I am wondering which brands will get on board with the short travel full suspension Gravel cash grab!
And if there are many here who would consider them as a viable option or a requirement for their local condition?
I have my money on a new Trek Checkpoint but perhaps with a name change.
by the-diver-dan
22 Comments
Niner did it and that bike was absolute garbage, I got to ride the prototype before it came out and nothing was good
Absolutely fucking not.
The balloon tyre trend is already enough, we don’t need new shit from the bike industry telling us what we ^need.
More crap from the industry trying to create a new type of bike to keep sales going. So desperate of them.
Giant Revolt X has been basically that for 2 years
I’ve had an Advanced Pro 2 from 2023 (now looking to sell) and built up a custom version in Ti to better fit my size and because the Rival brakes and cassette range on it sucked for the stuff you would actually want to ride on it. Custom also has a lockout, the lower end CF variant still had the non-ultimate Rudy with no lockout making it impossible to ride standing up (not doing that anyway but still stupid)
I’m #4 on a local mixed terrain segment that’s perfect for the bike (first half you can just unload because you don’t have to pick your lane, second half you roll faster on the asphalt than a MTB) fwiw, otherwise it’s just a lot of comfort added
I’m sure somebody will but at this point more and more bikes can handle MTB tires many bikes have a bit of flex on the rear and/or a seat post that flexes a little bit.
FS is a horrible idea for a gravel bike… if I want to run wide tires and suspension, I’ll ride my MTB. The thing we all love about gravel bikes is that they bring the quick handling, rigid efficiency of a road bike to the dirt.
Take all that and add weight and a mushy FS frame and you have… a turd! No thanks.
I thought that was called a mountain bike?
The trend of gravel bikes turning into drop bar mountain bikes is… interesting. A drop bar MTB probably makes a lot of sense if you’re trying to win Unbound or the Tour Divide, but doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for most people. It would also be the wrong bike for the European gravel that featured in the first UCI World Champs.
Personally, I have to ride a lot of road to get to any gravel, and 95% of that gravel doesn’t warrant suspension. Wide tires are good enough. I want a gravel bike that feels reasonably efficient on the roads there and back, and that has enough trail to be reasonably stable on gravel descents. My gravel bike, with 38mm slicks, is also my commuter. Nice and comfy on the rough roads I have to ride to work.
Let’s keep gravel bikes and mountain bikes separate. A front fork for a gravel bike would only come in handy in certain situations where you’re riding on rough terrain or you live in an area where it’s needed. None of the brands will be able to reach 100% of the market. I do see many coming out with a squish option and a rigid option though maybe
Specialized already did it – Diverge STR. Doesn’t seem anyone really wanted that 🤷♂️
It was probably ahead of its time and a great idea. Suspension makes your bike faster, more controllable and more comfortable, in the right conditions. However, I think it missed the appeal of gravel – riding from your doorstep across varied terrain and being over biked and under biked on that journey.
Suspension servicing is also something I can live without.
The new Checkpoint can already take a suspension fork. A full suspension would be problematic because it interferes with the ability to carry water and gear in the triangle.
I think gravel bikes are doing a great job of picking up where hardtail XC bikes left off
Eh, not as much free money and general interest in biking this time around.
Not many will do it and if anything brands will scale back on their product SKUs
Lauf forks are quite good if you are willing to g to take the weight penalty
Full suspension, big knobby tires, and a flat bar… hey wait a minute!
Done and done-ish:
2019: Niner MCR
It was so great (/s) manufacturers decided to try other things.
2022: Specialized Diverge STR – something with an actual damper.
And lots of bikes have designed-in rear compliance (flexstays) with obvious mechanisms (elastomers), eg. BMC URS LT, Trek IsoSpeed.
Innumerable gravel bikes claim rear compliance due to stay shaping and layups without obvious mechanisms, eg. Leif Seigla.
Giant Revolt X just comes stock with a suspension dropper, which is pretty much available aftermarket to every gravel bike. Rear compliance “engineered” by the product manager.
I suspect the next thing will be basically a gravel-intended version of the Specialized Epic World Cup/Trek Supercaliber, i.e. flexstays driving a custom air shock without any rate-modifying linkages in-between (it could have a stabilizing linkage). It would have a hydraulic lockout, maybe wireless on the high-end spec.
My 2cents: full sus is great. I love it in my mtb of course, but I also installed the suspension/dropper AXS seatpost and redshift stem on my gravel bike. I absolutely love both, but I’d definitely recommend the redshift over the seatpost if you have to choose one.
I love cycling. I have a gravel bike for gravel and road because it’s made to be fast light and good for long distances. I have a mountain bike because I want to live and have fun on the gnarly trails, which require a tough bike with wide tires and suspension. In my mind there’s almost no overlap between those two, so stop trying to merge them into some dumb Frankenstein nobody asked for.
It’s a totally new bike aimed at more like the Cutthroat crowd.
I feel like my 2023 Cannondale Topstone gets full sus right for gravel. The rear triangle uses a simple non-shock pivoting point, for zero maintenance. It climbs great (I’m in NorCal, nothing is flat here) but takes the jolts out of the bumps. The front is a lightweight Lefty, with just a little travel and a lockout. The whole thing (carbon) weighs 22 pounds.
80/80 with flex~stays and Flight Attendant or whatever Fox’s version will be called.
Niner did a full sus about 5 years ago, Cannondale has the kingpin in the top stone for longer and the Diverge STR is one of the latest. I’m just surprised that it’s taken trek so long.