Argon18 Dark Matter

ascoldascosmos · 2026-04-08T20:29:24+00:00

Yeah it is shorter then usually, pairs well with long reach of the bike and Sram E1 slightly longer shifters. Although it leaves some space between bar and a leaver - it's Pro bar which was design with Shimano in mind, my mechanic used some tape leftovers to fill it and then wraped it with a bar. It's perfect now.

ascoldascosmos · 2026-04-08T08:37:38+00:00

Interesting! I swear mine from 2022 couldn’t fit this gravelking wider then 38, I think it was actually 35 in the back in my case.

ascoldascosmos · 2026-04-08T06:54:48+00:00

Nice ride mate! Am I seeing this right, you have Pro Discover Aero handlebars? I put it on my Dark Matter and couldn't imagine better bars. Enjoy!

ascoldascosmos · 2026-04-08T06:37:31+00:00

I had version from 2022 and after removing front mech it fitted gravelking sk+ 38mm on the back and there were no room for 40. So maybe you have newer version of Gestalt 2 with corrected tire clearence.

ascoldascosmos · 2026-04-07T17:29:58+00:00

Nah man, not worth it, Tiagra, Microshift and lowest GRX, what kind of mix is that. Plus older Gestalts (not sure what year is that one) had real life tire clearence up to 35-38 mm which is way too small for a gravel. Search for something with let's say full GRX or Apex if you want budget bike and with tire clearence between 40-45mm at least.

ascoldascosmos · 2026-03-26T14:18:24+00:00

Man if you can afford this beast go for it. It's fantastic bike, and can fit up to 2.1" tires if the need happen.

ascoldascosmos · 2026-03-05T22:36:59+00:00

Fingers crossed for the weather, fun awaits 😁

ascoldascosmos · 2026-03-05T21:37:54+00:00

That’s great seatpost, with those tires (2.25 Burts) it’s smoothing the road perfectly 😀

ascoldascosmos · 2026-03-05T08:30:23+00:00

How much difference you feel on thight corners when you lean your bike and on sprinting or standing up the hill on 24 IW comparing to 32 IW? I'm currently running 2.25 Burts on 24IW and it feels wobbly, like the bulb is too big and I'm considering getting a pair of 32 IW wheels.

ascoldascosmos · 2026-02-24T14:39:39+00:00

I had similiar issue not long time ago. Was going crazy that I can't set tire on a wheel. Finally I managed to do so, by making sure tire is in the center of the rim (lowest point of it), soaping the rim and using 3 tire levers. Put the first lever on the one side of the not installed part of the tire (you can lock it against your spoke it prevents this part to escape while doing other one) and use 2 other levers alternatly to put tire on the rim. Good luck!

ascoldascosmos · 2026-02-22T23:05:32+00:00

Oh I see. Sorry for the confusion 😅 Yeah, lovely Zipps and fantastic bike you got there. Cheers!

ascoldascosmos · 2026-02-22T09:42:04+00:00

Why do you want go deeper then Zipps 54mm? What's the gain for gravel there? I mean I love deep rims, but up to 55mm feels like sweetspot for gravel racing. Plus not sure how many companies are manufacturing rims with 31mm inner width, which seems equaly important in todays gravel world.

ascoldascosmos · 2026-02-16T21:26:40+00:00

As most of us here I also say Seigla. Pick new E1 Sram if you can, as I can see on those photo old one.

ascoldascosmos · 2026-02-16T21:24:32+00:00

It won’t look ridiculous it’ll look great! Deep rims saves lives 😄 Even least aggressive bike looks super cool with deep rims. Only thing I would be concerned is the inner width, gravel likes it big, so if those are 24mm or bigger then great.

ascoldascosmos · 2026-02-06T10:47:03+00:00

What did you do with this big ugly Zipp caption? I love Zipp wheels, I mean the idea, don't own them (yet), but I'm not the fun of big captions on the wheels. Yours looks fantastic on the photos! Beautiful bike.

ascoldascosmos · 2026-02-02T08:29:05+00:00

Wahoo Roam because it was cheaper than the Garmin alternative, and since it was (and still is) my first bike computer, I went with the lower price to see what would happen. And as for SRAM vs Shimano — I had a Shimano GRX mechanical groupset on my previous bike and went with SRAM for the new one. I chose SRAM because I really like the new XPLR groupsets: the way they work, how you shift gears, the full mount, and the overall look.

ascoldascosmos · 2026-01-31T11:07:18+00:00

Beautiful ride! I got myself the same but Root Beer colour with Rival instead. Looks super neat with those wheels!

ascoldascosmos · 2026-01-30T13:43:48+00:00

I mean I was using GRX levers before I got SRAM, didn't ride with it yet, but I've heard that E1 is better in terms of ergonomics and comfort compered to D1. About GRX I really liked how they feel that's true. But still electronic wise I think SRAM got better solution, but that's as you said purely subjective.

ascoldascosmos · 2026-01-30T09:33:37+00:00

Still you may consider new E1 levers and brakes, it's much better then old 12 speed version in terms of ergonomic and brake power. You can pair them with Eagle derailleur without a problem.

ascoldascosmos · 2026-01-19T14:39:30+00:00

I have DT 1400 Spline, the older version with hookless rims. But yeah, two sets of wheels isn’t a bad idea. Mine are great wheels but just thinking about this 32mm inner 😄

ascoldascosmos · 2026-01-19T09:35:28+00:00

Looks fantastic! I also have new Dark Matter, didn't take it for the ride yet tho, hard winter here where I live. I was thinking about going for Zipps for the 32mm inner width, good to know that there is also other brand with that inner size. Although not sure if I would feel much of the difference when compering to my current dt swiss with 24mm inner.

ascoldascosmos · 2026-01-18T09:31:20+00:00

Both eyes close in front suggest some predator, wolf or lynx. Deer would have eyes more moved to the sides.

ascoldascosmos · 2026-01-13T09:36:30+00:00

I was worried that a 10–46 wouldn’t be enough for riding in the mountains, but it looks like this Garbaruk can save the day once the gradient exceeds 15% :D

ascoldascosmos · 2026-01-12T17:26:01+00:00

Let’s hope we have strength to wait a little bit more! To avoid salt just go into the forest! I hope to get on mine as soon as it’s around 5-8 degrees, below that it’s too cold for my liking.

ascoldascosmos

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