36t front and you're limited on top speed, but hell yes.
I'd also like to say: Drop bars would be sweet on it!

I'm running my Stumpy hard tail MTB as a drop-bar graveller and I'd like to run bigger than the 36x11-40 but it's sweet up to 40kph.
I just spend a lot of time in the smaller rear cogs.

 

Pics of that bad boy please [emoji16]

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Hey all,

I am contemplating getting a 2020 Specialized Epic hardtail and using it as a gravel bike that can occasionally ride trail.

36t max chainring? Is that adequate?

Depends on your terrain, but I feel undergeared when using my XC bike for gravel grinding. The 36x11 top gear spins out pretty quickly and leaves me behind my riding partners, especially when I am running narrower 700x35 tires.

If you are meandering solo and taking in the sights, that gearing might be fine. However, if you are riding with others on higher geared gravel bikes and are riding in gravel events, be prepared to spend much of your time spinning a pretty high cadence.

 

Nice bike but personally I wouldn't have one with that gearing as a gravel grinder as you'll be spinning out pretty quick on any sort of descent and generally think gravel bikes benefit from a wider range of gearing as you may cover all different types of terrain.

 

I use my xc hardtail as a gravel grinder, works great imo. It's a compromise on smoother sections and an asset on the rougher ones. My top gear is 34/11 and I don't think it holds me back at all as far as speed goes, @90rpm that's 25mph with 2.3 tires and I don't have the available watts to go faster than that regardless of gearing.

 

WOW!!!! This post came at a perfect time as I just picked up a used X-Caliber that I plan to ride on the local single track and on gravel. It is currently set up as a 3x9 with the Crank being 40/30/22 and the Cassette being 11-34. I plan to ride for a bit and see where I want this to fit in. Plan on ending up with some type of 2X system.

 

The lines are getting blurry between a traditional gravel bike and fully rigid mtb's. Mine is traditional but I love seeing the newest iterations and I begin to drool.

For example:

 

Salsa also offers the Cutthroat and Fargo with a front suspension fork and there is Framed Adventure bike(base on their fat tire bike) with plus tires, drop bar, and the fat tire Lauf fork.

 

I posted the Cutthroat (above) and happened to check out a fleet of them at a weekend race. They are beautiful.

This same race also had a Lauf booth replete with bikes, and a rep from Iceland. We talked about their new gravel race, The Rift. Looks absolutely stunning over there and bound to sell out quickly.

 

OOhhh these look sweet!

 

I have logged a lot of miles on a hardtail converted for gravel. 38x11 as my biggest gear. I really don't spin out much in the rolling hills of the midwest, but in bigger terrain with long, straight descents I would run out of gears. 38x11 will get you over 30mph at 90 rpm, so I'm usually resting my legs at that point. The biggest issue I have with a mtb on gravel is that it is much stiffer than a drop bar bike designed for gravel. The rigid mtb fork is stiffer, the frame is stiffer, and the bars are stiffer. Consequently, it beats me up on chunky surfaces more than a true gravel bike would. I used to have a steel cross bike before gravel bikes existed, and it was much more forgiving than my hardtail. I'm currently building a dedicated steel gravel bike for this very reason.

 

On sustained descents above 30mph (on a mtb) I find it's just as fast or faster to just tuck and rest instead of pedaling no matter what gearing I have, usually speed goes up when I stop pedaling.

Also I find a suspension fork and big volume tires more than make up for a flexier frame as far as comfort but I guess that's subjective.

 

Sounds like sweet idea. I would put carbon fork eventually, but it‘s pretty good even without drop bar. Barends are very useful.


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I agree on both points, but in the midwest I find that I don't like to drag mtb around on long gravel rides. In mountainous areas I prefer the hardtail with mtb tires. When I lived in NM I just used my standard mtb setup.

 

I've had the 2 bikes below, and I much prefer the Chisel vs. the Rove for my rides. My rides on this bike are usually pretty diverse with pavement, dirt doubletrack, and singletrack all in the same ride with LOTS of climbing- almost always 100+ feet of vertical gain per mile.

The hardtail XC bike with carbon fork and light 2.1" tires is faster overall than the steel Rove with 40c tires. Plus, it's geared better for climbing, while also providing way more confidence (and fun!) on singletrack.

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I always thought that nice light modern XC bike is going to be more capable gravel bike than not so great road, or even gravel bike.

To push things further, friend of mine got 80s Koga Miata (streel road bike, mid level) with 28mm tires. But my 2019 Scott carbon Scale with 29X2.25 fast rolling tires is faster on road, unless going downhill (cause of them Eagle gears). Of course it helps that on my Scale bar is noticeably lower that seatpost, so it puts me in kinda aero position. And Koga is not in top mechanical condition.

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I use my Ibis DV9 XC every now and then for gravel/road for a change of pace rids nicely with WTB Venture 700x50c (32t)1x12 XX1 Eagle.

 

If a bike fits you with a flat bar, making it t fit with a drop bar could be tricky. Making the shifty bits work nice is even more of a hassle.

I have taken a steel, singlespeed, rigid bike that I usually use for trails and just put a bigger from chainring, XC tires, and a narrow handlebar with bar ends. It was a blast to ride!

 

That sounds like a simple fun solution.

Although I must admit I'we never tried SS on a trail, for the simple reason - I'we never seen one.
Here (Austria) it seems that all SS bikes are urban bikes.

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I converted my 26” hardtail to a flat bar commuter years ago. I used Mavic Open Pro rims and 700x35 tires and it just barely fits but works. I put a White Brothers Rock Solid fork and changed the cranks to Shimano Alivio cranks. It’s old and a 3x9 but has a 48t big ring and is perfect for flats.

 

I never see single speed out here in California either, just as commuters and stuff. It makes sense as we have some steep trails here.

 

34t on it for this ride (elevation!), but it is generally with a 38t and has been pretty fun/comfortable. The terreno's roll pretty good for a 2.3" tire - I'd say the biggest drawback is just lack of hand positions.

 

What's the rear cassette geared at?

 

11-42

 

I have a 2020 Specialized Epic HT with 34 tooth chainring and a 10-50 Eagle cassette in the rear that I plan to gravel some with. Not many people will be able to spin out a 34 x 10 gear with 29x2.1 tires unless going downhill or sprinting. Now I just need to settle on tires for my 25 inner width rims. I'm currently looking at the following tires: Schwalbe G-One Bite SS/TL Easy 29x2.0 at 500 grams or Schwalbe Thunder Burt SS/TL Easy 29x2.1 at 515 grams. What do you guys suggest?

 

I have a really similar setup- 2019 Chisel w/Eagle & 34T front. Agreed, I'm not spinning out my top gear, but I spend most of my time at the top end of the cassette. Would like to spread my cassette usage out with at least a 36T.

I run 29x2.1" Vittoria Mezcals on my 25mm id wheels. Perfect width for this kind of setup, light and fast. Between the 2 Schwalbes, I'd base the choice on whether you need the TB side knobs for cornering in any soft conditions.

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On my wolverine running Kenda Karmas(was sent the wire bead version my mistake but they come in tubeless variant too) & I like it. But, If I were to do it again I would either go WTB Nano in a 29x2.1 or Bontrager XR0 or maybe XR1 if I was doing more smooth gravel in 29x2.0.

 

The WTB Nano 29x2.1 seems porky at 685 grams while the Bontrager XR0 seems delicate at 435 grams. I'd leaning more towards the 2.1 Thunder Burt at 515 grams as a good middle ground while still being a fast roller.

 

I found some Clement LXV 29x2.1 tires cheap on Amazon. They are 120tpi and run really narrow and tall on my i26.6 Velocity Blunt SS rims.

 

There are plenary of SS out here in CA, the harder trails just weed out the weak!