Scott addict gravel disc 2016

jumbo469

Would buying one of these eliminate the need for a winter training bike and a race ready bike? Would it be competent enough to do 100 mile sportives. If so I could sell my two existing bikes and just concentrate on one :?

imposter2.0

Won't be 'race ready' as such, as discs are still not approved for BC-sanctioned race events...

bendertherobot

Well, if it's important, and it should be in winter, no mudguards.

Having a gravel racer is a great idea. Or, at least, having something that can take bigger tyres. The Scott looks great, nice big tyres. But having 25c on there in the summer is going to look weird. A better option might be a good disc braked road bike with extra clearance, something like the Cannondale Synapse Disc.

What do you want to do with it?

DeVlaeminck

I wouldn't bother but if you only want one bike you could do it with a rim braked bike as much as a disc braked one. As above an all year round bike really needs mudguards - that is a bigger issue than what type of brakes it has - you can always get a cheaper set of wheels for the winter/poor weather and just replace them if the rims wear.

Unless I lived in a flat with no other safe storage I'd always keep two bikes - nothing worse than the one weekend of warm weather we get coinciding with your bottom bracket giving up the ghost or something - it's nice to have a back up.

jumbo469

Sorry don't want to mislead, all I want to do is train the whole year round, do a few sportives, commute. Mainly road, occasional cycle paths and London cycle super highway, thank you so far for your responses, I'm already getting a clearer picture, keep em coming though.....

imposter2.0

jumbo469 wrote:

Sorry don't want to mislead, all I want to do is train the whole year round, do a few sportives, commute. Mainly road, occasional cycle paths and London cycle super highway, thank you so far for your responses, I'm already getting a clearer picture, keep em coming though.....

In which case, as an 'all-round' bike, it has potential. But nearly £3k though, which is fine if that's what you want to spend. Cheaper options, like the Jamis Renegade, Genesis Datum or Tifosi Cavazzo are worth looking at...

bendertherobot

Datum is a very good option. Decent tyre size and a whole lot cheaper. Or for £100 more than your budget you can have the DI2 one.

I'd just go for the UItegra one and save some cash. Perhaps get some good disc wheels from Hunt.

alwayscycle

I've been wondering something similar and really like the look of the Specialized Diverge bikes. I guess one bike is always a compromise in one way or another but does free budget to keep one bike in really good condition.

meanredspider

Full mudguards are over-rated in my opinion. Both my disc bikes have that capability and I have them on neither. I use a Swan R rear guard which does 80% of the job for 20% of the hassle - and 10s to remove.

I'm riding a Jamis Renegade Elite (below) which is very comfortable and, with tubeless S-One tyres, pretty quick (didn't someone do pretty well on Paris Roubaix on these tyres last year?). It's an incredible practical bike and really well kitted out - which is possibly why it was Road.cc Bike of the Year. That said, something like the Volagi would do road duties just as well - it can take wide tyres, has discs, and it's every bit as fast as my Foil. I got the Jamis because I live in two places and because I wanted something with off-road capability.

jumbo469

I've got a test ride tomorrow morning on a genesis datum 30. Thanks again for all the advice, I'll let you all know the outcome.

frisbee

meanredspider wrote:

Full mudguards are over-rated in my opinion. Both my disc bikes have that capability and I have them on neither. I use a Swan R rear guard which does 80% of the job for 20% of the hassle - and 10s to remove.

I'm riding a Jamis Renegade Elite (below) which is very comfortable and, with tubeless S-One tyres, pretty quick (didn't someone do pretty well on Paris Roubaix on these tyres last year?). It's an incredible practical bike and really well kitted out - which is possibly why it was Road.cc Bike of the Year. That said, something like the Volagi would do road duties just as well - it can take wide tyres, has discs, and it's every bit as fast as my Foil. I got the Jamis because I live in two places and because I wanted something with off-road capability.

Full mudguards are necessary if you are riding in a group or with a club in winter. So I would at least get a bike with the capability of fitting proper mudguards to it.

meanredspider

frisbee wrote:

Full mudguards are nice to have if you are riding in a group or with a club in winter.

FTFY - I've done plenty of group/club riding in winter and wet weather where nobody is running full guards. I'm sure it's good manners and good to do but most road bikes don't have the capability to fit conventional guards.

DeVlaeminck

I still don't see the point - if you have a winter bike and a summer bike what is the advantage on losing money selling them second hand and buying a single summer bike (no mudguards) with a different but arguably no better braking system ? If you want the option of doing some proper off road stuff that's different but if you do much of it you'll still be wearing out your drivetrain with all the muck and grit you'll pick up. My advice would don't be seduced by the idea of disc brakes as some kind of step change - most people find it really isn't - that's not to say you shouldn't buy a disc braked bike but don't use the idea of disc brakes to talk yourself into buying something you wouldn't otherwise buy.

jumbo469

Thank you all so much for the lively responses, wow the Datum was the most comfortable bike I've ever rode, I told the bloke in the shop that it was almost too good, he started to wobble thinking he was loosing a sale. This was the only Datum 30 I could find in London, it was a small but the bloke in the shop said it was the equivalent to a 54 (anything to get a sale I thought) but no it was perfect. Took me 2 minutes to decide (you know when you know). Had a bike fit already, insured it, now selling my Cannondale CAADX 105 on eBay soon and giving my Giant TCR composite to my son. Can't wait to get out early Sunday (7am) now the dark mornings are on their way out. Well on the mudguards front as I ride all through the winter I think it's a must for me, I'm sure there's pros and cons to the topic but it's whatever floats your boat I think....

luv2ride

Great choice with the Datum. Make sure you post some pics of the new ride. Sounds as if your son has also done pretty well out of the deal!