New Bike to leave in Spain

W12_Lad

I've just enjoyed a week at my brother's house in the Spanish hills, 20 odd miles North of Torre del Mar.
He has some fantastic cycling right on his doorstep. I hired a road bike and did lot's of climbing amid the most amazing mountain scenery (the road up to the village of Comares is only a couple of miles away and can be seen from his terrace).
I have decided to buy a bike to leave at his house and get over there as often as possible to take advantage of the situation.

There is about a mile of track leading up to his house which is in very bad condition and also very steep in places. It's very gravelly with lots of rocks also. I drove up and down this, with the hire bike in the car but would prefer to ride it in future.

So, I am after a bike that will be capable of getting up and down the track so I'm guessing will need to take at least 28mm tyres and be robust enough.
I have a pair of Archetype 28 spoke on Miche Primato hubs that I think will be up to the job and not too heavy. (Shimano 10sp).
Most of my riding, however will be climbing hills on quite good roads so, as always, I'd like it to be light as possible and "nice to ride".
I'm not worried about braking or mudguards as I'm sure it will always be sunny!
I don't care what it looks like.
I'd like compact gearing with at least a 30 lowest gear.
I prefer the hoods on my 105 equipped bike than my Tiagra one, but wouldn't be a deal breaker.
I need to justify to myself a budget for something that will, in reality, not be used very much at all, maybe 20 days a year.
I'm about 75Kg.
So, I'm thinking about £600 maximum new or second hand but please let me know about great bikes/deals that you've seen outside of this budget.
All comments will be gratefully received.

bontie

Are you seriously letting one mile of road influence the purchase of a bike which you will use for miles and miles of riding on good tarmac?

Its almost like someone buying a Land Rover Defender because the last mile home needs a 4x4, yet the rest is on the autobahn.

Sorry if this is not what you wanted to hear.

pirnie

I used to live at the far end of a mile of unpaved road in the UK and had no problems riding down it on a fully stock Trek 1.5 with 23mm tyres with absolutely no issues, even in bad weather. You just need to take it easy and pick your way up and down. Maybe invest in some more puncture resistant tyres, Schwalbe Duranos for instance, but I don't think you need anything special.

W12_Lad

I take your point(s) and when you put it like that, I have to agree it does sound a bit silly.
Just to be more clear, the track is 1.2 miles and rises 600 ft with a couple of parts over 20% incline on a rocky potholed surface.
My way of thinking was that I would be doing it on every ride so should make the compromise on tyre size.
I was hoping for 32mm tyre recommendations but your comments have made me think 28mm will be fine, so thanks.

sloppyschleckonds

W12 lad wrote:

My way of thinking was

Bonkers?

W12_Lad

Ah, most comments gratefully received 8)

Any good value bikes that will take 28mm tyres?

I've found a Felt Z95 on offer at Wiggle for £434. Sora, carbon fork, 32 tooth cassette. Seems good value. Need to find out if 28mm will fit.