Considering a gravel bike but don’t know where to start

rikki.stephens

Hi all,

Hope everyone is well.

I’m looking to get back into cycling (perhaps like many over lockdown!)

I have a fairly cheap carrera mountain bike I use for short rides and would like to get back into cycling more. As it has fat tyres I find it really drags on road.

I don’t want to go entirely road bike setup as I live in the country and would still like to do the odd bridal way / country tracks. I’ve looked into gravel bikes but don’t know a great deal. I am looking to spend up to 2.5k.

Where would your money go ?

Would someone also be able to break down the specs for me too and what I should be looking out for,


Thanks look forward to hearing from you

fenix

Is not spend that much on a first proper bike. A 2.5k bike doesn't ride 2 and a half times better than a 1k bike.

Something like this looks decent.

https://road.cc/content/review/262048-triban-rc-520-gravel

With the spare cash you could get a set of lighter road wheels and tyres built up so for less than half your initial budget you basically have two bikes.

rikki.stephens

fenix said:

Is not spend that much on a first proper bike. A 2.5k bike doesn't ride 2 and a half times better than a 1k bike.

Something like this looks decent.

https://road.cc/content/review/262048-triban-rc-520-gravel

With the spare cash you could get a set of lighter road wheels and tyres built up so for less than half your initial budget you basically have two bikes.

Fenix- this is the kind of help I was looking for so thanks. The components on the bike you list look good especially if I’m starting out,
I like the idea of having a road wheel set too - what would be a good option here to look at?

Thanks again

rikki.stephens

It seems at the moment choice may be extremely limited as it seems increasingly difficult to find any half decent bike in stock..

orraloon

Indeed, stocks v limited and one has to be lucky to find the right one. I am doing similar gravel n+1 research, reckon I will need to wait for the 2021 stocks to come in.

In the interim I have done a tyre change on an existing sturdy road tourer, fitted Schwalbe G-One Allround 38s to see how it will go on gravel. It's heavy but is ok so I won't miss out entirely while awaiting the Right One. On tarmac the tyres are reasonably free rolling.

Perhaps do a similar change on your MTB tyres back to easier riding gravels?

joe_totale-2

If I had your budget I'd get one of those Planet X titanium ones, they're in stock right now:

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXTEMPGRX2/planet-x-tempest-shimano-grx-2x11-speed-titanium-gravel-bike

If you're only looking to do the odd bridal way I'd advise a 2x set up as it'll be much nicer on the road.

singleton

That tempest does look hard to fault for the price TBH.
Many new endurance bikes would take 32-35mm tyres and would let you do tow paths, gravel roads etc. It depends how much "off road" capability you want.
A 35mm slick or semi-slick tyre will perform pretty well on road - I run 32mm gravel king tyres on my winter bike and they're not much slower than a pure road tyre.

rikki.stephens

Thanks guys,
Am liking the look of the tempest,
Would it concern you not having hydraulic brakes for that kind of price?

joe_totale-2

rikki.stephens said:

Thanks guys,
Am liking the look of the tempest,
Would it concern you not having hydraulic brakes for that kind of price?

The Tempest? It's got a full GRX Groupset so that includes hydraulic disc brakes.

IMO Mechanical disc brakes are junk and at your budget you really should make sure you get a full hydraulic braking system.

veronese68

Full hydraulic, wouldn't consider mechanical unless very cheap as I'd want to upgrade ASAP.

schlepcycling

Has to be a Space Chicken https://planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBOOSPCRIV1700C/on-one-space-chicken-sram-rival-1-gravel-bike

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Incoming Boardman ADV 8.9 with 2x10 GRX group and hydraulic brakes for £1k.

https://www.halfords.com/bikes/adventure-bikes/boardman-adv-8.9-mens-adventure-bike-2021---s-m-l-xl-frames-389606.html

arlowood

Continuing with the PX theme , the On-One Free Ranger also ticks a lot of boxes.

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBOOFRFOR1700/on-one-free-ranger-sram-force-1-gravel-bike

Claimed to have stock with bikes built up within 10-12 working days

singleton

I've recently got a Free Ranger 1x force with 650b wheels - I'm liking it a lot.

rikki.stephens

Some great options here thank you.

When I configure a bike I have the option for ‘ EURO - USA Hydraulic Disc Brake Lever Setup Rear Brake Right’ for £50 - what is this please and does it make for a worth while upgrade ? Has anyone had experience with ordering from Planet X I’m tempted and think I’m going to place an order on the tempest. Also there are various tyre options rock n road folding tyres, vee rubber, Jack brown. Again mean nothing to me but thinking to stick with the ones which come in the base price which are panaracer comet 700,38

Appreciate all your help looking forward to getting back on a bike

moonshine

rikki.stephens said:

Some great options here thank you.

When I configure a bike I have the option for ‘ EURO - USA Hydraulic Disc Brake Lever Setup Rear Brake Right’ for £50 - what is this please and does it make for a worth while upgrade ? Has anyone had experience with ordering from Planet X I’m tempted and think I’m going to place an order on the tempest. Also there are various tyre options rock n road folding tyres, vee rubber, Jack brown. Again mean nothing to me but thinking to stick with the ones which come in the base price which are panaracer comet 700,38

Appreciate all your help looking forward to getting back on a bike

Also Canyon Grail AL 7.0 at £1700 with GRX - I’m very happy with mine
Re euro brake setup, its referring to the front / rear brake lever configuration
On UK bikes, the front brake lever is on the right rear is on the left
on Euro/ US bikes, the config is Front lever on the left / rear on the right. It is really up yo you and what you are used to.
I think it stems from the UK driving on the Left, EU/US driving on the right, and the ability to trail brake the rear whist signling to turn across the flow of oncoming traffic...

All my bikes (road and MTB) are UK setup (front brake on right hand side) - you don’t want to get confused and forget and grab a handful of (what you thought was a rear brake) to find out it was the front brake as you sail over the bars!

rikki.stephens

moonshine said:

rikki.stephens said:

Some great options here thank you.

When I configure a bike I have the option for ‘ EURO - USA Hydraulic Disc Brake Lever Setup Rear Brake Right’ for £50 - what is this please and does it make for a worth while upgrade ? Has anyone had experience with ordering from Planet X I’m tempted and think I’m going to place an order on the tempest. Also there are various tyre options rock n road folding tyres, vee rubber, Jack brown. Again mean nothing to me but thinking to stick with the ones which come in the base price which are panaracer comet 700,38

Appreciate all your help looking forward to getting back on a bike

Also Canyon Grail AL 7.0 at £1700 with GRX - I’m very happy with mine
Re euro brake setup, its referring to the front / rear brake lever configuration
On UK bikes, the front brake lever is on the right rear is on the left
on Euro/ US bikes, the config is Front lever on the left / rear on the right. It is really up yo you and what you are used to.
I think it stems from the UK driving on the Left, EU/US driving on the right, and the ability to trail brake the rear whist signling to turn across the flow of oncoming traffic...

All my bikes (road and MTB) are UK setup (front brake on right hand side) - you don’t want to get confused and forget and grab a handful of (what you thought was a rear brake) to find out it was the front brake as you sail over the bars!

Thanks for the info - always been used to uk setup do that’s handy to know.

Grail was actually my first choice but appears out of stock everywhere do you run two sets of wheels ?

moonshine

Re. The Grail.
I got the first launch bikes of 2021 range - so 2X11 GRX - i was really disappointed they dropped the rack mounts on the 2021 AL models - i only discovered this when it was delivered (the 2020 AL range had rack mounts) and i have fitted mudguards for wet work

https://forum.bikeradar.com/discussion/comment/20617014#Comment_20617014

Yes- i have 2 sets of wheels (3 actually) as my good bike is a C3 Cervelo with ultegra Di2. - and i have the Grail as an all weather road bike / winter trainer / commuter etc.

I have carbon 28mm Tubeless 50mm wheels with Schwalbe Pro ones on the Cervelo as good weather wheels, 28mm Tubeless IRC Formula Pro X guard on the Canyon DT Swiss wheels/ rims and the 40mm Schwalbe G-One bites on the Mavic wheelset that came with the Cervelo to use on the Grail.

The wheels with the 28mm IRC formula one and the Pro Ones fit on either bike - but the 40mm Schwalbe G-ones only fit on the Canyon Grail - the max tyre clearance on the Cervelo C3 is 32mm

rikki.stephens

Hi all, looking to configure a Dolan DXC based on the fact they are available from mid August. Has anyone had / or own one of these?

I'm a little confused with the array of options available.
Within my price range there are many;

DOLAN GXC CARBON DISC GRAVEL BIKE - SHIMANO 105 R7020 HDR
DOLAN GXC CARBON DISC GRAVEL BIKE - SHIMANO ULTEGRA R8020 HDR
DOLAN GXC CARBON DISC GRAVEL BIKE - SHIMANO GRX RX600 1X11 HDR
DOLAN GXC CARBON DISC GRAVEL BIKE - SHIMANO GRX RX600 2X11 HDR
DOLAN GXC CARBON DISC GRAVEL BIKE - SHIMANO GRX 1X11 RX810 HDR
DOLAN GXC CARBON DISC GRAVEL BIKE - CAMPAG POTENZA HDR
DOLAN GXC CARBON DISC GRAVEL BIKE - SRAM APEX 1X11 HDR
DOLAN GXC CARBON DISC GRAVEL BIKE - SRAM RIVAL 1X11 HDR
DOLAN GXC CARBON DISC GRAVEL BIKE - SRAM FORCE 1X11 HDR
DOLAN GXC CARBON DISC GRAVEL BIKE - SHIMANO GRX 2X11 RX810 HDR

So there are basically 10 options before I start configuring the bike set up?

Other changes which I am unsure what the difference is;

GRX RX600 2X11 CHAINSET then has 3 options either 170mm 172.5mm or 175mm ?
GRX CS-R7000 105 CASSETTE. - 11/28 or 11/34?
Stem size - Deda Zero (7cm) Stem up to 12cm?

Handlebar tape.. I think i can figure that one out lol

Any help or guidance would be much appreciated,

Thanks
Rikki