Hello ,

So I’m thinking of getting a gravel/Cx bike (second hand)
Ideally 1 x 10/11
Would be used for a bit of road and canal path, but mostly xc type stuff

Cheers in advance for any recommendations

but mostly xc type stuff

go for the one with the biggest tyre clearance you can get if you are doing XC stuff, frames that take only 38mm are less fun on red and blue MTB trails than one that’ll take 700×50. you can always fit narrower tyres for CX racing or road bike conversion if you want.
look for a frame designed as a gravel bike rather than a CX that’s been made to look more gravelly, the CX will be much twitchier as it was designed for tight grassy corners around a playing field rather than proper off road, so think longer and slacker (but obvs not as LLS as a modern mtb)

Go for the one you can actually buy! That’ll be the biggest limiting factor at the moment.

go for the one with the biggest tyre clearance you can get if you are doing XC stuff, frames that take only 38mm are less fun on red and blue MTB trails than one that’ll take 700×50

I agree but would also look at 650b bikes which can run 50mm tyres as well. Might be quite as good but might give you more options

I wouldn’t worry about brands just shop on spec, clearance and geometry

What’s your budget and how small/tall are you? Just seen this on ebay …

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/On-One-Pickenflick-Titanium-Cyclocross-Cx-Gravel-Bike-/224710728871?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0

I’ve one, it’s a brilliant bike. Although a small, it’s quite a large small; I’m 5’9″ and it fits me well, room to go smaller or a bit larger.

Heartily agree with what rocketdog says…

Modern gravel bikes with 70deg or slacker head angles, longer reaches, big tyre clearances, dropped top tubes etc. are remarkably good fun off road and far more capable than their more CX biased counterparts.

I do not agree CX bikes are just as good do not know where you get this twitchier business from I own both because years ago gravel bikes were not around.

CX will absolutely be more race focused and twitchier off-road.
Will be more aggressive position and will have a steeper head angle with less rake.
Gravel will do gnar better although after trying Gypsy glen on my new one last Saturday I’d say don’t get too carried away lol

Gravel will do gnar better

And monstercross even bettererer

I was having a look at them recently to replace my Whyte Saxon Cross and the Polygon Bend R5 looks ok and available, I think.

If you want to ride more XC then choose one that can take a dropper post and as said, wider tyres/650b.

I do not agree CX bikes are just as good do not know where you get this twitchier business from I own both because years ago gravel bikes were not around.

They are not really twitchier as HA and fork rake can be very similar but the BB does tend to be higher which gives the bike a different feel, more on the bike than in the bike so a less stable feeling.
Saying that, it all depends what sort of handling you like. I prefer sharper handling bikes even off road but the larger the tyre the more capable it will be on rougher off road as said above.

My perfect off road bike is probably a CX bike with 37c tyres. Others would hate that bike.

I’ve had my focus atlas for about 3 weeks and done about 250km now, riding it more than anything else and liking the ground-covering versatility but the concept that they are capable on anything other than the lightest off-road is laughable.

Heartily agree with what rocketdog says…

I tend to disagree. My take on gravel bike is that I enjoy racing around flat out with no grip, arse on fire style. I probably end up slower overall than I would on a 50mm tyre bike than my 40 but would I have as much fun? TBH I don’t know but thought I’d put another view. I do know that I have an XC bike for stuff that I want an XC bike for.

Don’t dismiss CX bikes, have spent two years having a ridiculous amount of fun on muddy single-track during winter months on my CX-adapted-for-gravel bike, then doing lots of big gravel days in the summer.

Just depends if you really plan to take it onto proper MTB terrain or not…

The other drawback with a cx bike is the stand over, after all they are designed to be put on your shoulder. Great for frame bag space but not for crotch- top tube clearance. Also pure bread cx frames can also only come with one bottle cage mount.

I have a Ragley Trig. Perfect for what you want IMO.

I have to say I enjoy both I only use my gravel bike in the summer when the ground is bone dry with its 700x40c but when it goes muddy I use the crockett CX bikes with bonty 700×32 knobbies which gives you great feeling through the mud.This has been said before why would you take a gravel bike down the Dowies in the Forest of Dean!! yes you can but where is the fun in that.

I repurposed a 26er with some tubeless 29er wheels. Still managed to fit full mudguards with 38 tyres.
Tubeless is essential for comfort and avoiding pinch flats.

Tubeless is essential for comfort and avoiding pinch flats

Hmm… an entirely different debate, and I’m not anti-tubeless (running tubeless currently) but I’d say the difference between a good tubed setup and a good tubeless setup is very marginal, I swap tyres quite a lot and am always on the cusp of going back to tubes just for ease of use. Certainly not essential, although I guess it might depend on riding style.

I’ve had as many pinch flats tubeless as I’ve had with tubes!

mud.This has been said before why would you take a gravel bike down the Dowies in the Forest of Dean!! yes you can but where is the fun in that.

For me because a modern MTB makes it too easy, not because of my skills just that the MTB is so capable it’s almost boring on some trails. The gravel bike will not be as fast but it definitely makes you use those skills we all learnt back in the late 80s when MTBs were crap! The feeling of not being sure you’ll survive and stay on the bike comes back when riding an inappropriate bike on stuff it wasn’t designed for. It certainly will keep you awake.

but I’d say the difference between a good tubed setup and a good tubeless setup is marginal punctures,

FIFY

That is one way off looking at it Rocket dog I dont look at it in the same way I use my CX/gravel bikes to go much further on a ride because they are faster and lighter you do 80miles on the byways of Wilts and onto the Kennet and Avon canal that would be a slog on a MTB same goes for not taking a gravel bike down the trails at Mallards pike some of them are very hairy on 160mm travel bike to be honest I just like riding different bikes in different areas so best not get onto Fatties thats another story.Not gone tubeless on my CX/gravel like you say I swap the tyres a fair bit and also commuter on a CX bike with gravel tyres.

Would be used for a bit of road and canal path, but mostly xc type stuff

Sounds like a hardtail MTB would be better for your needs.

Gravel bikes are great for the road/canal and faster than an MTB. 38-40mm tyres are a sweet spot.

I have (700c and) 650b/50mm tyres for mud/slop/rougher terrain but I rarely use them as it’s more fun on an MTB with a bit of sus.

Yes, XC is fun on the Gravel bike but it gets wearing after a while and an MTB would be better. I have the Redshift stem which is a game changer on the gravel bike.

Sounds like a hardtail MTB would be better for your needs.

Tend to agree, if “mostly XC type stuff” is 80% of the ride then choose the best bike for the 80%.

I have a Freeranger – run it with 45mm x 700C in summer and used it for commuting, Midlands Towpaths/ BWs, did Dirty Reiver and it was perfect.

In winter I pop on a full guard and swap to 32 X 700C; use it as my winter road bike.

From my perspective its great on mixed road/ gravel/ unpaved rides. Wouldn’t be my first choice either as an XC bike

I view mine as a tough road bike I can take shortcuts on.

Thanks for all the great replies/comments
I maybe should of said I already have a 5th generation Cotic Soul used for xc and tail riding that I absolutely love, but I just fancy trying something different. And after see the comments maybe a cx Bike is what I’m looking for, as it maybe used for a fair bit of road too(if I can get in to it).

Thanks again in advance.

Bear in mind that modern so called gravel bikes are mcuh the same as the MTBs we used i the 80’s with better brakes and more fragile components. You can have a lot of fun on one of those actually.
A race spec CX bike wo’t have the tyre clearance yeah, but thats no big deal. Of course it depends on where you come from. My CX/commuter isn’t great on tough stuff but fine for FoD red riding although the mudguards rattle a bit.
What is your version of gravel? Mine is just that as its an American term . So Forestry roads. In which case a road bike with 35mm tyres is plenty. If its banging down rocky Welsh reds then maybe a bit more is needed. Scottish hill tracks best used by a Landrover? Somewhere in between. Ride a few and then ask “how long is my piece of string?”

Gravel will do gnar better although after trying Gypsy glen on my new one last Saturday I’d say don’t get too carried away lol

That would have been seriously miserable. Huge climb and then having to bimble down, even worse if you’d no dropper.

And there’s quite a difference between the speed you can go down a rough fireroad/trail on 35mm vs 50mm – and there should be, there’s twice the volume with a 50c.

Bear in mind that modern so called gravel bikes are mcuh the same as the MTBs we used i the 80’s with better brakes and more fragile components.

That’s interesting. I’d never thought of bikes being more fragile. 7 speed bikes use to snap axles so I’m not sure they are more fragile. 10 speed Tiagra and cable brakes here

Bear in mind that modern so called gravel bikes are mcuh the same as the MTBs we used i the 80’s with better brakes and more fragile components.

Apart from they are not really the same and they don’t use fragile components. I have never broken a component riding off road for 20 years on ‘fragile’ road and track bikes

A race spec CX bike wo’t have the tyre clearance yeah, but thats no big deal.

Maybe years ago when people used canti brakes but since the move to disc even race CX bikes have way more clearance and can very easily fit a much bigger tyre than a 33c. In fact my canti braked CX bikes from 20 years ago could fit much bigger tyres than 33c with 33c being a UCI size stipulation rather than a frame clearance limitation in most cases.