Gravel bike for commuting as well as gravel tracks, occasional touring?

daniel_b

Morning all,

I'm looking to make use of my C2W scheme, and have spotted a rather nice looking Scott Addict Gravel bike - it's £2400, comes with GRX groupset, and would cost me around £1450 through the scheme, plus no initial outlay.

It has mudguard mounts, and they make specific mudguards for it, so would order them as well.

I currently use a Synapse Adventure, which is ok, but the SRAM groupset bugs me, so I was planning to buy and have fitted a new groupset, however, parts are scarce as you like, not to mention expensive, and I suspect I'd be looking at not far from the cost of this complete bike once I am done and dusted.

The other advantage with this bike is that I could use it for gravel riding, and also potentially shortcut a bit of my current route across a common, which I wouldn't dream of doing on the Synapse.

Additionally I have a fair few friends who gravel ride, and I struggle to keep up on my hardtail mountain bike, and also my club organise 3 day tours to various locations, and I suspect with the rack and or frame bags, this would prove a very capable machine.

I may still need to carry a laptop to work, but it looks like a Tailfin rear rack should cater for that eventuality, with the bonus (I think) that it's very easy to remove when not needed.

Few questions for the hive mind.

I tend to want to ride road (like the speed) more than gravel, so would likely not want to run the stock "Schwalbe G-ONE Bite Performance, 700x45C' tyres it comes with, and swap to something more around the 32mm size - that should be fine I assume, thinking of something like a Schwalbe Durano plus.

If the above all works like I think it would, I could then sell the Synapse, or keep it as a backup I suppose, probably sell though to be honest.

Would appreciate feedback and comments :-)



Thanks

daniel_b

Edit to add, the above bike is a double (Wouldn't want a gappy 1X) with 46/30 & 11-34 on the back.

Top gear is the equivalent of my current bikes 50/12, so barely any loss, and I think the wide range 46 would get a lot of use - at the moment I spend a lot of time in the 34 at highish cadence, but unsurprisingly run out of gears quite quickly.

MidlandsGrimpeur2

I purchased a gravel bike about 6 years ago, really as a halfway house, as I didn't think I needed a mountain bike and would get more use out of the gravel bike.

To be honest I mainly use it as a commuting bike now, and also for harsher road rides in winter. The intention was to use it on light trail and less 'rough stuff' as I am near(ish) to places like Cannock Chase, but I have found that even 'light' trails push both the bike and myself beyond our capabilities. With hindsight, if I lived in some place like Colorado with huge amounts of gravel riding, fire roads etc. then it would be a great bike to have! In truth, due to location, I don't think I have ever really made the most of it.

I decided recently to bite the bullet and pick up a full suspension MTB and really I should have bought that back when I purchased the gravel bike. I can now do the riding I intended around places like the chase, and it is also just as much fun to ride round the canal towpaths as the gravel bike is.

That's just my experience though. I definitely think a gravel bike has it's place and if you live in an area with the right terrain, one that does not really require a full on MTB, then it is a great choice.

To answer your Q about tire choice, I run 35mm and that has been absolutely fine, I have not found the need for a wider tire on towpaths, dirt roads etc. It also allows for enough speed on the road.

daniel_b

Thanks @Midlands Grimpeur, I wouldn't say I'm a hardcore graveller as such, but would be nice to have the option.

And I still have my 06 hartail mtb, so no worries there.

It's main purposes in life, in priority order would be:
Commuter
Winter road bike
Light tourer
Gravel rides

I too have plenty of bridleways here, and hard packed common land, and for that I suspect it will be a good fit.

It seems to make more and more sense the longer I think about it.

I think I'll reserve it tomorrow with the 25% deposit.

Can I ask what tyres you run please?

Fairy resistance will be high on my list due to wanting to get to and from work with minimal hassle.

photonic69

You could check out Felt’s Broam if you can put up with the silly name. Quite a decent do it all bike underneath and can take 700 and 650b wheels

https://eu.feltbicycles.com/products/broam-adventure-bike

MidlandsGrimpeur2

@daniel_b sounds like it would be a good fit for your intended use. I do think they are a good all around option for a mix of riding that does not involve any terrain that is too extreme!

I was running Schwalbe G-One Allround for quite a while, which I had no real issues with. I fancied a change and switched to Continental Terra Speed last year which is a great tire. Plenty of grip but still reasonably light. Even though it is a heavier tread than the Schwalbe, I haven't really noticed any difference in road feel or speed between the two.

daniel_b

photonic69 said:

You could check out Felt’s Broam if you can put up with the silly name. Quite a decent do it all bike underneath and can take 700 and 650b wheels

https://eu.feltbicycles.com/products/broam-adventure-bike

Thanks @photonic69, that does look like a nice bike, and I have a soft spot for them as my first real road bike was a Felt, which is now my turbo bike.
I've been sucked in by the fully integrated cables on the Scott, colour and availability on the c2w scheme!

MidlandsGrimpeur2 said:

@daniel_b sounds like it would be a good fit for your intended use. I do think they are a good all around option for a mix of riding that does not involve any terrain that is too extreme!

I was running Schwalbe G-One Allround for quite a while, which I had no real issues with. I fancied a change and switched to Continental Terra Speed last year which is a great tire. Plenty of grip but still reasonably light. Even though it is a heavier tread than the Schwalbe, I haven't really noticed any difference in road feel or speed between the two.

Thanks for the reply, looked up the G one allround, and it's purporting to be a summer tyre, so not for me I think.

The Contis seem to get good reviews, with tubes at any rate, so will check them out in more detail.

Durano plus likely a starter for 10, and see how it goes.

Just waiting for them to send me a link to pay the deposit

daniel_b

Actually scratch that, I could have sworn I had seen the Durano Plus in 32, but 28 seems to be the max, so will likely need to look elsewhere.

PMark

I was looking at that bike a few weeks ago, I particularly liked that the cable routing is fully internal (which is rare for a gravel bike), although it is a bit on the heavy side when you compare other similar priced carbon gravel bikes. But the main issue is I just couldn't see it in stock anywhere, are you sure the company you want it from will actually be able to get it for you this year?

orraloon

For info / comparison, the madman ultra guy Jonas Deichmann, check him out, currently in Mexico on his round the world tri, used Schwalbe G One Ultrabite on his ride across Europe and Russia. I have that on my gravel bike as my grippier front option for the slippy or rougher stuff, swop back to Allround for the tarmac rides. 38s.

daniel_b

PMark said:

I was looking at that bike a few weeks ago, I particularly liked that the cable routing is fully internal (which is rare for a gravel bike), although it is a bit on the heavy side when you compare other similar priced carbon gravel bikes. But the main issue is I just couldn't see it in stock anywhere, are you sure the company you want it from will actually be able to get it for you this year?

I found it on Balfes Bikes - it looks like they have been allocated a 54 for May, and a 56 for July, I went for the 54, and they have set it to 'Out of stock' now, so hopefully as long as Scott are true to their word it will turn up, having said that I don't 'need it' as I have a commuter bike currently anyway, which will likely be sold once this one is setup.

From being on Facebook pages, it seems all Scott bikes are in the same situ, ie May earliest delivery, and they are all selling out months before they are due.

I was hoping to get it from a really close LBS who sells Scott, but he was of the opinion that he would be lucky to be offered any at all, and urged me to buy one if I can find it!
Balfe's is pretty large by all accounts, comparably, and it looks like they have only been given 2 bikes in this model.
Also looks like they have no 2022 Foils or Addict RCs.




@PMark don't suppose you are after a 56?

I'll try and remember to update with how it progresses, but so far been very impressed with their responsiveness, given many other companies I have e-mailed have simply not bothered to answer at all.

The mudguards are not due until a month after the bike though!
So it will probably get a month as a toy before it properly gets put to work.

Agreed on the fully integrated cables, I just think it looks so very clean.
9.2kg is not stunning, but for what I need it for, and the cost I'm pretty happy with it - oh and I really like the colour of it too.
Down the road I could look to fitting some lighter wheels perhaps, potentially chop it down to 8.7 or so.

orraloon said:

For info / comparison, the madman ultra guy Jonas Deichmann, check him out, currently in Mexico on his round the world tri, used Schwalbe G One Ultrabite on his ride across Europe and Russia. I have that on my gravel bike as my grippier front option for the slippy or rougher stuff, swop back to Allround for the tarmac rides. 38s.

Thanks, will check him and those tyres out :-)

PMark

@daniel_b same bike size as you actually. But I wouldn’t have wanted to wait that long.

Currently looking at getting a frame (winspace G2) which supports fully integrated cabling and building up a bike myself. Just need to keep an eye on eBay for a groupset at a more sensible price.

daniel_b

PMark said:

@daniel_b same bike size as you actually. But I wouldn’t have wanted to wait that long.

Currently looking at getting a frame (winspace G2) which supports fully integrated cabling and building up a bike myself. Just need to keep an eye on eBay for a groupset at a more sensible price.

Yep understand that - for me, I have a servicable commuter bike, so no hurry or urgent need for me to get this one, and I should still hopefully have it for some summer exploring.

bluedoggy

I purchased the Canyon Grail on Gravel bike for my daily commute. The best purchase I’ve ever done. It’s perfect for the type of cycle paths I commute on. My commute is 55km round trip and being a Gravel bike was the right choice.

daniel_b

Noticed the 56 that isn't due until July next year must have been reserved as well, as the bike has vanished from their website!

rukirokeya

Had several Boardman's over the years and covered thousands of miles on them. I have this older ADV 8.8 since they first came out, albeit mine is completely upgraded. But the frame and forks are excellent and they are fun bikes to ride.