In 2020 I bought a Scott Speedster Gravel 20.
After almost 15000km and a couple too many accidents I feel that it's time to get something new.
The real triangle is bended because on the 2nd day of owning it I had a crash that resulted in the rear wheel coming off the frame (!!!). Now I've got to press the frame together in order to get the rear axle in.
5 years later I'm fed up of it and I want a new frame with thru axle and 45/50 mm clearance.
My idea is to move all my components to the new frame as a winter project.
I've already got a "nice" road bike, and this gravel one is mostly for the holidays and some light bikepacking.
Carbon or alloy… I'm open to your advices, thank you a lot in advance!
by needmoreicecream
4 Comments
Sounds like you need steel…
Tideace gr201 Noah. Got it for 805€ with custom painting.
Has everything that modern gravel frame should have, 50mm clearance, but clears thunderburts in 2.1″ also has internal storage.
Check out Surly MS
If you’re getting into a lot of accidents/falls, I’d recommend a steel bike. Carbon’s great in pretty much every way except for impacts. Although, Carbon is still more repairable than alloy in my opinion.
There’s lots of steel frames that I can think of in the US that would fit the bill, but I don’t know as many in Europe. I would be looking through Fairlight, Sour Bicycles, Standert, Bombtrack, Rune, Brother Cycles, 8Bar, Cinelli, Cotic, etc. for steel.
You could consider cheaper Ti options from Sonder, Ribble, PlanetX, etc.
You could also get an alloy or Carbon frame from any of the big names like Focus, Genesis, Orbea, Ridley, Rose, Canyon, Decathlon, Scott, Specialized, Trek, BH, etc. – The big brand names might not sell just a frameset though.
There’s so much out there that it’s difficult to suggest a specific one, unless you give at least a list of models to narrow it down from.
If you were in the US, I would have recommended Velo Orange, Soma, and at a distant third place, Surly.
I’d start by visiting your local bike shop and see what they have. If they don’t have anything you like, then you can start looking through some direct to consumer brands. If you don’t like those, then I’d look at shops that are a bit further from you. There’s a good chance that they’ll have older floor models or new old stock framesets.