REVIEW: SPECIALIZED SEQUOIA EXPERT
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- čas přidán 8. 09. 2024
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Review of the Specialized Sequoia Expert! We try it both in 700 and 650b mode! Is this your next bike touring, bikepacking, gravel bike? Find out!
#thesupplelife
I have a sequoia with the steel fork. He’s right it is NOT a fast bike, but it is hella fun to ride gravel and commute on. It was great for my first bike, it helped me test the waters on all of the different types of riding to see what I wanted to focus more on.
I agree with most of your review of the bike. I own several road bikes and a mountain bike, and wanted something good for the "in-between" areas with some light bikepacking possibilities. I bought an Elite from my LBS (for gearing reasons mentioned in your review and comments), received it November 31, and exactly two months later have about 1200 miles on it. I can't explain why something so heavy is so much fun. I think maybe it has largely to do with the ability to just go anywhere I want comfortably. It challenges many notions I've had about bikes: that they should be light, have skinny tires, have big gears up front. The front-end stability (which I know is a negative for you--you seem to like twitchy steering) was a major selling point for me considering the mountain-bike/unstable dirt and rock garden terrain we have in SoCal. Keep up the good work you do on the channel!
One of your best reviews! Scads of useful info to digest. Great work.
I’m a huge fan of my Sequoia Elite! That being said, I upgraded the boat anchors (I mean wheels) to a set of 27.5” XTR carbon wheels and dropped a ton of weight and it did change the whole ride of the bike. I’ve commuted on it, ridden through snow, and dropped roadies in a group ride. She is a “sturdy” bike for sure, but a good addition to the fleet!
Yeah, totally amazed at what a set of lightweight wheels did to the bike!
Can you share more about the 650B, sorry 27.5 inch, wheelset. How does it change the feelof the ride? What tires are you using?
@@PolyglotBikepacker ditto
Does it seem faster with 650B?
I built up a sequoia pro module this year and I agree with the review all around. Very smooth and relaxed ride. It's pretty heavy with the specialized adventure-gear wheelset, but they roll smooth and I think the carbon fork lightens it up to compensate. I set mine up tubless with 700x43c gravel king sk's and I like it a lot. I personally enjoy the speed and roll over of the 700c wheel because I think It fits my body better than 650b, but I think the sequoia would make a lot of sense as a 650b bike. I want to see big brands like specialized, Giant, and Trek enter into the world of 650b road bikes, it feels like 650b might always be a boutique/small manufacturer market.
I also noticed that the specialized adventure gear saddle (which was grippy and textured out of the box) has almost polished out to the point that it is almost shiny the more my butt has rubbed on it. If you get the saddle dirty, it is really hard to clean, dirt and mud stain the fabric of the seat and it soaks up water in the rain.
In all honesty, this is more of an off-road rigid bike rather than your typical touring/gravel bike. Even though it's easy to just keep it going for hours and hours, I would not get it if I was doing multi-day touring with heavy baggage.
If you equip it with a proper wheelset, it will be fast on tarmac and a lot of fun on XC trails. The frame is very comfortable, and handling is excellent both on and off road. I feel this review didn't stress enough how easy the bike is to manoeuvre, especially compared to some CX, road or gravel bikes. Even after long stretches of rough off-road sections, I do not feel any serious fatigue like I would on a an alloy frame.
The only issue is the pricing. The frame can be an amazing base for a wide variety of different builds, but having to buy a bike with a poor wheelset only to upgrade it is a pain. Trying the sell the wheelset can be a pain as well, it's very heavy. That's most likely the reason why the sales of this bike aren't great, despite the frame being probably the best you can get for the purpose in this price-range. I almost didn't buy it precisely because I didn't want to spend the money for the whole bike. Specialized should have been selling these with a frameset only option.
You’re right on regarding the group set, particularly the chainring. I toured parts of Europe this summer with my AWOL with Sram 1x and the 38 chainring was gruelling. I had to change the whole group set in order to enable me to climb comfortably. It cost me over 500 euros! If your going to be a long way from home and heavily loaded, know your limitations and your bikes capabilities before you depart!
I run a 42T chainring, in the Netherlands it was perfect, in the low mountains of central and eastern Germany not so much.
William What gearing did you choose in the end?
Steven Bird I stopped at numerous bike shops in France but was unable to find an appropriate smaller chain ring in stock. The only resolution I was able to find was at a small shop just across the border in Spain (Basque Country). That resolution was expensive! I ended up with Sram GX cassette, new chain, and GX shifters. With drop bars, the tech needed to McGiver the mb shifters, so it ended up looking weird but it works great. The big ring on the GX cassette is a 50! Now my bike climbs like a goat. I’m 63 yrs old but this was my first tour. However I should have known better than to ride into the Pyrenees on a setup that I was untested on.
William Great! I have a Marin Gestalt with 11/42 cassette and 36 at the front. I’m starting back to bike packing in the Spring after nearly 3 decades away from cycling and am thinking of moving to a 32 chainring, maybe even 30. It’d help my legs too which aren’t so strong these days with age and MS getting in the way.
@@steveb1972 try 46t in the back before the chainring swap. In case you travel too loaded an oval 32-34 should work just fine
This bike was designed by Erik Nholin for exactly what you said it is excedding at! I have one and love it!!!
Ok
I love my sequoia expert! Mine is used primarily for commuting and gravel riding. I bumped my ring from a 38t to a 40t and that has been better for my gravel riding since I'm not loading it up with gear. Also swapped out bars because the stock bars were too wide for me. Awesome bike and build! Would totally buy again. Currently running a carbon 650b wheelset with a 47mm tire. I might back to 700, haven't decided yet. Awesome review!
Great review. Spot-on description of the Sequoia being somewhere between a Diverge and AWOL. My impression of the Diverge is it's just a wide-tire road bike. Hopefully you get a chance to do a review of the AWOL sometime in the future. FYI- I've had the same problems with that seatpost bolt also.
I rode a sequoia from Belgium to China, amazing bike
Bart van de Langenberg what???! That’s amazing! 👍
Wow. Do you have a blog or something?
@@shemmac4700 Yes, check out belgium2bishkek.blogspot.com
Wow! omg
Nice review pretty accurate although I don’t think I will be doing the wheel conversation. I did change my front chainring as I live somewhere hilly and it’s the best thing you can do with the bike.
As you say not a race bike, but a very planted and comfortable all day ride. I have had no issues with the saddle.
I am enjoying the flurry of video's Russ, it does seem you are racing winter :-) nothing wrong with that. Please keep up the excellent reviews.
I owned a sequoia 2017 base model. Within less than 7000 km, I managed to break both hubs, both rims, drivetrain bearings and frame without having accidents or doing anything extreme. Everything was fixed/replaced under warranty and after the frame failure I even got an entirely new sequoia 2018 which I was happy to sell immediately. Still I am grateful because I rode a year almost for free and learned a lot about bikes in the process.
Holy smokes! Where/how were you riding it?!
@@PathLessPedaledTV Mostly used it for commuting and a few smooth gravel rides. Nothing that would explain accelerated wear. I'm also not a heavy rider. The frame crack (left chain stay) was probably the result of disc brake forces.
@@PathLessPedaledTV Loving the channel btw :-)
@@jag0dver have heard about the frame crack now so often, that I don't think it is just an occasional problem. My stock rims cracked after 4.000km (both rims cracked at the spoke holes, multiple mini-"fractures"). Again with me, warranty service was top but sold the bike this winter. Happy to have it gone.
Well, that is enough for me to look elsewhere. Later Specialized.
I have the standard steel fork version of the sequoia. Mine is a 2x setup but it's the cheap one so it's only a 9 speed cassette. Will be upgrading that in the future. Most of the reviews I've seen usually end up with the reviewer complaining about the gearing on the expert. That and the expert model is stupid pricey. The standard and elite are a better value in my opinion. Though I do wish I could have bought the elite model with a steel fork. But I definitely love my sequoia, it's a great only bike if racing isn't your thing. Personally I'd say the sequoia is more awol than it is diverge. A light on/off road touring bike.
I own the Sequoia Elite and the think it's a much better option than the 'Expert'. The 2018 Elite has the 48/32 Gossamer Pro double crank, for much better cadence control. Also I prefer Shimano RS505 shifters to SRAM.
I was able to take both out a ride at my LBS and the 'Elite' was noticeably more comfortable than the 'Expert' due to the heavier wheels and fatter tires. The Elite comes with 42mm sawtooth tires, whereas the Expert has only 38mm. You can tell the difference.
Bottom Line, the 2018 Elite($1800 since they are discounting last year's inventory) is far less expensive than the Expert ($3200), and yet the Elite is much better equipped, especially if you prefer Shimano to SRAM, as I do.
That is definitely a lot more reasonable gearing for sure.
Pretty much spot on. I built mine from the Pro Module frameset that comes with the flexy CGR seatpost and the reflective paint, but with similar components. It is definitely not the lightest bike (currently 10,1kg for a 52 with relatively heavy Mavic Aksium Allroad 700c wheels, non-tubeless, so there may be half a kg to shave off there), but when it it rolls, it rolls. Descending is super nice, the bike feels planted and stable, and it is super comfy even on long rides. Not a big fan of the saddle (changed for a C15 AW, maybe for a C13 at a later point) and bar tape, though, it just doesn't work for me.
Hey Russ, I owned the Sequoia Elite for two years and have rode the bike 10.000km. I would confirm your feelings regarding the bike and ride feeling. However, I would even say that frontloader-touring is already too much for the bike. I did just that for a little 250km, 2 day tour and could immediately feel the gearing being too low with the additional weight. In contrast I have bikepacked it over the Alps with a super light bikepacking setup and that went way better. So, if anything, I wouldn't load it up heaver than with a rando bag in the front or anything-cages.
My main concern with the bike though is the poor quality of the frame and wheels, the stock wheels are heavy, not robust and cracked on my bike after 4.000km. I have heard personally from four people whose Sequoia frames had cracks at the chainstays because of rust issues (Elite and Expert model). This is simply not acceptable at that price point and I wouldn't consider buying this bike again.
Bike Lust my friend. Bike Lust.
Thanks man! I'm able to get the expert for $1350 so I feel like that's a steal but I'm having a tough time with all the not so great reviews. What other bikes would you recommend over this one?
Great review. I have been riding this bike for a while now and I agree with almost every comment. I was thinking about changing the wheelset to a lighter one and after seeing this video I'm definitely going for it.
Yeah. Pretty noticeable difference!
Dig the review, this was my first #supplelife bike after years of #nofunnoride. In 58 it seems super quick to accelerate and almost annoyingly twitchy at first. Handles like a rabbit wearing reeboks for me but I'm 6'2" 290lbs. Specialized pulled the plug on all steel bikes so get one while u can.
I got a basic Sequoia last year 2018. This is the first drop bar bike I have owned since being a teenager 40 years ago. I got it as a go exploring comfortable ride and it certainly is that plus it's a solid build which I like. Only difficulty so far was fitting Specialized mudguards (Fenders) with barely any clearance, so had to do very precise adjustments. I am currently building up the bike for some touring in the warmer weather and really looking forward to that!
I own the sequoia elite 2018. Century rides on it are comfortable. Switched out the stock phenom saddle for a power saddle. Also reverted back to tubes with tire liners since the sawtooths with stans didnt seal well. Used last winter with specialized 52mm fenders. It is on the heavier side, but once up to speed it Carrie's speed really well. Gravel is good under this bike. Wish the shimano double was a 46x30 instead of a 48x32stock setup with the 11-36t rear, especially when loaded. Also I switched the stock adventure gear wheels to the axis elite wheels off the diverge model, and it made the bike much more snappier off the line. My most fun bike in my lineup.
I own a 2016 AWOL and I would have to agree that the wheels are heavy. It's not a quick bike but it is still very fun. I use it for commuting, bikepacking and touring. Mine came with a triple crankset up front and I had to swap the 30t for a 26t to make climbing more manageable. Unfortunatly they discontinued the AWOL for 2019.
Brad, I'm looking into the Specialized AWOL Comp for a touring bike. Would you recommend the Awol? Thanks!
@@137997311ful The AWOL had been discontinued for 2019 so if you get one it will be a 2018 or used. As for the Comp, you will have the 1x which will be great for bikepacking. You may start spinning out and running out of high gears on the road and have bigger steps between gears with a 1x. Over all though, great bike.
Brad, I think the Trek 520 with 11-36, 9 speed would be better for bike touring under load. Would you agree?
@@137997311ful Most definitely. Especially for on road.
I’ve been thinking of an awol for gravel? With 42 sawtooths & jonesbars. Your thoughts?
Looks like a nice bike but I prefer the unique small companys that you show on the channel
So do I but I also get lots of requests for bikes that are more easily available.
@@PathLessPedaledTV And affordable. Some of us just can't go out and justify a reason to drop 2k on a frame alone.
Dont agree, its nice to see boutique brands but they are expensive and difficult to get hold of, in Central Europe i have no chance of buying many of the exclusive brands even if i wanted to. P.S a review of the Trek Checkpoint would be fab if you could get hold of one 😀
One bolt seat posts are not my friends. Thomson style two bolt are the best I have found. Seat angle isn't something I adjust enough to appreciate a single bolt luxury anyhow.
I have a 2018 Elite, liked the price and the gearing on the Elite. The stock wheels are heavy but I do like that they are a single spoke length all the way around so you only need to carry one spoke length. Overall I really enjoy the bike and have had zero issues. My next upgrade will be a Red Shift suspension stem, thank you for the recommendation Russ. Great review, been looking forward to your thoughts on this bike. 👍
Nice! Been waiting for your review
Have the base line Sequoia. Definitely a stable bike. Very flexible, very able. Only real issue is the weight of the wheel set. It just doesnt want to go until its going.
The saddle isn't hard on clothes. I've had mine for two years and it hasn't damaged anything.
It seems your biggest problem was the 650B set up when you exceeded spec. I haven't found much the stock wheels and tires can't handle short of real mud. I'm sure there's a good 650bx47 or 700x42-45 for that.
great review, man!
Looks like the dimples on the insides of the chainstays are designed for 700C wheels, even in the size you tested. If they extended the dimples a bit, the clearance for 650B wheels would improve.
I have the Sequoia Elite for bike packing. Comfortable for long hauls and very stable even with rack and panniers. The 105 long cage mech doesn’t really feel right with the 11-36 cassette though. Love the hover bars but they limit accessory mounting. I bit pricey for steel frame bike IMO though.
I think you should review the salsa fargo, in titanium if you could manage but the steel one is seems rad too!
Wish you would have discussed the hydraulic disk brakes. They were the deciding factor for me. I also went with the twin chain ring on the crank. Not so sure about the single. Bikes are such an investment now it’s hard to buy something then shell out extra money to make it right.
If you can, ride a diverge with 650b!
Great video. Keep them coming! How do you like the 650b wheels compared to the 700c wheels?
Nice review! I have a Diverge and was thinking about upgrading my bars to the Hover with flares. Were those on the Sequoia? If so, how do they compare to Salsa bars? I also have a Fargo with Woodchippers for reference.
Great content, love the channel keep it supple side down!
Yes, OEM with the sequoia. Feel similar to Cowbells. Cowbells might have a tough more flare. Currently digging the Cowchippers best.
I have the same seatpost on a Specialized Chisel and have exactly the same problem.
Would love to see reviews of Felt Breed 20/30 (650B!), Cannondale Topstone, Trek Checkpoint, Jamis Renegade or the new Canyon Grail AL
Looking into ALL those bikes actually. I have a lead on the Checkpoint. No media contact for Cdale, Jamis or Canyon yet. If I do get them, it prob won't be till Spring though.
The Future Shock is awesome
In case anyone was wondering, Wolftooth and Absolute Black do make a smaller chainrings for this crankset (down to a 30t). I see that Sram's smallest chainring available is 38t with this spider combo ... so they were trying? I have gotten so used to thinking that 38t is the smallest made available, since back in the day, this was the smallest size when dealing with a standard 130 bcd crankset. Happily times change!
Good to know about the other options!
I put a Wolftooth 34T chainring on my Kona Rove which came with a 38T chainring this summer. Replacing the chainring moves the chain out about 4mm, because the stock Sram chainrings have their teeth offset towards the bottom bracket. I was a bit surprised when I noticed that. It works just fine though even if it's propably not exactly ideal. The 34T chainring is also the smallest option on the standard 110mm spider.
@@orvio WT has 3 chainring chainline options with these the road/cx/mtb rings?
SRAM does make a smaller chainring but it's supposed to be an "MTB" one and is direct mount but you can run it on road cranks. The largest is 38T and it goes down to 30T I think. If you run the non boost version it doesn't screw up your chainline, even SRAM approves of this combo.
Ok, not to stir-up or misinform, but yes a MTB DM ring will work, however it must be a long spindle gpx version for the correct chainline. The WT website spells it out pretty clearly. www.wolftoothcomponents.com/products/direct-mount-chainrings-for-sram-cranks
One more question, how do you figure out what wheels to get? If I want to keep the same size, 700x42, but with a carbon wheel. I've looked up the size of the stock wheels but it seems like everyone is using a different way of measuring their wheels. I can't find a good match.
New to the channel but thanks for the video! Review is pretty accurate. I picked up the 2017 Sequoia expert second hand for a fair price, I love the ride, but it sometimes feels too slow for me. I have been thinking about selling it on and putting that towards a Midnight Special. Do you think I would miss the Sequoia when I go bikepacking? Or would the Surly MS be nice on the gravel as well.
Keep the great videos coming!
MS is a rocket. You should check out our video on Bikepacking the Ochoco Overlander. One of the guys was riding the Midnight Special and did great on the terrain. He's also a pretty strong rider though. czcams.com/video/yyZCC8Rg0qE/video.html
@@PathLessPedaledTV Thanks!
Pretty good 👍👍👍
Only a 5% chiller difference.....I'm out. I need at least 7%.
dat #chilldifferential
Do you have plans to review the Trek Checkpoint? I was in the Sequoia or Cosmic Stallion market but have two steel bikes already and really loving the road bike +++ that the Checkpoint seems to offer. SL5?
PS, I'm a huge fan of everything you do here! I've found my people :)
Haven’t ridden the Checkpoint. Hope to in the Spring.
I considered the Seqouia for a long time but went with a Trek 920. I didn't like the high bottom bracket. Also the steel frame seemed to be as stiff as the 920. Have you tried/tested the Trek 920?
I am curious why you weren’t a fan of the Specialized integrated suspension but were a big fan of the of the totally add on “redshift suspension stem”?
An integrated suspension system seems like it would be lighter and more effective?
Also, how would this Specialize fare against the Salsa 650b Warbird? Is the Warbird more comparable to the Diverge?
A couple of reasons. If you don’t want the suspension you can remove it pretty quickly or move it to another bike where you do want it. You’re buying a stem and not a whole bike with a suspension system that may or may not go obsolete in a few years. I also found the Spesh suspension TOO active and I bottomed out the middle spring pretty often. The Redshift was way more subtle. Also the Redshift is a lot easier to deal with for a non mechanic, it’s just as easy as any other regular stem. The Redshift also has a lot less to break. It’s a piece of rubber and non mechanical.
The new V4 Warbird is maybe slightly quicker feeling (all carbon helps) than the Sequoia. However, the Diverge is much racier feeling than both.
Path Less Pedaled ~ Thanks, I harken back to my old Cannondale ultra bad boy, that had a suspension system integrated into the handlebar stem and I really liked it (sold it).
That said I have added the angled red shift suspension stem to my 2015 specialized Roubaix endurance bike last August and I did manage to take it only 20 mile Gravel Rd. Which was an optional route to the Oregon Classic ride this year. And along with a Kinext seat-post I installed, had a perfect ride with exception to the (ahem) 25mm tires...
Although that 20 mile gravel Rd. Stretch was appended to a longer hill climbing pavement road ride, it was nice at the end of a very long day, not having any butt or wrist wariness! It was my entrance ride into gravel, I loved it, and will be currently looking at another bike to fit those needs…
Thanks for your vids, they are providing me a seriously solid option review of good equipment~ BTW, thumbs up on the Redshift vid you put out, I didn’t see it until now but I totally agree with your findings 👍🏽
@@PathLessPedaledTV Wow I'm surprised the V4 Warbird is "maybe slightly quicker feeling" than the Sequoia. I would expect it to feel unequivocally much faster, being a carbon "gravel racing" bike and all... I thought the V4 Warbird was basically a 650b-compatible Diverge...
Francois Caen It’s complex, but the handling of the Diverge is more like a road bike, so it is racy feeling in that way. The V4 Warbird subscribes to current gravel bike geo, so slightly longer and predictable for events like DK where people are riding for 10+ hours. Most aren’t going to need the road bike accelerations of the Diverge (unless you are in the front sprinting against Ted King), but rather a smooth, comfortable and fast moving bike like the Warbird. From what I’ve heard, the bike of choice for many Emporia locals is actually the Cutthroat. V4 Warbird seems to acknowledge this and takes more of a step in that direction.
5% more chill...
Can you explain the chain ring comment a little more please? Thanks!
Does this bike have a thru-axle wheel instead of a quick release?
Nes
Looks similar to the bike i have a Breezer Radar
How do you like your Breezer?
What’s the similarity/overlap with a Salsa Journeyman?
could you please also review Marin's touring/gravel bikes?
Nicasio Ridge 2019 and Gestalt x11 2019
Yes. Have a few Marin bikes scheduled for review in the Spring.
So....not liking the future shock from the redshift guy🤔. it would be interesting to hear your thoughts on the two “stem shock” variations.
Which stem shock thing?
Also outlined why in this video: czcams.com/video/Dr8ZqObAZ88/video.html
Path Less Pedaled specialized has their future shock stem, a 20mm shock system in the stem....kind of like the cannondale headshock moved up...which is vertical and not tilt like the redshift shockstop stem. I wrote specialized a while back requesting the feature for the sequoia and was put "on hold". I haven't been back to their website and thought maybe they saw the logic of it in a gravel bike. I think the concept is good if it is tuneable for rider style and preferences. You videos are really interesting and the technical quality is evolving in the right direction. Being a CZcamsr is not easy and requires lots of work (I have a day job in research that takes most of my time and I'd rather ride in the free time than make films....it's easier to watch than make😉), like any film related profession if you are a one man show. Keep putting out interesting and entertaining content and the viewers will come. Dustin Klein is picking up momentum and he does great stuff, with or without weed😉, but Oregon is awesome for gravel riding and I miss not living there anymore. Missoula looks great too and more ride videos next year when the snow is gone would be great. That's a lot of words....ciao!
HI Russ, did you find that the hover handlebars put you more forward than other bars. I put them on my Willard and they seem to have more reach to the hoods than I was expecting. I knew they would be wider than the stock bars, (moved from 42 to 44), but the distance from the cross bar out to the drops seems a lot longer, maybe because of the flare.
Thanks for all you do.
75mm reach, pretty avereage for a compact bar. I'd consider anything below 70mm shorter than usual.
@@HollyBoni thanks. I think the old bars were really short and with the added width it was a bigger change than I was expecting, in a good way.
I have the 2017 base model Sequoia. I bought this bike as my bikepacking bike, which it does fairly well at. My dealer and I were unable to get the front derailleur to work correctly, meaning silently. Due to that and I didn't like the drop bars, I ended up putting Jones H bars on it. That required all new controls. I based the drive train on the Specialized Sequoia Expert. 38 tooth wide narrow chain ring, SRAM crankset, Shimano 11-42 cassette, SRAM chain, SRAM Red derailleur, SRAM thumb shifter and Avid Speed Dial 7 brake levers. In stock form Specialized didn't use a complete groupset on the base model. It was a mismatch of everyone's parts. Now it works so much better as a 1x11. I'm curious to know which way you'd change the chainring, smaller to ? or larger to ? I'm thinking of going to a 40 tooth but that may be incorrect. I need to climb better, right now that's a major challenge. On the flats it's pretty quick. Also, what low riders do you recommend for the front forks?
Interesting to hear about your experience...when I tested the 2017 base sequoia, I spent about an hour and a half at the dealer having them make various adjustments with the front/rear derailers...no matter what we did, there was some noise especially when pedaling hard in a high gear. My theory was that there was some flex in the BB area (base uses a square taper; higher end elite model uses an external bearing). I also tried the elite which I liked much better, but was a little more than i wanted to spend. Ended up buying the AWOL which fit me like a glove.
@@Slappywag69 I have a base 2017 sequoia, no issues with derailleurs, although maybe there are but I just don't notice them. I did have to reposition the front mech slightly after buying it, but that's it.
dsego84 we managed to get the noise somewhat subtle, but still there...the shop mech basically said some cage bending *might* fix it, but they were hesitant to do that until I bought the bike. Didn’t matter since I eventually tried the awol and it fit so well...miss a few features of the sequoia though, like tubeless compatible wheels and fork cage mounts. Another factor is that the only base sequoia they had was in my usual size of 58, which felt to stretched out for me.
@@Slappywag69 I fear the front cage can easily move out of alignment because the whole thing is clamped onto the seat tube. It took some trial and error to get the position and cable tension right, but after making my adjustments, I don't even need the trim positions unless I'm seriously cross chaining. Mine is also a 56, 58 was too stretched out and I'm 182cm tall. This one also sometimes feels a bit stretched, might even need a shorter stem. One gripe I have is that the saddle canvas has faded a lot and I think it won't really last. It really looked nice new though.
dsego84 I’m only a cm or two shorter than you, but I tried the Elite in a 54 and it almost fit, but probably would have been more comfy on the 56 with a short stem. I think my awol had the same canvas saddle...didn’t care for it there so i swapped in a different one, but I really like that canvas texture on my bar tape! It has faded plenty in the last year and a half, but still holding up.
How wide of a tire can it accept?
The thing in your cup holder. Bear mace? Fire extinguisher?
Bear spray
Why bothering putting 650 by 45-47mm wheels if this bike easily fits 700 by 45-47mm ? One of my friends even squeezed a 29x2.0 (Continental Double Fighter)
1) Less toe overlap 2) more mud clearance 3)doesn’t affect the handling by raising the center of gravity.
Hi Russ!
If you compare ONLY the geometry lookin for "a confort to long rides"...
wath your feeling about de Sequoia X Aventon??
For long rides, I'd go with the Sequoia. The Aventon is definitely quicker in handling and stiffer overall.
Path Less Pedaled, would you recommend the Awol Comp for a touring bike? I'm debating between the Comp and Trek 520. Thanks!
Out of the box with the 1x and 38t chainring, that is too high for touring IMO, unless you are only riding in the flats. My Cutthroat came with a 38 and it was a pain when fully loaded. Out of the box, the Trek is better geared for loaded touring.
Hmm any recommendation if my commute to work is around 53 miles one way?
Sure. This bike would do great as long as you weren't riding over a mountain.
I would just get a Kawasaki Ninja for that distance
I’m thinking of getting one of these. I’m not sure between 52 and 54 size frame. Since you got 52 frame, do you letting me know how tall are you? It will help me making the decision. Thanks in advance 🙏
5'8 inches.
@@PathLessPedaledTV Thanks for letting me know :) I'm just a tad taller.
I considered the sequoia two years ago. I thought it was overpriced for a steel frame bike.
There are various different types of steel. This is CrMo steel, which is generally a premium material. It's heavier than alloy frames, but the comfort you get out of such a frame can go beyond what you're able to get with carbon, while not sacrificing durability. Steel can be allowed to flex beyond the point where carbon fibre composite begins to delaminate, yet it's still very resistant to impact, no need to pamper it.
CrMo frames are relatively expensive, decent ones will cost more than entry-level carbon framesets. With the Sequoia, the steel fork frameset alone is easily worth over $850. There are more expensive CrMo frames with worse specs.
@@CanIHasThisName I ended up with a Lynskey GR 250 TI gravel bike made in the US. More than carbon. They had a 50% off promotion at the time. I still paid $3200 with 105 group set. I feel I got something for my money.
Question, have you heard of anyone putting 29er wheels on a sequoia? I have brand new Specialized Enduro expert wheels and thought about throwing them on. I assume they would be lighter
It’s got 700c/29er wheels stock.
I guess I meant to say is do you think they would fit since they were on a mtb or is that a bike shop question. I was trying to get something better than the stock wheels. Thanks for replying
Tim Bezzerides prob not. If it’s thru axle mtbs and gravel bikes use different diameter skewers.
What is your view on the Hillborne?
It’s a bike I’ve always wanted to try! Not having ridden it, it seems to be a great all rounder.
Hey Russ! How tall/inseam are you? Thinking about getting one, torn between 52 and 54. I am 174cm/79cm inseam. Cheers
172cm tall / 73cm inseam. 52 was spot on. Sounds like the 54 might work better for you.
Hey, I'm 172/78 and had the 54 and it was too big. Ended up selling it because the jump from 52 to 54 is substantial. You can always make a smaller bigger but a bigger smaller is harder. Even think about crank length, handlebar width etc.
Wow that's weird. I'm 170/71ish and every Specialized endurance road bike I've ever ridden was 54cm. I wonder if they sized the Sequoia differently, or if you guys just like a different fit than I do...
Francois Caen Probably a different fit. Sounds like you fit it long and low?
Hey Path Less Pedalled. I am looking for a sporty commuter that is as good at handling gravel as it is at handling road. Thinking I can bridge the gap with just a good set of all road tires. What do you think? I found this bike for 1450 in the force 1x model.
It’s a good bike. I wouldn’t consider it sporty but is more in the all-rounder category. Tire upgrade would be good. Also new wheel set down the line.
What is your favorite gravel/commuter bike you would recommend?
Depends on how you want the bike to ride. My personal picks would be Straggler, Journeyman, Midnight Special, Crust Bombora, Polyvalent.
Would you recommend those over the Sequoia expert if I can get my hands on one for $1350?
@@russm195 I think if you like the Sequoia Expert you should get it. Its a good bike. I have specific handling preferences that would steer me towards other bikes, but you might not have the same preferences.
I had to laugh....seeing that you are riding with Bear Spray. I dont blame you. Ive fly fished in Montana and had a bad Bear scare....keep those videos coming..
We’ve seen a few in the last couple of months. There is a facebook group for our neighborhood that reports bear and cougar sightings!
I'm still good with 3 ring on my bike's 45 33 20 something. "Chilly" "chilly"
I’d prefer a review on a stock bike, instead of one you messed with.
$$$?
1x10 or 11 only for fun not for touring for me, thanks but no no
better spend a little more and buy a bombtrack carbon. Specialized is so fukin expensive...with a nice 1000$+ wheelset many (shit) bike frames ride well...
The ones disliking must be angry old school roadies, probably owners of a CZcams channel lol