Gravel Biking

meanredspider

Took my new Jamis Renegade Elite on its maiden commute this morning - I must say that it's perfect for the route - so much so that I tried some smaller lanes which were quieter and more fun. The farmer must have spotted me because, by the time I was heading home, he'd gravelled a few hundred metres (he thoughtlessly left his excavator in the way). I have to say that the bike inspires a lot of confidence on loose surfaces - the geometry is quick slack and very stable - and the hydraulic discs are very very good (I got to test them when the barrier at work came down rather unexpectedly!).

The only slight drawback (which I can address) is that the semi-knobbly tyres throw up a lot of censored at speed - my arms were filthy. I might need to borrow some MTB tricks or fit a short front guard.

The 35mm tyres are so comfortable. It's early days but I think it's only a smidge slower than the Foil over the route.

kajjal

If you are after a sharp handling, smooth road bike with good brakes the gravel bikes are very good. The downside is they weight more and the extra grip makes them noticeably slower up hills. For me they are ideal for rapid descending.

meanredspider

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19763395#p19763395]Kajjal[/url] wrote:

If you are after a sharp handling, smooth road bike with good brakes the gravel bikes are very good. The downside is they weight more and the extra grip makes them noticeably slower up hills. For me they are ideal for rapid descending.

I think the Jamis tips the scales at around 8kg or so for the 56cm so not exactly a tank. I don't know that extra grip makes them slower up hills - in fact I'd think that any additional rolling resistance shows itself more at speed.

prawny

A gravel bike of some sort is definitely on my shopping list for the new year, maybe not quite renegade level but a nice alu GT Grade or similar would be very nice for the crappy roads round here

stuaff

Love my Litespeed T5 Gravel. Barely heavier than the Viner, speed much of a muchness, very comfy (35mm slicks on mine), and takes full mudguards (or it does if you have either the DIY skills or a very helpful chap at your LBS who treats it like a project ).

meanredspider

I've been testing out the Renegade on a wide range of surfaces: a lot of fire road through the forests, MTB single track climbs and a bit of road. It goes really well on all these surfaces - the Clement Xplor MSH 35c tyres are good and seem to soak up some pretty rough surfaces. The hydro brakes are good though I'm still not sure about a 160mm rear rotor even on the rough stuff - it's very easy to lock the rear - 140mm on the V has always been fine.

As mentioned elsewhere, the thru axles are a waste of time and space. I'd much rather it had QR. 11sp Di2 is good - I'm liking the constant shift setting as standard - I'd replicate that to my 10-sp set ups.

All-in-all a great bike