Here you go 
Best riding bike I’ve ever been on. So smooth it’s unbelievable.
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Lovely bike, but you appear to have stuck your bar tape on with Elastoplast…
Seriously. That is a lovely looking machine.
Mike
Ha… that’s actually Brooks fabric bar finishing tape if you mean the tan portion Thx though. Highly recommend Titanium to anyone.
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Looks fantastic! Enjoy!
I haven’t read all of this, but for a versatile bike, check out Bike Radar’s 2019 Road bike of the year. A new idea in a 1-bike-does-it-all solution. Rondo HVRT CFO
My girlfriend just picked up a 2020 Trek Domane SL5. Since we both ride a 56cm road bike I’ve been able to ride it on the local gravel bike trail. It really surprised me how smooth it is on the trail. I normally ride a cannondale superx w/ 40mm gr1’s, and this felt smoother despite only having 32mm tubeless tires. Perhaps the front and rear decouplers actually do something.
Trek says it has clearance for 38mm tires. So there’s lots of options in that size.
I can confirm that the IsoSpeed do work. I have it on my Boone and Procaliber, which do a great job of taking the bite out of rough terrain.
Since we’re talking about a bike to do it all, I just got these “All Road” wheels I ordered back in May. That’s a 32mm Panaracer on there which measures 34.4mm on the calipers, tubeless, and the rim is 25.5mm IW, 33mm OW. These are wider than a legal CX tire, lol. I did the first ride on them yesterday and kind of in love:
They have 38mm depth rims but I wanted the gaudy ones and they were affordable at $1300 with White hubs.
https://novemberbicycles.com/collections/all-road-disc-wheels/products/all-road-50-disc-white-industries-shimano-sram-drive
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I have a 2018 Domane, one generation earlier. I can fit 35mm on back, and 37mm on front. I use it for both road and gravel. Works great. I’d imagine the next gen is even better.
One of my clubmates did last night’s summer cyclocross race on his road bike with 28mm tyres on it. He’s quite light, and fairly fast, so that helps, but still it was pretty impressive! So within reason (I suspect if it was a winter muddy one he’d have had to run the whole thing), maybe you can get away with a road bike on light gravel, especially if it will take wider tyres. 
For sure that’s possible. But it depends a lot on the rider and their skill, the gravel condition and road pitches, and the particular tire size and design.
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any specific reason you got this over another bike? I’ve been debating between the exploro and the open UP and can’t seem to decide as they’re pretty similar. my club mate says i should get the exploro as i’d probably be riding more on the road than gravel.
My local bike shop carries both the Exploro and the Open UP. They described the Exploro as a road bike that can go off road, and the Open UP as an off road bike that can go on the road.
Not sure if that’s true or not, but I got the Exploro because I wanted a bike to replace my road bike that could go off road when the route called for it. And I haven’t been disappointed. I still have my road bike, but it sits on my trainer. The Exploro on the other hand is like a Cadillac I love to take out whenever possible.
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I was contemplating getting a new bike next year.
I look at bikes like CAAD 13, Supersix Evo, Foil, Addict and the Madone but didn’t really get excited with the budget I want to spend.
Started talking to my LBS, as he has his own brand of race and gravel bikes and at appears that a bike from him would also fit the budget and that did get me excited.
I am not sure if whether to get a (aero)road bike or a gravel bike.
Both have carbon and aluminium options, I am leaning more to the gravel bike but use it as my road bike.
Except for aerodynamica, what would be a noticeable difference between two frames (road vs gravel) if all the other components are the same (groups and rims)?
Depending on the models to compare, the typical “Gravel” bike geometry will likely differ from the typical “Road” bike geometry. I don’t really like to list these generalities since they are not always accurate
You can use a variety of tools like Geometry Geeks to find your bike models and sizes to see the specific.
If you list the particular models and sizes in question, we can load them, review them and give some comments about the differences.
Thanks Chad, I really appreciate the help.
His brand isn’t on the website, but the I have the geometry for the carbon road (not aero) and for the carbon gravel.
| Road carbon | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M size Frame | in mm/degrees | L size Frame | in mm/degrees | |
| Top tube horizontal | 555 | Top tube horizontal | 565 | |
| Seat tube horizontal | 525 | Seat tube horizontal | 545 | |
| Seat tube angle effective | 73,5 | Seat tube angle effective | 73 | |
| Stack | 558 | Stack | 574 | |
| Reach | 390 | Reach | 390 | |
| Head tube length | 155 | Head tube length | 175 | |
| Head tube angle | 73 | Head tube angle | 73 | |
| Gravel carbon | ||||
| M size Frame | in mm/degrees | L size Frame | in mm/degrees | |
| Top tube horizontal | 565 | Top tube horizontal | 585 | |
| Seat tube horizontal | 540 | Seat tube horizontal | 570 | |
| Seat tube angle effective | 73 | Seat tube angle effective | 72,5 | |
| Stack | 584 | Stack | 584 | |
| Reach | 386 | Reach | 392 | |
| Head tube length | 165 | Head tube length | 195 | |
| Head tube angle | 71,5 | Head tube angle | 71,5 |
Not sure if it helps, but my current bike has the following geometry (pulled from my bike fitting):
Does this help or would you need some additional info?
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Great data. I will try to review these and give some info soon.
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Saw recently that Kevin Bouchard-Hall has been racing a Crux for gravel, cx, crits, and did just fine in the P/1 field at GMSR too. If a guy at his level can win and podium in national events with nothing but a wheel swap…
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Sure, CX bikes were and still are used for gravel bikes. I am still using my 2015 Trek Boone CX bike for my gravel needs.
They tend to be a geometry that is more “agile” with shorter wheelbase, with steeper head and seat tube angles when compared to many “gravel” specific bikes.
But I caution against referencing pro’s and their bikes to what some can use. Similar to how a capable MTB race can rip on something like a Specialized Epic (or similar XC race bike), many riders are better served with more suspension travel and better geometry for less skilled riders.
The same concept can apply in gravel since rider skill arguable matters more with respect to a more limited bike (little if any suspension, and less tire on the ground), where a more forgiving design may be beneficial to less skilled riders.
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No personal experience but the Rondo HVRT looks amazing
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