Hi everyone, I’m looking for some advice and real-world experiences on building a versatile bike.
At the moment I own an old road bike (third-hand) and a Cube Reaction Pro 2019 (XC mountain bike). For all my bikepacking trips so far (up to 1 week) I’ve been using the MTB, but this summer I’ll be traveling for over a month and want something more suitable.
My plan is to sell the old road bike, keep the MTB, and build a new all-round bike that can cover multiple use cases:
- Mostly road riding
- Riding with an amateur cycling team
- Long bikepacking trips
- Daily commuting and visits to family
So I’m really aiming for a do-it-all bike.
I’m currently considering building it myself, starting with a LightCarbon LCG071-PRO frame:
👉 https://www.lightcarbon.com/lightcarbon-new-gravel-frameset-with-integrated-handlebar_p170.html
I’d really appreciate your input on a few points:
1. Full carbon experience
For those riding full carbon bikes, what do you like and dislike compared to alloy or steel?
From what I understand, carbon clearly wins in terms of weight and stiffness, which is great for performance riding.
But how does carbon hold up on long bikepacking trips (weeks on the road, mixed terrain, luggage, rough gravel)?
- Any durability concerns?
- Peace of mind vs alloy/steel when riding far from home?
- Anything you wish you knew before taking a carbon bike on extended trips?
2. Aero handlebar solutions
The frame comes with an integrated / aero-style gravel handlebar, which is quite attractive price-wise. However, I’m wondering how practical this is for a true all-round bike.
- Do some of you swap handlebars depending on the season (road vs bikepacking)?
- Or do you just accept a more aggressive, road-style position on gravel?
Specifically for bikepacking with aerobars:
- How do you mount a front bag or handlebar roll?
- Any clever mounting systems or compromises that actually work well?
3. Final doubt / alternative approach
I’m also still hesitating between two approaches:
- Go for a full road bike for performance riding and continue doing bikepacking trips with my MTB; or
- Commit to a single all-round bike and change the cockpit setup (for example swapping handlebars or adding/removing aerobars) when going on bikepacking trips longer than a month.
My MTB isn’t really designed for long-distance bikepacking, so if anyone has tips on:
- Carrying enough gear on an XC MTB
- Rack or bag setups that work well for long trips
- Things you would change on an MTB to make it more suitable for extended bikepacking
…I’d love to hear your advice.
Thanks in advance 😊
by Buffon6
5 Comments
**Update / extra info:**
For those asking about the drivetrain: I’m currently planning to run a **Shimano 105 R7170 Di2 Disc groupset** on the build.
Link: [https://www.mantel.com/be/shimano-105-r7170-di2-disc-groepset](https://www.mantel.com/be/shimano-105-r7170-di2-disc-groepset)
I purchased a Fred bar this fall and set it up on my gravel bike with integrated aero profile bars. It works well so far, but I haven’t fully tested it outside, just on the trainer. It seems expensive, and weird, but in reality it is a good solution and means that you can run most simple aerobars without spacers since it is already higher and closer than any other mounted aerobars.
If you’re going to go with an integrated barstem, realistically aero bars are not happening for you. There aren’t many manufacturers that would recommend installing them on aero bar stems even if they had attachment kits. It’d also be a large amount of work to swap to normal bars seasonally, you’d need to replace bar tape, olives/barbs, bleed the system.
A few thoughts on the full carbon experience:
Yes, carbon is lighter and stiffer. But, from the use cases you describe, that only really helps for the amateur cycling part. In the other 3 use cases it won’t make a significant performance difference over a good steel frame.
Carbon is also easier to break and harder to fix. A bag rubbing through on a steel frame won’t happen that quickly, a bag rubbing through a carbon frame can happen quicker than many people think. Throwing your fully loaded steel bike on a truck to hitch a ride is much less worrisome than doing the same to a carbon bike. In almost any corner of the world you can find someone that welds your steel frame, but good luck finding someone who fixes your carbon frame in the middle of nowhere.
Also depends on where you’re bike packing. If in Central Europe, I wouldn’t worry about above points as much. If in Central Africa, it’s a different story…
I am in the same boat and plan to buy that frame without the integrated handlebar for an upcoming ca 2500km bikepacking trip through scandinavia. I think this is a good choice.