First Ever Road/ Adventure Bike - Help needed!

kikismalls

Hi Everyone,

Please be easy on me. I'm not one to usually post on forums but I'm in dire need of help!
I have been looking for a good few days now for a bike to use for a 12.5km round commute to work as well as for leisure on weekends where i'll mainly be on gravel trails and bridleways. After a bit of research I have (correctly/incorrectly) narrowed down to an Adventure road bike or Cyclocross bike? (Not 100% sure if these are the same or not!).

My budget is a max of £750 although I'd like to spend around £650 - I intend to keep this bike for a good few years so I'd probably be willing to stretch this budget out a little further if required. I haven't cycled since I was around 15 so I literally have no idea other than what I have researched.

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks in advance.

97th choice

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/b ... -bike-2014"

Bargain. No need to spend more for such a short commute and it will serve you well enough on longer trips.

meanredspider

The main typical differences between CX and Adventure/Gravel bikes are the frame geometry (CX have a raised bottom bracket and some other differences) and often have a CX groupset (CX often have a 46 large chain ring vs 50 or 52 on the others). These aren't hard-and-fast. Personally I prefer the Adventure/Gravel set up - it's more like an (endurance) road bike that can take big tyres and guards.