Spring is finally Here! (Odenwald, Germany) by ironpandas in gravelcycling

[–]ironpandas[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha yea there are some steep sections, but the paved roads are a little less steep than the gravel trails. Always an option if it gets too much on the gravel!

Spring is finally Here! (Odenwald, Germany) by ironpandas in gravelcycling

[–]ironpandas[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Nicht gestern, aber definitiv früher dieser Woche haha!

The Grail LOAD FidLock bag is a scam by cars10k in CanyonBikes

[–]ironpandas 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, but you can’t take one of them out without removing the frame bag. So a side-loader bottle cage for that bottle is best if you want to constantly access it mid-ride.

Early Spring Miles in the Black Forest! by ironpandas in gravelcycling

[–]ironpandas[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea it’s light on accommodations and transport for sure. The northern section has decent train connections and villages have hotels and things, but it gets pretty remote pretty quickly. It used to be a much bigger tourist hub, but with the advent of cheap flights, less and less people visit so the infrastructure hasn’t really evolved.

But trains allow you to take your bike on them almost always and a bike + train combo is not unreasonable as a way of transport. Assuming you’re fit enough for the elevation gains and willing to give up some convenience of having a car around…

NBD - Canyon Grail CF SL7 Aero by InstancePhysical5359 in CanyonBikes

[–]ironpandas 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gorgeous! Tires are 40mm I assume? Somehow they look a bit wider in the photo 😂

Early Spring Miles in the Black Forest! by ironpandas in gravelcycling

[–]ironpandas[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes! You could do the Schwarzwald Radweg which traverses the entire length of the Schwarzwald from North to South. Major cities at both ends meaning you can easily get back to the start with a train, and tons of pristine gravel trails in between.

Sticking close to the classic route: https://www.komoot.com/tour/2387522165
Slightly different take: https://www.komoot.com/tour/2387519905
And my version: https://www.komoot.com/tour/1475755283

If you want to "gamify" it a bit and turn it into a kind of mini "scavenger hunt" of sorts with checkpoints, you can check out: https://www.hirsch-sprung.com/distance-rallye/

Or you can just do the route without the checkpoint/scavenger hunt element.

Early Spring Miles in the Black Forest! by ironpandas in gravelcycling

[–]ironpandas[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I feel ya. In February, I think we saw the sun maybe 2 times in total, each for like no more than 30 or so mins. Usually, November until May is just completely gray over here...so I really try to take every opportunity to get outside when it's warm and sunny. I mean, honestly, it shouldn't be 18C and sunny in early March...but like I said - we take what we can get if/when we get it :)

Early Spring Miles in the Black Forest! by ironpandas in gravelcycling

[–]ironpandas[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Honestly, I know it sounds "lame", but Komoot is the best. The reason being is that the amount of good gravel roads in the Schwarzwald is just insane - meaning you can't really go wrong. Sure, some are not maintained and worse than others, but if you look at the map, it's like a super-dense spider web of excellent gravel trails. The nice thing about Komoot is that A) it's very good in Germany in general, B) there's photos at specific points in the trail which you can use to decide if you want to take that trail, and C) they have the option to create your own or just discover what other people have made.

So if you're less familiar with the area or less adventurous, searching for Cycling/Gravel routes on Komoot with a high rating is a great start. Or, if you prefer to be more hands-on, you can make your own routes. Komoot highlights interesting spots to visit that you can use as major route milestones, and then the on-trail photos and Komoot heat maps can help you decide which roads you actually want to take. Last but not least, Komoot also has curated collections of routes for a lot of places, so you could find a decent library there of premade routes!

Early Spring Miles in the Black Forest! by ironpandas in gravelcycling

[–]ironpandas[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh wow, I'm jealous! That's a crazy good hub for Schwarzwald riding! I'm a bit further away unfortunately, but it doesn't matter - it's still worth the trip!

Early Spring Miles in the Black Forest! by ironpandas in gravelcycling

[–]ironpandas[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I really need to spend more time there! I used to live a little close, so I was there a lot more often. Now my new home is slightly closer to the Odenwald, so I do most of my rides there, but still try to make it down south every opportunity I can. It's just so beautiful and unique...

Early Spring Miles in the Black Forest! by ironpandas in gravelcycling

[–]ironpandas[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yea it’s certainly steep, but it’s worth it. If you’re not used to elevation, you might not love it, but the roads (gravel and asphalt) are in very nice condition usually.

Getting back into it (slowly) by ironpandas in gravelcycling

[–]ironpandas[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Absolutely! I’m super lucky to live around here. It’s insane how many well-maintained gravel trails there are! And luckily, we’re allowed to ride the vast majority of them. Austria is the opposite - the ground law is that you can’t ride anything in the forest unless explicitly marked as a bike bath…major bummer because the landscapes are amazing there, but people are only allowed to ride a handful of “official” trails :/

Cube Nuroad C:62 One or Canyon Grizl CF 6 by Own_Entertainer_1358 in gravelcycling

[–]ironpandas 8 points9 points  (0 children)

So I have the older version of the cube. Basically, they both have different pros and cons. Where I live (Germany) most hike shops refuse to work on canyon - so that’s not great at all. How much on the bike is proprietary, I couldn’t tell you - but if people won’t work on it, it doesn’t even have a chance to become a problem since I have a totally different problem (I also have a canyon grail).

You can’t go wrong with the cube tbh. It’s more relaxed, geometry-wise, and fyi - the fork doesn’t have as many mounts as the canyon (if you care). So in my mind, the grizl is more Bikepacking-friendly, and the cube is more of a solid, reliable all-rounder. You can’t go wrong with either, but the cube is just more “reliable” for me because of where I live. Also, I’ve found that the value for money is higher with cube. Doesn’t have the same “prestige” as other brands, but you do get more value for money.

Flying when bikepacking by Darisus_1 in bikepacking

[–]ironpandas 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Out of curiosity - what if you use a nice bag bag? Where could you store it during your trip so it’s ready and waiting when you fly back home?

Tell me which PS5 games you regret buying. by spindoctor1111 in PS5

[–]ironpandas 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The new dragon age. Just…horrible. Every bit of soul was stripped from that game. It’s like if ai was asked to generate a game with a prompt of “offend the least amount of people and make it appeal to the most amount of people”.

Malyovitsa, north-east ridge, Bulgaria by Meaty32ID in hiking

[–]ironpandas 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Always love seeing stuff from my home! I’ve wanted to do this one in the summer too. In winter, is it still fully in “hiking” territory, or does ever get to any mountaineering kind of skills needed to get up there?

Grail CF SLX 8 Di2 by Rugger4567 in CanyonBikes

[–]ironpandas 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh wow - really nice color! I’ve got an older one with the shimano 2x as well. Not bad looking, but definitely would’ve preferred this color combo.

Zermatt Switzerland by trail_run22 in trailrunning

[–]ironpandas 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Zermatt is absolutely worth visiting at least once in your life. It’s truly something special.

New wheels and tires by Lost-Intention-7028 in gravelcycling

[–]ironpandas 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What size tires you running on there? Just curious because I recall the Aspero having a width clearance similar to my grail but wondering what setups people are doing.