Gravel Bike Thread

Posted by: RAHrider

Great ride out to the Seymour dam today with my wife. She loved the whole route. Went along the paved path up and came back on fisherman's. The two Muskoka chairs at the top of fisherman's were the greatest surprise. 

Here are our two bikes. A surley karate monkey with a hope single speed hub and a custom 7 speed cassette. Hers is a 2021 kona rove deluxe.

That's a great spot.  I've told a few people about it, and fortunately it's just a bit too far for the IG crowd.

Now delete this post and never talk of it again  ;)

i know that spot! enroute to a favorite swimming hole.

That’s a great little ride, especially in the evening. For whatever reason I go gravel first and back on the road. Maybe from doing it at the end of a long ride, I find it more casual on the ride out on the pavement . Love the section through the old growth, and nice new cedar bridges!

Posted by: Endur-Bro

Picked up a Shaka Pack Burrito bag the other day if anyone cares. Nice made in BC product

Sweet. Got one of them made earlier this year. Pretty cool to have full custom plus they are made in Kelowna. Well built and it’s become a permanent fixture on my bike

Just noticed the thumbnail for bar bags is my bike! 

https://shakapacks.ca/collections

Posted by: Couch_Surfer

Posted by: RAHrider

Great ride out to the Seymour dam today with my wife. She loved the whole route. Went along the paved path up and came back on fisherman's. The two Muskoka chairs at the top of fisherman's were the greatest surprise. 

Here are our two bikes. A surley karate monkey with a hope single speed hub and a custom 7 speed cassette. Hers is a 2021 kona rove deluxe.

That's a great spot.  I've told a few people about it, and fortunately it's just a bit too far for the IG crowd.

Now delete this post and never talk of it again  ;)

Not sure who the "IG crowd" are but could it have been the 60 year olds on e-bikes I have grown to think of as my "domestiques" that were racing me to the Dam? If so, the IG crowd can now make it there due to advances in battery technology :(

Posted by: RAHrider

Not sure who the "IG crowd" are but could it have been the 60 year olds on e-bikes I have grown to think of as my "domestiques" that were racing me to the Dam? If so, the IG crowd can now make it there due to advances in battery technology :(

IG = InstaGram. I see a ton of older folks on e-bikes on that route, I'm all for that. They don't venture down the dangerous gravel path all that often though.

Posted by: Poz

Posted by: Endur-Bro

Picked up a Shaka Pack Burrito bag the other day if anyone cares. Nice made in BC product

Sweet. Got one of them made earlier this year. Pretty cool to have full custom plus they are made in Kelowna. Well built and it’s become a permanent fixture on my bike

Just noticed the thumbnail for bar bags is my bike! 

https://shakapacks.ca/collections

Nice.  Thinking of getting a frame bag made up for the front of my G16 now. Pretty cool options they offer.

I’d check them out. Everyone one is hand made in kelowna and they will customise to whatever you want from shape and size to colour and even zips.

I finally got this after the shipping company lost it twice and then delivered to the wrong address in the middle of a lockdown. It turned up the day before we entered another lockdown, so provided some good workshop time building.

Short version, I'm blown away. It's more comfortable than my Moots was, it's a fair bit lighter, and with the massive tyre clearance and very slight geo tweaks it's super capable, even with pretty challenging singletrack. There are a couple of minor tweaks still to make, mostly cosmetic. Steel frame, carbon seat tube.

The Ultradynamico tyres in the first picture ride amazingly, but holy jeebus are they soft - really noticeable tread wear after two rides. I've swapped a pair of Rene Herse tyres on and they've definitely been more capable. Cushcore is a huge benefit.

That's a great looking rig!

Posted by: Couch_Surfer

That's a great looking rig!

Yes! 

Is the second pic Whakarewarewa?

You’ve got a good eye! We moved here just recently. 

You can get down most of the trails up to / including a lot of the grade 4 on a CX bike in decent conditions. 

It’s not a terrible place to be.

Posted by: Heinous

You’ve got a good eye! We moved here just recently. 

You can get down most of the trails up to / including a lot of the grade 4 on a CX bike in decent conditions. 

It’s not a terrible place to be.

Not terrible. But the braking bumps get tiring without suspension. 

I hope it's in your neighborhood exercise distance for lockdown.

They can, although thankfully there are a lot of trails less prone to that. It’s definitely pretty hard on the wrists on the CX bike at times.

It’s just across the road, so plenty of trail in my zone.