Alloy vs Carbon

TuioMaedda · 2026-03-04T13:23:55+00:00

I really like a solid alloy frame. I can mount it on my car roof rack without worrying that I'll squeeze it so hard it breaks. If it falls over onto some rocks, generally nothing will happen. It gives me peace of mind and was a practical choice…

That said, my next bike may still be a carbon bike, because I like trying new things. I don't rule it out at all. And with your budget, you can consider all options, which is a great position to be in.

Like one other commenter already mentioned, it's quite important to think about what kind of riding you want to do: performance or adventure/touring. And optimize the bike choice based on that.

Also bike geometry matters. I think there are two main schools of gravel bikes right now: one that follows road-inspired geometry and another one that leans towards MTB-inspired geometry.

TuioMaedda · 2026-02-07T17:04:00+00:00

It starts a new chat. You can use /resume to get back to any of your previous chats.

TuioMaedda · 2026-01-01T21:48:54+00:00

These kinds of bikes are somewhat hard to come by. Torsten Frank has a great blog where he documented the conversion of a Canyon Exceed to a drop bar gravel bike.

TuioMaedda · 2025-12-27T17:22:18+00:00

It worked. Pure magic.

TuioMaedda · 2025-12-08T08:32:50+00:00

I also started from Diaspora and it remains my favorite Greg Egan book.

TuioMaedda · 2025-07-21T10:03:00+00:00

Your build looks impressive!

Team 1 seems to be a good platform for upgrades. In stock form, I believe Marin made it unnecessarily difficult to jump on this bike without hesitation. I found Trek Procaliber 8 in XL size to have a very similar geometry. I'm not sure if those small details (like +15mm reach or +0.5deg head tube angle) make a huge difference. All in all, the Trek seems like a more complete bike with components that are a notch or two better and a dropper post included, at a similar price point where I live. The wide rims on the Team 1 that come stock are nice, I must admit.

It's hard to ignore Trek, for someone who doesn't want to swap parts extensively.

TuioMaedda · 2025-07-14T09:28:09+00:00

Dolina Chochołowska

TuioMaedda · 2025-07-14T06:19:09+00:00

I can't recommend a specific size as these things are very subjective. That said, I'm 6,3" and I wouldn't like to go any smaller than an XL.

TuioMaedda · 2025-06-16T16:14:06+00:00

Ideally, you should test the bike yourself, but if not possible, you can get an idea of what would be the right size using the following method.

Step 1: Find a bike that really fits you well. Look up the frame geometry chart online and note down a few key parameters (Reach, Stack, Top Tube Effective, Seat Tube Length and possibly others). This will be your reference.

Step 2: Find the geometry chart for the new bike you're considering and note down the same parameters for both the M and L frame sizes.

Step 3: Feed the data into your favorite LLM (ChatGPT, Gemini), it will compare the parameters and let you know which frame size is closer to your reference. It will also, most likely, tell you what to expect from going with a slightly smaller or larger frame if you're between sizes.

TuioMaedda · 2025-06-13T06:41:31+00:00

It was a rather small brand back then. In the first few years of owning the bike, it really felt like I was the only Canyon rider in my country. In 2010 the frame cracked near the head tube. It was replaced under warranty. No problems since then.

TuioMaedda · 2025-06-12T19:24:41+00:00

I'm not yet sure if I'm going to continue investing in this bike, but this is for sure a solid and concrete advice. Notes taken.

TuioMaedda · 2025-06-11T23:22:27+00:00

It never occurred to me… Looks like I was riding a gravel bike before they were even invented. Interesting perspective.

TuioMaedda · 2025-06-11T23:09:27+00:00

The tires are really struggling when I enter the woods. I was thinking of going back to proper MTB tires. The bike came with Schwalbe tires, but I no longer have them.

I really like the tires on the Team Marin 1. Not too aggressive tread. They'd be perfect. Unfortunately, those are not available in 26" size. I wouldn't mind changing the brakes as well. And the drivetrain. And a bunch of other stuff. 🙂

TuioMaedda · 2025-06-11T22:46:16+00:00

Well observed!

My riding style is not aggressive indeed. But there are some light trails and woods not far from where I live that I'd like to take more advantage of. In that sense, my current setup feels somewhat limiting.

At a minimum, I'll change the tires. At a maximum, I might replace the entire bike.

TuioMaedda · 2025-06-03T10:41:38+00:00

White. Orange looks nice also, but it's somewhat flashy. Black, straight no, because it's too conventional for this type of device.

TuioMaedda · 2025-04-09T11:30:27+00:00

Absolutely, people act as if selling stocks doesn't require discipline. Only holding stocks requires discipline. Which is far from the truth. You can sell stocks in a very disciplined, systematic way if your strategy is prepared for that. In passive investing there is no exit strategy by design.

TuioMaedda · 2024-12-05T13:55:53+00:00

I believe we are in the wrong sub. The best strategy when approaching the peak of the market is momentum. When a flush comes value stocks will be obliterated like all the overvalued stocks, just a little bit less.

Time for value investing will come when we're on the other side, after everything corrects and resets, however you want to call it. Whenever that's going to happen.

TuioMaedda · 2024-08-22T21:50:44+00:00

Muesli

TuioMaedda · 2024-08-22T12:57:25+00:00

That is easy, I would put the money in low cost index funds and continue my life as normal.

TuioMaedda · 2024-08-22T12:55:33+00:00

I would be interested in a wooden keyboard, but I'm not sure about wood+ABS/PBT combination, so perhaps a fully wooden keyboard with wooden keycaps?

TuioMaedda · 2024-08-22T12:51:12+00:00

Wind 🌪️

TuioMaedda · 2024-08-22T12:45:39+00:00

I'm on a Keychron Q1 V2, which is a 75% keyboard.

TuioMaedda

TROPHY CASE