What should I be looking at £1500ish?
1x hydraulic. Ideally something in stock that I can sit on. (I know I'm dreaming.)
You’ll only regret it and ride your hardtail more. Save your money !!
I can't, the hardtail has retired and been hooked up to the trailer for the school-run.
I want something for riding from the house and doing 90% road with occasional "gravel" ride.
Sonder have stunner in the Camino.
Alas not in stock at the moment but I’ll be placing an order the moment they are in stock
https://alpkit.com/collections/sonder-camino/products/sonder-camino-al-v3-rival1-hydraulic
Yeah I loaned a Camino for a while. I didn't like it, position wasn't comfortable. It was medium and I wouldn't mind trying a large sometime.
They new Shatner Bassoon looks a cracking buy.
90% road you say? Kinesis G2 is perfect.
Hi
Very tempted by this https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBOOFRRIV1650/on-one-free-ranger-sram-rival-1-650b-gravel-bike
Full carbon frame and forks with hydraulics.
To replace the London Road I've had for about 2 years.
Loving my Pinnacle Arkose X, the 650b one, comfy and springy, quick on the road and fun on singletrack.
Just spent about £50 single speeding my old Inbred and I don't think I could beat it if I spent £1,500 on an entry level gravel bike for rides from the door.
I've spent the weekend looking at THIS Merlin Malt G2X with full GRX 810. In stock and pretty impressive spec for the money, £1450 at the moment.
I've got the free ranger linked above, superb bike, particularly once I swapped out the wheels for some lighter ones I already had and some wide bars and a shorter stem.
I bought a lost lad from Calibre (aka Go Outdoors) for £500 a few weeks back. River Mersey tracks, canal towpaths and Trans Pennine trail all 5 mins from door. It's 650b with 47c tyres, cheap groupset and mech discs. I've also got a 29er hardtail and a steel racer.
I've been surprised how much I've enjoyed riding it. Decent tyres mean it floats along and just smoothes out everything it crosses, including the fairly ropey tarmac around where I live. Despite the fact that I don't like mech discs they haven't been too bad and given that most of the riding is on car less tracks I don't really need to haul on the anchors anyway.
Slacker head angle means stability and predictability which is always nice on looser, rougher surfaces. Adds a bit of compliance as well.
I'd say go for it. They're quicker than (most) hardtails and with narrower drop bars add a little bit of sketchiness (compared to a hardtail) on tracks into the equation just to keep things interesting..
I bought a Nukeproof Digger a while ago and it became the bike I rode the most, perfect on pot holes back roads, gravel tracks, commuting to work. Its probably the best "fitting" bike i have had dont feel too stretched, the wide drops are comfortable the gearing is fine for most.
I have had it with panniers and full guards on, the fashion police wouldnt be happy but super practical. The comp model comes in just over your budget, i dont know how it compare price wise to other brands. It seems to work well.
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/nukeproof-digger-275-comp-bike-2021?g=0
Merlin Malt G2X GRX 810?
£350 reduction at the minute.
I want something for riding from the house and doing 90% road with occasional “gravel” ride.
Based on that usage I would just get a road bike. Most modern road bikes take up to 30c tyres which will be great on the road and fine on the 10% gravel.
There really is no need for MTB size tyres for rides where only 10% of the time you are not riding on tarmac.
I have one of these that I use for 90% road and 10% gravel. (I have a Marin 4 corners that I use 80% gravel 20% road)
https://winstanleysbikes.co.uk/orro-terra-c-105-hydro-2020-bike?gclid=Cj0KCQiAhs79BRD0ARIsAC6XpaV0vjes48OKoJBveV7VvA2uj_xzAQFip4-aZErlYrvBmRzlmZXjKZQaAgXwEALw_wcB#orro-terra-c-105-hydro-2020-bike-small
Doesn't have the 1x groupset, but i prefer 2x for road.
https://www.orrobikes.com/shop/2021-terra-c-adventure-1x-grx600
Each to his own but that Orro looks likes someone too heavy has sat on it 🙂
I like that Digger. Listed Bike Weight: 9.73kg? That sounds more than respectable for what looks like a monstercross!
@kerley the 10% off road will be the occasional full off-road ride in the Peak or Lakes. Road bike won't be much fun for that.
If you'd said it was going more off road I'd have said don't get a sram equipped one but it's fine for tarmac (as it was designed for it) go shimano GRX if you think you'll do more gravel in the future.
Recently got a chinese carbon gravel bike - went for a double up front and 11/30 in the back and so glad i did.
it allows you to have a sensible range of gears without a comprimise.
When riding on the road i don't like massive gaps in the rear cassette....
But i suppose it depends on if you want a bike for all or one which can smash out the miles to get to the tracks then smash the road home again.
Went for 105 disc's which work really well - once they are blead properly.
I love it as it reminds me of 90's xc riding.
@kerley the 10% off road will be the occasional full off-road ride in the Peak or Lakes. Road bike won’t be much fun for that.
True, but a road bike will be a lot of fun for the 90% of rides.
A gravel bike may also not be much fun for a full off road ride either but you will no doubt find that out if you get one...
My mate has a Vitus Substance that he likes very much and is defo within budget. I have a Marin 4 Corners Elite which I can also recommend.
If you have any thoughts of using it on anything other than road go for a gravel bike. I recently sold my road bike as I just wasn't using it as even on road biased rides it's nice to have the option to drop on to a canal or BW.
As for a HT I'd get another if I had plenty of spare cash but wouldn't replace the gravel as that takes me right up to the point that I'd grab my FS. I agonised over all this most of this year and am very happy that I ended up with the Marin and my Stage 5. They cover all the bases I need.
the 10% off road will be the occasional full off-road ride in the Peak or Lakes. Road bike won’t be much fun for that.
Personally, I think this is a mistake, I think gravel bikes end up horribly compromised if you try to make them suitable for 'proper' off road as well.
I've been loving mine, it's fast, comfortable, capable and even fun in the mud (if you count sliding round every corner as fun) but it rapidly gets out of its depth or just 'not fun' once you start trying steep descents, rootsy stuff, fast rocky stuff etc. I commented to my riding buddy on our last ride that if you stick to flatter smoother trails, even if they're muddy and twisty, you get most of the fun of an MTB but with your legs providing the speed, not gravity.
I think once you add the dropper, the fatter tyres, the wider bars etc. you get something that might make the gnar more tolerable, but suddenly the long road sections between singletrack maybe become a chore? On road on my gravel bike the only thing I really miss is the slightly greater stretch of the road bike, it doesn't feel as easy to tuck down out of the wind on the gravel bike, in fact with the lighter weight CX tyres on it, the gravel bike sometimes feels quicker than my road bike on tarmac, which I'm just assuming is the difference in perceived exertion after churning through leafy mud moments earlier.
I'm currently riding a Planet X XLA, the new bike will be a replacement for this and will be used for the same type of riding.
Riding from home, most of my ride is road but I do sneak in the odd bridleway and trail centre blue routes when on holiday.
Cannondale Topstone 105 (alloy)
I have a Ribble CGR ti. 105 groupset.
GF has a Marin Nicasio II with 2x10 Tiagra.
Have ridden my big bike just once since August. Partly due to not being able to travel to Italy and the faff of having to drive to the mountains.
Have ridden the CGR just about everyday. Riding to the workshop on a mix of asphalt and gravel tracks. 80km rides on the weekend with the GF on mostly forest roads and tracks with some decent climbs. Thankful for the double up front.
Last week a friend was with us and she was struggling on some of the climbs because 1x.
Both bikes running 700c 40mm G-Ones.
slightly over budget and only med in stock
https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXTEMV3RIV1700BW/planet-x-tempest-sram-rival-1-titanium-gravel-bike
I say it on every one of these threads, but to me Gravel bikes still remind me of riding early 90s MTBs, narrow bars, no suspension, less tyre volume (and associated drag) than a modern 2.3"+ MTB tyre...
Overall just a less complicated on/off road tool than a most modern MTBs that will still chop along quite well on a road...
The major benefit is that you can motor along on a road/lane/bridal path and if you do spot something worth jinking off for an explore when you spot something off to one side, you know the bike can put up with it...
TBH having a gravel bike prompted me to re-evaluate what I really want from an MTB, I eventually just got rid of the HT and decided to stick with an FS bike, my one MTB might as well have various toys and be reserved more for fun and battering about off road. for riding from my door the Gravel bike is pretty much perfect where an MTB feels like overkill... YMMV.
I say it on every one of these threads, but to me Gravel bikes still remind me of riding early 90s MTBs, narrow bars, no suspension, less tyre volume
Keep up, its not 2017 anymore, we are all aware of the comparisons with 90`s MTBs and have moved on.
Just joking, but it is funny how this gets banded around in the gravel groups and forums like its some sort of transcendental knowledge only available to the enlightened few.
Just joking, but it is funny how this gets banded around in the gravel groups and forums like its some sort of transcendental knowledge only available to the enlightened few.
It's just too tempting/relevant a comparison not to make. I use it more because 'Classic 90s MTB' seems a good way to classify a route which is 90% fireroad and 10% singletrack, which used to be considered an acceptable split for a classic MTB ride but which I now consider the perfect proportions for a gravel ride.
Just spent about £50 single speeding my old Inbred and I don’t think I could beat it if I spent £1,500 on an entry level gravel bike for rides from the door.
I didn't catch the build up of the joke, but that punch-line is brilliant. Still rolling on the floor laughing here..
Don't need the gravel bike debate. This is what works for me.
I have ridden a hardtail for a decade and just replaced it with a full-suss which sucks on the road. The "gravel bike" is the bike I will be riding when I am not on the FS.
My opinion is that gravel bikes are just drop-bar hardtails with skinner tyres. Turns out that they are a great option for most of the riding that I do. I have ridden further on my XLA than I ever did on my hardtail
Well I've just bought a flat barred Tour de Fer full on disc braked tourer - nice chunky Schwalbe Marathons, full guards, triple set up and dynamo - and it's going to used pretty much entirely off road - so a flat barred, fat tyred, 700c bike for riding on and off road - surely that's a better bet than a "gravel bike"?
(I sold my gravel bike a month or two ago - didn't get on with it and this is a it's more appropriate replacement, at least for the riding I've got planned)
I think once you add the dropper, the fatter tyres, the wider bars etc. you get something that
...is still all wrong off-road : )
This 90s XC thing. Bollocks : )
We went WAY faster off-road, rode techy rocky trails, steep-as-we-could-ride stuff and launched into and out of bomb holes etc on 90s MTBs. By the late 90s there were Z1s and 2.35 tyres. I was always an XCer yet rode those bikes way harder than I can any drop bar gravel bike now - and my current drop bar gravel bike is a custom project that's more capable than most production bikes that aren't just a 29er with drops on (ie a bad 29er). Drops and low front ends, low even compared to 90s XC geometry, are just awful off-road for anything that isn't open byways. Fun, but not the same.
Don’t need the gravel bike debate. This is what works for me.
Sorry, yes you clearly know what you want! I just had to bite when you stated 90% rides on road and 10% of rides full off road and that doesn't even sound like a compromise bike to me but 2 completely different bikes.
I don't follow my own advice as my only bike is not a road bike, gravel bike or MTB and I ride it on road, gravel and off road.
I built a custom gravel bike up for about £1500 during the first lockdown with only a couple of bike from the spares box, and that was with a £700 frame/fork set.
Not a Cotic Escapade then? 🙂
monkeyboyjc
that's properly nice
Drops and low front ends, low even compared to 90s XC geometry, are just awful off-road for anything that isn’t open byways. Fun, but not the same.
Saw a bike the other day ( think it was a light blue Darwin) looked tall at the front, drops, biggish tyres. They've obviously heard you.
Cannondale Topstone alloy - was a 105 but now x1 GRX
I have ridden past HT riders on downhill sections - amazing what it is capable of
Only limiting factor is my 2019 frame won’t play too nicely with 650b Tyres in that 45c will be the max it’ll take and the BB will drop too much
I recently purchased a Genesis Fugio. Much better for mixed terrain riding than the HT was. Good on the road, which I try and avoid, and great for exploring, towpaths etc. If I could afford a short travel 29er too I’d have all the bikes I need
’d have all the bikes I need
How that got past the STW filters I don't know.
