Gravel Riding
Recently, I’ve discovered gravel biking as my sports of choice ... riding a bike over forest roads, single track routes, gravel roads is finally something that keeps me fit while not boring me to death! Yey!
I’ve been the proud owner of a Cannondale Slate “gravel bike” – or “new road bike” as they are called by Cannondale – for a few months now. It’s the configuration with SRAM’s 1x Apex group set.
Slowly I’ve made the bike my own so that I’m now very comfortable with it. Different to my Canyon Endurace road bike, the Slate took some time getting used to and also some changes.
Since I bought it second hand in June I’ve changed the seat post, saddle, bar stem, and handlebar. I’ve gone tubeless. And I had to invest in a new derailleur as the old one was bent, most probably already by the previous owner.
Slate on Königsstuhl, looking over Heidelberg and the Neckar river.
Riding field paths is a lot of fun with the Slate.
Slate on the dirt tracks close to Neckar river ...
... and finally, on dirt roads all across Kurpfalz.
So why the changes?
Well, I really like the comfort of the Ergon CF3 carbon seat post. It has a little flex to it and takes a lot of punch out of potholes and other rough terrain. Similar the Brooks Cambium saddle. Like on my Endurace I’ve opted for the Cambium C13 (137 width) with cutout. It’s the most comfortable saddle I’ve ever ridden ... and I like the grip of the vulcanized rubber surface so that you don’t slide around when riding.
Concerning the handlebar stem, I’ve had the hardest time optimizing it ... and I’m still not sure I’ve reached the perfect solution. But considering my history of back troubles I wanted to reduce reach and saddle superelevation. The Slate (size L, for that matter” comes with a stem of 100 mm at a 6° angle. After trying 90 mm and 80 mm at the same angle I finally settled for 80 mm and 20°.
Slate with new Easton AE70 AX handlebar.
Combined with my new handlebars – Easton AE70 AX, 400 mm width – this is a great setup! The bars have a moderate reach and drop and a decent 16° flare. All of this, combined with the new stem, allows me to ride much more often on the drops than I used to ... while still giving me the opportunity to relax my back when riding on the hoods.
As I said ... took me a while. But now I think I’ve discovered a hobby that I’ll stick with for quite some time ...
