N+1 do it all

dinyull

Other thing with that Planet X is the post mount brakes - most seem to be leaning in the direction of flat mount. You can convert flat mount to post, but not the other way.

london-red

Cheers guys!

cjcp

No. 3.

mtthwprctr

London-Red wrote:

Cheers guys!

Which one did you go for in the end? Also have my eye on the Vitus as a do-it-all winter commuter/cyclocross-dabbler bike for when my Canyon goes into hibernation.

london-red

mtthwprctr wrote:

London-Red wrote:

Cheers guys!

Which one did you go for in the end? Also have my eye on the Vitus as a do-it-all winter commuter/cyclocross-dabbler bike for when my Canyon goes into hibernation.

Have yet to pull the trigger, but I’m finding it tough to choose between the NS and the Vitus.

I’m probably a little closer to the Vitus if I’m honest...

And then there’s the Pickenflick... :roll:

alan_sherman

Bloody shame the pickenflick doesn't have mudguard eyelets.

london-red

alan sherman wrote:

Bloody shame the pickenflick doesn't have mudguard eyelets.

This.

veronese68

London-Red wrote:

alan sherman wrote:

Bloody shame the pickenflick doesn't have mudguard eyelets.

This.

Hopkinb of CS7 runs one with Cruds or similar in bad weather. If the fork has fittings for proper guards it wouldn’t be difficult to fit some on the back with P clips if the frame has the equivalent of a brake bridge across the seat stays. If we bribe him with beer we could look at his frame.

london-red

Veronese68 wrote:

London-Red wrote:

alan sherman wrote:

Bloody shame the pickenflick doesn't have mudguard eyelets.

This.

Hopkinb of CS7 runs one with Cruds or similar in bad weather. If the fork has fittings for proper guards it wouldn’t be difficult to fit some on the back with P clips if the frame has the equivalent of a brake bridge across the seat stays. If we bribe him with beer we could look at his frame.

Saw a guy today with a beautiful SS - powder blue, can't remember the name but retro type style - who had installed full length guards using p-clips. The set up looked great and really slick. I would just feck it up though, so best to take the path of least resistance...

mtthwprctr

London-Red wrote:

mtthwprctr wrote:

London-Red wrote:

Cheers guys!

Which one did you go for in the end? Also have my eye on the Vitus as a do-it-all winter commuter/cyclocross-dabbler bike for when my Canyon goes into hibernation.

Have yet to pull the trigger, but I’m finding it tough to choose between the NS and the Vitus.

I’m probably a little closer to the Vitus if I’m honest...

And then there’s the Pickenflick... :roll:

Very close to getting the Vitus myself, Wiggle has upped the platinum discount to 20% until next Wednesday and I think for £800 that Vitus is a steal.

cycleclinic

A do it all bike is actually a xc mtb. They can be good on the road just set the position to be more road like, but they are superb off road.

Gravel bikes remember are just xc bikes reborn, without suspension, drop bars and narrower tyres. You can ride a xc mtb comfortably at 17 mph on the road. They are way more capable than a gravel bike off road.

bendertherobot

I have the vitus. It’s fab.

mtthwprctr

bendertherobot wrote:

I have the vitus. It’s fab.

Saw your old thread but for some reason the pics don't show up any more, got any you could post here?

london-red

mtthwprctr wrote:

London-Red wrote:

mtthwprctr wrote:

London-Red wrote:

Cheers guys!

Which one did you go for in the end? Also have my eye on the Vitus as a do-it-all winter commuter/cyclocross-dabbler bike for when my Canyon goes into hibernation.

Have yet to pull the trigger, but I’m finding it tough to choose between the NS and the Vitus.

I’m probably a little closer to the Vitus if I’m honest...

And then there’s the Pickenflick... :roll:

Very close to getting the Vitus myself, Wiggle has upped the platinum discount to 20% until next Wednesday and I think for £800 that Vitus is a steal.

That may just swing it - needed to get a few spares etc for winter which has taken me into Gold, which offers 15% discount. Like you say, it’s a steal even at £850!

N0bodyOfTheGoat

https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-ar ... e-EV275629 got reduced to £810 last night and if you trade in a banger bike, you get another £75 off.

Absolute steal, trying to resist it myself.

london-red

NitrousOxide wrote:

https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-arkose-x-2018-adventure-road-bike-EV275629 got reduced to £810 last night and if you trade in a banger bike, you get another £75 off.

Absolute steal, trying to resist it myself.

Yeah, that does look great and I’ve popped in to see one, but I can’t bear the idea of that bar-end shifter... deal breaker!

timothyw

I appreciate the decision is close to being made.... but I'm not seeing the appeal of 1x gearing.

I do have a bike that is 1x10 - I run it almost entirely on the road with a 46 tooth chainring and an 11-36 cassette. The overall range is very similar to a 50-34 bike with a 12-28 cassette.

The conversion made sense on that bike, because it frankly isn't a bike I like much - I ride it when conditions are terrible, if conditions are even 'ok' I take something better - because of that, the front derailleur (which isn't used very often on my commute) would often seize up - so after being stuck in the 50t for a couple of weeks I thought why not.

Anyhow, even with that larger chainring, and a less wide cassette than a few of the bikes you've suggested, on the commute i'm pretty much always in the top three or four gears on the cassette - there's no fine tuning, which is annoying. Most of the gears are only used when climbing for longer distances (and then, I'm basically in the easiest gear anyway....)

If the gears aren't well fettled, then being stuck in the wrong gear (or it not getting into the top gear) is more annoying, because of the space between the gears being larger. And lets be honest, if you enjoyed that, you'd be riding your singlespeed.

Most importantly though, if you buy a 1x Apex groupset, you've got a very expensive job ahead of you if you decide that the single chainring isn't for you - you need a new shifter, front derailleur, chainset.... you almost might as well go for a new bike.

If on the other hand you buy a bike now that has conventional 2x11 gearing or whatever, then to convert to 1x all you need to spend is £30 on a new chainring from superstar, perhaps a new cassette, and you gain some spares which you can sell or keep for other bikes (or swap back on if you come to the conclusion that 1x isn't for you).

Given we've seen a few bikes with RS505 hydraulics for less than £800 (and you can build yourself for not that much with the fire sales on last gen shimano hydraulics) I would be looking out for one of those - given you say you literally never ride the mountain bike, just how important is the off road capability anyway?

london-red

TimothyW wrote:

I appreciate the decision is close to being made.... but I'm not seeing the appeal of 1x gearing.

I do have a bike that is 1x10 - I run it almost entirely on the road with a 46 tooth chainring and an 11-36 cassette. The overall range is very similar to a 50-34 bike with a 12-28 cassette.

The conversion made sense on that bike, because it frankly isn't a bike I like much - I ride it when conditions are terrible, if conditions are even 'ok' I take something better - because of that, the front derailleur (which isn't used very often on my commute) would often seize up - so after being stuck in the 50t for a couple of weeks I thought why not.

Anyhow, even with that larger chainring, and a less wide cassette than a few of the bikes you've suggested, on the commute i'm pretty much always in the top three or four gears on the cassette - there's no fine tuning, which is annoying. Most of the gears are only used when climbing for longer distances (and then, I'm basically in the easiest gear anyway....)

If the gears aren't well fettled, then being stuck in the wrong gear (or it not getting into the top gear) is more annoying, because of the space between the gears being larger. And lets be honest, if you enjoyed that, you'd be riding your singlespeed.

Most importantly though, if you buy a 1x Apex groupset, you've got a very expensive job ahead of you if you decide that the single chainring isn't for you - you need a new shifter, front derailleur, chainset.... you almost might as well go for a new bike.

If on the other hand you buy a bike now that has conventional 2x11 gearing or whatever, then to convert to 1x all you need to spend is £30 on a new chainring from superstar, perhaps a new cassette, and you gain some spares which you can sell or keep for other bikes (or swap back on if you come to the conclusion that 1x isn't for you).

Given we've seen a few bikes with RS505 hydraulics for less than £800 (and you can build yourself for not that much with the fire sales on last gen shimano hydraulics) I would be looking out for one of those - given you say you literally never ride the mountain bike, just how important is the off road capability anyway?

Thanks. I agree with some of that, but I’m pretty set on a 1x11 being right for my needs - ie winter commuting, family tow path rides and maybe the occasional blast round some lanes.

I’m officially a rubbish fettler as I don’t have the patience, so am looking to buy something off the peg here.

luv2ride

London-Red wrote:

NitrousOxide wrote:

https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-arkose-x-2018-adventure-road-bike-EV275629 got reduced to £810 last night and if you trade in a banger bike, you get another £75 off.

Absolute steal, trying to resist it myself.

Yeah, that does look great and I’ve popped in to see one, but I can’t bear the idea of that bar-end shifter... deal breaker!

I converted a singlespeed Arkose to 1x11 over the summer, using Sram Apex1 chainset (42t), a Sunrace mx8 11-40 cassette, Apex1 clutch mech and a bar end shifter. Works great and cost me under £180. Wouldn't be put off by the bar end shifter...i need to source a 11-42t cassette though for laden bikepacking.


Have to say, the Vitus looks good value though, but would recommend the Arkose

dhope

Late entry but my sister just bought this

Latest 105 (R7000), Disc brakes (TRP Hy/Rd, not Shimano), takes 36mm tyres, rack and pannier mounts. Smart enough for road duties.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-rc-5 ... 54421.html

asprilla

dhope wrote:

Late entry but my sister just bought this

Latest 105 (R7000), Disc brakes (TRP Hy/Rd, not Shimano), takes 36mm tyres, rack and pannier mounts. Smart enough for road duties.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-rc-5 ... 54421.html

That looks really nice, apart from the front calliper looks like it's hanging off.

timothyw

Looks like the fork is flat mount but they are using a post mount caliper and adapter, which is a bit unsightly.

Not sure about getting a bike with hyrds nowadays. Would rather have rs405 and lose the 11 speed given the chance.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Those HY/RD brakes and that odd front brake mount really let down what otherwise looks a cracking buy for £730. Either add the 505 or better Shimano hydraulics, or spec it with TRP Hylex and bar end shifters like the Arkose X with an increased pricetag, or go Tiagra group with 405s for similar price to this.

It might tempt those yet to buy full hydraulic brake road bikes, but it's a deal breaker for me in this spec.

dhope

The reason we went for that instead of something with rs505's was my sister has small hands and the clunky levers on the rs505's didn't work for her.
Agree 'proper' hydraulics would be better (have got rs805's on one bike and r8070 on another), but I still reckon it's a decent shout for the money.

elbowloh

I like the look of the Decathlon.

*Adds to list of possibles.

cjcp

That Triban is nice, but I prefer a more aggressive headtube set-up. The 50/34 chainset makes it a little more of a traditional road set-up.

I was chatting with a clubmate about the "1x" drivetrain on this morning's commute. Having been spinning like a clown on the commute at times for the last couple of weeks, I could maybe live with a 38; I couldn't get a 42, because, for the hen's teeth-moments when I race, 42 is too big a gear for me.

kingdav

I have an apex1 1x setup on my commuter. The bike came to me with a 36 tooth front ring but I swapped it for a 44. With an 11-42 on the back I have the ratios I need for off/on-road.

At the low end, with 44f 42r I have a gear a tiny bit lower than 34f 32r
I miss out a little bit at the high end of things, but I'm not doing a lot of descending, I would have bought a 48t chainring, but I couldn't find one on the day I wanted it and the 44 is working out well for me.

mtthwprctr

I ordered the Vitus but noticed today that Canyon have launched a AL version of the Grail https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/road/grail/2019/grail-al-6-0.html.



The Tiagra hydro brake groupset and DT Swiss wheelset AL 6.0 is £1099 and I'm ever so tempted to cancel my Vitus order haha. Looks pretty with the green frame and tan walls, will have to get some Schwalbe tan walls for my Vitus when it arrives :-)

I guess this new Grail fills the gap which the old AL Inflite left behind.

elbowloh

mtthwprctr wrote:

I ordered the Vitus but noticed today that Canyon have launched a AL version of the Grail https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/road/grail/2019/grail-al-6-0.html.



The Tiagra hydro brake groupset and DT Swiss wheelset AL 6.0 is £1099 and I'm ever so tempted to cancel my Vitus order haha. Looks pretty with the green frame and tan walls, will have to get some Schwalbe tan walls for my Vitus when it arrives :-)

I guess this new Grail fills the gap which the old AL Inflite left behind.

Ooh, I like the look of that one too.
So many options.

wolfsbane2k

mtthwprctr wrote:

I ordered the Vitus but noticed today that Canyon have launched a AL version of the Grail https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/road/grail/2019/grail-al-6-0.html.



The Tiagra hydro brake groupset and DT Swiss wheelset AL 6.0 is £1099 and I'm ever so tempted to cancel my Vitus order haha. Looks pretty with the green frame and tan walls, will have to get some Schwalbe tan walls for my Vitus when it arrives :-)

I guess this new Grail fills the gap which the old AL Inflite left behind.

That looks very nice indeed - damn shame it's over the £1k magic C2W scheme limit
And has an all up weight limit of 120kg... even for riders over 2m tall