BRG two wheels good
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Picked this Kona Rove up a few months ago and putting ~50mi a week on it for fun. First drop bar bike, definitely will not be my last. Already looking at 1X drivetrain upgrades!
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@spacekraken That looks like a ton of fun!
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Love the color! Looks pretty fun. I keep going back and forth about whether I'd wanna go 1x on my Straggler. In the pro column, front derailleurs are a PITA. On the con column, I think I'd miss my wide range of close gear ratios to keep my cadence nice-n-steady.
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Thank you both!
@StuckMTB the color totally sold it for me haha. Yeah it has a 34/50 crank and 11-34 cassete, and I pretty much always use the whole low end, and usually the high end on road rides (OR, so tons and tons of hills). Wouldn't mind lower gearing (1x36 with an 11-42 or the like) most of the time, but losing the high end would be tough since it's my road bike too.
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@spacekraken same same!
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Wow, love the color on that thing!
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Might as well turn this into a bikeposting thread haha:
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@spacekraken Bikes on Bridges! I like that game.
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@stuckmtb said in BRG two wheels good:
@spacekraken Bikes on Bridges! I like that game.
What a good game! And awesome touring rig.
Just as a heads up since I have that same frame bag: be really gentle with the zippers. One totally derailed for me and it's never worked that well since haha. Hence the tape on the bag in my photo.
How do you like that little plastic rear fender? Was considering a set of those style fenders too.
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@spacekraken oof, yeah I'll be careful with the zipper! The fender is from asssavers, and I'm pretty happy with it so far. It's even stayed in place after accidentally taking it on a couple hundred mile highway trip on a hitch mounted bike rack.
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@stuckmtb Ah good to know! Definitely planning on them or similar then, thanks.
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You both fell pretty hard for the gravel bike + all the accessories trend.
LOLOLOL at that symbol fulfilling the symbiotic relationship visually and otherwise.
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@nomdeplume said in BRG two wheels good:
You both fell pretty hard for the gravel bike + all the accessories trend.
LOLOLOL at that symbol fulfilling the symbiotic relationship visually and otherwise.
Haha would you believe the frame bag is the only "gravel" accessory? Lights are off my e-bike commuter and the old-school steel cages are from my uncle's MTB days. Do have some new bags on the way since this one kind of broke... bit more goofy, a bright recycled nylon little top tube bag and insulated sleeve/bottle carrier to replace the frame bag.
Never realized that about the cancer zodiac sign, can't unsee LOL.
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@spacekraken I laugh because I'm guilty of a lot myself. Also I live near a pretty big bike thing that makes trends unpalatable in short order.
You won't catch me looking down on using a family member's old mtb gear and pulling whatever you own into service. New stuff can be at the extremes of how much improvement is possible and at turns the old stuff can work just as well or better without any of the downsides. Unfortunately a lot of highly lauded gear is either great until all too soon it's not or just over hyped crap. New or vintage.
What bag(s) did you order?
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@nomdeplume what sort of pretty big bike thing?
Yeah it's easy to fall into the trends, though having bought into a gravel bike I completely get the appeal now. I have some pretty good dirt and gravel right near me so fun daily mostly-road rides can also include a bit of singletrack.
It's hard to know how much gear is worth it, indeed! I got a Green Guru little top tube bag for phone/snacks, and a can/bottle bag that can either hang off the top tube or attach to the fork or elsewhere if I used the frame bag for extra space on longer rides. Will post a photo when I get them setup-they just arrived.
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@spacekraken A very big retail and design but mostly distribution bike thing.
Don't get me wrong. Gravel bikes are much closer to the bike a few generations used before paved road. With modern materials and knowledge they are the best all around bikes that have been made in 40 years or more in large numbers.
Those bags sound fine. 1000 liter tailbags that mount to the post and saddle rails are not so good at being bags in any situation. -
I ride this cheap Vilano road bike, it's fun. I haven't been out much and I should probably ride it again. I wanna put bigger tires on it and make it into a makeshift gravel bike. -
@spacekraken Ok, I didn't expect to find something worth looking at myself on the Green Guru site. That changes the amount of critical inspection of details. I have only the highest standards in packs.
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@stuckmtb What's in those bags to make that much stuff?!? Back in the '70s, I rode from Florence SC to the top of the FL keys then back up to Canada along the coast. Pair of panniers, a small handlebar bag, tarp and bag on the rack. Including a couple days food and spares maybe 30 lbs. Had to take the front changer off my Motobecane due to frame flex and learned to shift rings with a finger and foot. And clipless pedals? Pretty bike though. Randonnour bars, Brooks? saddle, nice fork rake, short chainstay, sturdy seat lug. I do not however envy you your riding that beast, lad.
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@S65 that looks awesome!
@NomDePlume Yeah it kind of seems like it's the bike that's always been around to one extent or another, just with new names/tech/geometery. Never will match an FS bike on trails or a road bike on pavement, but it's fun on all surfaces and has aggressive enough geometry to ride with some roadie friends on casual rides.
Got the bags out, some photos below. So far from playing around with them and riding up and down my street, they seem solidly built. Velcro is REALLY sticky, zippers seem oversized in a good way, but unsure if waterproof. The little top tube bag seems pretty solid with three straps-definitely way easier to quickly access than a frame bag, and quickly testing climbing out of the saddle it didn't get in my way, nor did the cylindrical frame bag. That cylindrical "beer coozy" frame bag is definitely a bit floppy inherently with the mounts being where they are, but being able to mount in multiple places is the main reason I got it anyway. Let me know if you have specifics about the design of their stuff-but it seems much better than my more expensive topeak bag so far, and great by my college budget standards
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@barnie I poked at the decisions being made there myself.
In his defense this is not touring gear. It is very lightweight bike camping gear made to handle some pretty rough terrain mixed in with a rear pannier frame and bags meant for commuters (laptop and clothing mainly).
This is certainly a glamping setup. Whether or not it contains all of the lifestyle accouterments a self respecting bikepacker needs to be seen with 10 miles down a gravel road from the main highway is neither here nor there.
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@spacekraken That's a great looking bike! I, too, am deeply fond of drop bar bikes. We are living in a time of glorious 1x drivetrains. The GX Eagle groupset on my mountain bike is an impressive drivetrain.
My drop bar gravel bike (that also sends lots of miles doing an impersonation of a road bike until I actually get a real one):
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Super fun! Nice pickup. I want discs on my bike so badly, I rode a buddy's Salsa and it changed my life.
