I did like the Mulekick in Green a lot – and that lead me to look up alot of stuff; seems Motobecane is often a rebranded Fuji, Kestral, KHS, Trek, or someother brands – which doesnt matter I guess – what a rabbit hole that research was
And – then I found a Ti Motobecane on the same site
{I like the prices on bikesdirect, but the links I copy seem stupid for some reason]
Anyway – even frame maker named – Which the Ti frame is by a company called ORA
[ORA Engineering | Premium Bike Frame Manufacturer – ORA Engineering | Premium Bike Frame and Component Manufacturer (ora-engineering.com)](https://ora-engineering.com/)
who has a cool web-site [not sure what that does for the frames] and I then found posts that Ora seems to build for Salsa or Surely [and I assume many others] – My guess is they do good work or I would be able to tell by looking at the frame [of course, I can not test ride an internet bike]
So 5 bikes to look at – $1900 to $4000 about [which is a big range; but I want nice stuff]
One issue I have with Niner is they only seem to offer Sram – I really want Shimano GRX – but maybe Niner would build with GRX820
I am open to ideas $2000 to $4000 – and comments on ride of 853 vs Ti [now sure I do not want just 4130 Chr-moly]
8ringer on
Under $4k you’re absolutely flooded with steel options. Like, so so many! Ti under $4k is going to be more sparse but there are plenty still.
Have you given any thought to getting a frame set and building it up with the GRX820 that you want? It’s not necessarily any cheaper (might even be more expensive).
Also, smaller bike builders you can usually custom order stuff if you call or email, so you can often spec with the exact parts you want and have them source them. It’s worth asking at the very least.
vvhiterice on
I was looking at the motobecane as well. One thing that gave me pause was the geometry is more cycle cross then gravel. Still debating if I care about slack or not as I don’t have problems doing ultra distance on my road bike. Been looking at he 1x four corners by Merlin recently as well.
8 Comments
So I have been looking to add a steel or Ti Gravel bike to my bike collection [which is now just a HT and a FS]
From my previous post I got lots of ideas on custom builds; but they seem over the top for a 1st gravel bike
BUT I saw one poster recommended Niner RLT 9 and Motobecane Mulekick 853
[RLT 9 STEEL RDO Carbon Fiber Fork Gravel Bike (ninerbikes.com)](https://www.ninerbikes.com/products/rlt-9-steel/)
[Save Up to 60% Off Disc Brake Gravel Bike Cross CX Bikes – Motobecane Mulekick 853 Reynolds 853 Steel Shimano GRX Gravel Specific Hydraulic Disc Brake Gravel Bike Cross CX Bikes (bikesdirect.com)](https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/disc-brake-roadbikes/mulekick-853-steel-discbrake-gravel-bikes.htm)
I did like the Mulekick in Green a lot – and that lead me to look up alot of stuff; seems Motobecane is often a rebranded Fuji, Kestral, KHS, Trek, or someother brands – which doesnt matter I guess – what a rabbit hole that research was
And – then I found a Ti Motobecane on the same site
[Save Up to 60% Off Bike Shop Quality Fast Magic Carpet Riding Titanium Gravel/BikePacking/Endurance Road Bikes<br> Motobecane Mulekick Ti PRO Disc, DT SWISS Wheelset, Full Carbon Forks, Shimano New Gravel Specific GRX 820 2X12 Speed, Competition Proven, FULL Shimano GRX GravelSpecific, GRX 820, Hydraulic Disc Brakes (bikesdirect.com)](https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/titanium-gravel-adventure-bikes/mulekick-ti-pro-disc-grx820-titanium-gravel-road-bikes.htm)
{I like the prices on bikesdirect, but the links I copy seem stupid for some reason]
Anyway – even frame maker named – Which the Ti frame is by a company called ORA
[ORA Engineering | Premium Bike Frame Manufacturer – ORA Engineering | Premium Bike Frame and Component Manufacturer (ora-engineering.com)](https://ora-engineering.com/)
who has a cool web-site [not sure what that does for the frames] and I then found posts that Ora seems to build for Salsa or Surely [and I assume many others] – My guess is they do good work or I would be able to tell by looking at the frame [of course, I can not test ride an internet bike]
Now I am also looking at
Litespeed [Litespeed Titanium Flint | Gravel Bike – Litespeed Bicycles](https://litespeed.com/products/flint)
and Lynskey [2024 GR300 Complete – Lynskey Performance Designs](https://lynskeyperformance.com/2024-gr300-complete/)
So 5 bikes to look at – $1900 to $4000 about [which is a big range; but I want nice stuff]
One issue I have with Niner is they only seem to offer Sram – I really want Shimano GRX – but maybe Niner would build with GRX820
I am open to ideas $2000 to $4000 – and comments on ride of 853 vs Ti [now sure I do not want just 4130 Chr-moly]
Under $4k you’re absolutely flooded with steel options. Like, so so many! Ti under $4k is going to be more sparse but there are plenty still.
Have you given any thought to getting a frame set and building it up with the GRX820 that you want? It’s not necessarily any cheaper (might even be more expensive).
Also, smaller bike builders you can usually custom order stuff if you call or email, so you can often spec with the exact parts you want and have them source them. It’s worth asking at the very least.
I was looking at the motobecane as well. One thing that gave me pause was the geometry is more cycle cross then gravel. Still debating if I care about slack or not as I don’t have problems doing ultra distance on my road bike. Been looking at he 1x four corners by Merlin recently as well.
I would check out the Fairlight [Secan](https://fairlightcycles.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Fairlight-Secan-2.5-Design-Notes-V1.1.pdf?v=7516fd43adaa&_gl=1*1j3f01t*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTYyNjI0NTEwOC4xNzE5MzM1NzI3*_ga_364JM0XLN6*MTcxOTMzNTcyNy4xLjAuMTcxOTMzNTcyNy4wLjAuMTQ0MjQzMDA1NQ) or [Faran](https://fairlightcycles.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Fairlight-Faran-2.5-Design-Notes-Live.pdf?v=7516fd43adaa&_gl=1*1j3f01t*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTYyNjI0NTEwOC4xNzE5MzM1NzI3*_ga_364JM0XLN6*MTcxOTMzNTcyNy4xLjAuMTcxOTMzNTcyNy4wLjAuMTQ0MjQzMDA1NQ)
If you’re just looking for a Ti frame- Rodeo Labs would fit the bill.
What’s the point of a Ti gravel bike when aluminum or steel rides exactly the same at half the price or less?
[Cotic](https://www.cotic.co.uk/product/cascade#bike) might fit the bill.
DeSalvo builder’s choice. Award winning builder doing a semi-production run. Life is short live a little.