I went from a carbon diverge with a sloped top tube and dropped seat stay, to a titanium bike with a straight top tube and no dropped seat stay. The diverge also Canyons flexible seat post.
The only tire difference is going from 45’s to 48’s.
I know it’s not a scientific measurement but the bump/terrain compliance/comfort of the titanium bike vs the diverge is a night and day difference, with the titanium bike feeling much better.
I will admit that the titanium as a much more aggressive stance and much shorter stack, which does change the handling. But for sake of pure comfort/compliance, I don’t feel the straight top tube or standard seat stays is giving anything up.
I do understand from a technical perspective how a slanted tube and dropped stays help, particularly with more exposed seat post, but don’t think it’s as significant as some might think.
I don’t disagree, I wish the stack were a bit lower at a given reach. Plus, and annoyingly, as with many integrated/semi-integrated setups it seems you have to run their rather bulky top cap and spacer to cleanly integrate the bars with the HT, so real minimum stack is probably 20mm higher than published.
It almost feels like now isn’t the time to buy a gravel bike. I mean with how much hype there is surrounding 2.2" and how few of these frames seem like they fit a 2.2" with adequate clearance, surely many of these will almost immediately be outdated within a season or two?
Given that, if I had to buy a new frame, I feel like I’d be looking for a deep discount on an older model while holding off for a Checkmate or Crux that can clear a 2.2" tire?
I mean, alternatively there also may be no tariffs by time the next generation of these bikes get released. I don’t think even Trump knows the answer to this. We could even see a scenario where a self inflicted terrible economy actually drives down the price of new bikes. There is one thing I’m certain of though, the resale value on low tire clearance frames is going to be similar to the resale value on non-boost mountain bike frames when they change happened.
Will be interesting to see how tire choice shakes out with the pros this year. Last year was really the first time we saw a decent number of pros embracing MTB tires and it was hit or miss by individual and depending on course. For the chunky courses, it’s hard to imagine it won’t be more folks going big. But Unbound is such a crap shoot with the weather. A dry day and you’ll probably have over half the field pushing tire sizes to their frame limits (well beyond the official supported size). But if there is any mud, big tires won’t work and people will either run smaller or they will be stopped in their tracks. Whether that helps or hurts the case for larger tires, hard to say. But we saw a small glimpse of that at Valley of Tears this year with pros pulling over to clear mud because they ran tires too big for their frames. Some of these bike companies just released new bikes and I expect they will be conservative with tire size if there is a risk of mud. Trek does not want picture after picture of Trek riders on the side of the road at Unbound clearing mud from their Checkmates.
If the new Dubnital from Continental comes in slower than the E-25 model Race King (which was slower than the previous model) that may be the top signal for MTB tires as a serious gravel option. We may well end up with 2.2" frames but general preference for 45-50s.
It really is going to be course dependent. I haven’t seen many bike checks from Sea Otter but Keegan went with 45mm… and for good reason as the course had a fair amount of (albeit bumpy) pavement.
Go to a super chunky course a MTB is going to be a big advantage. But at what point do you pull out a hardtail?
I’d bet that of gravel bikes sold, the time spent on gravel is probably 20% of ride time. On chunky gravel to warrant 2.2’s is probably 2%.
This forum is a very small niche in overall sales. Even most gravel races, people hardly consider aero gains, let alone rolling resistance. Tire pressures are usually way off as well.
For anyone who wanted a “road bike” for pavement that isn’t super serious or racing, in most cases I’d recommend a gravel bike for comfort with added tire clearance. I wouldn’t recommend anyone that’s 100% on roads to use a RK. Probably a standard 40-45.
As much as I’d love for every bike and tire manufacturer to put all their focus towards pleasing the top 5% of riders/racers, I don’t think that releasing a bike with 2.2 clearance is going to land a ton more sales for the majority of their customer base.
I’ll be honest, I don’t even have a gravel bike. I just have a Trek Boone that I ride on the gravel. I’ve always kind of thought of the first gravel bikes as just weird less capable cross bikes. I think though, if Trek came out with a version of the Boone that could easily fit mountain bike tires that would finally be enough differentiation where I’d likely be a buyer. I’m also definitely not into the “adventure” style gravel bikes that somehow weigh more than my mountain bike and adopt a riding position that’s just as upright as my mountain bike.
Even if you are not racing, there are so many advantages to having 2.2s on your gravel bike. Comfort, handling, safety, speed, fewer punctures. I did a flowy single track with my gravel bike and 2.2’s and it was so much more fun than with gravel tires. I would not buy a gravel bike right now unless it could fit MTB tires
Does anyone have the Gen 3 Checkpoint? It looks like it’ll fit Race Kings (but probably wouldn’t risk it for muddy conditions). This ticks alot of boxes for me but personally I’d probably want a Transmission set up for more range when climbing.
The reach is a bit shorter than the last gen but I could pretty easily match my road bike fit
I have a gen3 with a 2.2 Raceking on the front no problems (4mm+ clearance around). In the rear it was too tight for me, so I have a 2.1 Thunderburt which only measured 51mm on my 25mm internal wheel.
Was listening to a podcast and a Specialized rider said he will be on 2.2s front and rear for Unbound this year. Either he is going to modify an Epic or I think a new Diverge is coming out soon
