For various reasons I am looking at replacing this bike below for summer road duties. It was purchase from @mboy of STW. Its a great bike and I like the handling and the wheels are bloody amazing. However the groupset needs some TLC and the wheels are not great (rim brake carbon wheels) in our increasingly wet climate the braking is brilliant, what isnt brilliant is the dirt scrapping on the rims.
What is good out there for approx £4 to £5k (it will be bought on salary sacrifice). I cant afford to upgrade the wheels later.
I like the handling of my KTM, and have also like the handling of Giant TCRs in the past. What I do wonder though, would 'modern' road bikes allow me to swap out for some gravel wheels to do some gravel events? I like the idea of Orbea Orca as you can do custom paint job, but then I have an Orbea MTB and their in house headsets etc are pure shite.
Shimano is preferred as the rest of the bikes in the house are Shimano, but I am quite happy with 105.
Whats peoples ideas?
Ta
I got a Colibri-Ti from Sonder (Via Halfords C2W), 105 and carbon wheels for well under £3k.
The in-house carbon wheels are nice enough, nothing too fancy, not especially light, but quite a lot deeper and lighter than aluminum rims at least. For the ~£850 RRP they wouldn't be a good buy, but for stock wheels on a ~£2500 bike they're brilliant. 21mm internal but 31mm external (they must have quite thick walls), 1550g, and 35mm deep (but are effectively deeper paired with 32mm tyres compared to lower profile tyres).
I would say budget for your own bars, stem and seatpost as the Sonder kit left a lot to be desired. The bars are thin yet stiff and heavy, the seatpost is just stiff, the saddle might fit you, but one side only has grippy logos printed that gave me a saddle sore. £12 for my favorite bars, 2nd hand alloy Ritchey WCS EvoCurve bars on ebay, a cheap Selle Italia saddle from banana industries, and my old seatpost and the bikes transformed.
Depends on your definition of gravel, it's fine on actual gravel roads on the stock WTB Byway 32's, and it would take wider tyres if needed. But I'd get something else for actual off-roading.
Other than the finishing kit and some long mudguard flaps I've not felt any want or need to change anything on it, longest ride so far was 187miles and that was (regretfully) on the original finishing kit!
Maybe I've been brainwashed by GCN vids but I like the idea of the Orca as well, and they do a model (M30iLTD) with 105Di2 and Carbon 45mm wheels which seems like a nice combination:
https://www.99bikes.co.uk/products/2026-orbea-orca-m30i-ltd-pwr-carbon-road-bike-in-escape-green
My road bike is a Supersix Evo CX which is a bit middleground I think Geo wise but has 45mm tyre clearance, the SE is the same model but 2x. I think they spec. SRAM on everything though, I run Force 1x12 40T & 10-36T. They do (until this year I think?) spec weird proprietary BB's though - I think the latest models have gone BSA threaded.
My riding buddy went for a Giant Defy and that is more road-biased with 105di2 2x12 but still has 40mm tyre clearance, we both run 35mm Slicks and add a bit of gravel and plenty of very potholed country roads into our rides.
He's a longterm roadie that I've dragged into offroad riding and I'm primarily offroad but he's dragged me towards road and that probably reflects in those two bike choices but we're both happy with them!
What is good out there for approx £4 to £5k (it will be bought on salary sacrifice). I cant afford to upgrade the wheels later.
I think at that sort of price you'd struggle to go too far wrong unless you just bought completely the wrong style of bike, like a pure road bike instead of something more all-round for example.
Is there anything that your C2W means you can't buy? I know some brands do their own C2W or some brands won't accept Scheme X but will accept Scheme Y.
What I do wonder though, would 'modern' road bikes allow me to swap out for some gravel wheels to do some gravel events?
I'd be more inclined to look at it the other way, a gravel bike that would still be quick and nimble enough on the road rather than a road bike which you'll subject to the extra stresses of gravel. But yes, a lot of road bikes now come with clearance for 32c tyres easily and if you go more "all-road" like a Fairlight Strael 4.0, you could get 38c in there
When I got a new road bike the Orbea was on the list and is really nice.
I ended up with a Ribble and am really happy with it. At the time it was far better spec than the big brands for the money. Ultegra Di2 for £5k with Zipp wheels - the SL7 came up at £8k for the same spec!
Mine is the old Endurance SLR which is basically race geometry. The new models are race or all road, and the all road looks like it could go some "gravel light".
Ultegra Di2 for £1 under your bottom budget, leaving enough to use their custom paint option. Or 105 mech and pocket some change.
https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-allroad-sl-r-pro/?colour=anthracite
3,000 miles in, still really happy with mine.
New Ti Ribbles are lifetime warranty on the frames now as well, if that tickles your pickle! My CGR Ti rides really nicely as a "fast" gravel bike/road bike although it's not really any lighter than a decent Alu frameset.
I was eyeing up the Fairlight this morning. I have a pair of carbon wheels that have no bike to go on so was looking at a Strael frame. I like the look of the Pashley Roadfinder SL too.
Great to see a Revelator again @FunkyDunc 👍🏻 I did many thousands of miles on mine…
Does it have to be new or would you consider VGC 2nd hand for the right price…?
I ask cos I’ve got a 56cm 2023 BMC Roadmachine 5 with 105 Di2 that I’ve just serviced here that I’ve been asked to sell for a friend… Tempted to keep it myself, its really rather nice, and I’ve got the perfect set of 50mm deep Miche Carbon wheels to go on it too… But it really is surplus to requirements…
I was eyeing up the Fairlight this morning. I have a pair of carbon wheels that have no bike to go on so was looking at a Strael frame. I like the look of the Pashley Roadfinder SL too.
Nobody else understands why I keep riding a 9kg Condor Super Acciaio with Campag Chorus mechanical groupset when they’re all on carbon bikes with Di2…
Sure, if I was racing, then I’d be a little more concerned about aero and weight… But I don’t, so I’m not… A good steel frame feels other worldly jumping off a carbon one, it has a ride quality that carbon just can’t replicate, and besides that, just looking at the thing makes me feel special… And maybe it’s cos I’m neurodivergent AF, but whilst I appreciate the features and the tech behind modern Di2 groupsets, for me nothing beats a solid mechanical shift the likes of which you only get on a bike with externally routed cables and a mechanical SRAM or Campag groupset… If I’m a few seconds slower up the hill, so what… I’m slower than most going uphill anyway, what’s a few extra seconds… But I’ll beat em all on the way down gliding on my magic carpet ride of a bike (with easily the best brakes going, seriously, I can’t overstate just how much better Campag Road disc brakes are than Shimano’s offerings!).
I'm three weeks into ownership of Cube Attain C:62. Full Ultegra Di2, decent carbon wheels, £3099 before C2W savings. I think that is an absolute steal at that price. I got it in the blue, the paint job is lovely. I can't see a good reason to spend more.
I was looking at Balfe's bikes they have some great deals on TCRs this is £3K and has everything you asked for i think they have pricer ones too at that price you could add some fancy wheels to the ordder I also have the Sondor mentioned above almost the same spec but with ultegra and a brooks saddle and I love it too. Alpkit are offering a furter 10% percent off today of the sale prices today.
I ask cos I’ve got a 56cm 2023 BMC Roadmachine 5
Im 52cm frame (or slightly less) so a bit large! Needs to be salary sacrifice too ie roughly half the £4/5k.
Steal is a no go for me or Ti, I just like the ride or find it aesthetically pleasing to look at.
I will look at Orbea just because there is a shop down the road and they have the road bikes and gravel. I will also look at the Giant TCR. I currently like race road bikes because they are all about efficiency, maybe I would just need to ride a 'good' gravel bike to feel that there is no compromise?
The Pinarello F5 looks stunning, I am not sure though if they still carry that dIck image of people who ride them or they are just accepted to be good bikes now? IMO looks stunning in this colour
How about a Crux kitted out with a road double group set?
My personal take is that if you love your KTM then finding almost any bike with a similar stack/reach in a colour & shape that you like will be a good time. The only thing I'd be wary of at your price is that some of the bikes might come with integrated bar/stem combos which are worth avoiding if you think you might want to tweak your position or service your own headset.
Im 52cm frame (or slightly less) so a bit large! Needs to be salary sacrifice too ie roughly half the £4/5k.
Apologies, couldn't quite remember what size you were...
I will also look at the Giant TCR
So... Last year my GF bought a Liv Langma Advanced Pro 0 Disc (basically a Giant TCR Advanced Pro 0 Disc, but women's specific) on C2W... It was reduced by almost 40% (like the one linked to above @ Balfe's), she saved approx 30% on top on the C2W scheme, and the bike is well... Well it's exactly what you're after... On paper, absolutely nothing you'd want to change. A racy carbon frame, Di2 groupset, decent own brand carbon wheels and finishing kit... Even a power meter in her case! You'd only change any components out of personal preference... She loves it! It's not for me, it's a bit clinical and soulless, but then for the vast majority that's what they want from a road bike...
Anyway... For what it's worth, KTM's carbon frames are/were all made by Giant anyway and the similarities between your Revelator and a TCR of that era are greater than the differences...
Sounds like tyre clearance should be part of your criteria if you want to do the odd gravel event. A quick Google shows the Giant Defy as having 38mm tyre clearance. That’s probably the minimum for gravel these days. There’s a Giant Defy Advanced 0 on the Balfes site for £3299. It has 105Di2 and carbon wheels. All you’d need to add is a set of gravel wheels. It’s a compact chainset with an easiest gear of 34 x 36 which isn’t bad for gravel.
If the size small fits this comes with 2 sets of wheels and is an ‘all road’ bike. Also has SRAM Force which is a really nice group set.
Argon18
I tried a Krypton with Rival during the week, really nice frame and that looks like a decent deal.
Specialized SL7 sport goes on sale between £1600-£2000 quite often and can also be had on C2W at the same time. I did exactly what you mentioned, bought the 105 version and upgraded the wheels, bars, tyres and chain. Cost me £2278 after I sold the stock wheels/tyres. The also do a 105di2 for £600 more.
Specialized SL7 sport goes on sale between £1600-£2000 quite often and can also be had on C2W at the same time
I bought an SL8 on C2W with exactly the same in mind because the stock bars are basic aluminium ones and demanded an upgrade right from the start but everything else was pretty decent.
They're great bikes, really happy with mine.