September 14, 2018:
Raleigh Tamland 2:
Because I was having so many shifting problems with my Fuji Jari gravel bike, and because I never fully trusted the handling after my crash last Fall, and because I had wanted the Tamland prior to buying the Fuji ……. and because I just wanted it ….. I purchased a new Raleigh Tamland 2 Gravel bike from Spokelahoma bike shop here in Shawnee. Here are a few observations after putting on 1,000 miles.
The Tamland comes in two versions, Tamland 1 … a Sram Apex version, also a single chainring crank, just slightly cheaper. Raleigh used to put a Chromoly fork on that one, but now both versions sport strong looking carbon forks. The Tamland 1 has a carbon/aluminum version, where the Tamland 2 has a full carbon fork. The Tamland 2 in a size 58 weighed 24 pounds 2 oz. without pedals or add-on's. Mine, by the time I am ready to use them always gain weight …. I'm sure they take after the owner. I removed a few superfluous grams by removing the ridiculous warning stickers all over the bike.
Reynolds 631 steel tubing …. I've always felt it competes favorably with Tange and Columbus both in weight and ride quality, as well as strength. The oldest bicycle tubing manufacturer starting producing butted tubing back in the late 1800's. This is my third Raleigh, but the first one not made entirely in Nottingham, England. Raleigh is now owned by Accell, a Dutch corporation, and the frames are now made in Taiwan. The frame is entirely TIG welded, and the welds are very pretty and uniform. We shall see, although I've known some of these bikes with many thousands of gravel miles on them with no problems.
Sram Rival crank and derailleurs and Sram Force shifter round out the controls, the wheelset is American Classic, 24mm inside width tubeless ready rims. . Three water bottle mounts. The brake cable is mounted inside the frame with a brazed in tube. The Crank is a 42 tooth Rival. This is my first steel bike since I was a kid, and my first single ring crank since I got my first geared bike. More on performance later. The Sram drivetrain has proven to be reliable and trouble free after 1,000 miles.
The rear derailleur (the only one) is also a Sram Rival unit, the cassette is an 11 speed Sram 1160 with an 11/42 spread. The brakes are TRP Spyre, an excellent mechanical brake, and in my opinion, one of the very best mechanical disc brakes on the market today. Yes, they work that good.
I have done several local gravel rides building up to a repeat of the 50 miler that broke my leg last year, and had not one single problem with the bike. Before I picked the bike up from the dealer, I had him set the 700/40mm Clement MSO tires up tubeless. Again, another first for me. Whether it was the steel frame, geometry, carbon fork, tubeless tires, or a combination of all, the bike turned out to be the best handling bike I have ever ridden on gravel. Rock solid and tracks like it was on rails in almost all conditions. The first ride, I had to stop twice and check to see if I had air in the tires, the bike rode uncannily smooth over everything except deep washboard. Nothing …. rides good over deep washboard. Did I mention, the bike rode very well ….. yes indeedy …. I might mention here, after experimenting with tire pressures, I have settled on 28 in the rear, and 26 in the front. Between the good ride, and the rock solid handling, I knew I had a winner here.
The bike came with black Raleigh branded saddle … it was okay, but I am old school. My previous two Raleigh's both came with Brooks saddles, and so will this one. With the sky blue, I chose the Honey color B-17 Imperial, another first for me. Not the B-17, but the Imperial with the cutout. They say they break in quicker. This one seemed to, as I had little discomfort right from the start, and after 150 miles, it was as comfortable as my old B-17 Standard. The natural Cinelli cork tape went with it. For gravel anymore, I feel flat pedals are the way to go, and so I put on Raceface Chester's. The pins hold tenaciously and allow you to pedal as efficiently as clip in's. They seem to be light and tough. These yellow ones, I had bought for another bike, and this bike will have the same pedal only in orange to match the stripes on the fork and seat stays. I've had these pedals on since the first ride and after 1,000 miles, I won't be changing them to clipless.
One of the pictures from the Tallgrass Tour. The bike did marvelously for the entire fifty miles.
A photo from downtown Shawnee.
In conclusion, this bike has proven to be everything I expected of it, and way more. The stock gearing has proven itself to be very adequate, and in fact, I really prefer it on a bike used mostly for gravel. It tops out 4mph less than my carbon road bike, and I've not yet run out of climbing gears on any hill around here. I think Raleigh made some excellent choices with this bike, and they have all come together to end up being an excellent bike for gravel, as well as everyday riding. I expect this will be a high mileage bike like my Cannondale Super Six.
I feel an add here in regards the pedals is necessary. Shortly after I wrote this blog post, I noticed play in the bearings on the right side pedal. I was a bit disappointed in Race Face, but in all honesty, they are designed for off road single track where riders don't usually put on the kind of miles I do. The Chesters are bushings instead of roller bearings. I replaced them with Shimano XT Deore 8040 flat pedals that use the same bearing and spindle setup as do all of their mountain bike pedals. Very long wearing and easily serviced. So far, they have proven to be the way to go.
