DTG

I wanted to know does anyone have a Renegade in any of the variations. They have a Diverge thread so wanted to start one for all the Renegade folks out there. I know it'll never be as many contributors as those with Diverges but it's still a novel idea. Chime in if you have one or even if you're thinking of buying one.

cs1

I don't have one but did check them out. I would love to hear some opinions also.

birru

2017 Renegade Expert. It has treated me very well.

jeffreythree

I only have about 70 miles of 50/50 pavement/gravel on my new '17 Exile. It is also quite a bit different from the rest of the Renegade lineup. I can already tell the Lyra brakes are the weak spot, but I knew that going in with the idea of skipping the Expat's Spyres and getting something like the HY/RD's. It has been comfy and easy to ride(not tubeless yet) on some pretty rough gravel, and on the chip seal to get there. I can even see it as my only bike with another set of pavement only wheels, or maybe just switching to some good 32mm tires. I love this color, by the way.

Forgot to mention the LBS I purchased from said the Exiles have been coming in with cheap rotors so warped they just replace instead of trying to true them.

FRC928

Been looking at these for about a week, and pulled the trigger this morning. My LBS will be calling in the order in the morning, so hopefully I'll be riding it by Wednesday. Ordered the Expat.

shoota 

Good choice you will love it. My wife has one and it's a great deal for the money.

edit: be aware, the color in real life is much darker than on the website.

bikecrate

I got a left over 2016 Expert for a good price at the beginning of the year. I really like it. I've only been off road once, but it is nice to ride around on bumpy city streets too. I'm really impressed with the disk brakes. It's not a rocket ship, but it's not a rocking chair either.

FRC928

Got a little bad news from the LBS, Expat out of stock and not likely available till fall. I had him order the Exile, one step down, the others are just too far out of my budget. The Expat was pushing my budget as it was, so maybe a good thing.

shoota 

Ugh that sucks. The Exile is quite the step down BUT it will still be a good bike. I had to wait for mine to come for a month, got it in march. What size are you ordering? Maybe you can find a used one on eBay?

DTG

I'm finishing up vacation in Europe right now and even though I've been enjoying the food, sites, etc, all I can think about is getting back home and picking up my Elite. It's been on the brain since Feb and I finally had my LBS order one before I left. Crazy thing is they had the bike a week before I went on vacation but I didn't want to pay for a bike that I couldn't ride for 3.5 weeks. That being said, next Wednesday can't come soon enough.

FRC928

Ordered a 56cm, should be ready for pick up on Wednesday.

FRC928

Picked up my new Renegade Exile on Wednesday. I've only been able to put about 15 miles on it, but so far I love it. I'll see if I can add some pics tomorrow.

sw20

I've been toying with the idea of buying the Exile instead of a road bike, what are these like for mainly road riding?

sw20

How does this feel on the road, are you on the stock tyres? Am thinking of getting this bike over a road bike!

shoota 

Depends on how you ride your road bike. If you just plod along it won't feel too different but if you like to ride hard it will feel slower and more sluggish. That's just the way gravel bikes will feel compared to dedicated road bikes.

jeffreythree

It feels fine on the road, just slower than my road bike. It does not feel slow except heading up a hill, and goes through corners quicker than I thought it would. The stiff stock tires on some hefty wheels are probably most of the speed difference. Tubeless may help help some, but a smaller, lighter tire (32mm maybe?) would probably be best.

FRC928

Feels good on the road, just slower. I did a couple of my regular routes so far and my avg speed dropped about 1 mph on each. Take that for what it's worth, same perceived effort. I enjoy the ride better than my road bike, bumps and such aren't jarring like the roadie. I'm on the stock tires as well.

Here's a pic of mine.


Bike.jpg

DTG

How much does your road bike weigh, that is if you know?

FRC928

I don't know off the top of my head, it's a 2007 Jamis Ventura Sport. The current model is 23.25lbs. The Renegade Exile is listed at 24lbs.

DTG

Do you think it's not really the three quarter pound difference but the bigger tires making you 1 mph slower?

FRC928

Probably the tires. They're the stock tires, so they do have some tread vs the almost slicks on the road bike. Road bike tires were 23mm also, Renegade has 36mm.

DTG

Well I went to the bike shop today to drop off a few items like fenders, rear rack, pedals to be installed. The bike wasn't there when I walked in because they have a warehouse across the street. I was browsing backpacks (kind of an addiction) when I turned around and it was being wheeled in. I have to say that the Elite looks nice on the website but I'll say this much, pics do it no justice. That bike is sexy in so many ways. Headed back out of town again this weekend so I won't be able to pick it up til Tuesday but man, I can't wait. I took a picture of it in the que bike rack but it's a lame picture when looking back at it. I'll take some when I pick it up on Tuesday.

RidingMatthew

I so like these bikes they seem like a good all arounder with a bit more comfort than my cyclocross bike currently has.

bikecrate

Not too long ago I rode both my Jamis Quest road bike and the Expert Adventure bike on back to back days using the same route and identical conditions. They both weigh roughly the same. Not exactly scientific, but here are my observations. The Quest was snappier in acceleration and turns. Either one can cruise along just fine in the 18 - 20 mph (which is mostly the speed I go). I did feel I had to work a little harder to maintain speed in a headwind with the Expert. However, the Expert has an advantage over the Quest on the bumpier city streets.

derath

I got a Renegade Expat about 18 months ago and LOVE it. I do ride primarily on the road, but the road conditions can vary wildly from smooth pavement, to a potholed mess, to unpaved.

I have found that overally I actually ride slightly faster than on my old road bike (Giant OCR carbon). I have seen studies that slightly wider tires actually have lower rolling resistance. However I think primarily it is the increased overall comfort that gives me the boost. The ride is far less jarring and more comfortable overall. I am not however a racer so YMMV.

I will say that I had to take it in last year for about 2 weeks as one of the brifters broke (warranty replacement) and on my first ride out on the Giant, I hit a small bad spot on the road and blew both of my tiny tires. The renegade definitely would have been faster that day...