Considerations for hardtail and/or full suspension drop-bar gravel bikes
I know there are at least a few members here running hardtail or full suspension drop-bar gravel bikes and I'd like to hear how that's working for you. Just some things I've been wondering about:
Did you buy a stock mountain bike and add the drop bars and other required parts?
Did you build from the ground up?
How does the riding compare to a full-fledged mountain bike on gravel?
How does the riding compare to a rigid-cross style bike on gravel?
Suggestions/tips for sizing?
I've been having pretty decent success riding my hardtail mountain bike in the local gravel races and have been toying with getting another bike to set-up as a hardtail drop bar gravel racer. There doesn't seem to be much out there as suspension seems to be a non-starter right now as the gravel scene is still trying to move beyond cyclocross race bikes and into more developed bikes specifically for gravel.