Okay my current decision is a tricky one (for me). I’m torn between the two bikes above. I’ve ridden the Nicasio and loved it, but I’m also into the idea of the ability to add to it as needed. For $1899 msrp, the Nicasio has grx and a steel frame with a carbon fork. And for $899 the state has none of that XD. I would probably upgrade the wheelset and groupset out the gate to bring it up to a similar price point.
My terrain: I ride Northern California fire roads, with pavement in between. There’s quite a lot of elevation, not a ton of single track, and more just somewhat smooth fire roads with larger bumps from erosion and the occasional mid-sized rock. So for the most part, I see most people riding mid 40c tires on their gravel bikes.
Honorable mention: I have a road bike, so this will be specifically for gravel.
Anyways, I don’t know what to do, and if I love the state as is, I probably wouldn’t upgrade those two if it tickled my fancy (saving me money). Let me know what you guys think.
by InevitableFig3077
3 Comments
The NIcaso has a 700C wheelset and the State has 650B (in the pics). I like also like the Nicaso drivetrain options over the State. The State does look good but that’s only a small portion of the experience. I’d go with the Nicaso.
State has some gray label groupset, unless you want to pay more for a Sram groupset. I would only ever buy Shimano or Sram, finding parts is never an issue and you’ll always be service easily. With the State brand groupset, you’ll always be buying parts from them. It’s a marketing strategy more than anything.
I’m a Marin fan, I ride a Gestalt XR. Quality and value are really great. I also have a local dealer. Personally, I say support dealer brands first and foremost but it’s your money.
You can get the STATE with SRAM AXS Mullet for the about same price of the Nocasio. The state branded stuff is for the price point bikes. But they offer Groupset upgrades that make the pricing similar to the Nocasio.