Mountain Bike to Gravel Bike Conversion: Garbaruk 10-52 13-Speed Build
Can a hardtail make a good gravel bike? I had a Cannondale Scalpel HT Hi-Mod frame collecting dust, so I stopped wondering and built one. It now has a rigid carbon fork, drop bars, SRAM Rival XPLR AXS, and Garbaruk’s new 13-speed cassette with a 10-52 spread. On 2.25-inch tires, with pedals, it weighs 18 lb 7 oz (8.36 kg). That number surprised me. This isn’t a Red build or a weight-weenie parts list. It’s a mid-tier group on a mountain bike frame I bought cheap, and it lands right where most stock carbon gravel bikes do. ...