I probably shouldn’t be allowed near the internet when I’m bored.
There I was, with a glass or two of wine. idly watching YouTube videos about week long gravel events around Europe and the next thing you know I have a lightly used titanium gravel bike sitting in the garage and I’m several hours deep into researching routes on El Piri, the Granguanche and the Tuscany Trail, amongst others.
I hadn’t planned to buy a bike, honestly, I was just browsing to see what sort of thing would do the job I wanted so I could keep an eye on the second hand market over the coming months and start saving. By sheer chance, someone local was selling a Sonder Camino Ti in the right size and at a price I could just about afford. I’m calling it an investment in my forthcoming retirement over the next few years.
Have to say, it’s a whole new world of technology to get used to as it has hydraulic brakes, tubeless tyres and electronic shifting, all of which are new to me. I’ll need to get a few things to finish setting it up. I had a fit on my road bike last year so I’ll transfer those measurements over and I’ve ordered some shoes and pedals as I have flats on my touring bike and speed plays on my road bike.
So far I reckon I need a couple of bottle cages, a tubeless repair kit, spare derailleur hanger to keep in the bag, spare tube for emergencies and a spare mount for my Garmin. Then there’s the choice of bikebacking bags to consider. I have traditional Ortlieb panniers for touring on one of the other bikes but that’s more road based stuff and this is very much going to be off-road specific, so I have to figure what will work for occasional overnights, which are all I’ll have time for this year and then on to multi day trips in the future.
So, hi, I guess I’m a gravel rider now 🙂
atorthebold on
yep. Superb bike and a start to many great adventures. Good luck!
2 Comments
I probably shouldn’t be allowed near the internet when I’m bored.
There I was, with a glass or two of wine. idly watching YouTube videos about week long gravel events around Europe and the next thing you know I have a lightly used titanium gravel bike sitting in the garage and I’m several hours deep into researching routes on El Piri, the Granguanche and the Tuscany Trail, amongst others.
I hadn’t planned to buy a bike, honestly, I was just browsing to see what sort of thing would do the job I wanted so I could keep an eye on the second hand market over the coming months and start saving. By sheer chance, someone local was selling a Sonder Camino Ti in the right size and at a price I could just about afford. I’m calling it an investment in my forthcoming retirement over the next few years.
Have to say, it’s a whole new world of technology to get used to as it has hydraulic brakes, tubeless tyres and electronic shifting, all of which are new to me. I’ll need to get a few things to finish setting it up. I had a fit on my road bike last year so I’ll transfer those measurements over and I’ve ordered some shoes and pedals as I have flats on my touring bike and speed plays on my road bike.
So far I reckon I need a couple of bottle cages, a tubeless repair kit, spare derailleur hanger to keep in the bag, spare tube for emergencies and a spare mount for my Garmin. Then there’s the choice of bikebacking bags to consider. I have traditional Ortlieb panniers for touring on one of the other bikes but that’s more road based stuff and this is very much going to be off-road specific, so I have to figure what will work for occasional overnights, which are all I’ll have time for this year and then on to multi day trips in the future.
So, hi, I guess I’m a gravel rider now 🙂
yep. Superb bike and a start to many great adventures. Good luck!