TheBlackPumpkin

Curious on anyones thoughts on this bike. I am looking to buy my first non-entry level bike at around 2-3.5k budget. Grizl 7 is extremely attractive for a lot of reasons, I'm willing to learn and am pretty mehcanically inclined so the whole direct to consumer thing doesn't put me off too much. I have however recently heard the Canyon Grizl 7 has a plastic bottom bracket that has to replaced relatively often and not cheaply. Is this something I should actually be concerned about?

Alternatively, other suggestions? Definitely want a gravel bike, mostly riding low-moderate intensity trails and want to use it for paved as well. It's also worth mentioning I'll be riding at around 300 lbs. I realize this is over most rated limits, in my experience (started riding at 550) that's not typically an issue on frames if you ride carefully and you know, don't violently crash. I also have a set of 36 spoke 650b velocity Dyads that would be nice to be able to use on whatever I buy as well, but I realize that may not be viable on whatever bike I end up with

Eds0123

How about Salsa bikes? Salsacycles.com, check warbird and or cutthroat there, a bit more expensive but you can use both 700C or 650B on both frames,

Maelochs

A few companies make indestructible thread-together BBs for pressfits ... I use Wheels Mfg but there are others. I hear Shimano bb 72-41b pressfit bottom bracket is a good replacement and is pretty cheap.

My main comment is .. . Wow, congrats on the weight loss and keep going. I wish i could drop pounds like that, or even a fraction. You certainly are ready for a new bike.

There are a few bikes out there with a sort of cartridge front dropout which allows one to swap between 700 and 650 without changing the geometry, but if you have wheels you want to use and you like the Canyon, and don't mind wrenching a little ....

TheBlackPumpkin

I'll give Salsa a deeper look. I should've mentioned I'm not really into Carbon frames due to how brittle they're made to seem by anyone I know that has one. Additionally alloy frames tend to have higher stock weight limits so while I have experience ignoring weight limits I tend to try to go with whatever is higher when I can.

Thanks for the kind words. It's been a long road, don't let my short post fool you lol. I started the struggle in I believe like, 2016. Stayed around 450 for several years, got into the gym 3 times a week last april and dropped another 100 but was also aided by Wegovy. I'll look into what's involved with replacing the bottom bracket and how viable a long term solution it is. I'm still learning. I'm generally weary of buying a bike if I have to do too much to it off the shelf just to "get it riding". I'm also being put off just by how many proprietary Canyon components there are, so.

50PlusCycling

I went with a steel bike, I built this All City Space Horse. I wanted a strong frame for rugged use and for bike packing, and after a few thousand kilometers, I’m happy with it. It’s well made, rides beautifully, and accepts common, off-the-shelf parts.

veganbikes

Salsa is a good idea: https://www.salsacycles.com/bikes/20...go-ti-frameset would be a pretty nice set up and you can build it up how you want.

Carbon is not brittle it is quite durable. It can get damaged like a lot of bikes but if built properly it is not really much of a concern unless a significant crash or some intentional damage or you buy unknown low end crap that is poorly manufactured. Would I want a full carbon bike, personally no but not because carbon is a poor material I just prefer titanium or steel for the frame.

TheBlackPumpkin

I'll keep this in mind. Buying a titanium frameset did occur to me. The problem is I'm talking going from a entry level Specialized roll to a mid range bike. Titanium frameset, by the time I have it fully built up, we're talking what? Another 1.5k on components, wheels, etc. I mean don't get me wrong that'd be ideal and it may take longer to hit my target weight than planned but titanium custom builds look about twice my budget.

veganbikes

It will be more expensive but you can build the bike to suit your needs.

You could spec something with some nicer wheels, and a few other nicer components and then go for say Microshift Sword for the drivetrain and upgrade down the road. It will cost a bit more but you will have a bike you can hold onto for a long long long time. You could also go for a complete build from say Lynskey who has some stuff on sale or Litespeed who might also do the same (they have share an origin story to some degree from what I recall). In the end if I know what I want I will save up a little more to get it but in the case of say Lynskey I can get a pretty neat Ti bike on sale for 300-500 above the budget and it could have electronic shifting which isn't bad.

Maelochs

People make a big deal about frame material, but really a well-designed and well-manufactured frame can be made from any number of materials.

If you are looking to shave pounds off your bike .... well, carbon fiber. if you are looking for affordable and durable, aluminum with a CF fork or steel with steel is probably your best bet. (Side note---there are plenty of Chinese CF frames which are of good quality and a good price---but you have to shop wisely and also them buy all the components and assemble them yourself.)

Also, the frame material won't affect weight loss .... you can burn the same amount of energy on any bike ... just you will go a very tiny bit further or faster on some.

I'd say, get a good sturdy bike---steel or aluminum or even CF---that doesn't cost a ridiculously huge amount but spend enough to get the good stuff. You can always buy another bike later and spend even more on it.

I have a coupe fairly light CF bikes, and a few aluminum bikes, and a steel bike ..... each rides a little different, each has its own joys .... the frame material really makes no difference. I built the CF bikes from bare frames, but parts were a Lot cheaper ten or even seven years ago. When I wanted a specific type of bike---discs, capable of carrying a fair deal of weight (besides my own considerable mass) , but not a full touring rig--- I got an aluminum Fuji Sportif, with a CF fork, cable disc brakes, and 105 running gear. it is a wonderful ride--I like it as much as my favorite lightweight CF Wunderbike, even though it weighs at least ten pounds more, road-ready. It is just a good bike to ride.

The only thing about it which would make it unsuitable for your needs is no tire clearance---so I am not recommending it. I am just suggesting that what matters is budget, fit, and applicability for intended use (I couldn't get the CF version because I needed to mount full racks and panniers.) Neither Ti, aluminum, steel, nor CF are better or worse ... and a good Al frame can be about as light (and depending on who welded it, more durable) than Ti.

Also ... it might be good to have a Grail bike still out there to dream about ..

alcjphil

When I decided to buy a gravel bike I wanted to go with one that has plenty of tire clearance. The grizl comes equipped with 700 x 45 tires and has room for even wider. At 160 pounds, my weight isn't any sort of problem. The bike was very easy to set up, I only had to make small tweaks to derailleur adjustment, and setting up tubeless only took me about 20 minutes. Fun bike to ride, I ended up riding it more than I thought I might. when I bought it, Covid was at its height and wait times were reasonable. As far as your weight goes, I would worry less about the frame and more about whether the wheels are up to your weight

Maelochs

Rack mounts on the fork but no rear rack mounts?

That is a beautiful bike ... well, not a Huge fan of the color, but I love the bike ... but no rack mounts?

In any case ... i don't want and certainly don't need another bike but now I sort of want one .....

alcjphil

There are mounts for a proprietary rack. You can't see them in the picture. I bought it because of the colour. In fact I was considering a higher end model but didn't like the colour. My winter jacket almost matches the bike

TheBlackPumpkin

For what it's worth I have a relatively large amount of experience riding wheelsets well above what the industry claims they can hold. Generally speaking if you ride conservatively, don't drop down curbs, large rocks, etc, it's not much of a problem. It does however make things wear far more quickly and if you wreck much more likely to destroy the bike completely.

But yeah ultimately I think it's going to end up just coming down to getting a fit and buying what actually fits me. The bikes are all so similar in a price range components wise that it mostly seems like it's going to come down to fit/geo, material desired and any applicable mounts, etc. I've got a LBS here in the Denver area that does proper fits and sells Salsa, Trek, think a couple others so they may have something that works for me and if not, at least I'll know what to look for. Thanks everyone.

alcjphil

There are people who sit on their bikes like a 100 pound sack of potatoes and there are people who are as light on their feet as a ballerina. The sack of potatoes riders destroy wheel no matter how light they are. However, 300 pound ballerinas float over the roads
I am a 160 pound ballerina