Help me choose my first road (or maybe gravel) bike. I know nowt!

Be gentle! Back story. Very late bloomer into cycling. 60 y/o, only been into MTB for about 13 or 14 years. Love MTB, but find myself musing about getting a road bike as well. I know nothing about them, so could do with some advice.

Intended use.

1. Getting a winter cycling fix and to maintain fitness when the trails are too sloppy, or I CBA endlessly washing mud off me and the bike.

2. Summer pootling on the country lanes, exploring local villages, coffee stops etc.

3. Possible bike packing. Both my kids are getting into it and I’d like to maybe join them.

I’m currently using a hard tail mountain bike for 1. and 2. It’s OK, but I’d prefer something lighter, with better gearing and tyres and more optimised or the road. I mostly ride solo and am happy to do full days with breaks but prioritise comfort over speed. It’s pretty hilly where I live.

I’m thinking an endurance or touring style bike? Is that right? Or maybe a gravel bike. Use case 1 and 2 are most important, I could maybe use my HT for bike packing, so it would be mostly used on road with occasional unpaved tracks. Budget up to 2k, but I’d be happy paying a lot less. Happy to go second hand. Any broad pointers what to look at?

Sounds like and endurance or gravel bike is exactly what you need, as long as you are comfy on drop bars.

Ribbles cgr range is well thought of, but I wouldn’t discount a fiat bar hybrid style  bike for what you describe.

I also like the specialized diverge range. The future shock does make a difference to comfort

Or if you want to go a bit more boutique then the cotic escapade is very nice

Compromise is the name of the game.

Pretty much any of the more recent crop of gravel bikes from a wide range of brands will fit the bill very nicely and do everything that you are looking at.  Do you have any strong preference over frame material?  Do environmental concerns make you dismiss carbon, for example?  Personally, for that kind of use, I’d be thinking steel or maybe/possibly Ti; within that budget, you could get a Tempest or Silk Road from Planet X.

A Ragley Trig would be a great option, if you can find one; Reynolds 853 frame and a nimble geometry that suits it’s stock 650b wheel size very nicely.  Quite a few folk on here bought these relatively recently and they were very well received.

Alternatively, maybe look at Ribble and their steel gravel options, of which there are a few builds.

Then there’s Genesis, perhaps something Croix de Fer based, if you are more interested in road distance than trail performance?  There are quite a few aspects to think about but I increasingly think that in this field, it’s actually quite hard to get a ‘bad’ bike…

ribble

https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-cgr-al-sport/?colour=orange

Diverge

https://www.specializedconceptstore.co.uk/shop/bikes/adventure-gravel/2023-diverge-elite-e5-306345/

Cotic – special build comes in at £1799

https://www.cotic.co.uk/product/escapade?srsltid=AfmBOoqTSXENZCOJ3jvcGVn5l6DbqoEAb_iVWmZK9sr8A8gtytMaAnB0

+1 on hybrid styleee bike for that.

IMO, quite a few gravel and endurance bikes are still pretty racy, head down bikes. If you’re not racing, go for comfort, control and ease of use. Go for flexibility of use – you don’t have to use mounting points, but you miss them if you do want to use. Likewise wider tyres – yeah you go a tad faster on smooth roads with skinnier tyres, but being able to wop on 50mm treaded tyres is brilliant for exploring off road and yet pop back on some low tread 35’s and you can zip on roads. Different hand positions and a comfy frame over total focus on efficiency.

Go for one you like the look of.

Ride a few and see what you think.

Comfort/long rides = Trek Domane

How tall are you?

One of the myriad ‘all road’ options? From my experience anything you can stick 38mm+ tyres on and with a sensible low gear for spinning up steeps, particularly if loaded up.

Depending on terrain to be encountered, add tyre width, slacker geometry and a dropper post and suspension fork until you end up with a drop bar XC bike.

I was happy hooning around the SE lanes and bridleways on a cx bike until someone squashed it and I was able to buy a ‘proper’ gravel bike with the insurance payout. This currently spends a lot of time with road wheels and 30mm tyres on doing roady and commuting stuff (with an Ortlieb Quick Rack).

Fixing points for luggage and mudguards are nice to have but plenty of effective workarounds exist.

More road bias suggests 2x, over 1x.

Tyre choice would depend on expected amount of mud, technical off road you expect. I’ve managed fine in many scenarios with file tread 40mm tubeless, the other week on a gravel event in the Chilterns, the mud was a bit challenging and something a bit more gnarly would have helped. That said I enjoy being underbiked and don’t like draggy tyres on the road.

HTH

Do you have any strong preference over frame material?

No. If budget allows, a slight leaning towards carbon but definitely not a deal breaker.

Some great advice and suggestions there, thanks. About to disappear into a whirlwind of research!

How tall are you?

5’9”

Sonder Camino? More at the MTB end of gravel bikes.

Sonder Camino? More at the MTB end of gravel bikes

I was looking at them last weekend at the Alpkit shop in Hathersage. Already on my short list.

Boardman bikes are normally  good value for money & they have a pretty decent range of gravel bikes

Fairlight

One word- tyre clearance.
You want room for at least 32mm.
Have a look at PX London road- usually great value with rack and guard mounts I think.

Giant have a few previous years Revolt (alloy) and Revolt Advanced (carbon) gravel bikes on sale.

I have had my Revolt Advanced since 2019 and really like it. Used for everything from long road rides to commuting to trail riding to pootling about to bike packing and touring.

(Wait for the “Giant warranty is rubbish” comments but I have had/have several Giant bikes and never had a problem.)

I changed from a road bike (Giant Defy) to the gravel bike for the more relaxed riding position and the wider usability and am glad I did. Fewer neck and back aches and the wider tyres give a more comfortable ride.

If you are considering bike packing then a gravel bike will typically have more mounting points for racks, cages, etc. than a road bike.

Don’t get a road bike, tarmac is knackered throughout the country and you only need the marginal gains of you’re genuinely racing. Sold my roadie about 5 years ago, won’t go back.

I’ve got a diverge as recommended above, a 2x GRX version, love it.

Wait for the “Giant warranty is rubbish” comments but I have had/have several Giant bikes and never had a problem.

I ride a Trance full sus mtb and love it, so I’ve got no prejudices against Giant.  Would gravel bikes generally be more relaxed, less head down than dedicated road bikes? I’m OK with drop bars, but would prefer a relatively relaxed riding position for longer rides.  Seems like 2 sets of wheels might be an option? Either a gravel bike with an extra set of road wheels, or an endurance bike with an extra set of rims with chunkier tyres if the frame has the clearance?

you only need the marginal gains of you’re genuinely racing.

Which I absolutely won’t be!

Have a think about whether you actually want drop bars.

I’ve gone to the conclusion that for a generally riding around type bike, they’re unnecessary, indeed disadvantageous, because flat bars give better control when you need it.

So, in a “recommend what you own” style, I’ll recommend a Giant Fastroad Advanced AR. Advanced  = carbon, AR = All Road, so bigger tyre clearance. I’ve got one, it’s beautifully comfortable, and will happily zip along the road whilst also easily handling farm track/towpath type off road stuff.

I’ve got this, a ‘proper’ mountain bike and a ‘proper’ road bike. If I had to keep one, it would be this, no question.

My Revolt Advanced 0 is a bit shorter reach and higher stack than a typical road bike of equivalent size. Longest road ride has been the Dunwich Dynamo, last one with a pack of velodrome veterans on road bikes. It’s also great on Scottish and Alpine gravel and greasy, leafy, rooty, flinty SE bridleways and is happy lugging camping gear around for the odd bits of bikepacking I’ve done.

The dealer offered test rides and C2W which was the clincher for me.

https://planetx.co.uk/collections/on-one-free-ranger?filter_select=%7B%22colour_–_%7C6372626375992413541_–_%7C2%22%3A%5B%22forest%20green%22%2C%22electric%20night%22%5D%7D&price=%2C&onlyQueryInStock=false&page_num=1

The Planet X FreeRanger is excellent. Full carbon for a good price. I’ve actually built one up from a frameset and eventually converted it to flat bar as I’ve found that’s what I prefer. I run as sram rival 1×11.  About 9.5kg. Will take full mudguards for winter if you want to use them.

Have a think about whether you actually want drop bars.

I’ve gone to the conclusion that for a generally riding around type bike, they’re unnecessary, indeed disadvantageous, because flat bars give better control when you need it.

You have a single hand position with flat bars vs several with drops….

Or are drops a paradox, you need the extra postions because drops are more uncomfortable? 🙂

Have you any experience of riding drop handlebars?
Before thinking about what bike, you need to know that you can get on with them. Lots of great bikes with both but for efficiency on the road, drops do make a difference.

I think drops are just more fun for everything except wrestling through the gnar. I mean, the cornering is faster just by virtue of the bars being narrower, and being on the hoods with brakes and gears at your fingertips is very ergonomic, and being on the actual drops just puts you in an amazing (cliche incoming!) ‘attack’ position

I think the key is finding a bike with a tall enough head-tune to allow you to actually use the drops regularly, sadly a lot of nice bikes seem to still have fairly stupid stack figures. Bar tops level with saddle or maybe just under seems like a happy compromise.

I find riding on the hoods on my Giant more comfortable than my flat bar commuter/tourer, the main bits of which are an ancient late 90s Cannondale aluminium hybrid. I just find my hands, wrists and shoulders happier in the N/S position rather than the E/W position. I suspect the older geo and unforgiving lack of flex in the frame and heavy 36 spoke wheels don’t help but I’m only 53 so YMMV.

wrestling through the gnar.

Hanging off the back whilst on the drops skipping and skidding down a steep bit of technical single-track can be just on the right side of terrifying 😀

You have a single hand position with flat bars vs several with drops….

Bar ends or alt bars = lots of options.

And unless it’s windy, super gnarly or I’m trying to keep up with mrs_oab in eBike boost mode, I never use drops. I do wander back and forth along tops and hoods – much like flat bars and bar ends.

I’m convinced that the main reasons buy drop bar bikes for this kind of thing are

1) flat bar non-mountain bikes are tarred with the ‘hybrid’ brush, and that’s desperately uncool

2) there are relatively few decent flat bar non-mountain bikes available, mainly, probably, because see 1)

Lots of great bikes with both but for efficiency on the road, drops do make a difference.

I, honestly, beg to differ. If you’re talking proper roadie, ripping along at 20+mph for extended periods of time, then sure, the increased aeroness of drops is probably a must.

For mere mortals just riding along, drops add nothing. And a flat bar bike will be cheaper than an equivalently specced drop bar bike, because you’re not paying the gravel tax.

OP – I’m near Stockport/Macclesfield if you want to have a go. I’m 6’1″” so it’ll be a bit big for you, but you’ll get an idea.

If you really want both gravel and road riding I’d look at 650b gravel bikes with almost MTB sized tyres, it’ll then fit 700*28 for faster days on the road.

For winter riding, get real mudguards, not clip on removable  things, get something like chromoplastics, blumels, m:part primo etc.

Same age, same decision process. Except I went over your budget with a Fairlight secan. Only had it 2 weeks but it’s fab.

My gears are 40 to chainring and 10-51, so far really pleased with that, on and off road. Shimano grx.

Personally I’d say, not overly worry about weight and ignore carbon. If not Fairlight then I’d go camino. Both would be great bike packing bikes.

Very amused to see the post from @MadBillMcMad above.  My Secan also arrived two weeks ago and it’s loverly. Well over the budget  in this discussion but mine’s been bought for a very special occasion.  It’s built very road for me, GRX 2×12.  And yes, I love steel…….

Thanks all, absolutely loads of great info here, though I think I may be even more confused now! I am swayed a bit by the argument that our roads are poor.  That’s definitely the case near me. I live in a very rural area in the Shropshire hills AONB.  The country roads in every direction are in a shocking condition.  That maybe sways me more towards a gravel bike?

Not sure though, but I’m enjoying the process of research and finding out more.

A gravel bike in the Shropshire hills would be perfect. I grew up having a caravan in Wentnor so know the place quite well.
You  just need to decide what type of bars you will be comfortable riding.

really miss that place, having lived in Norfolk now for nearly thirty years, I have a hankering for hills!

I’m very happy with my Canino, brilliant off road, still good on it.

I’m not sure why some people seem so het up about drops or not. I quite happily ride both, Drops feel odd at first if you’ve never ridden them, but they work well, have multiple positions. I’m not sure there’s a particular ‘gravel tax’ either. Sonder does a flat bar versions of the Camino, with A1 Apex 12-speed and yeah, it’s £300 cheaper than the one with drops, but that’s presumably because combined brake/shift levers are simply more expensive rather than some weird punitive pricing aimed at exploiting drop bar riders.

If you prefer flats, fair enough, but the rest of stuff is fiction. And if you’re going to ride a flat-barred gravel bike, why not just build a very light XC hardtail and run fast, fast tyres? Or is there a hardtail tax we don’t know about?

Yeah, alright, I’m being a bit facetious with the gravel tax thing, but equivalently specced flat bar bikes are definitely cheaper than drop bar ones. Part of that will doubtless be the parts, but I’m sure part of it is also the lower demand.

I suppose what I’m trying to say, or counter, is that drops are ‘better’ (more efficient, faster in corners, more ergonomic etc). That’s fiction. Flat bars are just as efficient (for ‘normal’ riding), just as fast and just as comfortable.

Maybe this is the answer

https://www.balfesbikes.co.uk/bikes/gravel-adventure-bikes/specialized-diverge-expert-e5-evo-gravel-bike-2023-in-green__30494

I have several bikes, the latest is a Diverge STR. It’s almost the only one I use now. A couple of months ago my riding mate and I went out on our fancy road bikes and resented every pedal stroke, wishing we were on the comfy and efficient Diverges. Yes we weren’t going quite as fast but unless you’re doing more than a 50 mile ride you’re not going to miss the extra zip. The big bikes get used too, and that’s great fun for a change but we can ride the same terrain on the gravel bikes, just a bit more gingerly.

I suppose what I’m trying to say, or counter, is that drops are ‘better’ (more efficient, faster in corners, more ergonomic etc). That’s fiction. Flat bars are just as efficient (for ‘normal’ riding), just as fast and just as comfortable.

It is not fiction. Drops are faster, especially when actually using the drop part of the bar. They are more comfortable over longer distances because hands/wrists are at a more natural angle and can change positions.

But agree that for normal riding (i.e. 16-18mph average for less than 2 hours) then I can live with flats on the road and prefer them on gravel. I switch bars on a whim because I have no brakes or gears to worry about so have very good experience of drops versus flats over 20 years.

I’ve done 100+ mile sportives and always use flat barred bikes, i simply can’t get on with Drops. I’ve tried multiple times but they feel twitchy, unstable and unsafe. My last one was Gent Wevelgem and i rode it on a Raleigh Cadent which cost £400 new from Pauls Cycles. I’ve no doubt it wasn’t quite as efficient as a road bike… but i felt a LOT safer and happier on it than i would have on a drop bar bike.

That Diverge above looks fab… Canyon do similar, as to Planet X, or at least they used to do a London Rd flat bar..