US Gravel Ntl Champs: Argonaut GR3 and other gear race tested

[@crazypaulinquebec]

Good show Ben!! Thanks for this super video and congrats for your 2nd place. But no party.... snif!!

[@jmwalsh2]

Another great video dude... and it was a pleasure racing with you as always. I thought the event was great and you are right... not every race needs to be a party... but I like the party races just as much as the competitive ones and there is room for both right now and that's what's rad about gravel. Can't wait for Nats next year and another crack at that old man jersey!... and I'll be patiently waiting for some home reno/DIY content on this channel! haha.

[@mtndogdad]

Shouts to Ben for reppin' the Mammoth Tuff shirt... awesome event, highly recommend people travel out for it next year!

[@amanda_panda_]

Thank you, sir! Was tickled to see Ben wearing it in this video!

[@xaviermelendez2639]

Big Props, Benny D for a strong race and representing Boulder CO!!! 👊

[@benmayes7962]

You got me on a half hour rabbit hole into buycycle. They have a ton of Focus brand bikes.

[@sadiejones7991]

The pocket you put your trash in subbed me and made me a fan 👍

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Haha, thanks!

[@pandatactical4530]

As usual Great Job Ben!

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Thank you.

[@aaronedgeart]

This rips (well done all 'round) and I'd love an Argonaut from Ben... a legend here in Oregon!

[@ole-bboy5875]

Woohoo Ben great job. Excellent interviews.

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Thank you.

[@larryt.atcycleitalia5786]

USA Cycling takes over as "adults in the room" Same s__t, different era. Anyone who was around MTB when it began knows this only too well. Great bit on the chain lube - had the same thing happen years ago wrenching for bike tours...but in this case the quart of motor oil in the truck was all we had - refilled the branded chain lube bottles and used this stuff the rest of the tour season - plenty of praise about this great lube "brand" once clients used it..chains had never been quieter while shifting had never been better. Did we let on what it was...take a guess!

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Ha! Great story. Thanks for sharing!

[@michaellane1316]

What age groups do they have ? I am 68 and this looks like a great way to get together with folks and enjoy the spirit of cycling . Just subbed to you. What a fantastic commentator and such a genuine individual. I enjoyed your content immensely.

[@veganpotterthevegan]

"Desire alone doesn't win bike races" guy who's parents never read him The Little Engine That Could

[@notpablo8369]

guy on a wheelchair desired to win bike races.

[@LexZolnir]

i own all the bikes, raced all the bikes, not gravel, however you’re a such a good storyteller and seemingly cool dude, i watch all your vids, and i am narrowing in on a gravel bike…need to sell a mtb or my tri bike first!

[@lazlo2511]

Congratulations on your efforts… that definitely was a difference in surface’s, seems like a great place to ride/race. Was very interested in how this would be pulled off since the US is the Meca of Gravel right now. Besides doing a recon on the course, I’d do one on your fellow riders, use the road trick of having a few numbers written on some tape as a reminder, in your case it would of been the “right” solution. See what I did there< in terms of gear, I really like your choice, giving exposure to a non mainstream brand is welcoming because let’s be honest… riding something personal and supporting craftsmanship is way better than shareholder Pencil pushers. In terms of your camera experience, strange that you didn’t enjoy the new 4, seen such good reviews on it, but maybe it’s punishing you as it spotted its rival? 😂😂😂 Anyways as always, appreciate your take and in depth look at your first Gav-Nats. Now go hang up that sweet medal champ!

[@JonLeonardF10]

Question is who got more 2nd on races , You or Sagan ??? 😊 Awesome vidz as always👏👏👏

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

😁

[@robbchastain3036]

I think, Ben, you should appeal for a jersey as winner of the retroactive Presenter Category. 😀

[@chrisjong8412]

Silca wax will be better and stay cleaner. Give Josh a call, i think he will be happy to hook you up with some

[@barrytownhotdogger1633]

Great video. Very curious about the GRX shifters with Di2 XTR rear mech. Was that off the shelf or is there something special going on there?

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

That mullet setup came straight from Argonaut. Until the recent 12spd GRX, Shimano didn’t have a wide-range gravel cassette or derailleur, so this was a solution.

[@thodpa]

Does the GR3 feel substantially different than the latest Stigmata you loved? On paper they seem similar, but maybe the Stig is a bit more conservative? Thanks for your thoughts!

[@gerryl8310]

Thank you Ben! Excellent as usual! Any chance a review on the new specialized Roubaix in near future? Super curious, if this might present itself as a solid choice for a 70%/30% pavement to gravel ratio. Yes, I understand it can only fit 40mm (measured) but that may be enough for someone like myself in southern CA with lots of champagne, light gravel near by. Cheers!

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Thanks, Gerry. I'll ask 'em if I can borrow one.

[@terrillford7784]

Ben you have a nice setup. I can see you have a surplus of cranksets lol. Also, why didn't you run the GRX 12 speed for this event?

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

I am going to put the 12spd on a Scarab frame that is coming from Colombia. Also - it only has a 42-11 top gear.

[@tariqkamil7853]

Very interested in the cassette and chain ring.

[@aliancemd]

17:18 There are GoPro mounts that add magnets to it and it can do the same thing. DC Rainmaker mentioned one and it seemed to have pushed the price from $10 to $15-$20 and out of stock in some places: Falcam Magnetic Action Camera Base

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Cool! Thanks for sharing. Will look into that.

[@Milo-wl2if]

Hi Ben, really enjoying your videos and very jealous of the gravel opportunities you have compared to the UK. How did you find the shifting on the E13 cassette?

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Thanks. Shifting was fine but a little noisy compared to a Shimano cassette. Since it was Di2 I didn’t feel any issues. Performance was fine, just a little louder.

[@martinnavarre745]

Kudos!

[@goldenretriever6261]

In Canada our Gravel Champs was the very first race of the year in April and only 100km....ridiculous

[@GravelRacer1]

I agree. Too early and too short.

[@lazlo2511]

Oh no… that’s odd, what’s happening to Canada?

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Huh. That is kinda weird timing.

[@goldenretriever6261]

@@lazlo2511 Trudeau has wrecked the place

[@lazlo2511]

Tru that. 🫣

[@DaneKromer]

Thanks Ben, another enjoyable video? Question: why not run a 2X and have all the gears you’ll ever need and small jumps,between gears?

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

I do like 2x quite a bit. Of the test bikes I had on hand, though, this 42x9 had the biggest top end.

[@adambarlev8992]

I run an e13 9-34 on my GRX double, I love having a big gear to descend with.

[@tripleb7232]

Nicely done Ben congrats! Seems like you had a great time. My question for you is would 40mm tires be good for this race? Would it be fine with all the sandy sections? Tire pressure? 30-32psi? Thx Ben

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

40 would be the minimum, in my opinion. Trying to balance the fast for pavement and fast for rough stuff is always the game! Tire pressure depends on body weight. ENVE has a great chart that accounts for weight, rim width and tire width: www.enve.com/learn/tire-pressure/

[@tripleb7232]

Thx Ben I appreciate it

[@marciomvp9458]

Awesome content as always Ben. I see that you have a garmin-style mount for the GoPro. What brand is it? And, is it reliable when riding on gravel? I had a cheap one from Amazon that withstand only 2 seconds when I reach the gravel road. Thankfully these GoPro are very sturdy.

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

That metal mount came from Argonaut. I don't know if they machined it or what. K-Edge make great mounts. I like the Max: alnk.to/1N0ib3a Just don't get this two-piece Race version: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q2qcooKPft-cqpYsi=F7DtsclnELslSXrq&t=370

[@marciomvp9458]

@@TheRidewithBenDelaneyThank you!

[@notpablo8369]

Whats up with gravel bikes with time-trial sized chainring👀

[@markanderson7412]

Well done BD, Nationals going to change venue each year and take it around the country? If not why not Thanks mate

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

I don’t think it’s decided yet. Moving around has obvious merits, but staying in one place for 2-3 years lets them build and improve.

[@OrwellionFeverDreamCouchPotato]

Thanks Ben, great result! What size tires did you end up rolling with and what psi's were you running? Thanks again for the great Vids 🙂

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

45 and mid 30s, as I'm 185-190lb.

[@OrwellionFeverDreamCouchPotato]

Cool beans, thanks!@@TheRidewithBenDelaney

[@brettrobertson2744]

Apologies if I missed it in the vid, but why’d do you chose the R vs the RS?

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

The bike came with the R in 45, and I kept them on thinking about the amount of sand on the course. It would have been fine with 40 RS though.

[@dennisviquez7636]

Nice T!

[@garyf5622]

Can you post a link to the water bottles you use. Looking for the biggest water bottles for Gravel races.

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

The ones there are 26oz/750ml Specialized Purist from Perc (RIDE15 saves you 15% on bottles and coffee at perccoffee.com). Elite also makes some 950ml bottles: perccoffee.com/collections/merch

[@patrickrenschler]

nice! did keegan ride the stigmata?

[@Chader9]

Yes, same V4 that he did for Unbound.

[@evanm.2300]

I heard alot of gopros except for the 360 r unreliable. The hardware cant keep up with itself and overheats. Saw on a youtube vid. What u guys think?

[@JFomo]

I was going to get that dji action 4, wth? How did that happen? You pressed stop and it didn't stop?

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

I have been generally happy with it and the 3. My beef is just that it is hard to use in events, because it is hard to tell if it is off or on. Especially on gravel in a pack, I usually can’t hear it beep. Same deal with pressing the button; it is hard to feel the slight movement when rattling along. That is why the auto off function on action cameras os nice: if you accidentally turn it on or forget to turn it off or you think you have turned it off but you haven’t… it shuts down after the specified time. I had it set to 5min, and that function didn’t work. I recorded a few clips normally early on, then ended up with about 45min or something at about mile 50 and then it was done. Later I tried to turn it on and nothing happened, so I thought maybe the battery had died. If you are on the road and/not racing, this isn’t nearly as much of an issue because you can stop and check.

[@thatguy9051]

Did USA cycling test podium people?

[@jmwalsh2]

I had the same question....

[@lexington476]

Test people for what?

[@veganpotterthevegan]

I'm sure, not that negative tests mean people are actually clean.

[@Hintonbro.]

The Ride didn’t get to test the new Roubaix SL8?

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

Nope. At least not yet.

[@Hintonbro.]

C’mon Specialized 🙄

[@Hintonbro.]

C’mon Specialized 🙄

[@burronorteno]

what are your favorite gravel wheels that are less than $2K?

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

I do need to do a gravel wheel roundup soon. DT and Hunt have some good value options. Not sure what ENVE’s Foundation wheels go for.

[@Alex-bl6oi]

Did he mention what bag that is on the top post?

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

It’s a one-off I got at a Trek launch a few years ago. I had to drill new holes to make it far far up enough on the Argonaut that it didn’t hit my knees.

[@owenhotvet361]

What top tube bag is that? Thx

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

It was a one-off made by/for Trek a few years ago.

[@lexington476]

From what you were saying at the end. maybe USA Cycling wanted this to be 'a serious race'.... "This will be a serious race, there will be no fun and games, all serious all the time 😐😑 (insert stern look here)".

[@Ih8GoogleandApple]

The pro race crash must have been knarly in a way that the results don’t necessarily reflect the best outcome for riders legs

[@lazlo2511]

Maybe too much roadie riding traits that don’t work on those surfaces? 🤭

[@raOdhiOnal]

Ben is what i want to be when i hit 40

[@thomashinson5684]

Interesting green screen???

[@thomashinson5684]

Never mind! The straight on angle in the shop is trippy!

[@gabrielmarias972]

Hi! Im looking for a gravel build, and no idea about geo, i will like some kind of modern bike but also comfortable for long hours events or multiday races/trips, so will be grat some compromise. The bike i will take have Ht 71 St 74 ,435mm chainstays, 140 headtube And about drivetrain, i also will like sonething best vesatile possible, because i do some road, some long road climbs, but also some gravel races nd multiday events with some bags so extra weight.. Im average rider, will use with 40mm tires and im my road bike ride 28mm 50-36 with 11-34 cassette. Thanks a lot for the feedback

[@davidgiroux6047]

All to save 45 seconds

[@roadcyclist1]

Ah, i see they are trying to legitimize the "sport" of gravel racing by having a serious race for once. Good on them, but gravel will always be a sport for those who couldnt cut it in proper road races. Although, in the USA, all proper racing is dead anyways, so what does it matter?

[@TheRidewithBenDelaney]

You forgot the “and get off my lawn!” part. 😁