Hi all

Just looking to see if such a thing exists? A bike that will happily take my Jones bars (don’t like drops- have shoulder injuries), be happy riding on the road but is also adept at gravel type riding? Oh, and under a £1k if possible!
I don’t mind building something up from a frame
Don’t mind if the contraption is called a hybrid, but want something light and speedy for road work but that will also take a wide tyre for fire road bimbles

In reality, am I looking for a carbon XC 29er?

It will come down to what you consider “light.”

You could get a Marasa for £360 (or £320 if a womens size fits you), or pay £600 for a Boardman HYB8.6 that will be ~2Kg lighter.

https://www.merlincycles.com/merlin-malt-g1x-gravel-bike-frameset-2020-148101.html for £300 could be built into a decent bike for under £1k.

Sounds like you’re looking for a hardtail.

Cycle surgery have some ex demo Whyte flat bar hybrid road bikes for 349, if the frame is not ideal but one of those ramin frames from Evans for £100 and there you go

Mostly yes it seems, but don’t get too hung up on it being carbon, the carbon frame won’t save much weight over Alu, but the forks will if carbon and rigid.

Adventure style MTB e.g. Big Brother Big Bro, Surly KM, Genesis Longitude. It’ll feel speedy if it has a steep HA and you set it up with narrower bars and a bit more of a roadie position.

Evans have some bargain frames and framesets at the moment.
https://www.evanscycles.com/search?text=pinnacle%20frame&productsPerPage=48
The Cobalt, Chromium, Lithium and Arkose are all suitable for what you want.

Settle on a maximum tyre-width requirement for ‘fire-road bimbles’* then get back to us 😉

*One’s bimble is another’s black run

The Sonder Camino in flat bar flavour would appear to tick the boxes.

https://www.alpkit.com/sonder/bikes/sonder-camino-al-%5Bv3%5D-apex1-flat

some kind of surly. it is what they are made for and are good at.
I know they are hefty piles of steel. but they are such good fun to ride.

my disco takes a 2” tyre without guards. it is ace.

Sonder frontier is on offer at the moment if you’re thinking of a 29er hardtail, not carbon though.

Sonder Frontier

Pinnacle Neon

My Trek Superfly Carbon?

https://m.pinkbike.com/buysell/2685437/

Settle on a maximum tyre-width requirement for ‘fire-road bimbles’* then get back to us

Very good point. I do fire road and much more on 28c so for me I have a different range of bikes that would suit than someone who requires 45c or more