BIKETEST

PROJECT

What does it take to build the ultimategravel bike?

GRAVELREBORN9

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➥Regular readers will recall ourJuly issue where we featured a

test of a Specialized Crux cyclocrossbike that began a process ofmorphing it into something differentthan a ’cross-specific race bike.Although we did race the bike, wesaw more potential in the Crux thanjust clearing barriers, and that wasbased on all the talk of the latesttrend in drop-bar usage, the world ofwhat’s become popularly known as“gravel bikes.” And so the Cruxbecame our first gravel project bike.

However, about the same time westarted the Crux project bike, wecaught wind of a particularly gruelingon/off road race that was six monthsoff in the future. The Crusher in theTushar is a 69-mile race held inBeaver, Utah, that is a mix betweenpavement and dirt roads. The dirtsections are rutted, loose mountainroads with golf-ball-size rocks sprin-kled on them to keep things interest-ing. Oh, and lest we forget, it alsoboasts 10,500 feet of climbing. (Thatwas the part that caught Neil’s atten-tion.) And while the Crux would be agreat bike for the event, we figuredthe race would also be a good oppor-tunity to build our own version of theultimate gravel bike. And so RBA’s“Project Gravel Bike” was born.

The intent of the project wastwofold: Build a gravel bike to showhow versatile a road bike can beacross different terrain while utilizingsome of the latest technology wecould find. Secondly, and perhapsmost importantly, build a bike thatNeil could win on.

TEST

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Craig Calfee has been in the carbon frame business since the late’80s. From the Tour de France stage-winning frame he built for GregLeMond in 1992 to our Dragonfly Adventure, his designs remainamong the most distinct and forward-thinking in the industry.

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THE FRAMEWith time on our side, we were able

to blueprint a special bike and debatewhat the ideal gravel bike’s meritswould be. We knew we wanted acarbon frame, geometry that was clos-er to a road bike than a ’cross bike forstability and tire clearance that wouldallow up to a 35c knobby tire. Knowingthat a disc-braked future for skinnytires is soon to arrive, we felt this wasthe perfect opportunity to begin chas-ing a disc-specific design as well.

For needs as diverse as these, weknew it would be hard to find aproduction bike that would be ready toroll, so we went the custom route andcould only think of one place to call:Calfee Design. We figured there wouldbe silence on the other end of thephone after we explained what wewere looking for, but, in fact, Calfee’sMichael Moore jumped at the chance.“We already make what you’re lookingfor.” Really? Turns out Calfee beganoffering what they call “Adventure”geometry on their Dragonfly, Tetra,Luna and Bamboo road frames startinglast year. Like all Calfee frames, ourswould be crafted by hand at their LaSelva Beach, California, factory.

While the Adventure frames use thesame tubing as the traditional frames,

the differences begin at the chainstays,which are lengthened by 1.5cm for tworeasons. First, it gives the bike a longerwheelbase for better stability overrough terrain, and secondly the length-ened chainstays allow for more tireclearance with minimal tube manipula-tion. “We build each frame with theminimal amount of clearance neces-sary,” said Michael, “which is usuallyenough for a 35c tire. To go wider thanthat, we would need to cut away thetube, and ideally we like to keep it asround as possible.”

Additionally, both the seat tube andhead tube angles are relaxed by 3/4 ofa degree, to 72.25 and 72.75, respec-tively. “We’re trying to create a littlemore stability than on a road bike,along with adequate tire clearance, butwe’re not trying to build a truck!”

Recalling how well our CalfeeDragonfly test bike rode last year(RBA, June 2011), we happily opted forthe Dragonfly Adventure. It usesCalfee’s premium, high-modulus tubeset—giving it an impressively highstiffness-to-weight ratio—and, ofcourse, Calfee’s own jaw-dropping,webbed carbon lugs at the head tube,seat tube junction and bottom bracket.Calfee does offer custom geometry foran additional $500, but we went with

the stock 56cm geometry, and it fit likea glove. Calfee has a nearly endlessarray of customizations and add-onsavailable, which we moderatelyindulged in.

Disc-brake mounts cost an addi-tional $275 on top of the frame’s$4195 price tag, and titanium dropoutswith a disc-brake mount were alsoused. Because of the disc brakes, theframe was designed with the 135mmrear spacing typically found onmountain bikes rather than thestandard 130mm road spacing.

The fork was sourced from Utah-based Wound Up Composites, whomade it with a custom 380mm axle tocrown length, falling right in the middlebetween their road and cyclocrosslengths. Calfee wanted the customlength in order to keep the front end aslow as possible in order to minimizegeometry changes while still accom-modating up to a 35c tire. Wound Upmakes the fork with either a non-tapered 1- or 1 1/8-inch steel orcarbon steerer; we used the latteroption. The final addition to the frame-set was the paint. Calfee offers stockoptions or fully custom paint schemes.

THE PARTSOnce we had the frame details9

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Avid mechanical disc caliperswith Scrub Component’s LugDriverotors provided more than amplepower, but also consistency, nomatter how bad the ridingconditions were.

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nailed down, it was time to choosethe parts. Since Calfee pioneered theidea of integrating the Di2 battery intoa seatpost, it was an easy choice togo electronic. And with the existing(and original) Dura-Ace 7970 Di2being phased out in anticipation ofthe newest version, which incorpo-rates the changes found on the Di2Ultegra drivetrain, the lower-lineversion was our go-to choice. Ouronly initial hesitation with usingShimano was our need for a 32-toothcog on the rear cassette to tackle thesteep dirt roads we would be facing,and Shimano says a 28-tooth cog isthe biggest the rear derailleur willaccept. However, we gave it a trial runon a different bike and realized that a32-tooth cog would indeed workwithout issue.

The addition to the Internal Di2wiring kit, the Calfee PowerPost thathouses the battery, was another add-on that totaled $500 for the two.A unique feature of the PowerPost isthat it houses a charging port at thehead of the post, allowing chargingwithout removing the post. For thesake of sheer modernity, we hadbriefly entertained the thought ofusing Calfee’s new internal handlebar-mounted battery, but the prospect ofpotential crash damage ultimatelydissuaded us.

For the brakes, we knew all alongthat discs were a must for a bike ofthis nature. We weren’t overlyconcerned about any of the aerody-namic drawbacks that discs have overa standard-caliper road brake; wewere more concerned about havingthe most consistent braking in dusty,muddy or wet conditions—basicallyanything we could face on a dirt-roadadventure. Although hydraulic brakeswere what we wanted, none of theknown contenders—TRP (sansjunction box), Formula, Magura orAvid—had product ready, so weopted for the proven Avid BB7mechanical brakes.

The choice to use disc brakesmeant that we could choose a rimwithout a brake track, and ENVE’s XC29er tubular mountain bike rim fit thebill. Fortunately, 700c and 29er tiresare exactly the same diameter(622mm), allowing us to get one of thelightest carbon disc-specific rimsmade. Together with Chris King ISOhubs and Sapim spokes, the 28-holewheelset weighed a mere 1340 grams.We reduced the disc rotor weight by40 grams when we ditched the stockones in favor of a pair made by Scrub,a small, Utah-based company

With the feel of a road bike andthe versatility of a cyclocrossbike, the Dragonfly Adventurerode just as we had hoped for.

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With so many contenders to choose from, the wheels were probably the most thought-about aspect of our project bike. In the end, we gave the nod to a pair of ENVE 29ercarbon tubulars mated to Chris King hubs and Sapim spokes and they’re wrapped withSchwalbe tires.

specializing in making ultra-trickrotors with options for an aluminum ormagnesium inner carrier and yourchoice of eight anodized colors.

Tire choice was undoubtedly one ofthe most discussed aspects of thebuild. Our choice to go with tubulartires rather than clinchers wasobviously race-driven, since they’renot exactly the most practical optionfor everyday riding. But for race day,we wanted the extra insurance againstpinch-flats, since tire pressure willneed to be as low as the 40-psirange. Although there were manytubular tires that would have been upto the task—Clement, Hutchinson andVittoria, to name a few—we ultimatelydecided on the handmade 33cSchwalbe Sammy Slick cyclocrosstires due to what we thought was thebetter tread profile for the race. Theirsmooth center tread with small outerknobs was the profile we werebanking on being the right balancebetween minimal rolling resistanceand traction.

Crank duties went to the California-made Lightning Cranks. Their hollow,tubular carbon arms and CNC-machined aluminum spider makethem light, but they’re also compatiblewith nearly every bottom bracket onthe market. What chainrings to mounton the Lightning Cranks gave us muchpause—not so much what brand touse but what size. Since the looseconditions at the Crusher would makeout-of-the-saddle climbing animpossible luxury, we knew weneeded low-enough gearing to scaleup to a 15-percent grade whileseated. This meant that compact (110BCD) would be the only option, andhaving a 34-tooth inner ring wouldoffer a welcome respite on the steep-est pitches. We still needed enoughtop end for the descents and pavedsections, so we settled on a 50-toothouter ring. Both chainrings came fromPraxis Works who, like Shimano, usea forging process to optimize theirstiffness and tooth shape. For somepeace of mind, a K-Edge chaincatcher was added for a little insur-ance against a rogue downshift.

Without a doubt, the straight-up,coolest component of the bike canonce again be credited to therenowned carbon genius of CraigCalfee. The one-piece BarStem isdefinitely trick, but the integratedGarmin mount knocks it out of thepark. For $200 (plus paint costs),Calfee can turn any carbon stem andhandlebar into a one-piece work ofart, but getting the Garmin mount will

California-made Lightning cranks were the preferred choice due to their stiffness and lowweight. The cranks are also compatible with most of the bottom bracket designs on themarket, including the PressFit 30 used on Calfee’s exquisite bottom bracket lug.

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From the Chris Kingheadset to the one-piece BarStem with anintegrated Garminmount, the cockpit hadplenty to talk about.

come with an additional $200 hit. Ourone-piece combo started life as aSpecialized carbon bar and ENVE stem.Last was the custom-colored FizikAliante Carbon K:Ium saddle, whichcame directly from the factory in Italy.

THE RIDEAfter so much planning and antici-

pation, getting on the CalfeeAdventure for the first time was along-awaited reward. Somehow,inexplicably, it rode exactly how wehad envisioned it. Since cyclocrosstires undoubtedly add a sluggish feelto any bike on the road, we firsttested it with 25c road tires to get afeel for the frame’s stiffness andresponsiveness. With our Dragonflytest from a year ago still fresh in ourmind (still the smoothest bike we’veever ridden), it was easy to comparethe differences we felt in geometrybetween the two bikes. It came aslittle surprise that the Adventure’sgeometry gave it a feel not unlike thelatest crop of endurance-style bikes,like that of Specialized’s Roubaix andTrek’s Domane. The longer wheelbaseand slightly relaxed angles don’t giveit quite the same zing when sprintingor accelerating on a climb as theDragonfly Road, but it’s a trade-off wewere happy to make.

Switching over to the dirt tires waswhat we had been waiting for, and weweren’t disappointed. It didn’t takelong at all to realize that underneathus was the fastest all-around bike wecould have imagined. With a weight of17.8 pounds (nearly 2 pounds lighter

than our Crux project bike), the framehas good power transfer while stillbeing forgiving across the rough,geometry that gives us more stabilityand a lower center of gravity thanwhat a cyclocross bike could give,and superlight wheels with fast-rollingtires. We opened up a whole newworld of Strava KOMs typicallyreserved for the mountain bikers tostrive for. Descending down a dirt

road (faster than we’d ever dare on atraditional road bike) is where thedifferences between the DragonflyAdventure and a cyclocross bike reallymanifest themselves. The 7cm bottombracket drop of the Adventure isabout 1.5cm lower than that of atypical cyclocross bike, making for astark contrast in high-speed stability.

And whether it’s dirt or pavement,disc brakes are sweet! Our oneconcern of not having enough modu-lation to keep the tires from breakingtraction while braking turned out to beunwarranted. Yes, they have morepower than we really need, but therewas also enough modulation to keepus from ever having more brake thanwe could handle.

THE VERDICTThe Calfee Adventure “Project

Gravel” bike opens the door to awhole new world of riding, one notlimited by a dirt road—even a heavilyrutted, rock-strewn road that a Jeepwouldn’t drive on. Though built withan eye toward optimum performanceat the Crusher, it’s still going to belogging plenty of weekend milesexploring every nook and cranny ofthe Santa Clarita Valley. Throughoutthe bike’s design and build process,there was one quote found on theCrusher website that acted ascontinual inspiration: “Regardless ofwhat bike you choose, at some pointin the race you will have chosen thewrong one.” We’ll see about that. ■

THE STATSPrice: $5070 frame and fork, $13,700complete (estimated)Weight: 17.8 poundsSizes: 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60,62, 64, 66cm (custom geometryavailable for an additional $500)www.calfeedesign.com

PARTS DIRECTORYArundel: www.arundel.comAvid: www.sram.comCalfee Design: www.calfeedesign.comChris King: www.chrisking.comENVE Composites: www.enve.comFizik: www.fizik.itK-Edge: www.acecosportgroup.comKMC: www.kmcchain.usLightning Cranks:

www.lightningbikes.comPraxis Works: www.praxiscycles.comSchwalbe: www.schwalbetires.comScrub Components:

www.scrubcomponents.comShimano: www.shimano.comWound Up:

www.woundupcomposites.com

The CalfeePowerPostfeatures the Di2battery integratedinside, with acharging port atthe seatpost’shead.

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TRIALBYFIRE

(& Mud)After months spentbuilding the bike, thetime came to see if itworked By Neil Shirley

➥The Crusher in the Tushar is arace in Beaver, Utah, that is as

brutal as the name suggests. Threefactors contribute to its difficulty:the 69-mile race includes morethan 40 miles of dirt roads, with10,500 feet of climbing, and all of itat extreme altitudes. The event isthe brainchild of a former team-mate of mine, Burke Swindlehurst,who grew up in the area andtrained on the very same roads asthe race. He was a mentor to meduring my early years on the road,so it was a big deal for me to becompeting in his race.

It also created the perfectopportunity to act as a bikedesigner/product manager,because once we’d secured anentry, we set about building theperfect bike for the event thatwould embrace some of thenewest thinking in dual-purposeroad bike technology.

The already brutal course was made evenmore challenging by a surprise storm. Neilleads the race on the Project Gravel bike,with eventual winner Tyler Wren and RyanTrebon following. Photo: Catherine Fegan-Kim

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This was the second year running ofthe Crusher. And knowing that the eventwas sold out (despite Burke more thandoubling the 150 entries available overlast year) gave us an indication about thegrowing popularity of the gravel bikesegment of the sport. As an 11-yearveteran of professional racing, Burke’sgoal, he states, was to simply “put on arace that I would have wanted to do as aracer. Too often racing these days justbecomes the same thing. I wanted tochallenge the riders with the course andcreate an event they would be talkingabout the rest of the year.”

THE REAL WORK BEGINSFor the first time since I’ve been at

the magazine (has it really been a yearand a half already?), I was feeling somepressure coming down from above. Thispressure was not just to get in enoughriding time to thoroughly test products—no, this time it was for the pride of themagazine. For the six months that madeup the prep time to build the bike andtrain—between Facebook posts andrandom quotes—I was aware that theRBA team was expecting me to do well.

Although it has only been two yearssince I’ve quit racing full-time, and despitestill riding frequently, I knew my level of“race fitness” was not what it once was.While by no means out of shape by moststandards, it was clear that my 8 to 10hours of riding a week wasn’t going tomake me a podium contender. I alsorealized that equally as important as myapproach to increasing fitness wasreducing my weight. If you want to climbfaster, you need to increase your poweror lose weight, so, I figured, why not doboth? Ten weeks before the eventI started the plus-five, minus-10 regimen.My plan was to gain 5 percent in power atthreshold and lose 10 pounds—go from160 pounds to 150.

Training began in earnest in May,which just happened to coincide withNUUN’s Strava Challenge to log nearly1500 miles for the month, an average of48 miles every day. This was just themotivation I needed to get going andkickstart my training. I focused most ofmy ride time around steady, aerobic milesand minimized the time above thresholdin order to get in the volume necessary tobuild my endurance base. I finished themonth with 1550 miles and 91 hours ofsaddle time, but the best part was,

I wasn’t trashed; I felt stronger andstronger as I piled on the miles. Mytargeted weight loss of 1 pound per weekwas on track and wasn’t leaving mefamished, since it equated to only a 500-calorie deficit each day. Basically thatwas the equivalent of losing the butter on

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my baked potato at dinner and the scoopof ice cream for dessert—nothing toosignificant, really.

After a few days of recovery to startoff June, I decreased volume by around20 percent so I could shift focus fromendurance miles to adding more struc-tured training for the race itself, specifi-cally, long climbs at a pace that was lessthan enjoyable to ride at. AlthoughI couldn’t match the exact length of the4000-plus-foot climbs I would be facingat the Crusher, I made the best of theterrain around Santa Clarita Valley, wherethe climbs maxed out at around 2000feet of vertical gain. One day eachweekend I tried to simulate the race,hitting 10,000 feet of total climbing forthe ride while trying to keep the distanceunder 90 miles. With each ride I couldfeel the progression in my fitness,allowing me to not only climb faster withfresh legs, but, more importantly, keepthose fresh legs later into the ride.

CRUNCH TIME ARRIVESBy the time the race was just two

weeks away, I knew that the requiredwork had been done. It was time tofreshen up by cutting back the volume byanother 15 percent while keeping theintensity level the same. My preparationhad gone as well as could be expected;I exceeded my goal of losing 10 poundsby losing a total of 12 pounds while stillattaining the 5 percent increase in powerI was hoping for. All told, I took my power-to-weight ratio from 4.8 watts/kilogram to5.5 watts/kilogram for a 30-minute effort.This equates to a monstrous 14 percentincrease! I was thrilled to be able to meetmy training goals while still juggling familycommitments with a full-time job. It wascertainly a big undertaking.

“…by the midway point, I toobecame a victim of the blis-tering pace. Mud-splatteredand gasping like a fish out ofwater, my sea-level lungs justweren’t getting enough oxygento keep up.”

I figured that since my family had beenso patient with me with all my neurosesaround training and diet that they shouldat least get some fun out of it. So with mywife, two daughters, my project bike andsome spare wheels, we all piled into thecar for the 490-mile trek to Beaver, Utah.

When we rolled into town, I knew thatmy bike was dialed and my trainingcomplete; all that was left was to actuallydo the race. Everything in my control hadbeen planned out and accomplished, butas it turns out, there were things out of1

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If we had time to look up from the wheel infront of us, we would have realized howspectacular the Tushar Mountains are.Photo: Christopher See

my control, like weather—and outside ofSouthern California, it has been known tochange. I had been watching the weatherall week; it was forecast to be in theupper 80s and dry. Instead, what I awoketo was rain and 50-degree tempera-tures—the hard man’s race just gotharder. Even with the weather surprise,there wasn’t really anything to change inmy equipment setup other than anotherapplication of Lilly Lube on the chain andthrowing on my Mavic Helium jacket,which had fortunately found its way intomy bag when I was packing.

THE RACE ARRIVESAfter a quick rundown of the course

details by the start-line announcer, whichdid little to soothe my nerves, we wereunderway. The first 10 miles were rela-tively flat and offered the only paved roadwe would be seeing for a while. As weswung off the main road to tackle the firstclimb, we hit a 21-mile dirt section. Theclimb that would take us deep into theTushar Mountains left its mark on the40-strong pro field immediately. Andwithin a few miles the group had beenwhittled down to five riders, whichincluded last year’s winner and Utah resi-dent Tyler Wren (Jamis/Sutter Home ProCycling), myself and cyclocross star RyanTrebon (Cannondale), who proceeded toturn the screws to everyone.

However, by the midway point, I toobecame a victim of the blistering pace.Mud-splattered and gasping like a fishout of water, my sea-level lungs justweren’t getting enough oxygen to keepup; I had to settle into my own tempoand let the small group go. Ultimately,my pacing strategy paid off. Mountainbike pro Jay Henry and I closed whathad stretched out to a one-minute gapto the leaders before cresting the1-hour-and-15-minute climb, and just intime to tackle one of the most hair-raising descents I have ever done. Noteven in my days of pro mountain bikeracing would I have wanted to face adescent like this. The plunge into thevalley below was filled with stretcheswhere we hit 40 mph, barreling downthe gravel-strewn road, dreading theone rock that would be your tire’sundoing. Oh, and did I mention thewashboard that made you feel likeeither bike or body could break in halfat any moment?

Where the project gravel bike equip-ment choices really began to shine wasthe option to go with disc brakes. Withseven switchbacks on the descent, thebrakes’ superior stopping powerallowed me to wait until the last secondto scrub 30 mph of speed before goinginto each of the corners. The wetweather was never even a factor inbraking performance, whereas therim-brake users wouldn’t have the samething to say. By the time I reached thevalley floor, I had counted numerousrock hits that would have pinch-flatted

“Where the project gravel bikeequipment choices really beganto shine was the option to gowith disc brakes.”

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picked for us was ideally suited togravel riding; it gave me an advantagenearly everywhere on the coursecompared to the cyclocross bikes andmountain bikes used by the other ridersin the top five overall. Even on theextreme descent, the only rider thatdropped me was on a mountain bike,but he paid the greater price for a lessefficient bike on both the pavement andthe climbs.

When it came to my own training,I do have to say it was nearly ideal.If I could go back in time, the only thingI would change would be getting in

some altitude training. Twelve days ataltitude could have made all thedifference in allowing me to match theaccelerations during the race. As it was,I could only ride at my own pace andpick off the other riders by ridingsteadily up the climbs. Now for nextyear, I just need to convince the higher-ups to give me a couple of weeks off todo some altitude training so I can aimfor one step higher on the podium.

For the ultimate gravel experience,put the Crusher in the Tushar on yourcalendar next year. ■

www.tusharcrusher.com

any clincher tire; this was the solereason I opted for tubulars, since theyare much less prone to pinch-flatting.

The jaunt through the valley provideda welcome sight: a flat, paved road! Aswe traded even pulls out front, soonenough it was time to head uphillagain—and that, of course, meant moredirt. The 5000 feet of climbing in the firsttwo hours of racing started revealingsome chinks in the armor of those in thelead group, with Tyler Wren’s teammate,Jamie Driscoll, the first to drop off theback. Once we looped back around tothe final eight-mile climb (the very samewhite-knuckle descent we had finished10 miles earlier), I knew that this wouldmost likely be the deciding factor in thefinal podium placings. The steep wash-board gradient kept us riding at arounda dismal six miles per hour, which stillended up being too much for everyoneexcept Tyler and me.

While the climb itself was hardenough, Burke’s idea of having the Kingof the Mountain to sprint for at the verytop seemed downright cruel—nothinglike sprinting at over 10,000 feet ofelevation! I managed to pip Tyler for theKOM, which came with an unexpectedbonus of $100 in single bills thrust intomy hands by an exuberant race fan—you’ve got to love passionate specta-tors! The last 12 miles of the coursecontinued upward toward our ultimatedestination: Eagle Point Ski Resort. But,fortunately, there were a few shortdescents where I could catch my breath;I was really feeling the efforts of the day.With about five miles to go, the elasticbetween Tyler and me snapped, andI watched the win ride away. With thirdplace still minutes behind us, I was ableto comfortably ride in without having toworry about getting caught. WhenI crossed the finish line, it was safe tosay, the Crusher had crushed me.

WHAT DID WE LEARN?I thought for sure that I would finish

and have a list of things I would changein future equipment setup choices. But,the project gravel bike was pretty muchperfectly dialed for the course, and anytype of gravel riding for that matter. Ifanything, the 32-tooth cassette wasn’ttotally necessary since the 30-tooth cogwas the lowest cog I used, but it’s not abad idea to have that bailout gear,either. As hydraulic disc-brake tech-nology becomes more accessible withroad brake/shift levers, that will be oneupgrade we’ll be excited to make sinceit will be a good way to reduce a bit ofweight and keep the elements out ofthe cables.

The Adventure geometry that Calfee

The bikes ridden by the top three were all differentbut had one thing in common: disc brakes.

The top-5 Crusher’s were: 1st-Tyler Wren (Jamis/Sutter Home), 2nd-Neil Shirley (RoadBike Action), 3rd-Jay Henry (Tokyo Joe’s), 4th-Alex Grant (Cannondale), 5th-Reed Wycoff.

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