Hi

I have a lovely Orange Crush for MTB duties and its fab. But (and quite obviously) slower than my 29er Carbon Scott I sold to purchase it.

I have always been road curious but don’t want to have a quiver of road bikes I would like a do it all drop bar bike.

Ideally fast on the road but capable to go on the gravel / take mud guards / undertake sportifs / slower club rides.

Does this exist?

Cheers

Yep, pretty much every gravel bike around will fulfil those requirements, as will most CX bikes

Yep, my Pinnacle Arkose will fit the bill – you might want a second set of road-bias tyres if you are going to do longer road rides/sportives.

The Arkose is slower than my Giant Defy, but not by much – it is only climbing where I notice it, and that might be more to do with the Giant having lightweight wheels..

Plenty of bikes out there now that meet those requirements. I’ve been very happy with my GT Grade but others abound.

Diverge is nice. (Where’s CFH?)

Trek crossrip 2017 looks good value or domane 17 which has greater clearances this time

Yep, pretty much every gravel bike around will fulfil those requirements, as will most CX bikes

^^ This,and you can even get another set of wheels if you want more Gnarr/Lycra moments choice 😉

Parlee Chebacco

Jamis Renegade

Genesis Datum

Tripster

If you like the crush then perhaps an orange RX9

I was avoiding suggesting my own bike, as they’re all good

Mine’s Arkose 2 (the 1×10 one)

Convinced a mate to buy a hydro’d Arkose too

2017 Trek Domane SLR: full tech details and first impressions

Diverge is indeed a good option!

Have a look at the Focus Paralane as well, though.

Watching with interest as I am in a similar position and now live a decent length drive away from mtb trails so a 2hr ride takes 4hrs 🙁 Also been dragging my Covert round mostly roads in Northern France this week, all perfect gnar-mac country really. Can’t bring myself to think about pure road bike

OP there is an Arkrose in the classifieds for £450 from @cokie

Rocket I enjoyed that review but woukdn’t have read to the end if they’d put the price at the top £3.6k – £7.6k

Norco Search has been my bike nearest the shed door since I got it 7 or 8 months ago.

https://www.norco.com/bikes/road/adventure/search-carbon/search-ultegra/

Based on the best option always being to recommend your own bike, the Genesis Croix de Fer is an amazing all rounder! Have ridden it on many canal paths, mild off-road routes and also out on proper road rides with mates on carbon flying machines. I’m slower up the hills than them regardless, but made up for it on downhills and in the comfort stakes.

Did someone say recommend your own bike?

Hydro brakes, mudguards, takes the child seat on the back, rack mounts etc etc etc

I might clean mine at some point and take some proper photos

https://goo.gl/photos/1ANSqZxUe6QdZGTA7

Quite like that Parlee Chebacco, maybe with etap hydro-r (when it comes out) and Haute Route wheels…

Dawes 3ima Ti

I wanted something similar five years ago and went for this:

Recently overhauled and updated to 1×11 Di2.

Other ones I’d be interested in currently would be the Specialized Sequoia and the ubiquitous Tripster.

I’ve been abusing an Arkose 2 (the hydro / 1×10 version) for the last few months and covered well over 500 miles both on and off road. It’s ace! I’ve no doubt it’s slower than a “proper” roadie but it’s plenty fast enough for me. It’s also tough as old boots and was super cheap which for a commuter / everything else bike is ideal. Only thing I’ve changed is Alpkit flared bars which I prefer to proper drops.

Recommend your own, don’t mind if I do.

Pickenflick frame has proven to be really rather good.
Force cx1 groupset 40/ 11 – 30 cassette.
700/35 tyres.

Quick and comfy with plenty of ability in the rougher terrain.

Will be upgraded tomorrow when the new wheels are delivered.

Just purchased the Orro Terra gravel disc on a Cycle to work scheme
105 Groupset, eyelets for a rack and mudguards and disc brakes
Ticked all my boxes for a 1p under the £1K limit.
Nice finishing kit from ibike who’s brand it is
There are a few tests on Bike Radar and Cyclist mag, relatively light also.