Gravel On A BUDGET // State 6061 Black Label Allroad

State Bicycle Co updated its budget 6061 Black Label All-Road bike with things like cable actuated hydraulic disc brakes and a clutched rear derailleur in 2023. Are those changes enough to make this bike a compelling option?
State Bicycle Co
www.statebicycle.com/collecti...
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[@LukeRichardson1981]

Been using Sensah SRX Pro (what the State system is) for a year and a half now, and while I personally like the shifting (it's nearly as precise for me as the Ultegra R8000 I have on my road bike) the overall quality leaves something to be desired. In the 18 months I've been using it, I've put over 10000km on it, and in that time I've had two rear derailleurs fail (one had the barrel adjuster mount just crack open, making it impossible to screw in the barrel adjuster, and the other had one of the pins holding the actuating arm fall out) and now the return spring in the shifter has broken, making shifting quite a bit more challenging. As a result, I'll be scrapping it soon and replacing it with the R8000 shifters from my road bike (upgrading that one to 105 Di2) paired with a GRX812 rear derailleur. I really do want to like Sensah, but they definitely need to work on their overall quality.

[@dodginglions5163]

Great video! Thanks for posting this 😎

[@daniels.2720]

Appreciate the info + really enjoy your channel.

[@TheBikeSauce]

Thx!! 🙏

[@pmb9944]

Yea, you didn't sell me on this bike. I understand the budget aspect, but after upgrading, it doesn't seem like it is worth the trouble. Plus, there is no amount of upgrading that will save the frame issues. Love the channel, thanks.

[@newoldsteel]

I did a review on the 4130 all road and I got used to the shifting and really liked it towards the end of me owning the bike. But I had to change the rear cassette and also the derailleur to sram and it improved it quite a bit. I’m in the market again for a gravel bike and I know that this bike won’t fit my needs with my next gravel and/or cyclocross bike.

[@kulit5610]

Thanks for sharing I was debating between this bike and the Poseidon redwood and I was leaning more on this bike because of the weight and thought the components would be somewhat better. Back to the drawing board.

[@ocbrakeless]

@kulit5610 X Ambition with thru axle upgrade and trp hy/rd would be more affordable and a better a build overall. Redwood is great but it depends on where you wanna ride.

[@ttvrdik]

34.9 is the seat clamp diameter. Seatpost is 31.6, it gives you a choice of running a dropper

[@TheBikeSauce]

Oh snap. Good catch!

[@e.con0210]

So a Specialized Diverge “Elite E5” with hydraulic brakes, shimano grx 400 2x front, 10 cog 11-34 rear, for $1800 (“on sale”, reg $2k) is a steal considering a great frame and great components that for most people won’t need replacement

[@iandownes3130]

I appreciate the video cuz I've been looking at these for a while! This is a stupid question, but what about 10 to 14 years ago I was really heavy into bmx (I wrote a bone deth frame with shadow conspiracy and subrosa parts). Can you put a lot of other parts onto your state frame?

[@slantedorbit]

Our shop built up the previous version of this bike for a customer who had purchased it online. We expressed our reservations about the brakes and shifting. Did he ask us our advice on which brakes to upgrade to? No, he went on Amazon and bought another pair of craptastic calipers because they came in anodized colors, then brought it to us to install. People who dismiss the value of a bike shop, the products we sell and the advice we offer… bless their hearts.

[@TheBikeSauce]

Customer is always* right 😀

[@adamfeatherstone4045]

The terano dry tan sidewall do not have puncture protection on the sidewalls, that’s only on the gray sidewall. It also has a higher rolling resistance. If you do your research the gray (charcoal) sidewall is the version you want which may explain why the tan is supplied on a budget bike

[@davidcrowson4745]

That's a nice looking bike.

[@BruceChastain]

seems like a good bike, but probably they should have left out the point about being race ready.

[@imptiger8260]

I used their 4130 for a tour across Central US this past summer. I was in a group of 23 and most of us used this bike. We had quite a few broken spokes, the 1:1 gear ratio was high for many hills we encountered, and the brakes were a problem throughout the trip. The frame is good but the groupset "eh, it did the job but there are better options". Almost everyone swapped the saddle immediately. I also had to change my stem to be shorter. I put puncture-resistant tubes into the 700x38 tires partway through the trip and never got a flat after that point. I ended the trip relegating the bike as my beat up commuter… it's still working for me surprisingly, but I would NOT use this for a tour again

[@cjohnson3836]

4130 is a pretty decent frameset. The parts let it down for more invested riding. I would recommend people get it the frameset and build it up with 2nd hand Shimano/SRAM components and you'd probably end up with a bike roughly on level with a Surly.

[@janeblogs324]

1:1 gearing on an OEM bike is a no go

[@junkandcrapamen]

How did my new mtb cost 1500$ with full Shimano Deore 12 spd, thru axles, hydraulic discs, dropper seat post and air suspension fork? Gravel and road bikes are absurdly priced for what you get.

[@TheBikeSauce]

Mtb groups are way cheaper to mnfr. Biggest challenge for budget drop bar bikes is the controls

[@junkandcrapamen]

Yeah integrated controls are pricier, but the difference still seems ridiculous. @@TheBikeSauce

[@d-rey1727]

SBC - a direct-to-consumer bike company that voids the frame warranty if the buyer assembles the bike themselves. Go figure. Bike assembly requires four parts: mounting the front wheel, attaching the handlebars, inserting the seat post, and adding the pedals.

[@Drfifi28]

Marin dsx 1 vs state allroad 6061!? Which one do you think its better!?

[@peterharrington8709]

Maybe the brakes would be improved with compressionless cable housing? It's a shame because with that, a smaller chainring and a Volt saddle you'd be sorted with a pretty nice bike.

[@Peaceman5790]

It’s actually a 30.9 seatpost, 34.9 refers to the seatpost clamp diameter, i.e. outer diameter of the seat tube.

[@TheBikeSauce]

Good catch. I just measured 31.6 mm post.

[@flo2471]

Could you exchange the brake cable housing for some compressionless housing and make a quick comparison video? People have been saying that this helps but I'm interested in hearing your thoughts.

[@epiccupcakethime]

Russ from pathless pedaled has made a similar comparison you mentioned but just not with these brakes. I have Juin tech brakes which are a mechanically actuated hydro brake which I’ve run with normal and compressionless. Looking at what is run stock on this bike I’m thinking the Juin techs are a little nicer and more powerful. Ultimately with compressionless I feel a more hydraulic feel with more modulation but not necessarily more power. Imagine a straight diagonal line in terms of power for compressionless as an opposed to a more exponential curve for normal housing when looking at the max power vs lever pull. Hope this was helpful

[@TheBikeSauce]

The compressionless housing will help a ton with feel. I did this comparison on a different set of brakes (Poseidon redwood) and it made a really noticeable difference

[@kevinchen1788]

My experience with sensah brifters is that the shifting is alright, but the shifter springs are too light and the levers are too heavy. Momentum from hitting a pothole hard or riding through rough terrain can give the levers enough momentum to swing inwards and auto shift- not something you want in a race.

[@jackferris999]

I worked at a bike shop during the peak of the COVID boom when getting a decent gravel bike, let alone at an accessible price point was nigh impossible. At the time, State was great option for entry level customers. However, my major concern, not just with State but any company moving to the D2C model, is QC. With State especially, we encountered numerous warranty issues including unstable front ends due to poorly threaded forks and whole shipments of damaged frames. When targeting entry level customers with little mechanical knowledge, poor QC or cutting out the middle man (bike shops) strikes me as deeply irresponsible.

[@TheBikeSauce]

Solid point

[@riggseroni]

I bought a State 4130 all-road a couple years ago, and really wish the back end was more tucked on that bike as well just to liven it up a bit. Looking at things now, I'd probably opt for an entry level Specialized Diverge over the State or Poseidon options.

[@cjones7854]

Hey, I like your channel. I'm in so cal and if you ever want to meet up to feel my different bikes' brakes setup, let me know. I'm a mechanic at a shop and I have a couple different types of canti brakes on bikes and mechanical disc.

[@camt1818]

The 4130 all road seems like a way better deal since there aren't many competitors offering a steel bikepacking rig for

[@nomocars23]

IDK i lucked up and got one with SRAM etap axs. definitely worth it

[@cjohnson3836]

This is a completely different kind of bike than the 4130

[@camt1818]

@@cjohnson3836 exactly. But I'm confused why State can make the 4130 competitive and not the 6061.

[@cjohnson3836]

@@camt1818 Its not. Its a completely different bike with completely different equipment needs. And if you try to take that back to the extreme of what its doing (backcountry bikepacking) its components also let it down. It just happens to be the case that racing components are less expensive than bombproof components for bikepacking. But I wouldn't buy either as a complete bike.

[@QueerGravel]

I would love to see your opinion on the aluminum revolt. It costs $1350, and is currently on sale for just under $1300.

[@TheBikeSauce]

Truthfully it looks like a solid bike. Would love to get on one to review 🤘

[@QueerGravel]

I’ll see what u can do! 😉

[@JamesFryerCreative]

@@TheBikeSauce the Contend AR is also very similar but I little more road oriented.

[@seanrequiredfieldcannotbel1362]

How much are they really saving by having a mechanical to hydro adaptor, rather than just running hydraulic brakes? And isn't a cartridge BB most likely in a BSA threaded BB to begin with? Some odd design and component choices from State though.

[@TheSpaceBrosShow]

While flat bar hydros are cheap and good, theres a pretty significant price bump between mech and hydro drop bar systems. Hence why people are really looking forward to someone like Microshift to release an affordable good 10spd hydro lever

[@AverageJoesOutdoor]

State seems to be disrupting the budget gravel realm. Stoked to give them a shot!

[@StonedApeJourney]

I would get me a state bike 4130 flat bar blck/turqse at under a grand before taxes Heck that's practically stealing from them.

[@gregschramm8180]

Nice but I like my lynskey titanium three grand more but great ride.

[@toprankin1973]

What a douchey comment…lol.

[@memcore1312]

This bike got me into gravel riding. Too bad the frame started to crack around the top tube/seat tube weld.

[@jeffandersen6233]

Agreed it looks nice and has nice tires. But at it's price point there are other "budget" bikes to consider with better parts and more compliant frames. But you and Russ already know that.

[@666IronDuke]

34.9 mm seat post? HARD PASS

[@janeblogs324]

Clamp, not post

[@TheBikeSauce]

Good catch. Post is actually 31.6

[@shepshape2585]

If you put Matej Mohoric on this bike, is he winning whatever gravel race you're competing in? Of course he is. And do you know why? Because it's not the bike. It's never been the bike. It'll never be the bike. If you're one of the most elite racers in the world, marginal gains can make a difference. You've trained 20 hours a week, you're at your ideal weight, and your position on the bike is perfect. So things like high dollar skin suits, super light components, aero helmets, aero socks, these things can, all together, save maybe 40 watts and get you to the finish line 1 second ahead of 2nd place. But for the rest of us? Those with an extra 10 pounds on them, or who only ride 5-8 hours per week, who go out and ride hard every time rather than learning how to properly train, who are not in a good position on the bike...they can spend $15,000 on a bike and they're not getting any closer to the finish line. If you want to ride gravel, or road, or mountain, you don't need to spend anything more than $2,000, tops. That'll get you a really nice "entry level" bike with good enough specs for anything you're going to do. The bike you're on only counts for about 15% of the outcome of your ride. The rest is all you. And even that 15% means is your bike clean? Is your fit correct? Is your chain properly lubed? Are your tires at the right psi? Are they the right tires for what you're doing? If all that is good, then it's about 15%. Stop buying the hype that you can buy speed. You cannot. The pros can gain a few seconds here and there, and they have sponsors to pay for the best of the best. You do not. You're paying as much for your bike as I did for a really nice motorcycle. That shouldn't make sense to you.

[@TheBikeSauce]

That’s an extreme take on a point that I generally agree with. But there is a point for every skill level where the bike holds you back more than the riders fitness / skill

[@e.con0210]

@thebikesauce ... or the brakes fail him and he crashes, or the frame breaks under his power, and he doesn’t finish the race

[@shepshape2585]

@@e.con0210 And those things have never happened on $15,000 bike, right? Chains never come off, frame doesn’t crack, brakes fail? I could find hours and hours of videos of those very things happening in the pro peloton. I’m not saying buy a Walmart bike, or some pice of junk, I’m saying that for $2,000 you can build a bike that could win any race at the amateur level with the right person riding it. That’s a fact.

[@shepshape2585]

@@e.con0210 And those things have never happened on a $15,000 bike, right? Chains never come off, frame doesn’t crack, brakes fail? I could find hours and hours of videos of those very things happening in the pro peloton. I’m not saying buy a Walmart bike, or some piece of junk, I’m saying that for $2,000 you can build a bike that could win any race at the amateur level with the right person riding it. That’s a fact.

[@k2dave1969]

Its a POS...just say it...many other budget offerings that are way better.

[@StanEby1]

The CCP is financing their attainable goal of global conquest with our addiction to bargains. We can always buy used. We need the resolve to determine destiny and avoid our default inevitable downfall.

[@memcore1312]

westerner can’t cope with the fact that your imperialist hegemony is crumbling 🤣🤣🤣

[@TheBikeSauce]

Guys, this is a bike review.

[@Natuh21]

Plz use subs with metric units.

[@cjohnson3836]

Bikes like this are a scam. There's no such thing as a budget "race" bike. An entry level "race" bike is still an expensive thing because its still a performance bike. Asking for a race bike at anything less than around $3000 is like wanting a C8 for the price of a Malibu. It doesn't exist. You can have a beginner's bike (this thing). Or you can have a beginner's "race" bike (e.g., Revolt Advanced). These are two completely different things. People need to fix their expectations of what you can get on a shoe-string budget. And bike companies need to stop lying to those people about what they can offer. You can race a budget bike. But if you are looking for a "race" built bike, you're going to be forking out money, even at the entry level (because, btw, a 50mile gravel race for a beginning racer is not the type of thing a beginner cyclist should be doing).