Sorry this is so long winded but I am hoping for some feedback. I am looking at building a gravel bike and I thought I had a great option lined up. That has now fallen through and I am trying to decide what my next option should be based on what I have for parts already.

This bike will serve as the bike I ride on State Forest fire roads and on the top of gravel ****s. I will also swap to road friendly tires occasionally for street use.

Current similar bike. I have a 26er steel frame/fork that is built up as a 3x8 48/36/26 in the front and a average ratio cassette. I have front and rear racks on this bike and it is my go to bikepacking rig. I am in an area with almost zero hills and technical terrain. I have used true bikepacking bags but for what I do the extra space of paniers outweighs non rack configurations. I am also often with my son and I pack heavy with the majority of his gear on my bike to give him more fun.

I have 2 sets of wheels – Sun Rynolite. A 36 spoke set running Continental Trail Kings for bikepacking and a set with Continental Town & Countries for all arounder. Transmission is simple and cheap SRAM x4.

As part of my decision I could sell this but it won’t fetch much but it would maybe be enough to fund a new front rack for the new bike I am deciding on. The rear rack on my son’s bike can adjust for a 29er so I could move it to my new ride and take the rack from this bike to swap to my son’s bike. I have had the frame since 1994 and I have built it up in a number of different configurations. I am probably going to keep this as is in the end.

Over the last few years I have had a Felt z100 and a Specialized AWOL. I honestly miss both bikes for different reasons but neither was what I was looking for. The Felt was great and I loved it for a road bike but I wanted something to take larger tires. The AWOL was a tank, I felt great on it but it was the heavy workhorse it was built to be. I miss this bike because when I decided to sell it off I had it configured perfectly but I just didn’t use it much for how it was configured. I know that sounds weird.

I have also dropped my body weight from 254 to 196 so I am no longer thinking everything clyde first. I want to find something that I can ride faster than my current 26 steel build and will get me closer to the z100.

Gear on hand

FSA Gossamer Cross crank 46/36
Tiagra 4600 transmission set
Specialized stem off a Dolche
Soma Dropbars that are perfect fit
Set of wheels – Clyde built IDC(ebay) with a Sanyo Dynamo 36 spoke
Problem Solver TravelAgent
FSA Orbit Headset
Schwalbe X-One 700x33 tires
Panaracer touring tires 700x28


My thought right now is a Surly Cross Check frame built up with everything I have now. This is my default thought because it would work with the wheelset I have. I would need brakes and I could use Vs since I have the TravelAgent’s already. I don’t know if this would be the best option. A frame choice centered around a heavy set of wheels isn’t likely the ideal decision. This could also allow me to attach racks and I could sell off the 26er for what little it may bring.

My next thought was to look at a Diamondback Haanjo Tero. This would be $569 through the dealer program and I could swap out the Claris gear for the Tiagra. This would get me into an aluminum vs steel frame and disc brakes. I have run the Tektro brakes on a Charge Cooker Maxi in the past so I know what to expect with those.

I value your feedback and thanks’ for reading this far. Any other thoughts on a frame/fork at the $500 price point? If I look at something like a Soma Wolverine I will need a new wheelset to go disc. I am ok with this. I like the dynamo but I have a light set that I run on my Spec Camber Comp when I ride the trails in the fall/winter/spring and it will easily go on any new option.