JC Cyclists.

Looks fun, I've somewhat forgotten what it's like to ride wet & roots. Out here it's all rocks & dust.

My big takeaway is tire compound. I'm still running a DHF/Aggressor combo like I did in very dry California but I spend even more money on sticky tire compound (yaaayyyyyy). We don't have long road burns that eat tires and snotty wet roots are a little less of an issue.
 
My big takeaway is tire compound. I'm still running a DHF/Aggressor combo like I did in very dry California but I spend even more money on sticky tire compound (yaaayyyyyy). We don't have long road burns that eat tires and snotty wet roots are a little less of an issue.
Yeah, sticky tires goooood. I can ride out the front door but about 2 miles of that is pavement to the proper trailhead. Occasionally ride from the house to some bigger rides so I see a decent amount of pavement at times. Speaking of which, better dial up BTI and order some rubber...
 
High alpine gravel grinding is the goods.

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I didn't want to derail the Furlough thread but there seems to be a bunch of good blokes on here with plenty of knowledge.

What's the longevity of Steel bikes like? I know they recommend once a year putting an anti rust agent on the inside of frame. I want something bombproof that I can just chuck in the car and not give a s**t about scratching and maintaining etc (components aside). Maybe titanium is the way to go? Super expensive however. I want a gravel bike that will last forever and accomodate massive tyres.

I really want 1X and obviously disk brakes. I currently have a Supersix Evo which I use for tri training and road riding but the N + 1 in me wants something for anything I can throw at it off-road.

So friends....what is the bombproof forever bike? The Surly Midnight Special is my #1 ATM, these are also available in NZ.

Cheers!
 
I didn't want to derail the Furlough thread but there seems to be a bunch of good blokes on here with plenty of knowledge.

What's the longevity of Steel bikes like? I know they recommend once a year putting an anti rust agent on the inside of frame. I want something bombproof that I can just chuck in the car and not give a s**t about scratching and maintaining etc (components aside). Maybe titanium is the way to go? Super expensive however. I want a gravel bike that will last forever and accomodate massive tyres.

I really want 1X and obviously disk brakes. I currently have a Supersix Evo which I use for tri training and road riding but the N + 1 in me wants something for anything I can throw at it off-road.

So friends....what is the bombproof forever bike? The Surly Midnight Special is my #1 ATM, these are also available in NZ.

Cheers!
Steel bikes will last forever even if you don't do anything to them. Even in a humid climate no worries, but certainly a good thing to do just in case. I'd be hesitant to beat up a Ti frame chucking in a car too purdy and expensive for that. Obviously same goes with carbon frames.

I think you are on the right track with the Surly, lots of good bikes out there right now to choose from which can lead to analysis paralysis. Not sure how the market is in NZ, but here in the US if you want a particular bike and can find it in stock buy it right now. The cycling/outdoor industry as a whole are sold out of so many things right now it's crazy.

One more thing, gravel bikes and massive tires (depending on your definition) don't quite go hand in hand. When you say 'massive' I think of 5" fat bike tires. So 47mm on the Midnight special isn't massive to me as one who no longer owns a road bike. So not sure how big you want, but don't seek too big for a gravel set up.

Also consider Salsa, they have some great rides too...

 
I didn't want to derail the Furlough thread but there seems to be a bunch of good blokes on here with plenty of knowledge.

What's the longevity of Steel bikes like? I know they recommend once a year putting an anti rust agent on the inside of frame. I want something bombproof that I can just chuck in the car and not give a s**t about scratching and maintaining etc (components aside). Maybe titanium is the way to go? Super expensive however. I want a gravel bike that will last forever and accomodate massive tyres.

I really want 1X and obviously disk brakes. I currently have a Supersix Evo which I use for tri training and road riding but the N + 1 in me wants something for anything I can throw at it off-road.

So friends....what is the bombproof forever bike? The Surly Midnight Special is my #1 ATM, these are also available in NZ.

Cheers!

Steel will last decades. I've never heard of putting a rust inhibitor internally, but if it makes you feel better you could. I'm not sure exactly how you'd do that, but whatever floats your boat. Store it inside if possible, and dry it off if it gets wet.

Titanium is a whole other beast, but the ride justifies the price. There's no reason to get hung up on throwing a Ti bike in a car. If it's a natural finish, you can buff out scratches or simply leave them as battle scars. No worries about the scratches leading to rust with Ti, either.
 
Steel will last decades. I've never heard of putting a rust inhibitor internally, but if it makes you feel better you could. I'm not sure exactly how you'd do that, but whatever floats your boat. Store it inside if possible, and dry it off if it gets wet.

Titanium is a whole other beast, but the ride justifies the price. There's no reason to get hung up on throwing a Ti bike in a car. If it's a natural finish, you can buff out scratches or simply leave them as battle scars. No worries about the scratches leading to rust with Ti, either.


Been around a long time, but personally never worried much about it.

Also good point on the Ti frame with abuse, just more expensive outlay to beat up. Love this Moots also...

 
Moots make a nice bike for sure. They are pretty much in the top 2 of "big Ti" framebuilders.

There are lots of bespoke entrants in the Ti arena but they can be hard to find. A lot of them don't even advertise, you just have to know who they are. Pretty neat segment of the industry filled with some pretty phenomenal craftspeople and phenomenal human beings.
 
Moots make a nice bike for sure. They are pretty much in the top 2 of "big Ti" framebuilders.

There are lots of bespoke entrants in the Ti arena but they can be hard to find. A lot of them don't even advertise, you just have to know who they are. Pretty neat segment of the industry filled with some pretty phenomenal craftspeople and phenomenal human beings.
Indeed, Black Sheep is one close by in Fort Collins.
 
Good friend of mine. His son made my son a titanium balance bike a few years ago. He doesn't advertise, really. Doesn't need to.
Nice! Exactly, couple of buddies have some of his rides and they love them. Word of mouth through and through.
 
Steel bikes will last forever even if you don't do anything to them. Even in a humid climate no worries, but certainly a good thing to do just in case. I'd be hesitant to beat up a Ti frame chucking in a car too purdy and expensive for that. Obviously same goes with carbon frames.

I think you are on the right track with the Surly, lots of good bikes out there right now to choose from which can lead to analysis paralysis. Not sure how the market is in NZ, but here in the US if you want a particular bike and can find it in stock buy it right now. The cycling/outdoor industry as a whole are sold out of so many things right now it's crazy.

One more thing, gravel bikes and massive tires (depending on your definition) don't quite go hand in hand. When you say 'massive' I think of 5" fat bike tires. So 47mm on the Midnight special isn't massive to me as one who no longer owns a road bike. So not sure how big you want, but don't seek too big for a gravel set up.

Also consider Salsa, they have some great rides too...

Hey thanks so much for the reply that's very helpful.

The Surly is probably what I will go for but I need to save up so it won't be for a year or so. The Salsa is an interesting option I will look into it.

Good point regarding the massive tyres thing. Being from a road background anything above 28s is big for me. 47mm will be just perfect.
 

Been around a long time, but personally never worried much about it.

Also good point on the Ti frame with abuse, just more expensive outlay to beat up. Love this Moots also...

Yes the frame saver is what I was referring to. I got this from the Surly website where they suggested doing it every 12 months.
 
Steel will last decades. I've never heard of putting a rust inhibitor internally, but if it makes you feel better you could. I'm not sure exactly how you'd do that, but whatever floats your boat. Store it inside if possible, and dry it off if it gets wet.

Titanium is a whole other beast, but the ride justifies the price. There's no reason to get hung up on throwing a Ti bike in a car. If it's a natural finish, you can buff out scratches or simply leave them as battle scars. No worries about the scratches leading to rust with Ti, either.
Thanks that gives me good confidence about the longevity of Steel.
 
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