Originally Posted by
Canker
You already have the Cannondale. Put some narrower tires on it and go out and ride it. You don't need drop bars to ride gravel. If you want more hand positions throw some bar ends on it for $15. If you love it then worry about buying/building something nicer.
totally agree! a 29r convert would be a great gravel bike. Reach wouldn't be a problem because short stems are plentiful. And I also like the dropbar hand position and have short bar ends on my mtbs. You can cut the bars down to get closer to a 'road' type width - maybe 660-680. Throw on some fast 42mm tires with TPU tubes and you'll be amazed how fast the bike becomes.
The smaller tire will also lower the bike a bit, but BB clearance is not a big deal on gravel/mtb-lite. But it will reduce trail a bit and make the bike less 'heavy' steering on road-like sections.
Biggest deal with 'older' frames is that clearance for wider is often an issue. My CX bike from the 90's could barely fit 35mm... so very border line for a real gravel convert.
With the suspension fork, you can firm it up a bit; but having suspension is a big plus, when the surface gets rough.
Tires, tubes, bar ends, quite a 'value' convert, allowing you to ride offroad and wait for something really very suitable to become available - or decide whether a 'new' gravel bike is really in the cards...
I converted an '06 Spec Roubaix - and it was pretty OK, but I was very limited on tire width to only 30mm (28mm when on the wheels/rims) - it was ok... but now riding a 42mm on a gravel bike makes a big difference in riding some knarlier sections... My old mtbs are 26rs, and just not worth converting...
Ride On
Yuri