I tried posting in another cycling subreddit but mods haven’t approved yet (?) so I’m posting this here.
I recently started cycling again after 6 years, I used to ride mtb, and decided to get a gravel bike because I was not sure if I’d like road cycling.
I like road cycling.
Now I’m in the process of fighting my Giant Revolt 2’s geometry, trying to get it in an aggressive road bike position.
The most recent change was a -25° 100mm stem slammed, stock was -6° 60mm. I feel good with the stem, i like the reach, I like how it feels sprinting on the drops off the saddle. I just think it looks goofy (see photo 1).
I did some photo edits of the chimney removed, thoughts about cutting the steerer? (Photo 2 & 3).
Bike: giant revolt 2
Wheels: 50mm deep, 25mm internal width
Tyres: Pzero race 32mm
Groupset: sora 9 speed 11-25t cogs, 48-32t chainring, 170mm crank.
I can’t afford a road bike yet, I want to get a carbon bike eventually, but this bike is a transitional bike, a kinda just race it kind of bike.
I’m open to suggestions on where to go from here, upgrades in a budget? Fit tweaks? Ways to make it feel more like a road bike (anything except buying a new bike please, when the time comes I will don’t worry lol)
by Many_Witty
5 Comments
You’ve got some great parts already! Perhaps an idea to try to hunt down a frameset for a road bike?
For the current setup, did you change the handlebars? Gravelbars are very wide in comparison to road bike bars. On the road, being aero is a lot more important and a less wide bar, depending on your fit will make a big difference.
I think it looks grt, though a – 17 degrees stem might be better suited, aesthetic wise. But, better off just getting your goal bike instead of putting wasted energy into a transition bike?
Dont go to zero spacers on the head tube. Who knows what future stem you may want to swap to – you want a few mm of steerer to play with.
The brown color accents give “gravel”. Swap your bar tape and saddle to black, and you will easily pick up 20 watts.
I think you’ve really maxed out the extent you can make a very relaxed gravel geometry frame into an aggressive road geometry.
I think you know what you have to do.
I think it looks pretty mean, but that stack height isn’t going to get any easier to work around.
It’s actually a little refreshing to see someone looking to roadify their gravel bike. Normally it is very much the opposite.
It’s why I like bikes like the Cervelo Aspero 5 so much. It is pretty much a road racing frame with 45mm tire clearance. It’s perfect for people who actually like riding pavement.
I’m building up a bikepacking bike right now, and will need a few seasons to settle down from that investment, but an Aspero 5 (or something equivalent) is my next bike.