Drop bar bike trends

qclabrat

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
Haven't really looked at these bikes even with the intro of gravel bikes a few years ago. Thought about a putting together a monster cross, but most hardtails with thru axles don't have geos which work well with drop bars as the stack heights are just too high.

So I started looking at a few sites and wow there's so many models, previously road bikes had a few categories, race, sport, touring, etc. Now there's like 5-6+ including gravel, endurance, and all-road. Is all-road replacing sport? My riding will be 60% tarmac, 20% rail trail, 20% gravel. Not planning to tour or bike pack with this bike.

Also seems all-road is equivalent to all-mountain or down country MTBs to fill the gap between XC and Trail. I'm looking for a bike which still handles well and not overly aggressive wth tires around 32c. What are the typical headtube angles between road and gravel bikes? Are there factory demo for drop bar bikes like they do with MTBs?
 
qclabrat said:
Haven't really looked at these bikes even with the intro of gravel bikes a few years ago. Thought about a putting together a monster cross, but most hardtails with thru axles don't have geos which work well with drop bars as the stack heights are just too high.

So I started looking at a few sites and wow there's so many models, previously road bikes had a few categories, race, sport, touring, etc. Now there's like 5-6+ including gravel, endurance, and all-road. Is all-road replacing sport? My riding will be 60% tarmac, 20% rail trail, 20% gravel. Not planning to tour or bike pack with this bike.

Also seems all-road is equivalent to all-mountain or down country MTBs to fill the gap between XC and Trail. I'm looking for a bike which still handles well and not overly aggressive wth tires around 32c. What are the typical headtube angles between road and gravel bikes? Are there factory demo for drop bar bikes like they do with MTBs?
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I'll say that 32c is basically a road bike these days. Gravel bikes are typically 40-45c or bigger.





The orbea orca is a strong seller for us and it comfortably runs 32 c tires.


This compares a orbea gravel bike to a their road bike:
geometrygeeks.bike

Geometry Geeks

The world's biggest open geometry database. Find bikes by name or numbers. Easily compare bike geometry side-by-side.
geometrygeeks.bike geometrygeeks.bike

Hope this is helpful
 
jdog said:
I'll say that 32c is basically a road bike these days. Gravel bikes are typically 40-45c or bigger.





The orbea orca is a strong seller for us and it comfortably runs 32 c tires.


This compares a orbea gravel bike to a their road bike:
geometrygeeks.bike

Geometry Geeks

The world's biggest open geometry database. Find bikes by name or numbers. Easily compare bike geometry side-by-side.
geometrygeeks.bike geometrygeeks.bike

Hope this is helpful
Click to expand...

Thanks, Orbeas are pretty straight forward, race, endurance and gravel categories. Think you also sell Cannondales? Is the Synapse no longer the 'Sport' model for road bikes and now endurance? Would you say the sport category no longer exists and has been replaced by others? I can't even look at the Trek and Specialized site, there's so many different models...
 
What Scott said. Some gravel bikes now have dropper posts and a short travel full suspension as well as the geometry getting slacker. Thinking of converting my Ibis DV9 to a gravel bike as I’m riding more gravel these days and the geometry is more upright than a gravel bike so more fitting for my aging beat up body😁. I know lots of people on the site that have converted their old mountain bikes to gravel bikes(idea for a new thread)…
 
qclabrat said:
Thanks, Orbeas are pretty straight forward, race, endurance and gravel categories. Think you also sell Cannondales? Is the Synapse no longer the 'Sport' model for road bikes and now endurance? Would you say the sport category no longer exists and has been replaced by others? I can't even look at the Trek and Specialized site, there's so many different models...
Click to expand...
I mostly say Synapses are for people who should be on E-bikes but resist them. Evos are for people who think they are fast. Both can take a 30-32c tire at this point depending on the tire.

Send me a text at the shop # as we have a ton of deals on leftovers.. Feb is the month to make a deal. 609-924-7433.
 
After 6 months of winghing, ordered a mullet build lynskey. It will accommodate 26.5 MTB tires. I figured living in the NC flatlands, I may as well go with it. Comes with 700x40. I will try 26.5 x 2.x later
BTW 50% off in case you are interested
 
Not sure what budget you're targeting but you sound like a good candidate for the Trek Checkmate. The bicycle station did a really good review video of it. Basically, said it's the best endurance road bike on the market. But Trek obviously wants everyone to consider it a gravel bike even though they completely missed the mark on tire clearance.
 
Hair Face said:
Not sure what budget you're targeting but you sound like a good candidate for the Trek Checkmate. The bicycle station did a really good review video of it. Basically, said it's the best endurance road bike on the market. But Trek obviously wants everyone to consider it a gravel bike even though they completely missed the mark on tire clearance.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I got scared looking at the Trek and Specialized sites, can't make odd and ends of the models, there so much overlap. Will check out the Checkmate.
 
I have... opinions... about gravel bikes... and for the drop-bar riding I do they don't make much sense. Maybe someday... but even then I'm more inclined towards a full-on touring or bike-packing bike. Otherwise, I lean towards a full-on race-oriented road bike. Even my 2016 Grade feels too upright to me compared to my 90s Colnago and I've done pretty much everything I can to make the Grade as "road" as possible.

If I have one "2025 resolution" it will be to put more miles on the road. I didn't ride as much road during 2024 as I usually do each year and both my fitness and mental health suffered for it. I need those 6-8 hour days on the road by myself to clear my head. Once I can safely travel I'll be road bike shopping again.
 
qclabrat said:
Yeah, I got scared looking at the Trek and Specialized sites, can't make odd and ends of the models, there so much overlap. Will check out the Checkmate.
Click to expand...

Based on your needs, you'd be a prime candidate for a Roubaix. I've not ridden anything that feels so good jumping from road to gravel and back. It's what gravel bikes started life as before they became the unsellable monstrosities we see today...
 
Probably late to the game but I did convert one of my el mariachis to gravel. Trying to answer all above questions:

1. tire clearance is a breeze as you can easily fit 2.1" tires (actually 2.4")
2. I was expecting issues with the reach but it works for me using a 70mm stem with Salsa Woodchipper bars
3. I currently have a 38t chainring (round) but should be easily fit a 40t (I don't have customized legs so 38T will do), even though I had to swap the stock spindle (129mm) that came with the EA90 Easton cranks for a MTB 136mm.

I opted for GRX 600 11 speed brakes+shifters using a 10-42 cassette with a rd-rx812 rear derailleur, unfortunately the Shimano MTB rear derailleur does not mix with the drop bar brakes/shifters (fortunately the brake calipers do). If you want to have the feel of drop bars with MTB components you can go with a Surly Angle bar and retain full MTB components (I bought the carbon AliExpress version of it but I don't feel like feeding my dentist's slush fund just yet)
 
serviceguy said:
Probably late to the game but I did convert one of my el mariachis to gravel. Trying to answer all above questions:

1. tire clearance is a breeze as you can easily fit 2.1" tires (actually 2.4")
2. I was expecting issues with the reach but it works for me using a 70mm stem with Salsa Woodchipper bars
3. I currently have a 38t chainring (round) but should be easily fit a 40t (I don't have customized legs so 38T will do), even though I had to swap the stock spindle (129mm) that came with the EA90 Easton cranks for a MTB 136mm.

I opted for GRX 600 11 speed brakes+shifters using a 10-42 cassette with a rd-rx812 rear derailleur, unfortunately the Shimano MTB rear derailleur does not mix with the drop bar brakes/shifters (fortunately the brake calipers do). If you want to have the feel of drop bars with MTB components you can go with a Surly Angle bar and retain full MTB components (I bought the carbon AliExpress version of it but I don't feel like feeding my dentist's slush fund just yet)
Click to expand...
Pics? Did you have a rigid fork and what year is the frame? Suspension corrected forks seem to put the rider too upright. My Carver has a higher stack (10mm) compared to the Chiner but since it has a rigid fork the top of stem to fork axle measurement for the Carver is 30mm less and fits better with drops.
 
Ian F said:
If I have one "2025 resolution" it will be to put more miles on the road. I didn't ride as much road during 2024 as I usually do each year and both my fitness and mental health suffered for it. I need those 6-8 hour days on the road by myself to clear my head. Once I can safely travel I'll be road bike shopping again.
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Same for me; 2024 might be the first year I didn't do a metric century.

As for gravel bikes, I've had 3 Diverges at one time or another, but never found myself fully taking advantage of their capabilities, often just riding them on the road or the occasional bike path. Once in a blue moon I would ride some mixed surface stuff, and I found them to shine there. I ended up building up a hybrid as a flat bar gravel bike as it suited my riding better.

That said, when I feel a bit too long in the tooth to ride the Tarmac road bike anymore (aka I'm achy as hell post ride lol) I'll probably go back to a Diverge or get a comfy Roubaix.
 
On a similar note, the Salsa Fargo came to mind as a potential reference geometry for a drop bar mountain bike. I have not actually checked the numbers to see if I’m way off base or not though.
 
qclabrat said:
Pics? Did you have a rigid fork and what year is the frame? Suspension corrected forks seem to put the rider too upright. My Carver has a higher stack (10mm) compared to the Chiner but since it has a rigid fork the top of stem to fork axle measurement for the Carver is 30mm less and fits better with drops.
Click to expand...
2014+ El Mar, the fork is a firestarter carbon, about the same as the original steel fork.
 
rlb said:
On a similar note, the Salsa Fargo came to mind as a potential reference geometry for a drop bar mountain bike. I have not actually checked the numbers to see if I’m way off base or not though.
Click to expand...
I usually see them with drops, though its got that slanted top tube design like MTBs, limiting frame bag volume.
 
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