Ok, so I need to go to the hive mind for this as I’m trying to figure something out and I need smart people to help me. I am looking to buy a Santa Cruz Stigmata/Juliana Quincy 52cm. (If I end up with the Stigmata I’ll probably need to put narrower handlebars on it, and a shorter stem. I’m not sure if the Quincy stem length is identical to the Stigmata.) This bike seems to feel the best to me in the gravel category. I’ve tried the Diverge and the Checkpoint, and I didn’t particularly like either. The Diverge felt too “minivan”, and the Checkpoint just made me keep wishing it was more “mountain bike” like. The Stigmata (in my short test ride) felt a lot more responsive and comfortable. (I should mention I’m a roadie, though I used to do a ton of mountain biking a long time ago. I’m also female, though I’m not sure if that makes much of a difference.)
I have found a used 2016 Stigmata that matches a lot of what I’m looking for. It looks like a custom build, with SRAM Force 1 shifters, rear derailleur, 44t 1x chainring and 11-36t 11-speed cassette. Weirdly, the brakes are TRP HY/RD mechanical disc brakes. It comes with a power2max power meter, and the asking price is $2500. (I’d likely need to change out the handlebars and stem…)
I can get the bottom level version of either the Stigmata or Quincy for around $3k (slight discount). However, if I want a PM, I’ll need to spend another $500. New bike is SRAM Rival, with 40t 1x chainring and 10-42t chainring.
Here are the things I’m trying to sort out:
If I go for the used bike:
Does anyone know anything about those TRP HY/RD mechanical disc brakes? Reviews seem like they’re OK, not great.
A 44/36 combination seems a little high for the lowest gear. Ideally I’d like to have a wider cassette in the back, but I am not sure I can go to a the wider-range cassette (10-42t) with the Force shifters. Does anyone have any input about this?
If I go for the new bike:
Does anyone know if I can still put a power2max power meter on that bike?
I have the trp mechanicals on my gravel bike and really like them. Solid, easy set up and service. Maybe to quite the stopping power of hydraulic. But to me, unless you bombing down single track on a mountain, mechanical are great
The Stigmata frame was updated last year so the 2016 is different than the current version Bike Archive: Santa Cruz Bicycles Stigmata 2 The older version only fits up to a 35mm tire vs 45 mm for the current. With the trend toward wider tires this might may matter for you. The new Stigmata seemed to move towards current “gravel” geometry.
Not knowing you or how you like to ride but IMO 44x36 is not a very low gear for gravel.
Ooh, that is a REALLY good piece of information… I liked how the 2020 frame rode, but I have no idea how the 2016 one rides (it’s not local). Ugh. That likely means I’m going for the new one. I just need to figure out the PM question.
(And you’re right about the gearing. I didn’t really like it… which meant I was going to have to spend money to fix it… and I might end up at the same cost anyway…)
My guess is the 2016 will be more biased towards quicker handling and a bit less stable compared to the newer. With 45mm for tire clearance you also have a lot more options. The PM would be nice on the 2016. Good luck.
I’ve got the previous version of the Stigmata and have been very happy with it. I run a P2Max NGeco on a Rotor 1x crankset and have never had any issues.
Mine is set up with di2 shifters and I have an XTR di2 rear derailleur so that I can run an 11-40 cassette. I’ll pair that with either a 38 or 42 chainring depending on what kind of riding I’m doing.
I’m terms of tires my gravel set up is a WTB Riddler 45c in the front and a Nano 40c on the back. I believe the new version has more rear clearance, but I’ve got no complaints with my setup.
I’ve done cross, gravel races, and even used it as my road bike for a while. Get yourself a few different tire combinations and it’s a very versatile bike.
I’ve been eyeing the Rival-equipped Stigmata myself. The Easton crank that comes with it will not accept a P2Max. You’d need to get Easton’s Cinch power meter axle, which looks pretty good. If you want to use a P2Max, you could replace the whole crank with some other inexpensive aluminum crank, like a Praxis Alba (you’d need a BB and chainring also).
I’ve never ridden a road shifter + mechanical disc setup that I found acceptable.
Thanks @Wheatstraw53 , that was kind of what I needed to know about the P2Max pm. The alternative would probably be a Quarq, which is fine too… with a Rival-equipped bike you’d think that putting Quarq would be easier. Do you know if that’s the case? (I happen to have Quarqs on my two road bikes. It’s just that P2Max by itself is about $100 cheaper, but not if I need to replace the crank/etc).
@shawrx, your bike looks like a lot of fun! Yeah, I’ve been thinking that it could act as a winter road bike if I needed it at some point… particularly for a super-climby ride. Are you able to change out the chainring without affecting the power meter? I take it the BCDs are the same? That’s a cool idea… if I were riding it on the road, I might want a bigger chainring than a 40t.
P2Max makes a PM for Easton now. Power meter City has them for sale online. I’m building up a gravel bike at the moment and their NGeco is at the top of my list.
I own a 2nd gen Stigmata and it easily fits a measured 38mm tire with sufficient room for mud. I do not care for the new geometry on the gen-3 Stigmata, don’t need an even lower BB, don’t need more fork trail, done need 650b stuff, etc, it’s a gravel bike now. RIP
I just happened to see the Easton because I was looking at a Diverge that had them.
I ended up on a Giant TCX with Force CX1 and I’m going to run a Wolftooth 46t for gravel and keep the 42t for cx. The NGeco is perfect because any SRAM road crank with a 3 bolt spider fits so I can always swap down the road.
