This is a general comment on the channel. I am so happy to have found this channel. I am 63 years old. I’ve got osteoarthritis in my hips. Needless to say exercise Can be a challenge. I love the outdoors, the woods, the lakes and rivers, and fishing and camping (RVing). Many of the things that you seem to enjoy. I just bought an ebike. It’s a real pleasure to watch you and Laura. Out for the shear joy of it. Not trying to break land speed records on or off the trail. I’m learning more every day about what to look for in a bike. I didn’t even know that there was a gravel bike! So, keep up the good work. I vote for more camping/fishing videos. BUT, I love the reviews as well. Thanks
So kind of like an older generation Karate Monkey / El Mar / SIR 9. I often see those frames set up with drops. Kinda cool that the void left when hardtails got slacker is becoming occupied again. May the spectrum continue to fill in.
A bike John Tomac would love. Great review. I like it. Great features and steel is a big plus with me. Compliant and easily repaired. I love your flavor wheel!! Best interpretation tool out there.
It’s great that bike manufacturers are giving us options! For me, I’ve already got a hard tail 29er with 2012-era XC geometry, and it handles everything from smooth dirt road to full-on rocky singletrack and I suspect does the dirt things better than this bike. So it would seem that only place this bike has an advantage over the XC mtb (in a non-racing environment) is on paved roads. But you wouldn’t buy this bike for paved roads, that would make no sense. So where this would fit in a typical quiver of bikes is a bit hard to see, for me.
For me, a bike like this makes up for some things I've never liked about mountain bikes. I'm just getting back into biking after a very long time of just running. I started with mountain bikes. I never like flat bars, so I used bar ends (something I rarely see today). At one time a few companies made brake levers for bar ends. I used them almost exclusively when mountain biking. At some point I got into road biking a bit as well. At that time, there really wasn't a "melding" of the two types of bikes at all. There was cyclocross, but it was kind of obscure in my area at the time and not quite the same as what we have today. I far preferred the feel of my road bikes, but far preferred riding off road. There really wasn't a good solution to that problem at the time. Now as I'm getting back into biking, I am really excited to see "gravel bikes." I sure wish they were around a long time ago. Most modern gravel bikes are not low geared enough for my tastes, but that is easily fixed with today's huge choice of components (and the cool new 1x systems). I'm loving my gravel bike as I modify it to my liking (It's a Trek Checkpoint). But THIS Bombtrack bike has me harboring some serious lust. I really like the Salsa Fargo, but a few features on this bike make it my new favorite "I'm going to get one of those someday" bikes.
Bombtrack are a really interesting company with a great line up. I've got the Arise Tour with full pannier racks, dynamo lighting and steel frame for £1800 it's a bargain. Interesting if you could get to review this Russ not really off road ready but can hangle some light gravel roads.
Good vid as always Russ I built my bike with a suspension fork (Suntour NCX, 63mm travel) & love it. It all depends on where you live & where you ride. The fork is good for chunky, rutted gravel & tree roots. Drop bars I find more comfortable & quicker on long rides, & quicker through woodland (less chance of the bars hitting a tree). Does the MRP fork lockout? Specs don't say & I wouldn't want a springy front end when climbing!
I come from a mountain bike background and would probably look at a converted xc bike with drops rather than a suss gravel as you can get decent well equipped mtbs that will perform really well in the rough stuff compared to this and still be alright for gravel riding. Saying that I ride a 30yr old drop bar rigid mountain bike for gravel and under biking anyway so may be a bit biased towards fat tyre bikes.
I've been hemming and hawing between a gravel bike and a mountain bike . Here in Silver City, NM this might be the perfect bike for the terrain that I live in. We have really awesome gravel roads, we have really awesome single track for mountain biking and we have really awesome blacktop roads up in the National Forest. I really like that bike. Thanks for that review.
Loooks like a super fun style bike, but agree really odd place for dropper lever.... last place I would have my hand on terrain that warrants dropping the saddle. Can’t figure out why it’s so heavy, my friend just bought an entry level trek 29er hartail for $800-900 that’s two or three pounds lighter. Kinda tired of all manufactures taking frames made for 700/40c and slapping in fat 27.5 like it’s special.... this bike should have been designed to take 29er rubber at least in the medium and up sizes. Think I’m still leaning towards the Cutthroat. Great review, thank for posting
MTB flat bars provide much better control off road, and 100mm of front travel is great for single track, double track, and off road riding. Hardtail MTBs can't be beat for off road, gravel, and bike packing. No dropper post would provide better comfort on a hardtail. But droppers are a must for full suspension trail riding.
Interesting to hear your comments re positioning of the dropper post lever. I have found those stock levers (like the one in the video) to be absolutely terrible. Not only due to QC issues like you mention, but their positioning makes no sense and is hard to use. I have a Soma Wolverine with a dropper, and ended up using a Tektro reverse brake lever (on Ritchey Venturemax bars) and it's soo much better. You use the dropper (primarily) whilst in the drops - so it makes perfect sense to be able to actuate it while in the drops. I hope gravel bikes with dropper posts start to spec more useable levers otherwise you really miss out on their true potential.
I would call it a drop bar mountain bike. I see it as a bike you can buy new if you cannot or do not want to convert an old hardtail or rigid mtb. I just converted a 26er with similar specs other than the wheel size. They are a lot of fun if you let their playful side show through on roots and rocks ;)
Too much bike for where I am (Ingersoll, ON, Canada) but I can see why someone would want this. Agree with the weight point, if it was lighter, maybe more people would consider it as a legit option for some rough races.
I really like your reviews, I discovered your channel a couple of weeks ago and it's a nice way to see super cool bikes and super cool places. Actually, thanks to your channel I am starting to think about doing some gravel riding / bikepacking - I bought a Kona Rove a month or so ago to use as my commuting/all around/free time bike and I'd like to put some gravel under her tires. However, I would really like to see more "budget friendly" bikes, for ex. I really liked your review of the Marin Nicasio +, and I'd love to hear your opinion on the above mentioned "low end" Aluminium Rove or the normal Nicasio. Thanks for bringing us around on your trips and for all the time and effort you put on the channel! Now I go back to binge-watching the "couch to kanza" (although I already spoiled myself the end). Cheers!
I try to review bikes that interest me regardless of price point. Its just budget bikes tend to use really conservative and non-exciting geos IMO. The Nicasio was an exception so I reviewed it. If I see something budget friendly that actually get me excited, I'll review it. But I don't want to review something just because its inexpensive. I tried that with the Aventon and the bike ultimately bombed and is no longer even sold. With regards to materials, at that price point I think the differences aren't that big. The tubes probably aren't particularly light and the they probably aren't butted in any significant way to change the ride feel. You could shop on weight with the AL might be lighter. You could shop on geo, in which case I think the Nicasio is more interesting. Both are offered as 650b so that helps soften both the bikes.
@@PathLessPedaledTV I totally agree with your point, I am not for "budget for the sake of it", so I wasn't criticizing your choices. Just, being a grad student on a tight-ish budget, it was nice to see some
Daniele, if you want decent reviews focused on budget bikes, it's worth checking out KevCentral's youtube channel. In my own experience, I've found my best value bikes by buying used, and that's where reviews of rigs that initially sold above my budget have come in very handy.
Hmm... comparing it with Nukeproof Digger, im getting more and more interested in these gravel huligans. Im planing to ditch my XC bike and shred on this thing, plus more comfort on longer rides... cheers guys :)
Did you like the drop portion of the bars? The slight crook in those grips seem like they would be a good stable hand position. How did that work for you?
I LOVE this bike!!! I know it's a "little weird"... but aren't we all??? About tire clearance, do you think it would be able to fit anything bigger than 2.0 in the rear? Did you say the chainring has 30T? That would be awesome (with the 11-42T cassette) for bikepacking trips, but the specs shows 38T :(
@@PathLessPedaledTV thanks for the prompt response! I's only able to check the specs online and they say it comes with 2.25 up front and 2.0 in the rear, so it's cool to know it can fit something chubbier... it also says it comes with a 38T chainring, but 30T would be much better for a bikepacking steed :)
Great review ! Looks interesting :) Just a little heads up Redshift is coming out with Shockstop Seatpost ;-) I would love you to review it, if it’s possible for you - I think it looks really interesting.
I like those handle bars. However, the weight of the bike would turn me off. Put on a rigid carbon fork; those big tires should give you plenty of suspension. Delete the dropper post. this would put the weight of this bike into the mid 20's.
Russ, I'm honestly curious how much dropper posts limit one's luggage options? Seems like they'd outright prevent running multiliter seat packs and have problems with a bunch of rear rack + trunk bag setups.
Dropper setups like this confound me. By putting the lever in the middle of the bar, you essentially make the dropper half as useful. Am I going to take my hand off the bars to hit that lever while getting bounced around? Heck no! They should have done what a number of other brands have done and just hacked a Rival 22 left lever and then ran the dropper to that. That or a full AXS build are how you get the most use out of a drop bar dropper setup at this current moment.
@@PathLessPedaledTV Hey Russ, do you know of any softail gravel or adventure bikes? I recall seeing a titanium softtail gravel bike on a GCN video they shot in Iceland. If there are any out there you could try out, it would surely make for a cool video. Keep up the good work!
Minus the fork and dropper, how would you compare the ride quality to the Gorilla Monsoon? They seem similar in weight but have interesting differences too...
Value and price are different things to different people. If that’s the bike you want then sure it’s worth it. Under 2k for what I like would prob be a Midnight Special or Nicaso RC.
Makes me wonder. It seems like such a large amount of extra weight for such a small amount of travel.. I think I'd actually prefer it with 80/100mm fork on the front to justify its usefulness/weight a bit more... - Plus if I'm really honest, a conventional suspension fork design like that with such a small amount of travel on offer just looks like someone's forgotten to inflate it.. 🙃
@@PathLessPedaledTV Indeed. I suppose there's not that much one could really do by messing around with the trail either..? But that said.. there's an easy extra 1KG of weight right there over a rigid fork.. I mean I ride a gravel bike, and a hardtail MTB with a 120mm fork. And given the choice between no travel at all, and such a small amount.. I think personally I'd rather just save the weight.. Anyway obvs just my opinion. The bike looks like a great deal of fun though.. Nice to see someone reviewing these things with an open mind! Edit: Actually y'know, I'd like to try it with a longer travel fork anyway, even with the associated slackening of the head angle, just to see how it feels. May be it could be even more fun? :)
Hey. Just being honest. I didn’t say I hated the bike. I actually quite like it. But it wouldn’t make a good primary bike for someone. It’s a bit of a specific use bike.
Stephen Morton Like I mentioned in the video, the weight will be an issue for some. Better QC and execution of the dropper post. But otherwise it was a surprisingly fun ride. Also wished the fork would fully lockout.
@@PathLessPedaledTV I should have put / convince. Cos it seemed like that's what was intended. But to be fair, this is the first of your videos that I've seen, so I'm not familiar with your presenting style.
I present every bike from $600 to $6000 the same way. My goal isn’t to convince you to buy anything just describing it accurately. I don’t care if you buy the bike or not. I don’t get a commission and this isn’t a paid promotion.
I’m truly curious as to why you’ve never reviewed a single Rivendell bike, even though you acknowledge their defining influence on this segment of the bike world... Are they not hip enough ? Not small enough ? What gives ?...
Whoa buddy. What gives? I’ve been trying to get a bike of theirs to review for 2 years! They are small. They don’t have many bikes to spare. I’m probably on the bottom of the list if they were to send a review bike out. We promote them when we can. Heck we’ve done multiple events at Rivelo their Portland dealer.
Got it. Seems crazy though - Rivelo couldn’t lend you one for a few days ? I guess I’ll ask the guys at Rivendell what gives (: Keep up the good work !
Geez. Must be nice to be so nonchalant about a $3000 bike. I ride a beat up 1999 Specialized Hard Rock. City. Gravel. Difficult single track. No back brakes. Everything worn. I'd be tickled to have ANYTHING even close to this caliber of bike.
Love this bike. There is a reason redshift stems are popular. Can't believe you couldn't mount the seatstay brazeons. Not enough time? Did you only have 15 min for the review. Not like you see that on a bike everyday, or any day. I ride steel. All you money guys are spoiled. Have you seen how stacked serious bikepacking bikes are loaded. No weight weenies should review steel.
Thanks for your reply. I was reviewing 5 bikes simultaneously in between lots of travel and other work. Sorry to disappoint you. I am no weight weenie and have owned many steel bikes. Just bought a Crust Bombora in fact which is all steel. I once toured with a bike that weighed about 175lbs with a load. My comment about weight was being realistic in seeing how it fits into the market and who it would appeal to.
This is a general comment on the channel. I am so happy to have found this channel. I am 63 years old. I’ve got osteoarthritis in my hips. Needless to say exercise Can be a challenge. I love the outdoors, the woods, the lakes and rivers, and fishing and camping (RVing). Many of the things that you seem to enjoy. I just bought an ebike. It’s a real pleasure to watch you and Laura. Out for the shear joy of it. Not trying to break land speed records on or off the trail.
I’m learning more every day about what to look for in a bike. I didn’t even know that there was a gravel bike! So, keep up the good work. I vote for more camping/fishing videos. BUT, I love the reviews as well. Thanks
Recon bike! OMG Russ just invented a new bike category.
So kind of like an older generation Karate Monkey / El Mar / SIR 9. I often see those frames set up with drops. Kinda cool that the void left when hardtails got slacker is becoming occupied again. May the spectrum continue to fill in.
A bike John Tomac would love. Great review. I like it. Great features and steel is a big plus with me. Compliant and easily repaired. I love your flavor wheel!! Best interpretation tool out there.
It’s great that bike manufacturers are giving us options! For me, I’ve already got a hard tail 29er with 2012-era XC geometry, and it handles everything from smooth dirt road to full-on rocky singletrack and I suspect does the dirt things better than this bike. So it would seem that only place this bike has an advantage over the XC mtb (in a non-racing environment) is on paved roads. But you wouldn’t buy this bike for paved roads, that would make no sense. So where this would fit in a typical quiver of bikes is a bit hard to see, for me.
Great bike. Too spendy for me but I'd totally ride it. BTW, I'm curious what you liked about the handlebars as compared to the woodchippers.
For me, a bike like this makes up for some things I've never liked about mountain bikes. I'm just getting back into biking after a very long time of just running. I started with mountain bikes. I never like flat bars, so I used bar ends (something I rarely see today). At one time a few companies made brake levers for bar ends. I used them almost exclusively when mountain biking. At some point I got into road biking a bit as well. At that time, there really wasn't a "melding" of the two types of bikes at all. There was cyclocross, but it was kind of obscure in my area at the time and not quite the same as what we have today. I far preferred the feel of my road bikes, but far preferred riding off road. There really wasn't a good solution to that problem at the time. Now as I'm getting back into biking, I am really excited to see "gravel bikes." I sure wish they were around a long time ago. Most modern gravel bikes are not low geared enough for my tastes, but that is easily fixed with today's huge choice of components (and the cool new 1x systems). I'm loving my gravel bike as I modify it to my liking (It's a Trek Checkpoint). But THIS Bombtrack bike has me harboring some serious lust. I really like the Salsa Fargo, but a few features on this bike make it my new favorite "I'm going to get one of those someday" bikes.
I like the bike...the price would be the biggest obstacle to buying one.
Bombtrack are a really interesting company with a great line up. I've got the Arise Tour with full pannier racks, dynamo lighting and steel frame for £1800 it's a bargain. Interesting if you could get to review this Russ not really off road ready but can hangle some light gravel roads.
I bet that bike would make a great commuter/errand bike, for areas like mine, with roads that are more pothole and crack than asphalt and concrete.
Good vid as always Russ
I built my bike with a suspension fork (Suntour NCX, 63mm travel) & love it.
It all depends on where you live & where you ride.
The fork is good for chunky, rutted gravel & tree roots.
Drop bars I find more comfortable & quicker on long rides, & quicker through woodland (less chance of the bars hitting a tree).
Does the MRP fork lockout?
Specs don't say & I wouldn't want a springy front end when climbing!
Doesn’t lock out completely.
@@PathLessPedaledTV That is a MASSIVE mistake!
@@pk512279 RIP
I come from a mountain bike background and would probably look at a converted xc bike with drops rather than a suss gravel as you can get decent well equipped mtbs that will perform really well in the rough stuff compared to this and still be alright for gravel riding.
Saying that I ride a 30yr old drop bar rigid mountain bike for gravel and under biking anyway so may be a bit biased towards fat tyre bikes.
I've been hemming and hawing between a gravel bike and a mountain bike . Here in Silver City, NM this might be the perfect bike for the terrain that I live in. We have really awesome gravel roads, we have really awesome single track for mountain biking and we have really awesome blacktop roads up in the National Forest. I really like that bike. Thanks for that review.
"It goes a one, two, three, another funky, radical bombtrack
Started as a sketch in my notebook..."
Someone had to...
Loooks like a super fun style bike, but agree really odd place for dropper lever.... last place I would have my hand on terrain that warrants dropping the saddle. Can’t figure out why it’s so heavy, my friend just bought an entry level trek 29er hartail for $800-900 that’s two or three pounds lighter. Kinda tired of all manufactures taking frames made for 700/40c and slapping in fat 27.5 like it’s special.... this bike should have been designed to take 29er rubber at least in the medium and up sizes. Think I’m still leaning towards the Cutthroat. Great review, thank for posting
MTB flat bars provide much better control off road, and 100mm of front travel is great for single track, double track, and off road riding. Hardtail MTBs can't be beat for off road, gravel, and bike packing. No dropper post would provide better comfort on a hardtail. But droppers are a must for full suspension trail riding.
Interesting to hear your comments re positioning of the dropper post lever. I have found those stock levers (like the one in the video) to be absolutely terrible. Not only due to QC issues like you mention, but their positioning makes no sense and is hard to use. I have a Soma Wolverine with a dropper, and ended up using a Tektro reverse brake lever (on Ritchey Venturemax bars) and it's soo much better. You use the dropper (primarily) whilst in the drops - so it makes perfect sense to be able to actuate it while in the drops. I hope gravel bikes with dropper posts start to spec more useable levers otherwise you really miss out on their true potential.
I would call it a drop bar mountain bike. I see it as a bike you can buy new if you cannot or do not want to convert an old hardtail or rigid mtb. I just converted a 26er with similar specs other than the wheel size. They are a lot of fun if you let their playful side show through on roots and rocks ;)
Too much bike for where I am (Ingersoll, ON, Canada) but I can see why someone would want this. Agree with the weight point, if it was lighter, maybe more people would consider it as a legit option for some rough races.
I really like your reviews, I discovered your channel a couple of weeks ago and it's a nice way to see super cool bikes and super cool places. Actually, thanks to your channel I am starting to think about doing some gravel riding / bikepacking - I bought a Kona Rove a month or so ago to use as my commuting/all around/free time bike and I'd like to put some gravel under her tires.
However, I would really like to see more "budget friendly" bikes, for ex. I really liked your review of the Marin Nicasio +, and I'd love to hear your opinion on the above mentioned "low end" Aluminium Rove or the normal Nicasio.
Thanks for bringing us around on your trips and for all the time and effort you put on the channel! Now I go back to binge-watching the "couch to kanza" (although I already spoiled myself the end). Cheers!
I try to review bikes that interest me regardless of price point. Its just budget bikes tend to use really conservative and non-exciting geos IMO. The Nicasio was an exception so I reviewed it. If I see something budget friendly that actually get me excited, I'll review it. But I don't want to review something just because its inexpensive. I tried that with the Aventon and the bike ultimately bombed and is no longer even sold.
With regards to materials, at that price point I think the differences aren't that big. The tubes probably aren't particularly light and the they probably aren't butted in any significant way to change the ride feel. You could shop on weight with the AL might be lighter. You could shop on geo, in which case I think the Nicasio is more interesting. Both are offered as 650b so that helps soften both the bikes.
@@PathLessPedaledTV I totally agree with your point, I am not for "budget for the sake of it", so I wasn't criticizing your choices. Just, being a grad student on a tight-ish budget, it was nice to see some
Daniele, if you want decent reviews focused on budget bikes, it's worth checking out KevCentral's youtube channel.
In my own experience, I've found my best value bikes by buying used, and that's where reviews of rigs that initially sold above my budget have come in very handy.
Oh Great! Another bike I have to buy for my quiver!
Hmm... comparing it with Nukeproof Digger, im getting more and more interested in these gravel huligans. Im planing to ditch my XC bike and shred on this thing, plus more comfort on longer rides... cheers guys :)
Looks like fun, sounds like fun. The weight is a bit of a problem, but this thing is obviously built to be capable, not blazing fast. I'd ride it.
Putting in my suggestion for your next review bike: Soma Pescadero! More of a road bike given the caliper brakes, but certainly supple
I like it, do you think it would be better with a rigid fork? Lighter and less bike maybe.
yes.
It’s a Mougravel bike to me. Great review! A lockout would be great on that bike.
Did you like the drop portion of the bars? The slight crook in those grips seem like they would be a good stable hand position. How did that work for you?
Yes, Russ, definitely curious to hear more about your thoughts on and experience with the VentureMax handlebars.
I like the bike. It has multiple personalities..I would definitely like to try it out.
Nice! Adventure bike. It’s too heavy but can be widdled down. I prefer my gravel routes to get adventurous vs pure speed.
Do you think you can review the Bombtrack beyond+ 2 or adv? How does it compare to your Cutthroat, which also can handle suspension fork?
Which breaks should I use? Bulls Copperhead 3 Rs 29 with SRAM eagle 1x12, dropbar, campagnolo chorus sti without hydraulic.
I need this bike in my life 😍
I LOVE this bike!!! I know it's a "little weird"... but aren't we all??? About tire clearance, do you think it would be able to fit anything bigger than 2.0 in the rear? Did you say the chainring has 30T? That would be awesome (with the 11-42T cassette) for bikepacking trips, but the specs shows 38T :(
Prob get up to 2.3. Stock tires are 2.25.
@@PathLessPedaledTV thanks for the prompt response! I's only able to check the specs online and they say it comes with 2.25 up front and 2.0 in the rear, so it's cool to know it can fit something chubbier... it also says it comes with a 38T chainring, but 30T would be much better for a bikepacking steed :)
Great review ! Looks interesting :)
Just a little heads up Redshift is coming out with Shockstop Seatpost ;-) I would love you to review it, if it’s possible for you - I think it looks really interesting.
I like those handle bars. However, the weight of the bike would turn me off. Put on a rigid carbon fork; those big tires should give you plenty of suspension. Delete the dropper post. this would put the weight of this bike into the mid 20's.
Please test ride and write a review on Bombtrack Hook EXT.
28.5 pounds? WOW! My full suspension 29er mountain bike weighs less than that including pedals! Good review! Thanks!
Russ, I'm honestly curious how much dropper posts limit one's luggage options? Seems like they'd outright prevent running multiliter seat packs and have problems with a bunch of rear rack + trunk bag setups.
Some seatpacks are designed to just attach to the saddle so can be used with droppers. Panniers wouldn't be affected.
The price to weight ratio is not great but interesting design choices on the bike.
Dropper setups like this confound me. By putting the lever in the middle of the bar, you essentially make the dropper half as useful. Am I going to take my hand off the bars to hit that lever while getting bounced around? Heck no! They should have done what a number of other brands have done and just hacked a Rival 22 left lever and then ran the dropper to that. That or a full AXS build are how you get the most use out of a drop bar dropper setup at this current moment.
I think, I think Bombtrack really needs to send Russ an Audax to review. C’mon Bombtrack!!!
True hybrid. Dropper seat post seems gimmicky. I think hybrids should have a place on this channel. At $2k it would very interesting .
Maybe if the frame was aluminum it would alleviate the weight issue a bit without sacrificing too much suppleness since it does have a susension fork.
Yeah. Aluminum frame would be interesting.
@@PathLessPedaledTV Hey Russ, do you know of any softail gravel or adventure bikes? I recall seeing a titanium softtail gravel bike on a GCN video they shot in Iceland. If there are any out there you could try out, it would surely make for a cool video. Keep up the good work!
I love it. Do u know the head tube angle?
Minus the fork and dropper, how would you compare the ride quality to the Gorilla Monsoon? They seem similar in weight but have interesting differences too...
Gorilla Monsoon isn't as quick. I'd get the Bombtrack over the GM.
Wonder how it compares to the hook exp which is the same frame but a carbon fork.
I dig, no suspension for this guy but I like it.
I also love my venturemax bars, makes non flared bars feel weird now.
#UKgravelCO
Nice review, would be good to see in aluminium frame! 😀
If you were headed out on a Recon ride and had to chose between this bike and the Jones SWB complete, which do you choose?
Prob this to save weight over the Jones.
Please do an episode on Smeltzer Bikes, thank you.
I reviewed a Smeltzer on the channel.
Adventure nubbins. Sounds legit 😂
Russ... this phrase begs a new sticker or shirt design...
So is the bike worth the price at $3(k)? I believe that was the price you said it sold at.What is your favorite Gravel Bike under $2(k)
Value and price are different things to different people. If that’s the bike you want then sure it’s worth it. Under 2k for what I like would prob be a Midnight Special or Nicaso RC.
@@PathLessPedaledTV What is your opinion of the gravel bikes made by Slpecializied?
Jim Grant they’re fine. Not a fan of future shock system tho.
I think a heavier bike could possibly be better because the frame might be thicker.
Duuude at this point I'd throw bags on my 32 lbs full suspension mtb... HEAVY.
Did you buy the pretty pink crust? Noticed it’s been there a while now ;)
Yes.
Nice! Congrats 😁
Cannondale already did this 2 plus years ago with the Slate. I have a Slate with a dropper post and its awesome fun.
It's a hardtail mountain bike with drop bars
Why the flare?
Makes me wonder. It seems like such a large amount of extra weight for such a small amount of travel.. I think I'd actually prefer it with 80/100mm fork on the front to justify its usefulness/weight a bit more...
- Plus if I'm really honest, a conventional suspension fork design like that with such a small amount of travel on offer just looks like someone's forgotten to inflate it.. 🙃
I think more travel may dictate a slacker headtube angle which then starts to alter the front end handling.
@@PathLessPedaledTV Indeed. I suppose there's not that much one could really do by messing around with the trail either..?
But that said.. there's an easy extra 1KG of weight right there over a rigid fork.. I mean I ride a gravel bike, and a hardtail MTB with a 120mm fork. And given the choice between no travel at all, and such a small amount.. I think personally I'd rather just save the weight.. Anyway obvs just my opinion.
The bike looks like a great deal of fun though.. Nice to see someone reviewing these things with an open mind!
Edit: Actually y'know, I'd like to try it with a longer travel fork anyway, even with the associated slackening of the head angle, just to see how it feels. May be it could be even more fun? :)
Sounds like you would like the new Cutthroat then :)
can anyone offer a comparison between this and a salsa fargo?
Any grizzly bears check you out during these reviews?
"It wouldn't be my 1st, 2nd, or even 3rd bike" You think that much of it. ha ha
Hey. Just being honest. I didn’t say I hated the bike. I actually quite like it. But it wouldn’t make a good primary bike for someone. It’s a bit of a specific use bike.
Stephen Morton Like I mentioned in the video, the weight will be an issue for some. Better QC and execution of the dropper post. But otherwise it was a surprisingly fun ride. Also wished the fork would fully lockout.
You lost me @ 28.5 lbs
3000 is too much for a bike
When a bike costs 3k, it shouldn't need 10 mins to explain why you should buy it.
That makes no sense. When you’re spending that kind of money don’t you want to be informed?
@@PathLessPedaledTV I should have put / convince. Cos it seemed like that's what was intended.
But to be fair, this is the first of your videos that I've seen, so I'm not familiar with your presenting style.
I present every bike from $600 to $6000 the same way. My goal isn’t to convince you to buy anything just describing it accurately. I don’t care if you buy the bike or not. I don’t get a commission and this isn’t a paid promotion.
@@PathLessPedaledTV respectfully understood.
I’m truly curious as to why you’ve never reviewed a single Rivendell bike, even though you acknowledge their defining influence on this segment of the bike world... Are they not hip enough ? Not small enough ? What gives ?...
Whoa buddy. What gives? I’ve been trying to get a bike of theirs to review for 2 years! They are small. They don’t have many bikes to spare. I’m probably on the bottom of the list if they were to send a review bike out. We promote them when we can. Heck we’ve done multiple events at Rivelo their Portland dealer.
Got it. Seems crazy though - Rivelo couldn’t lend you one for a few days ? I guess I’ll ask the guys at Rivendell what gives (:
Keep up the good work !
Geez. Must be nice to be so nonchalant about a $3000 bike. I ride a beat up 1999 Specialized Hard Rock. City. Gravel. Difficult single track. No back brakes. Everything worn. I'd be tickled to have ANYTHING even close to this caliber of bike.
We've reviewed everything from $600 to $6000 dollar bikes and treat each review the same.
@@PathLessPedaledTV It's all good. I'm just being smirky. Thanks for what you do.
Love this bike. There is a reason redshift stems are popular. Can't believe you couldn't mount the seatstay brazeons. Not enough time? Did you only have 15 min for the review. Not like you see that on a bike everyday, or any day. I ride steel. All you money guys are spoiled. Have you seen how stacked serious bikepacking bikes are loaded. No weight weenies should review steel.
Thanks for your reply. I was reviewing 5 bikes simultaneously in between lots of travel and other work. Sorry to disappoint you. I am no weight weenie and have owned many steel bikes. Just bought a Crust Bombora in fact which is all steel. I once toured with a bike that weighed about 175lbs with a load. My comment about weight was being realistic in seeing how it fits into the market and who it would appeal to.
U ride steel? So hardcore, bro. U sound like a serious bikepacker. Maybe u should start a channel.