Newbie New Bike Day — Primos Superdame

I'm a runner and had a shitty marathon block over the fall and got into zwift for cross-training over the winter. Haven't ridden a real bike since 2012 or so. As prep for this season of running started, I just constantly had that "I can't even" attitude and ultimately decided to throw in the towel and try something different.

Borrowed a gravel bike from my dad (who's a big time "party pace" gravel event guy) and took it out for the first time a couple of weeks ago.

Immediately signed up for a 100k in Mississippi with dad in 6 weeks, a 100 mile in AR later this spring, and then Big Sugar in the fall. And then started looking at bikes.

Goal is to finish events "strong", not so much race. Really terrified of the concept of mass start racing, I don't know if I'll ever have the balls to go crazy on the decents and turns.

Went looking for something bombproof that I could put a ton of miles on and then if I transform into a true gravel racer in the next 18 months of training, I'll consider if a true race-ready bike and/or wheels are worth it.

I don't think weight of the bike is a significant factor for me (I'm 90kg lean(ish) and 270ftp currently, so the difference between an 8kg and 12kg bike is only like 12 watts at threshold, single digit at endurance paces), so went with the "steel is real" meme. I'm comfortable pedaling anywhere between 80 and 100 rpm so I think 1x is the way to go.

Onto Primos and the bike. They shipped it really fast. I had a minor issue with the electronic shifting battery cable being damaged in packing/shipping and they sent me a new one the next day, excellent communication.

Bike is pretty fierce. I think the geo is more aggro than most gravel bikes (definitely moreso then the loaner Kona Libre I had), but works for me. I'm 6'0.5" with a 34.5" PBH and ordered an L. I will be keeping the full stack of spacers in, at least for now.

Only thing I really want to swap is the handlebar, I don't like how the drops point down and the hoods might be a touch too wide for me.

The L-TWOO groupset is great but I'm a bit concerned about longevity. The charging connectors are pretty cheaply made and may brake easily. If it becomes a serious issue, I'll just swap the groupset. Excellent shifting and braking performance though.

Carbon fork seems very nice, but the last time I rode a bike, we wouldn't ever have considered running on tires with a width beyond the 20's and pressure in the double digits, so I can't really compare.

Real issue I'm having now is there isn't much gravel near me, surprisingly. It's a 16 mile ride (at least it's on shitty roads) to get to a 2.5 mile stretch of gravel with no real turns. More options if I drive to the ride, but I don't like that idea as much. So not sure how I'm going to actually train. We do have a ton of MTB singletrack, but not sure I'm up for it on drop bars yet (maybe I'll N+1 a cheap hardtail already lol).