cannondale Synapse (must be 18-19 years old!) this week which still rides surprisingly well all things considered. Although the front gears don’t seem to work anymore so probably need to get that looked at.
Done 153km so far this week in the evenings - feels good to be active again. Although as T1 diabetic I’m shocked how many carbs I need for an hour ride - about 120g or so .. not sure if it’ll help me to loose weight if that’s the case!
Got back on my old Cannondale Synapse (must be 18-19 years old!) this week which still rides surprisingly well all things considered. Although the front gears don’t seem to work anymore so probably need to get that looked at.
Done 153km so far this week in the evenings - feels good to be active again. Although as T1 diabetic I’m shocked how many carbs I need for an hour ride - about 120g or so .. not sure if it’ll help me to loose weight if that’s the case!
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If it's just an hour ride, personally I wouldn't take any 'extra' up over 2 hours and I'd be planning some gels/stops.
Soldato
- Joined
- 18 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 7,058
- Location
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Well I’m diabetic and take insulin, that’s what I’ve needed to eat to stop me from going low this week
I’m getting an insulin pump soon which means I should be able to reduce my basal whilst I’m cycling .. let’s see.