Gravel adventure bike choice….

ads77

Hi all…. Wondered if anyone had any experience of either of the bikes below? Or any other alternatives for £1500. Looking for gravel, adventure bike with all of the necessary bosses etc.

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBOOFRRIV1700/on-one-free-ranger-sram-rival-1-carbon-gravel-bike?

https://alpkit.com/products/sonder-camino-al-v3-apex1-hydraulic

Cheers!

singleton

I owned an on-one free ranger for a while.
I used it off road with 650b wheels and 2.2" XC MTB tyres and on road with 700 wheels and 32mm slicks.
The bike was fine for both, but in the end I sold it and bought a road bike and a MTB trail bike as I was struggling off road keeping up with mates on MTBs.
If it's for gravel and adventure use, and it will be loaded up with gear, then maybe worth considering the On-one RUJO or Ribble CGR 725 - Gravel which have steel frames?

ads77

Thanks!

rukirokeya

There's a couple reviewed in the latest edition of Cycle, an extract of which can be found online here, though you'll need to get hold of a copy for the full article.
Although I don't know that specific bike, in general Schwinn take a lot of beating when you consider like for like at that price point.

airwise

Aaah the old memories of a simple cross country MTB with 80mm travel springs to mind. Toured the world on one of those. Still going, hence the need for the industry to make these things.

joeyhalloran

I have a friend with the on one and another friend with both a Ti Sonder Camino and an Al Sonder Camino.

Both rate all 3 bikes and really enjoy riding them. The friend with the Camino's keeps the Al in france and rides the Ti at home. From memory the Sonder is more relaxed/stable geometry wise but you can't really go wrong with either. Get which fits you better and you like the look of.

I have a Titus Goldrush which is very similar to the Camino Ti but sold by Planet X. It has annoying sliding drop outs but other than that it's been fantastic. I upgraded from a cyclocross bike to get bigger tyres and more clearance. Its much more stable and slower steering than the cross bike so it did take some getting used to, but now loving it.

webboo

You do realise savadeck is a spammer. He’ s recommending a bike called SAVA. Which will probably be sh!t.

ugo.santalucia

I was passing through the Mailbox in Birmingham a few weeks back and had a look at the Ribble outlet.
It basically represents everything that is wrong about the bike industry at the moment. They had about 20 bikes, so roughly 3 bikes per sales person in the "shop". The majority of the bikes were gravel or e-adventure of sorts, selling you a dream that is difficult to imagine in the centre of Birmingham, so completely out of context. There is not much to cling on to and unusually, I felt like leaving the place as quickly as possible... I say unusually because I like to linger in these sorts of places.
This gravel bike obsession is the last straw of an industry that is desperate to sell you something, anything, mostly BS dreams that will never come to fruition.

joeyhalloran

Do you ride much 'gravel'/off road Ugo?

I've never bothered with a mountain bike as I thought there wasn't much offroad riding around me. it was until I accidentally bought a cheap, early gravel bike, with the intention of commuting all season on it, that I started taking it off-road and down all the bridleways and byways around me. I learned there is an amazing network that, when combined with roads, can be combined to make some amazing rides. The gravel bike is perfect for this, more capable on the road sections than a mountain bike and the terrain is not technical at all so no need for the suspension, etc...

That bike never did do a commute. It became my gravel bike, then cyclocross bike and then sold it to upgrade.

ugo.santalucia

joeyhalloran said:

Do you ride much 'gravel'/off road Ugo?

But that is exactly the point... 90% of people live in places where there is no meaningful gravel.
Most counties are relatively flat or rolling, they have a few muddy bridleways, which more often than not get ploughed and cultivated over... woodland is pretty much inexistent... you just need an aerial view to see that it's all cultivated or built up.
I would buy a gravel bike in Oregon, maybe even in Fort William, at a push in Llangollen...
I had CX bikes when I lived in Surrey... yes, I could head to Esher common when it wasn't too muddy and do the same couple of miles over and over... it was no different than lapping Richmond park, with more washing involved.
Pointless...

joeyhalloran

Well, all I can speak for is where I live in Cambridgeshire and there is such a good network of offroad rides that I rarely ride my road bike anymore. I've also taken my gravel bike on holiday to other parts in the UK and found an equal expansive network of paths. Maybe you just lived in an unfortunate spot.


I'm the opposite, if I lived in FW or Llangollen I would have a mountain bike.

ugo.santalucia

joeyhalloran said:

Well, all I can speak for is where I live in Cambridgeshire and there is such a good network of offroad rides that I rarely ride my road bike anymore. I've also taken my gravel bike on holiday to other parts in the UK and found an equal expansive network of paths. Maybe you just lived in an unfortunate spot.


I'm the opposite, if I lived in FW or Llangollen I would have a mountain bike.

The only place I lived where there was a bit of decent off road was the Chilterns... but for 6 months of the year it was so water logged... you have to enjoy mud, which I never did. Besides, it was always the same loops...

thegreatdivide

ugo.santalucia said:

But that is exactly the point... 90% of people live in places where there is no meaningful gravel.

90% yeah? How did you get to that percentage?

ugo.santalucia

thegreatdivide said:

ugo.santalucia said:

But that is exactly the point... 90% of people live in places where there is no meaningful gravel.

90% yeah? How did you get to that percentage?

Almost 20% live in and around London... then add Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow and so on...
I suppose if you go well out of Manchester (or Leeds) then you are in a National park with some decent off road trails, some of which well maintained, but it's a long shot.
Bottom line, I see more mountain/gravel bikes mounted at the back of the cars than on roads trying to reach a bridleway.
Round here, they all go to Cannock Chase... and all of them drive there... which is admittedly quite nice, especially when the heather moors are in bloom, but it's not this great outdoors adventure Ribble wants to sell you at the Mailbox.

joeyhalloran

Out of interest do you think this of road cycling too? Is Cycling out of London, Manchester, Leeds etc... 100% cycling through built-up urban areas?

Because if not, what is the difference? As soon as you get out of urban areas you can find paths, byways, bridleways, towpaths etc...

You sound like a grumpy cyclist who is upset because other cyclists are enjoying an aspect of cycling that you don't.

thegreatdivide

joeyhalloran said:

You sound like a grumpy cyclist who is upset because other cyclists are enjoying an aspect of cycling that you don't.

Bingo!

ugo.santalucia

joeyhalloran said:

Out of interest do you think this of road cycling too? Is Cycling out of London, Manchester, Leeds etc... 100% cycling through built-up urban areas?

Because if not, what is the difference? As soon as you get out of urban areas you can find paths, byways, bridleways, towpaths etc...

You sound like a grumpy cyclist who is upset because other cyclists are enjoying an aspect of cycling that you don't.

I went that way before gravel bikes were a thing… I owned two CX bikes… thought of going off road, did for a bit, but realised the amount of decent off road was very limited and always the same and unless you enjoy being knee deep in mud, only available some time of the year.
My point however is somewhat different. If you look at the window shop of most bike shops, you would be tempted to think we are indeed in Oregon… ln a way, they are trying to follow the lead of the car industry, where virtually all Land Rover customer never use their vehicles to go off road…. I always though that rather pointless, just as I think this explosion of gravel bikes is rather pointless.

joeyhalloran

Entirely different from 10 years ago when every bike shop had photos of road riders in the alps or Majorca in the sun?

ugo.santalucia

joeyhalloran said:

Entirely different from 10 years ago when every bike shop had photos of road riders in the alps or Majorca in the sun?

Probably, but that reality exists. Lots of people cycle on roads and lots of people go to Majorca… but where are all these gravel riders?
If I go for a walk on a bridleway, it is very rare that I meet someone on a gravel bike… so either they keep it in the garage, or they all drive to Cannock Chase… if they were around, they would be seen, unless they all ride at night.
There were 110 people at a local reliability ride last weekend, where were the gravel riders?
Does the market actually exist, to justify the huge range of products?
Personally, I have nothing against the gravel bike or rider, my gripe is against the brands that are trying to push a product for a market that is not really there. People will buy one, not use it and will not buy a second one… so bike shops will go bust and we will all be poorer.

joeyhalloran

Well I bought one and then bought two more. One of my friends also bought 1 and then upgraded. Another friend is on his 3rd. Basically everyone I ride with has bought more than gravel bike.

Also I once took a walk in the Alps and didn't see a single cyclist so I'm not actually sure they exist. I'm pretty sure cycling in the Alps in a myth made up by 'big bike' to sell us lightweight climbing bikes.

ugo.santalucia

joeyhalloran said:

Well I bought one and then bought two more. One of my friends also bought 1 and then upgraded. Another friend is on his 3rd. Basically everyone I ride with has bought more than gravel bike.

Also I once took a walk in the Alps and didn't see a single cyclist so I'm not actually sure they exist. I'm pretty sure cycling in the Alps in a myth made up by 'big bike' to sell us lightweight climbing bikes.

It might be that where you live the scene is more active. Round here, all the shops have windows filled with mountain bikes and gravel adventure type of bikes… but what you see around are road cyclists… whether you stick to the roads or you head to the bridleways, you fail to see all these off road cyclists.
So, at least locally, but surely not only locally, there is a mismatch between demand and offer. Unless, of course, all these off road machines are bought and then hidden away, which is possible.
I went to a bike shop in Wrexham last week to collect my bike, a shop that seems to do reasonably good business in not so good times. They had mostly road bikes, and a few off road bikes, which would seem a reasonable mix in a part of the world that is mostly paved (but crucially a lot more suited to off road cycling than round here). I have never walked inside my local bike shop, whose window is littered with things with tractor sized tyres… it doesn’t seem to be very busy, I would not be surprised if they closed shop in the very near future. They have a long history of trading, I don’t think they have a bright future ahead. Local clubs do not go there, neither for service nor for purchases.

daniel_b

I bought a gravel bike last year on the c2w scheme, however it's primary focus was meant to be commuting, so I have changed the 45mm knobblies for 40mm smooth road tyres, has full mudguards fitted, and I've also fitted a rear rack so I can fit a rack bag plus panniers.

It's ridiculously comfortable, and with the 48/31 chainset is also remarkably fast.

I haven't ridden outside on a 'summer bike' for 5 months now, and it will probably be another month until that changes, I suspect it will be quite a shock to the system

It's also now my default winter bike, and I have to say it makes me more likely to go out in the cold than it would have been on the 25mm shod Synapse, and that was the widest tyres it could take.

Round my area gravel bikes are a big thing period, I'd say of the people I ride with seriously in the local area, probably 70% of them are on at least their first gravel bike, plenty on their second, with another 10-20% considering a purchase.
I guess the kind of people I ride with are all pretty enthusiastic about it, it's their main hobby so maybe not that surprising a set of stats.

One very fast rider has sadly pretty much stopped road riding, and only goes on routes where a sizable portion is off road, most of the time he will ride the lot from home, with the exception of sticking the bike on the car to go down to the New Forest - somewhere I do enjoy riding myself.

I have a second factory wheelset for my bike, so my plan was to fit the knobblies to that set, plus rotors, and then swap the cassette across for actual off road outings - though my mate seems to think the marathon supremes would handle some gentle off roading.
Also not sure how much issue the mudguards will cause with clearance, and as they are not a quick fit/remove style, that could add rather a lot of hassle to proceedings So how much I can actually be @rsed to go through that set of changes remains to be seen.

ugo.santalucia

it might well be that the Midlands are different from the rest of the country, in view of our beautifully maintained roads, which compare well with the muddy and neglected bridleways, where you basically end up dodgying spaniels and retrievers on a Sunday morning… as well as their waste

ugo.santalucia

I might be tempted to organise a gravel Audax and see how many people sign up… 😳

joeyhalloran

The Sonder winter series gets very good turn outs at its stores across the country.

As does the Tour of the Cornfields near me and the Dirty Reiver

webboo

Would you not be just as fast on the these gravel tracks on an old school 26” wheeled hard tail mountain bike with semi slicks on.
I’m sure my Titanium one is probably lighter than a lot of these gravel bikes.

ugo.santalucia

webboo said:

Would you not be just as fast on the these gravel tracks on an old school 26” wheeled hard tail mountain bike with semi slicks on.
I’m sure my Titanium one is probably lighter than a lot of these gravel bikes.

I used to have A stumpjumper that was pretty light, probably under 10kg… front shock, hard tail… I am sure it was a better off roader than all these things… even managed to stop with a pair of V brakes 😮😮

daniel_b

webboo said:

Would you not be just as fast on the these gravel tracks on an old school 26” wheeled hard tail mountain bike with semi slicks on.
I’m sure my Titanium one is probably lighter than a lot of these gravel bikes.

I have road slicks on my 2006 mtb, and it has decent large gearing, but there's no way it is anything like as fast as the gravel bike with 40mm tyres - down to weight, and geometry I would suspect.

I've never ridden a 29er though, likely one of those may well be in the ball park, especially if all carbon and lightweight etc.
My gravel bike weighs in at ~8.5kg, with everything (aside from tyres) stock.

webboo

I once road the local 10 mile time trial course on my mountain bike with slicks on from a standing start I did it 24 minutes 6 seconds.

webboo

However the other side is folk who don’t need to advertise every aspect of the their lives getting out and just riding.
Opps just broken wind better up date my Facebook page.

MidlandsGrimpeur2

There was bit in Cycling Weekly about a bike industry report that suggests all bike sales in the UK have dropped by over 20% since 2021 but gravel is the only one that has increased by around 8%.

I guess you may have to factor in that gravel sales were fairly low to begin with so an increase would perhaps be easier to achieve.

I would agree that popularity does seem to depend more on location.