I recently started commuting on my framed x300, and while it's a decent bike, I feel the need for better.

I have looked into gravel bikes as a base for a commuter considering the roads I ride on are pretty rough, but I would still like the speed associated with "road" bikes.

I'm pretty mechanically inclined, and while I haven't ever built a bike from the ground up, it's certainly something within my abilities. I'm mostly just curious to whether a gravel centric build is a good commuter for rust belt towns with rough roads.

Not much difference between gravel and busted-up asphalt, so yes gravel bikes make excellent commuters.

I'm on a CrossCheck, but would also have gone for Straggler if they had been invented yet. Soma Wolverine should be great too.

Yes, it's a great place to start. Mind you, building a bike up is rarely cheaper than buying a whole bike, unless you have some of the components on hand already. It can be worth it to build, if you want the satisfaction and experience. But yeah, I think the gravel bike design is fantastic as a city commuter.

I forgot to add the main reason I would like to build myself is I want an IGH 5 or 8 speed, which isn't something I've found with the exception of one builder in Oregon, who in fact uses the wolverine frame.

Its good to know I atleast kinda know what I'm doing.

When I bought a new commuter three years ago, I wanted the robustness of my MTB-based commuter, but the ride characteristics of my road bike. I bought a Charge Plug which is in the grave/adventure/distance bike arena. With fenders I can fit 700x35s and I'm very happy with that tire size.

I haven't broken anything on the old steel roadbike with 700x28s (formerly 23s) but unexpected potholes are very jarring (well, so are the expected ones).

Wolverine would make a fine commuter, but you'd best heed the advice to carefully consider off-the-shelf bikes suited to your purpose. If you're comfortable with the notion of spending more than necessary just for the experience of a DIY project, then by all means go for it. But if you have budget considerations you can do better buying than building. There are many IGH bikes available through quality brands -- Trek, Raleigh, Priority, Breezer, etc.


-Kedosto

This is pretty true.

I built my CrossCheck up from frame+fork, and I managed to do it less than MSRP, but I started by robbing parts from a donor bike, and then spent many months watching eBay for good deals on used components until the new bike was complete (and the donor bike was back to complete as well).

Here's my parts-list (sorry for the formatting).

Moral: it is possible to build up for cheaper than retail, but you need a source for cheap parts, and maybe time to shop for them. If you have a good bike co-op in your town you might be able to get a lot of used parts in good shape (if you're content with older stuff, like 8-9sp drivetrains instead of 10-11). Also borrow tools and get advice.

This is the builder I am considering as an alternative to building myself.

https://www.joe-bike.com/product/soma-wolverine-daily-grinder-complete-city-build-2041.htm

It definitely doesnt seam worth a diy build with this as an option.

Yeah, with premium parts like that you'll end up spending more on a DIY build than just buying it complete. So it's a question of whether you want to pay that extra cost to earn an education.

While I'm a fan of Joe-Bike, my advice is to build it yourself and journal the process. I did, without any previous bike knowledge ... a Wolverine (v1) and journaled the build here: https://somawolverine.blogspot.com

1) Building a bike yourself makes you THE expert of that particular bike. Since the bike is your ride to work, knowing how to fix anything and everything becomes important.
2) My journal serves as a reference that I look back to on occassion. It also provides a historical reference for changes I made and when they were made.

Hope this helps.

As far as using a gravel bike for commuting: IMO, a steel frame that can accomodate racks, fenders and wider tires would be an excellent choice for the environment you describe. The Wolverine's versatility is amazing in that regard. (You can also run an IGH and a belt).

A drop bar mtb conversion would also do the job nicely and be a heck of a lot cheaper (if starting with a vintage MTB) but don't let me talk you out of the project. The wolverine is a cool bike. My go to commuter is 1987 specialized stumpjumper comp with 3 x 8 indexed gearing. It is my do everything bike for sure and it was a pretty "cheap" project since I picked up the bike for $125 with a complete deore xt group. This is another way to get your hands on a DIY project and here is a heck of a long thread on conversions:

Show Your Vintage MTB Drop Bar Conversions