My new gravel bike - pretty sure I got something of a bargain!

leythervegas
leythervegas Posts: 191
edited February 2019 in Your road bikes
So I'm an occasional mountain biker who tried road biking many years ago with hilariously bad results. (bought the wrong bike basically). So I was reading recently about gravel bikes and their all round abilities which seemed to suit me perfectly. I drove to Merlin cycles, Ribble cycles and Winstanley bikes today and got a feel for them and what's out there. (I resisted a beautiful Orange at Winstanleys for £899). Got home, put the kettle on and started looking at what else there was online and this popped up for £399.....

https://m.gooutdoors.co.uk/kona-rove-al ... ke-p399869

I have only ridden it round the block but am going to do the next few commutes on it. Really like it so far, seems of decent quality but with the cheap price I have room for upgrades although I have zero knowledge of road bikes so any suggestions will be welcome.

IMG_20190215_174617_zpsgezrraoy.jpgurl=http://s1066.photobucket.com/user/leythervegas/media/HINDLEY-PC/IMG_20190215_174628_zpsyrykw791.jpg.html]IMG_20190215_174628_zpsyrykw791.jpg[/url]

Comments

  • sam_anon
    sam_anon Posts: 153
    Looks capable, good buy? Why upgrade it, just ride it as is?
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    +1 just ride it and enjoy. No need for upgrades.
  • sam_anon
    sam_anon Posts: 153
    In hindsight I might be tempted by some clipless/flat combo pedals and removal of the plastic casette/spoke/back wheel thingumyjig!

    Let us know how you get on!
  • bonzo_banana
    bonzo_banana Posts: 256
    I'm not sure I would remove the dork disc, it's there to protect the wheel/spokes if the derailleur goes out of adjustment or gets knocked, as the bike is designed to do light off-road stuff this is more likely to happen. Looks a great bike to me, Claris is the first groupset in the Shimano hierarchy that is decent and personally I prefer mechanical disc brakes for a road bike over hydraulic, much easier maintenance especially away from home. Lastly for me steel forks are a definite positive of the bike. The whole package looks quite stunning. £399 is a fantastic price and a very well chosen spec.

    I can't think of many cheaper CX or gravel bikes. The Carrera Crixus at halfords is a similar spec but only has cantilever brakes that look a bit weird. The Kona looks much nicer than that but then I guess the Kona is getting on twice the price.

    https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/ ... on-cx-bike

    Don't forget to register for your lifetime warranty on the frame.
  • daff
    daff Posts: 81
    Hi
    Really keen on one of these myself

    The GoOutdoors sizing doesn't seem to be very clear - in your opinion do they come up big? I'd be looking at a 52 but they only show M, ML, L, etc on the site
    Secondly, what sort of tyre clearance is there? Could I fit some 40c in there do you think?
    I'd pop to the store for a look, but it's 45 miles away!
    Many thanks
    David
  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    Tedbundy’sUndys wrote:
    The mechanical disc brakes are the devils work, other than that, it’s perfectly acceptable. The saddle is a bit of an ‘Everyman’ job too, maybe upgrade that if it causes you issues.

    Ignore this troll.

    Mechanical disks are fine - maybe not as good as hydros, but perfectly usable in most situations. The guy is simply talking out of his ar5e as usual.
  • photonic69
    photonic69 Posts: 2,990
    Imposter wrote:
    Tedbundy’sUndys wrote:
    The mechanical disc brakes are the devils work, other than that, it’s perfectly acceptable. The saddle is a bit of an ‘Everyman’ job too, maybe upgrade that if it causes you issues.

    Ignore this troll.

    Mechanical disks are fine - maybe not as good as hydros, but perfectly usable in most situations. The guy is simply talking out of his ar5e as usual.

    I'd have to agree with the Grundy'sUndies guys comment about Hayes Disc brakes - I had hydro Hayes disc brakes on my mountain bike and they were nothing but annoying and noisy and not very confidence inspiring no matter how many times I set them up. I can't see mechanical Hayes discs being an improvement though happy to be proved wrong if this is the case


    Sometimes. Maybe. Possibly.

  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    PhotoNic69 wrote:
    Imposter wrote:
    Tedbundy’sUndys wrote:
    The mechanical disc brakes are the devils work, other than that, it’s perfectly acceptable. The saddle is a bit of an ‘Everyman’ job too, maybe upgrade that if it causes you issues.

    Ignore this troll.

    Mechanical disks are fine - maybe not as good as hydros, but perfectly usable in most situations. The guy is simply talking out of his ar5e as usual.

    I'd have to agree with the Grundy'sUndies guys comment about Hayes Disc brakes - I had hydro Hayes disc brakes on my mountain bike and they were nothing but annoying and noisy and not very confidence inspiring no matter how many times I set them up. I can't see mechanical Hayes discs being an improvement though happy to be proved wrong if this is the case

    Nick has no experience of Hayes, or any other type of disc brake. He just makes things up. That's what trolls do.

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