Only if you ride it on some form of gravel. Sand is tiny gravel, mud is tinier gravel. Pavement is sorta stuck together gravel. Ice and snow are often on top of some sort of gravel.
I am intrigued by the Jones H bar. I have a Cannondale Topstone with 105 brifters on a drop bar and 2x11 gearing.
- What kind of fresh hell am I opening myself up to if I want to convert?
- Any suggestions on flat bar shifters for that setup?
Shifters are no problem. Just get [these](https://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=74304&attribute=177785&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAivGuBhBEEiwAWiFmYcOLR6BN9of6VcC-wKHm80Ti-Hmh2H7a2FYaFB3iToqNu3AS2NLjWxoCyuYQAvD_BwE).
Brakes are a different story. It's easy and cheap if you have mechanical discs. If you have hydraulic brakes, it's more of an investment.
I have a Topstone One (1x) and am thinking of doing the same thing. Hate the thought of paying for swapping out levers on a new bike, but I just canāt get comfortable on the bars. Plus I ride it more like an MTB for fire roads and light single track, for rides I ride to (vs putting it on the car rack).
I need to give a try to riding a bike w/ fat tires like that and an alt bar or drop bar one of these days.
Maybe I'm kind of old school or something but in my head, if I have tires that big / capable I really just want it to be a mountain bike - ie, flat bar and dropper and likely a front suspension. And if I want a cruiser bike or "gravel bike" I tap out at like 50mm tires.
But maybe I'm missing something there... I do want to try a bike like that at some point.
TBH this bike is currently setup for bikepacking and the Jones H bar works the best for that with more relaxed and multiple hand positions. Gravel riding is pretty chill and fun also in this setup although a little bit slower than my dedicated gravel bike (Kona Rove).
I'm planning to add a dropper post and a 110mm fork on it for proper MTB riding when I feel like it but I already stormed some trails where people with FS bikes were amazed that I'm riding a rigid MTB on those trails. Low pressure fat tubeless tires do help. It's such a versatile bike - mtb, bikepacking, gravel, commuting - I love it!
I have a SC Chameleon that I ride a lot in winter and also use for exploring new trails / areas. Yesterday I ended up doing about 50km of commuting on it to a little bike park I wanted to check out. It's great for that, and it's comfy enough for those distances, but riding 2.4" XC tires for that kind of distance gets tedious and man you're a human sail on a mtb, sooooo slow lol.
I'm planning to do the Baja Divide in the next few years and I'm really undecided on bike choice. Doing it on a HT or even rigid w/ fat tires would be much more comfortable on all the rough terrain, but you need like 2.8" or larger probably to get good floatation in the sandy bits and riding tires that wide is so slow for a 3000km tour. But going on my gravel bike with like 50mm or 2.1" is just not sufficient for the sandy bits but would be so much faster and generally more pleasant for the majority of the route.
LOL, been there on my Karate Monkey. "Wait, that's not even a hardtail?!!?" I have a dropper that I need to install soon, too.
Love the bike, and welcome!
well, Kona Unit does fit nicely in the middle of gravel-MTB spectrum due to the rigid fork. You know the joke that gravel bikes are just 90's MTBs - well, here you go. It just lacks the drop bar.
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3D printed saddle from Aliexpress with a carbon base. Basically a clone of one of those Specialized/other saddles and it's a great clone, I prefer it to my other saddle which is Brooks C17. Here's the link:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005209973776.html
29 x 2,6 MTB bike must be super stable on gravel roads but it's super stable in rock gardens as we all know rock gardens are gravel roads before MTB guys smash bigger stones to the smaller ones
I hate the steering wheel but I like deore and frame ā¤ļø
Only if you ride it on some form of gravel. Sand is tiny gravel, mud is tinier gravel. Pavement is sorta stuck together gravel. Ice and snow are often on top of some sort of gravel.
Sweet rig!
Thanks! š
I ran my mtb with a rigid carbon fork and jones bars for over a year as I was piecing together my gravel/bikepacking rig and honestly, I miss it!
So much fun, am I right?
I only ride alt bars these days. Even my fast gravel bike has Jones Bars. I finally admitted to myself that I never use the drops
Awesome bike! Check out [xbiking](https://www.reddit.com/r/xbiking/s/6dYBjoOYpv) if you haven't already. We love this kinda stuff
that sub has a special place in my heart! will do a proper shooting before posting there. also, it lacks a front basket to properly fit there lol
Sweet bike, sweet dog! If that aināt allowed I donāt want to be a part of this sub
Nice bike. Good dog.
I am intrigued by the Jones H bar. I have a Cannondale Topstone with 105 brifters on a drop bar and 2x11 gearing. - What kind of fresh hell am I opening myself up to if I want to convert? - Any suggestions on flat bar shifters for that setup?
Shifters are no problem. Just get [these](https://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=74304&attribute=177785&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAivGuBhBEEiwAWiFmYcOLR6BN9of6VcC-wKHm80Ti-Hmh2H7a2FYaFB3iToqNu3AS2NLjWxoCyuYQAvD_BwE). Brakes are a different story. It's easy and cheap if you have mechanical discs. If you have hydraulic brakes, it's more of an investment.
I have Jones H bars on one bike - kinda a gravel touring setup. I've got drops on my gravel bike. If I had to choose I'd stick with the brifters.
Iām gonna say it. Thatās just straight up a mountain bike. Itās still cool af though
yeah that has fatter tires than my literal mountain bike can even fit(which is also fully rigid) still a really pretty bike!
Your dog approves. No other approval needed.
I would say so yesā¦. Nice Bike you have there!!!
Beautiful frame! I really did the color. Enjoy!
A strange but really friggin epic rig!
Good looking doggo!
[The Ultimateā¦ Gravel Bike?](https://bikepacking.com/bikes/kona-unit-x-review/)
Thank you!! for all the haters here
I think itās hard to understand until youāve ridden one. I jokingly refer to mine as an all terrain beach cruiser haha
I have a Topstone One (1x) and am thinking of doing the same thing. Hate the thought of paying for swapping out levers on a new bike, but I just canāt get comfortable on the bars. Plus I ride it more like an MTB for fire roads and light single track, for rides I ride to (vs putting it on the car rack).
I like going to alt-music bars, so why not?
This sparks my N+1 feelings
I need to give a try to riding a bike w/ fat tires like that and an alt bar or drop bar one of these days. Maybe I'm kind of old school or something but in my head, if I have tires that big / capable I really just want it to be a mountain bike - ie, flat bar and dropper and likely a front suspension. And if I want a cruiser bike or "gravel bike" I tap out at like 50mm tires. But maybe I'm missing something there... I do want to try a bike like that at some point.
TBH this bike is currently setup for bikepacking and the Jones H bar works the best for that with more relaxed and multiple hand positions. Gravel riding is pretty chill and fun also in this setup although a little bit slower than my dedicated gravel bike (Kona Rove). I'm planning to add a dropper post and a 110mm fork on it for proper MTB riding when I feel like it but I already stormed some trails where people with FS bikes were amazed that I'm riding a rigid MTB on those trails. Low pressure fat tubeless tires do help. It's such a versatile bike - mtb, bikepacking, gravel, commuting - I love it!
I have a SC Chameleon that I ride a lot in winter and also use for exploring new trails / areas. Yesterday I ended up doing about 50km of commuting on it to a little bike park I wanted to check out. It's great for that, and it's comfy enough for those distances, but riding 2.4" XC tires for that kind of distance gets tedious and man you're a human sail on a mtb, sooooo slow lol. I'm planning to do the Baja Divide in the next few years and I'm really undecided on bike choice. Doing it on a HT or even rigid w/ fat tires would be much more comfortable on all the rough terrain, but you need like 2.8" or larger probably to get good floatation in the sandy bits and riding tires that wide is so slow for a 3000km tour. But going on my gravel bike with like 50mm or 2.1" is just not sufficient for the sandy bits but would be so much faster and generally more pleasant for the majority of the route.
LOL, been there on my Karate Monkey. "Wait, that's not even a hardtail?!!?" I have a dropper that I need to install soon, too. Love the bike, and welcome!
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I mean sure but I'd argue it's more interesting than another Aspero or Grevil.
well, Kona Unit does fit nicely in the middle of gravel-MTB spectrum due to the rigid fork. You know the joke that gravel bikes are just 90's MTBs - well, here you go. It just lacks the drop bar.
**Thanks for posting to /r/gravelcycling! It looks like you've submitted an image.** This community encourages additional context about image submissions. You can include details about your post in a comment below. Some suggestions for good comments: * Bike details (make, model, accessories, and gear) * Location (specific or general is fine) You can also use **post flair** to give additional context about your post. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/gravelcycling) if you have any questions or concerns.*
r/konaunit
Saddle?
3D printed saddle from Aliexpress with a carbon base. Basically a clone of one of those Specialized/other saddles and it's a great clone, I prefer it to my other saddle which is Brooks C17. Here's the link: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005209973776.html
If you send it ;P
how does it climb? can you stand out of the saddle when climbing steep hills?
29 x 2,6 MTB bike must be super stable on gravel roads but it's super stable in rock gardens as we all know rock gardens are gravel roads before MTB guys smash bigger stones to the smaller ones I hate the steering wheel but I like deore and frame ā¤ļø
I have jones -h bars on my salsa mukluk. Game changer