Mountain bike to gravel bike conversions

I have 2 mtbs converted to gravel a 08? GT peace9er and 12 surly krampus 1 thing they both have in common is tires both have WTB nano 2.1's in the rear and some cheapo chinese 29" tires that I found on amazon what's nice about them is they're MTB tires that roll nice some of our gravel rides can't have some dicey sections on them and I can bomb those sections cause MTB tires
Here's some pics of the tread patterns
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Nano
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Chinese tire
Another thing though is I don't worry about keeping up with anyone I just do my thing
 
serviceguy said:
Even easier and no cost, do you want to test ride this?
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Thanks Leo! You are a very generous and brave person. Definitely take you up on that. Let’s do a gravel ride in a few weeks once it drys out. Think I’ll post a ride on OOS when the conditions are proper. Maybe can coincide with Franks last NJ ride before he’s off the Florida permanently
 
qclabrat said:
How does the Ibis and Turner, reach and stack compare? The location of hands vs the hubs usually too far back makes my bikes handle poorly.
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Ibis, tall stack and a medium reach. Turner, tall stack and long reach. My build, short torso, long legs and long reach😁. Drop bars are out of the question. Had the inner bar ends so trying them as an experiment for long stretches to allow for different hand positions. Ultimately I expect to go with Ergon grips with bar ends. I will cut the bars down after I find my pipe cutter. Now where the heck is it??
 
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Victor I said:
Ibis, tall stack and a medium reach. Turner, tall stack and long reach. My build, short torso, long legs and long reach😁. Drop bars are out of the question. Had the inner bar ends so trying them as an experiment for long stretches to allow for different hand positions. Ultimately I expect to go with Ergon grips with bar ends. I will cut the bars down after I find my pipe wrench. Now where the heck is it??
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Maybe find a bar with more sweep back? The Jones bars have lots of hand positions. I'm using an H bar with a MTB hardtail which will likely be for rough gravel rides
 
Victor I said:
Ibis, tall stack and a medium reach. Turner, tall stack and long reach. My build, short torso, long legs and long reach😁. Drop bars are out of the question. Had the inner bar ends so trying them as an experiment for long stretches to allow for different hand positions. Ultimately I expect to go with Ergon grips with bar ends. I will cut the bars down after I find my pipe wrench. Now where the heck is it??
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Sounds like you could use a corner bar, you would keep your brakes and shifters too...
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i'm all for hacking things together, hell i loved that i could run a $35 10 speed SRAM GX rear mech on my 2x11 SRAM setup to get a clutch rear mech for the grav life, or doing something on a budget because you got stuff sitting in a bin and you want to put it to use, at some point you are better off just buying a new bike on god g

that bar looks hella uncomfortable
 
Pearl said:
i'm all for hacking things together, hell i loved that i could run a $35 10 speed SRAM GX rear mech on my 2x11 SRAM setup to get a clutch rear mech for the grav life, or doing something on a budget because you got stuff sitting in a bin and you want to put it to use, at some point you are better off just buying a new bike on god g

that bar looks hella uncomfortable
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I have a chinese carbon version of that bar, I'll let you know if I survive the maiden voyage. Doesn't look any more uncomfortable that any road/gravel drop bar to me, is it the outsweep that makes it look uncomfortable? Doesn't look worse than a woodchipper...
 
JDurk said:
For LLWH 2017, used my Cannondale F29 HT. Lefty with lockout, 2.1 Racing Ralphs, 1x11 with Wolftooth oval 34t ring and Shimano 11-42, Ergon grips with bar ends and TOGS thumb thingys. No problem keeping up with the group of gravel riders I was with and still don't have the desire for a gravel bike.
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Using the phattie is so baller, doe.
 
serviceguy said:
Sounds like you could use a corner bar, you would keep your brakes and shifters too...
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I checked out some gravel bikes today. After riding flat bar bikes most of my life I realized its gonna be difficult switching from flat bars to drop bars. I just love the way a mountain bike rides. Think I’m gonna make a my Ibis DV9 mountain bike a flat bar gravel bike. Seems to be the next big thing out there(well maybe not). I ordered some Schwalbe Thunder Burts so will see how that helps with rolling resistance
 
Victor I said:
I checked out some gravel bikes today. After riding flat bar bikes most of my life I realized its gonna be difficult switching from flat bars to drop bars. I just love the way a mountain bike rides. Think I’m gonna make a my Ibis DV9 mountain bike a flat bar gravel bike. Seems to be the next big thing out there(well maybe not). I ordered some Schwalbe Thunder Burts so will see how that helps with rolling resistance
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Yeah, I rode road bikes most of my teen and adult years till about 10 years ago. Drop bars feel really awkward for a few rides especially when I'm riding them seasonally. You'll be plenty fast with the right tires and gearing for gravel use. Get narrower bars, barends and negative rise stems to get you more aero. Lets get an OOS gravel ride in the books in the near future. @Juggernaut you want lead?
 
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