£2k Gravel bike, planet-x titanium?

dancook

So I’m looking at getting fit and enjoy cycling around some mod land, hilly and gravel here’s an example.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ED7x1HcWsAIG-E_?format=jpg&name=large

I had a planet-x before and like the style, but I’m not clued up on bike parts or the general market.

Here are their gravel bikes
https://www.planetx.co.uk/c/q/bikes/gravel-adventure-bikes?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIt7jnt_Th8QIVyZ7tCh3IEQf9EAAYASAAEgLBpvD_BwE

And maybe one that I might like, but that’s only assuming more expensive is better
https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBTIGRFORCE1/titus-goldrush-sram-force-1-titanium-gravel-bike

Any pointers for making my choice? Alternatives to consider?

Thanks

navrig2

Budget and does it fit?

Ribble do some nice Ti frames.

https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-cgr-ti/

dancook

navrig2 said:

Budget and does it fit?

Ribble do some nice Ti frames.

https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-cgr-ti/

Budget is "not £5k!" so around £2k is probably safe - could stretch a bit

I'll look at Ribble thanks

singleton

I've had a PlanetX free ranger for a year or so and been very happy with it. I can't comment on their Ti frames, but for the same price or slightly more, I'd imagine it's worth the extra.

navrig2

dancook said:

navrig2 said:

Budget and does it fit?

Ribble do some nice Ti frames.

https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-cgr-ti/

Budget is "not £5k!" so around £2k is probably safe - could stretch a bit

I'll look at Ribble thanks

FFS I didn't suggest the budget was 5k!!

You asked for pointers in choosing a bike. The 2 most import "pointers" are budget and fit. Ribble's equivalent to the PX may be a little more costly depending on Groupset.

dancook

navrig2 said:

FFS I didn't suggest the budget was 5k!!

You asked for pointers in choosing a bike. The 2 most import "pointers" are budget and fit. Ribble's equivalent to the PX may be a little more costly depending on Groupset.

Sorry, I was quoting my wife when it came to budget - when I told her I was interested in buying a bike, she said not a 5k one! (id been looking at specialized ebikes)

I'm 6 foot, always had a large frame - is that what you mean by fit?

PMark

If you can find one in stock, this Halfords one is probably the best value £2k one you can get at the moment:
https://www.halfords.com/bikes/adventure-bikes/boardman-adv-9.0-mens-road-bike-2021---s-m-l-xl-frames-426982.html

I personally would only get a titanium gravel bike if you like the look of titanium. GCN did a test of different gravel bikes recently and because of the tyre sizes used on gravel bikes, you don’t really notice any difference between aluminium and titanium, but the aluminium bike was only 80g heavier and a few hundred Pound less.

dancook

PMark said:

If you can find one in stock, this Halfords one is probably the best value £2k one you can get at the moment:
https://www.halfords.com/bikes/adventure-bikes/boardman-adv-9.0-mens-road-bike-2021---s-m-l-xl-frames-426982.html

I personally would only get a titanium gravel bike if you like the look of titanium. GCN did a test of different gravel bikes recently and because of the tyre sizes used on gravel bikes, you don’t really notice any difference between aluminium and titanium, but the aluminium bike was only 80g heavier and a few hundred Pound less.

Thanks, I will keep that in mind, serves as a good comparison point as being as it did win the award..

But I do love the titanium look!

dancook

I ordered the Goldrush

navrig2

Nice looking bike, enjoy.

pippi_langsamer-2

I'd imagine at this price point, weight isn't the prime concern, so alu or Ti is neither here or there.

The good thing about the Ti frame is because it's Ti, it lends itself quite well to getting battered over gravel roads. All that gravel and stuff getting thrown-up into the frame, a painted alu frame is going to look pretty ragged after a few months. With the Ti, it's not so much of an issue, and if you really want, you can polish scrapes n scratches out.

I don't have one.....but might do in the near future, but I reckon that PX Tempest/ SRAM Force build is pretty much unbeatable in price/ spec terms.

Mad_Malx

pippi_langsamer-2 said:

I'd imagine at this price point, weight isn't the prime concern, so alu or Ti is neither here or there.

The good thing about the Ti frame is because it's Ti, it lends itself quite well to getting battered over gravel roads. All that gravel and stuff getting thrown-up into the frame, a painted alu frame is going to look pretty ragged after a few months. With the Ti, it's not so much of an issue, and if you really want, you can polish scrapes n scratches out.

Agree. I have a Ti tourer and I’m pretty sure the wider tyres account for just about all the difference in ride comfort. But it looks nice IMHO and the polished finish is very forgiving. paintwork would have looked very tatty after a few months.

dancook

and it is nice!