Gravel Bike? Humbug! , Scotland needs proper ATTB's...

[keithyr]

Re:

That looks smashing Jim. Be interested to see how you get on with the gravelkings, ordered a cotic escapade for xmas/birthday and chose the WTB Resolutes instead of them.

Sorry not posted for a while. Been mental here with various stuff but have been reading posts with interest. Hope everyone is doing ok.

 

[jimo746]

Re:

Alright Keith , I was only looking at a Cotic Escapade for sale the other week and thinking "hmm.. that looks very nice indeed!", almost tempted me to ditch this project and buy it!

RE: tyres, I have a tendency (also known as the "Brian Effect" ") to try and ride the same terrain on a gravel bike as I would on a hard tail mtb , so I'll have to try and curb that , or probably end up on my erse!

Show us some pics of the Cotic when it arrives

 

[keithyr]

Re:

lol same, why i decided on the wtb resolutes as looked a bit more capable. First time on drop bars since i was a teenager so gonna be a bit wary lol. first time taking use of the works cyclescheme as well

looking forward to a group ride when this sh!tshow is passed.

really been enjoying the commute on the breezer which got me hooked on the gravel bike thing, got vittoria revolution techs 2.0 on it at moment which are great.

down here in the Covid central belt we are playing it safe and not meeting up at moment as kenny and OCP are in Perth & kinross.

been enjoing reading about Jamie and Brians rides tho.

 

[clubby]

Re:

Nice choice Keith. When does that arrive?

 

[keithyr]

Re:

Hey mate, hope you and family well.

Frames due in January with a 3 week build time, just in time for spring hopefully!

 

[jimo746]

Re:

Managed to get out late this afternoon for a ride around the local woods on this, its nice riding 700c/29er size wheels off-road again, I can really feel a difference over 26" wheels.
The bike feels quite barge like , slow steering, long wheelbase, predictable, a bit like driving an old Rover 75 or something not a bike to set speed records on, but it gets you there in comfort thanks to the Headshock up front and suspension seatpost out back.
The Gravelking SK tyres were surprisingly grippy despite their lack of any deep tread, again they were predictable, I knew when to expect a slide from the rear.
And it was nice to use (almost) full mudguards again, despite the wet conditions I remained virtually mud free

The only thing I'd change is to add the optional stays to the SKS Velo 47 mudguards, I thought I might get away without using them, but the rear especially flaps about when off-road and makes a but of a racket, will have to sort that before the next outing.

Just a quick pic as I set off as it got dark soon after...

 

[clubby]

Looks good Jim.
Definitely add the stays, it’s amazing how much mudguard bounce on the road, never mind in the rough.

 

[keithyr]

Re:

Looks good Jim. Contemplating mudguards for my commute but being a tight and hardy fifer I’ve made do with waterproof shorts.

I’ve been impressed with the vittoria revolution tech tyres on my breezer. Like the gravel kings they don’t have much tread but are more tightly spaced blocks but have good grip and roll fast.

Got update from cotic....frames delayed till March unfortunately but the breezer is doing ok during winter. The headset is goosed though and might need a service in jan to last me.

Not sure what I will do with it once the cotic arrives, as will be limited use but not sure if I want to part with it as it’s done me well.

 

[epicyclo]

Looks good Jimo.

 

[jimo746]

Re: Re:

Not sure what I will do with it once the cotic arrives, as will be limited use but not sure if I want to part with it as it’s done me well.

Yeah, I'm not 100% sure on this gravel bike yet as at the moment im riding the same sort of "Gravel-ish" terrain on my modern rigid singlespeed mtb, I guess when I refit suspension forks to the mtb I'll be able to ride more technical mtb type trails instead, which leaves the gravel bike to deal with the easier stuff.
But at the moment it feels like I've got 2 similar bikes, only the gravel bike is a bit quicker thanks to the gears.

Anyway, I fitted the mudguard stays, what a difference! Rock solid now, no rubbing or flapping about at all
I'll get out for a longer ride on this Cannon-Gravel/ Gravel-Dale next weekend I think and give it a proper test.