Best £1k gravel bike for racing (and touring) newby?

[Duke Caboom]

I don't know much about bikes!

I compete in local duathlons - off road run and cycle races. I can't keep up with the gravel bikes on my ancient (mid 90's) mountain bike.

The races are on gravel, mostly fire tracks in forestry commission land. So fairly straight and not very demanding - some roots, some ruts and gullies.

It seems a gravel bike would be great for this and also do a bit of touring on and gentle off road without having to be too careful not to break it. Does that seem right?

Found this list of sub £1000 bikes. https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/buyers-guides/che...

Also this https://road.cc/buyers-guide/best-gravel-bikes-und... and fancy the Vitus cos it says "racing" in the write-up.

As mentioned, though, I'm conscious how little I know. Is £1k (before cycle to work) OK for something to start me off? Are some faster than others? Will they be quite a lot faster than my current bike? They don't have pedals - so which ones should I buy? Can I buy on line or is it worth getting sized in a shop?

Thanks

[mikey P 500]

IMO you need to spend slightly more to get hydraulic disc brakes as cable disc brakes as generally really poor often worse than disc brakes. They normally pull from 1 side and rely on flex for the other side, so are less powerful and prone to needing lots of adjustment and rubbing. (It's a pain to upgrade later as normally need new shifters too). Boardman do a bike for £1150 with hydraulic brakes, other manufacturers bikes start around £1200 to £1500 these days. Re pedals you want SPD ones (Shimano m520 is the go to option).

[Duke Caboom]

Thanks - thiats exactly the sort of specific info i needed.

Pedals I don't think I want to have to change shoes so good ones for gripping trail running shoes, I suppose

[anonymous-user]

You can change shoes in seconds, just use bungee laces. When I did duathlons, transition wasn’t much more than 90 seconds and that was the whole palace….. dismount, push bike to rack, remove helmet, hang on bars, take off bike shoes, grab run shoes, slip on, run….

[mie1972]

If not fussed for road shifters, a flat bar gravel bike could be the answer. These are much cheaper (the shifters are the expensive bit), and the frames are often exactly the same. Aim for some thing under 10kg ideally,

Make sure tyre clearance is decent - I’d say 38mm tyres as a minimum. Bigger the better,

Also IMO Tubeless tyres are an absolute game changer for off road. Try to make sure the wheels that come with any bike are tubeless ready.

[Tomanybikes]

[troc]

Tomanybikes said:

Very nice but not really in the OP’s price range

[bobbo89]

Immediate thought was a Rujo....

https://www.planetx.co.uk/c/q/bikes/gravel-adventu...

[snotrag]

Buy this on-one Rujo now. Really, like now. Before the offer ends and it goes back up.


You are not going to beat this for £999:

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBOORURIV1/on-one-ru...



Your other alternate is the Sonder Camino:

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

Beg, borrow, steal, or lie, to get one that uses Hydraulic Disc brakes (like them two). DO NOT be tempted or twisted by anyone trying to tell you cable discs are any good.

[bobbo89]

Actually, just had a look and the Rujo looks like it's only available in small at that price now unfortunately...

[PomBstard]

A couple of thoughts based on my own gravel bike experience which I ride on all types of surfaces

As others have said, get hydraulic disc brakes - they really are that good

If you want to use it for touring and road riding, then get something with 2x11 or 2x10 gearing. 1x11 and 1x12 are getting more common for off road riding and the range of gears might be OK between fastest and slowest, but there are often big gaps between gears.

Don’t worry about tubeless tyres - check the surfaces you’ll be riding. Tubeless is good for thorny stuff and you’ll not get pinch flats but can be not so useful on sharp rocky stuff. I’ve given up with tubeless on both mtb and gravel after being stranded more than once.

Tyre width of 35c -38c will be fine. Sure wider might give more comfort but there are prob more frames at your price point that can go to 38c max. Just make sure wheels are 700c (29”) not 650b (27.5”)

Which leads me to last suggestion - have you thought about getting a second hand short-travel hardtail mtb w 29” wheels? Will def be quicker than your current bike which I presume is rolling 26” castors…

[bobbo89]

Not a bad suggestion from pom r.e. the short travel mtb hardtail...

In-fact some manufacturers are starting to blur the lines themselves a little like Cotic here with their Cascade which is essentially their previous gen Solaris mtb hardtail frame (less reach) with some rack mounts, drop bars and a rigid fork..... https://www.cotic.co.uk/product/cascade#nimbus

Got me thinking now about building up a drop bar, mtb/gravel frankenbike sort of thing.....

[bobbo89]

Another cheap contender from Planet-X.......

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBTISRGX/titus-silk-...

[Gribs]

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/vitus-energie-vrs-cyclocr...

I've got one of these which I use as a commuter to have the option of linking some off road bits in. As stock it wasn't great on rougher stuff but it's been much improved with some 45mm tyres and some wider flared bars.

[Barchettaman]

Your MTB isn’t the problem.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/828426-...

[sclayto2]

bobbo89 said:

Actually, just had a look and the Rujo looks like it's only available in small at that price now unfortunately...

All sizes are showing as out of stock. Contact them and see when they'll have stock and if it suits, buy it at that price. Honestly, it is a bargain.

[Duke Caboom]

OP here: still on this - Thinking of Boardman ADV 8.9. Slight sale and my employer works easily with Halfords in terms of Cycle to Work scheme

https://www.halfords.com/bikes/adventure-bikes/boa...

[stargazer30]

Duke Caboom said:

OP here: still on this - Thinking of Boardman ADV 8.9. Slight sale and my employer works easily with Halfords in terms of Cycle to Work scheme

https://www.halfords.com/bikes/adventure-bikes/boa...

Very good bike for the money, and with a few choice upgrades it will hang with £2k+ bikes easy. The cxr 8.9 is also worth a look if you prefer 1x over a front mech. I’ve had four boardmans now adv, cxr, mtx and an slr. All have been good value for money. The only flaw is they have thin paint.

[Duke Caboom]

Hybrid (clips and flats) pedals OK? Good compromise or no good at either? I want to use the bike for leisure as well as racing so, if they work, they would seem ideal.

[emicen]

stargazer30 said:

Duke Caboom said:

OP here: still on this - Thinking of Boardman ADV 8.9. Slight sale and my employer works easily with Halfords in terms of Cycle to Work scheme

https://www.halfords.com/bikes/adventure-bikes/boa...

Very good bike for the money, and with a few choice upgrades it will hang with £2k+ bikes easy. The cxr 8.9 is also worth a look if you prefer 1x over a front mech. I’ve had four boardmans now adv, cxr, mtx and an slr. All have been good value for money. The only flaw is they have thin paint.

Thin paint
Poor quality control in the factory
Very individual dependent finishing/final build in store
Notably cheap finishing hardware

I’m not saying that for the fun of bashing them, I bought an ADV8.9 on Dec-20 (and it’s had its issues) and bought an ADV8.9e on C2W in Nov-22.

I would still recommend an ADV8.9, great value and I probably rate GRX’s 2x over Apex’s 1x, but you need to be aware of its potential foibles.