Gravel Virgin on a Budget

Getting back into riding after a few years off the bike & am intrigued by gravel.

Trying to gauge what’s what on a budget & the On One/Planet X Free Ranger looks decent VFM  – any reason why I shouldn’t be tempted or any similar alternatives?

Sonder Camino is a good shout I think. I got my other half a higher-specced one and it’s a lot of bike for the money. The same frame with a cheaper group set would be a great bike too.

Both good vfm.

Sonder camino usually excellent value and worth a look

Orro gravel range were on sale (link in the PSA thread above)

But second hand there are loads on marketplace and eBay, should get something there first and see if it suits you. See if you like drops or flat bar etc. Gravel os a broad spectrum from fat wheel roadies to XC mountain bikes (just my opinion)

I’ve got a boardman adv 8.9 which I’m very happy with. Mine was a nearly new 2nd hand one off Facebook so a bargain. But new are a decent price and been previous bike of the year winner.

Depends if you’re just trying it and might not like it and will end selling the bike.

So…..

Buy a budget brand with a better spec or buy a bike from a bigger well known brand that you will more likely be able to get a return if sold.

Thanks chaps – I’ll have a look at those too.

@didnthurt – I’m offloading a few older bikes to make room so at worst it might end up on the turbo.

What bikes have you got already?  Nothing really intriguing about gravel, just ride it on any bike you fancy and see if riding along fireroads and smooth single track floats your boat.  The bike is largely irrelevant unless your bike is a DH bike or TT bike.

I have ridden mostly gravel for 20+ years on all sorts of bikes and to me the bike makes little difference whether a rigid MTB, hardtail MTB, CX bike, fixed gear bike and so on.

For me gravel is essentially easy mountain biking so as already said, pretty much any bike that can take 40mm + tyres is fine, but in my opinion a lightweight and quick handling bike is so much more rewarding than a heavier mtb or bike packing bike, especially when ridden at pace. So that’s why I love a cx bike under 10kg (actually under 9kg is even better). This might change as I get older though.

I bought a used CX bike last year. Spent a while searching as some prices were silly. Ended up with a very nice Colnago World Cup. 105. Got it for £330, and I spent a bit on gravel tyres, new cassette, bar tape etc. I went canti brakes as I’ve got spare wheels. So it now doubles up as a winter/hill climber bike. Recently did a 130 mile sportive with 11,000 feet of climbing, including some very steep hills. Sailed up on 34×34 when half the riders were walking.

Given alot of the local tracks are fairly ‘mild’ this made sense rather than taking the full suspension out, so I save that for proper stuff. It’s also not that slow on road with gravel tyres on.

I’m bike packing on it in September – although got some jiggery pokery to do with a rack as this bike is a ‘race’ frame, so no mounts on it.

I’m surrounded by a lot of byways/farm tracks that don’t need an MTB but are a bit sketchy on a road bike so it’s really to get somewhere in between.

I have a Reynolds tubed Langster which is comfy enough but little room for decent size tyres.

Offloading a few 26ers & probably a barely used carbon road bike all of which have been unused for at least 4 years & none of which are what I’m looking for currently.

CX/Gravel sounds ideal – ~I’ve made the mistake of taking a couple of tracks that aren’t difficult on the FS, but it’s like ‘nope’ on the CX – I just walked it. It’s great having the speed when you are on hard pack or tarmac. I commute on a slicked up 26″ rigid MTB, but the CX bike is a good five minutes quicker over 10 miles.

Yeah.  My FS is way too much bike for probably 80% of local trails & gravel wasn’t really a thing when I was last riding regularly.

The Sonder Camino is incredible value as is offerings from Planet X.

Having got my Camino I have found it suits my style of riding which is over the moors of east lancashire as well as reasonable sections of singletrack and road use.

The only things likely to be better VFM are 2nd hand.

CX bikes that will take ~38mm tyres at the back do well as long as it’s not actually rocky (e.g. the 1st gen CAAD-X with disk brakes)  and you can pick them up for ~£400.  The On-One gravel bikes are still quite “CX” in nature, with steeper geometry and tall frames. Great for riding smooth tracks quickly but a bit nervy to descend rougher tracks quickly on.  More up-to-date designs with more sloping top tubes and slacker angles are a bit more confident at the expense of feeling a bit less engaging on smooth stuff.

Decathlon Triban gravel bikes get good reviews.

520 currently on sale (in Europe, at least) and is under 1k€.

Cheap CX…

TBH if I was just dabbling and wasn’t totally sure if Gravel is going to stick for me I would go cheap and functional to start with:

Either a used bike or a Merlin Malt G2, Claris build would do the job for half the price of the base Free Ranger Rival build.

Certainly not a Gucci bike but sufficient to either decide you like the whole Gravel Niche and then do more research and trade up, or decide it’s not for you to flog the bike on having invested a less substantial amount.

£1k+ probably starts to feel like a bit more spend and thus you get too invested in the thing to really admit you’d have preferred a rigid MTB.

I’ve just built up a Sonder Camino from a frame after riding an On One Dirty Disco cross bike for the last ten years or so. the one thing I’d say is that apart from not being very pretty – subjective I know – it’s also quite slack in gravel terms, 69˚, same as a SC Stigmata – which is good off road, but a bit different from more traditional road/cross geometry, which is great or not depending on your preferences/riding.

I quietly cove the On One Rujo that the missus bought last year, but then I have a thing for steel tubes. In honesty though, a Dirty Disco with more tyre clearance would do me just fine and that’s just a light, generic cross bike really.

I’d plump for a Camino over the On One stuff if you want it to feel more mountain bike-ish, I think. Slacker head angle, longer and room for larger tyres.

Something to remember about dropbar bikes is the shifters are expensive to replace and upgrade so if you buy a cheaper 8/9 speed one, it’ll be a pricey upgrade to 10/11/12 speeds.

I’d not buy one with less than 10 speed if going 1x. 2x is better for commuting, touring and when you’re on the road a fair bit, but IME 1x is much better off road for quicker shifts, less wear & tear and easier to clean.

Pinnacle arkose 2 is wot I bought for around £750 18 months ago and I’m happy with it. Recently bought some wider bars with flare and a shorter stem which has made it better for me. Tyres can go up to 45c.

Maybe it is lacking in mounting bolts on the forks but that’s about it.

I enjoy riding it. Canals, railways and most places I ride on my MTB. Doesn’t have much problem keeping up with emtbs on local trails plus the human battery only fails around the 50 mile mark.

More than happy with my Boardman ADV9.0. Sub 10kg, paid £1500 brand new. Have nothing to compare it to though

My gravel bike is a Pinnacle  Lithium  bought off eBay for £150.

Its essentially a rigid 29er currently wearing slicks but I do all the stuff that must would choose a gravel bike for. I was going to swap it for an Arkose buts it’s such a versatile bike , it’s ended up being my most used bike.

Pulled the trigger on a Free Ranger – the finance deal helped the decision.

I’m sure I’ll find a use for it whatever happens.

Keeping an eye on this thread as thinking of moving on my 10yr old steel Genesis DayOne Alfine and replacing it with a Sonder Camino (2x set up) for bike packing/touring, exploring on gravel and roads as well as RttS 2025.

Question, does the slacker head angle of the Sonder Camino alter in any way how well it rides on tarmac compared to a road bike?

Understand weight and tyres will negatively impact compared to a dedicated road bike but I am unsure what impact the slacker head angle will have. Grateful for STW thoughts.

Question, does the slacker head angle of the Sonder Camino alter in any way how well it rides on tarmac compared to a road bike?

Understand weight and tyres will negatively impact compared to a dedicated road bike but I am unsure what impact the slacker head angle will have. Grateful for STW thoughts.

Based on my admittedly limited experience so far, I’d say that compared to a traditional road bike, it feels significantly more stable/less flicky, which isn’t a bad thing, particularly if you come from a mountain bike background, it just feels very planted. What’s less obvious is that the shorter stem – optimised for 70mm but can go shorter – feels a bit odd riding out of the saddle, but again, you adapt. Also, the head tube’s quite tall and Sonder’s original bars – which I don’t use – are mad wide on the drops, so that’s going to impact how low and aero you feel.

It’s different, particularly if you’re used to a low, fast-steering road bike, but with fast tyres, it’s perfectly useable I think. You won’t be winning races on one and, I guess if what you like about road riding is that razor-edged speed thing – as far from a mountain bike as possible – then it won’t scratch that itch, but for pottering about/commuting etc, it’s perfectly fine, if that makes sense?

Also note the camino changed geometry in the last version. My 2020 is still rocking a 100mm stem and not quite as slack

Cheers @BadlyWiredDog @suspendedanimation

Excellent response.

Yep 20yrs mtbing, prior to that anything with 2 wheels, so not looking for super speeds but comfort, ability to explore further afield and the odd road/fun event .. .. for the vibe not speed or times.

Well I have to admit I’m more than impressed by the Free Ranger. Swapped out the saddle for one I’m comfortable with and changed the stock tyres & popped out for a quick spin.

It’s quick, stable & comfy and didn’t feel out of shape anywhere – I genuinely think it’ll be my most used bike.

I had a camino 2022 AL and did a lot of road work including a sportive from Leicester to London (162 miles) and it was a delight to ride.

My new 2023 Ti is even better.

More than happy with my Boardman ADV9.0.

A bit late to this but that is a tidy looking bike.

Boardman adv 9.0 on a flash sale at the moment for £1280

https://www.halfords.com/bikes/gravel-bikes/boardman-adv-9.0-road-mens-bike—s-m-l-xl-frames-749198.html

And 8.9 for £864

https://www.halfords.com/bikes/adventure-bikes/boardman-adv-8.9-mens-adventure-bike-2021—s-m-l-xl-frames-389606.html

Boardman adv 9.0 on a flash sale at the moment for £1280

I’d say you’d need to be a lanky so and so to fit an XL.

I’m 5’11” with a long inside leg. I’m a large on every MTB I’ve ever had, but all the sizing guides told me to go for a medium Boardman. I’m glad I did, a large world have been too stretched out for me

I know the op has bought a bike but if you like the look of the freeranger and don’t want Sram than the Dolan GXC is basically the same frame and they have a GRX Shimano build for £1799

https://www.dolan-bikes.com/dolan-gxc-carbon-disc-gravel-bike-shimano-grx-rx610-1×12-hdr/

My Free Ranger is GRX?

I saw it on HotUKDeals very late last night and posted on PSA thread, but Halfords did a flash sale yesterday. Adv8.9 was £864 and adv9.0road was £1200.