I currently ride a spec diverge smartweld 56cm love it, but I need wider tyres for light off-road bridleway woods, canal towpath and 60% road rides, max tyre size is 28/30 max so I feel every jolt and bump..
I’ve been considering getting something that will take wider tyres and be capeable of off-road.
saw a bergamont grandurance 5.0 the other day and it looked a beaut.
so now considering the 6.0 (tiagra and shimano hydraulic brakes) or the expert gravel bike (seems same but a carbon frame) 1100 vs 1350
question is is are they as good as they look, seem to be few reviews online apart from a 3.5/5 review that says it’s overpriced in the top model
questions is is it fun to ride, your go to bike , fast, or is it just a cool bike in Matt black, colourful fork and tan sidewalls
what size 55cm or 57cm I’m 5ft10 30-31 inside leg, so seem to be between two sizes
ps the carbon would be more for ride comfort than lightweight im 87kg so can afford to lose weight than paying hundreds extra on a bike
Don’t know much about them, the frame looks pretty familiar so could be an off the shelf design. If you check PX on one etc you might see it there for example.
Rest of the kit on it seems ok but not particularly exciting, my only concern would be the max frame capacity of 37c. A lot of decent gravel tyres are in the 38-40c range
I have the 6.0, and have done a few rides on it now. I’m only comparing it with a decent 7.6kg road and have never ridden another gravel bike only MTB’s so;
Its alarmingly comfortable, soaking up the bumps and rolling along very nicely. The higher position is good for the long runs - I bought mine for long winter rides and short AM/PM gravel recovery rides - and as reported elsewhere the tyres roll suprisingly fast. Its also very stable at speed, bizarrely so in fact so altogether very confidence inspiring. Its also very quiet. The wheels seem very smooth, the disk brakes are well, very good Shimano Tiagra Hydro’s. Its felt good and handles well off road which is where I think the weight (see below - strength?) helps.
Like all these gravel bikes its a little heavy. Reported at 9.3kg yet with 2 x cages, heli taped for guards and some cheap Shimano pedals mine is at 10.6kg. Most of that will be in the wheels, bar, stem and seatpost though of which the latter 3 are in house, but lest we forget the extra weight of the disks and calipers.
The bike looks to be built very well and there are some lovely little touches - the integrated front guard, “chips” in the fork to swap out the axles, nice cables runs and personally I like the “different” painted fork as an individual point of difference. It has all the mounts and space you’ll need for guards etc should you wish. The paint job is better in the flesh - seems robust and mine at least is a kind of Matt silk finish.
Sizing - I’m 5’11 and a bit with 33in leg and I bought the 55 - I wouldn’t go bigger as the Shimano hoods are quite long and add to the length of the bike which is reflected in the stem length - doesn’t affect handling.
I’d put this bike akin to a smokin a pipe or owning a Labrador - reliable, dependable gives you no real troubles and you can sit and relax / enjoy your riding all day long with the odd foray into the undergrowth.
Its not a CX, and note that the 6.0 has Road Compact 54/36 gearing which was a plus for me as that’s what I wanted - a winter road bike that stands up to occasional gravel without having to swap bikes. Do you need 42 mm tyres? Not for my use, but YMMV.
I got mine for £960 on discount from Westbrook cycles, not sure if they still have some. In case you didn’t know Bergamont are owned by Scott so that’s where the Warranty lies.
Hope that helps, happy answer any other questions.
yeah to me it look like the newer spec diverge and many other bikes
thanks @kryton57 i think you've sold it me, i saw the 5.0 version in cyclesurgery's window in leeds, definately an eye catcher, weight wise i'm happy at 10-10.5kg, the ride sounds exactly what im looking for.
my diverge is around 9.5kg but skinnier wheels/tyres will make that difference, i recorded a few weight weenie savings at the time, it was more for looks on the icetech rotors (saved 79 grams), and an XT cassette another 74 grams, for a relatively low upgrade fee, (i stripped and sold the parts ) compact gears is great, its hilly round these parts
westbrook & rutland have the expert £1,364
cyclesurgery 6.0 £1099 / 5.0 £800 (sora 2x9 with trp brakes)
hopefully get a 10% code in the coming weeks,
sounds like the 55cm frame is the one.
i notice the 2019 bike has the sram apex 1x11 at £1365
i notice the 2019 bike has the sram apex 1×11 at £1365
Yeah, I had a long look around for bikes that were not 1x because I wanted the 54/36 gearing as I'll also be using the bike for winter club runs. For me its the huge variation in the ability an not having to swap bikes which sold it. I can leave lights on and jump on at 6am for a recovery ride / ride the kids to school along the towpaths, do a 130k Z2 ride or do a club ride in crappy Hertfordshire winter lanes on the same bike without changing anything.