The budget gravel bike battle! Which bike out of the two is the best? We are going to compare these two sub $1000 gravel bikes side by side and see what the difference is between each. When it comes to price the Poseidon Redwood ranges from $779.99 to $899.99 while the State 4130 All Road starts at $899.99 to $1,999.99.
If you want the most affordable bike then the flat bar Redwood is your go-to at $779.99. But both drop bar Redwood and State All Road is $899.99. With the exact same price which one is worth that $900 price tag?
To save you from reading any further. If you want a gravel bike for adventures I would recommend the Redwood slightly over the State All Road. The Wider tire clearance, and easier gearing for climbing, cant be contented. However, the State is a steel bike and I am a sucker for steel gravel bikes!
Both bikes seem to be built with an adventurous DNA, so let’s get into the nitty-gritty.
Consider both models have multiple build options. We only compared the drop bar base models for both bikes. The State All Road is available in a sub $2,000 build featuring SRAM AXS electronic drive train, while the Poseidon doesn’t.
When comparing the Redwood and State All Road, the Redwood is approximately 29 pounds or 13.15 kg while the All Road is 28 pounds / 12.7 kg. This surprised me that the Alloy-built Redwood was heavier than the Steel State, maybe it has to do with the extra rubber on the Redwood, with a 450 grams weight difference.
Both are focused on adventure geometry which means more comfortable the longer you stay in the saddle. Both bikes also offer mounting options to carry all the necessary gear you may need for a bikepacking trip. The State offers one extra eyelet on the fork than the Redwood.
When it comes to tire clearance the Redwood comes out on top with one of the widest tire clearances on any gravel bike. Fitting up to 27.5″ x 2.6″ tires, while the State can fit up to 27.5″ x 2.1″. Both vary when it comes to gearing and brakes. With the Redwood is way better at climbing with over 5 gear inches in difference when it comes to the climbing gears. Putting in bikepacking bike territory (anything 20″ or under is great) This is a big in for the Redood! The State All Road gives you slightly more gear inches for descents.
When it comes to tires, the State All Road comes with your choice of 700c x 38 mm Vittoria Terreeno Zero tires and the Redwood comes with 27.5″ x 2.35″ Kenda Kadre tires.
When it comes to the bike’s geometries. The All Road features a more upright stack/reach ratio (1.62 vs 1.48), the chainstay is 10 mm longer on the All Road (around 450 mm on medium-sized) and Wheelbase is approx 12.1 mm longer on the All Road. The Redwood is considered planted enough in comparison to other gravel bikes but the All Road is even further stable and planted. The trail is roughly 10.7 mm longer on the Redwood, meaning the Redwood would have a slower and calmer steering response compared to the All Road. The State All Road is around 62.8 mm (mid/neutral trail range) while the Redwood is 73.5 mm (high range).
Between the two and the standover height is almost identical with 0.1 mm in variation. The Bottom Bracket drop on the State All Road is about 11.6 mm lower than the Redwood and the Redood has a higher bottom bracket height with 18 mm in difference. This adds to making the State All Road seem on paper, more planted when under a load.
Poseidon Redwood
This could be the budget gravel bike to take you on some epic adventures. Taking on the Poseidon X geometry, it has been amped up so you can eat up gravel with enough rubber to absorb the vibrations. Allowing for 27.5 wheels with enough clearance for 2.6″ tires.
The build features a 6061 Double Butted Hydroformed Aluminum frame and 6061 Aluminum Fork – Tapered Steer 1 1/8″ – 1 1/2″ fork. Powered by a 1 x 10 Advent X groupset. This means a Prowheel 38t Narrow Wide Crank with a Microshift 11-48T Advent X cassette. Giving you an incredible 21.88″ granny gear and a 95.54″ highest gear. Combining to make a 0.79 to 3.45 gear ratio. The stack/reach ratio is around 1.48 which is not the most upright. You get a chill feel at the rear with a 440mm chainstay.
It has the potential to take you on some rad adventures for only $899.99! With mounting options on the fork and those Poseidon Adventure Bars with 24 Degree Flare for extra comfort when shredding!!
State Bicycle Co 4130 All Road
A full-fledged steel gravel bike for a very tasty price tag! Allowing for both 700c and 650b tires. So you can run slicks or knobby tires. Depending on where you want to ride. With a versatile front fork that has many cargo cages braze-ons for all the hauling, you could ever need. Featuring State Bicycle Co’s own 1 x 11 drivetrain. Which gives you a 42 t front crank and 11-42 at the rear. With the 650b x 2.1″ tires, resulting in a climbing gear of 27.19″ which is rather limited for a gravel bike. But for a bargain price of $799.99 if you plan to ride long and straight gravel roads this might be the smart choice.
Geometry – Redwood Vs State All Road
Geometry can play a big part in the difference between how a bike rides and feels. It is definitely something to consider when buying a bike. Just by looking at the illustration above, the State All Road in black is much more upright, and longer wheelbase and chainstay, meaning a more stable and planted ride as we established earlier.
Want to learn more about understanding bike geometry? Read this article which goes through all the jargon and what it means for a comfortable ride!
| Bike | Poseidon Redwood | State All Road |
| Stack | 570.7 | 602.5 |
| Reach | 384.4 | 371.5 |
| Stack/Reach Ratio | 1.48 | 1.62 |
| Top Tube Length | 537 | 520 |
| Seat Tube Length | 520 | 537 |
| Seat Tube Angle | 73.5 | 73.5 |
| Head Tube Length | 138 | 165 |
| Head Tube Angle | 71 | 71.5 |
| BB Drop | 63.4 | 75 |
| Front Center | 610 | 615 |
| Chainstay Length | 440 | 450 |
| Wheelbase | 1042 | 1054.1 |
| Rake | 45 | 50 |
| Trail | 73.5 | 62.8 |
| Standover Height | 789.9 | 790 |
If you plan to mostly go on adventures with gear both these bikes are great options. But if you plan to ride terrain that is steep off-road, the Redwood is your better choice out of the two simply thanks to the lower climbing gear. Something still attracts me to the State All Road because of its steel frame. And I must say the flat bar retro look is so stunning! If I owned this bike I would swap out the gearing for something better and it could be the ultimate gravel bikepacking machine.
But it must be said, you can’t pass up having the option to run up to 2.6″ tires on a drop bar gravel bike! For me, despite having an alloy frame the Redwood is hard to beat. Still having the appropriate geometry for adventures.
Both bikes have the potential for some rad bikepacking adventures. Whatever type of riding you have planned, I hope this article helped you figure out which bike might be best for you.
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