Gravel Bike - £1500 budget

[zedx19]

My employer has just signed up to Bike2Work scheme and as I'm a higher rate tax payer, I will benefit from some significant savings via salary sacrifice. I currently have a Fuji Nevada MTB, which I've had for over 2 years and enjoy riding along a mix of gravel, empty country lanes and the odd bit of rutted farm lane, nothing too heavy off road wise. I generally do around 20 mile, the terrain is very hilly where I live. Never had a gravel or road bike, but I'm thinking a gravel bike would suit my riding much more than the current heavy MTB, however I've no idea where to start for gravel bikes.

I've seen this Ribble which seems to fit the bill, but I've no idea really! Does anyone have any guidance on how to pick a gravel bike, what to look out for and any suggestions within budget?

[oddman]

Looks like a pretty good deal.

The only things I don't like about it, is it has an Aluminium fork - might be a bit harsh would be worth reading some reviews or even test riding before committing. Also 2 x gearing. 1 x is simpler and will give you the same spread of gears

Planet X, like Ribble are major box shifters and both can attract their share of negative reviews but you can get a well equipped carbon bike for slightly bigger budget and titanium if able to find £1999. The carbon bike linked is more aesthetically pleasing to my eye than the Ribble

[lufbramatt]

The Ribble is a great bike. People like to moan about their customer service but I have two of their bikes and had to deal with their customer service for warranty returns (leaky Shimano brakes) and had no issues.

Unless it's a pre-built bike (which it might be as it's in the sale) Ribble let you change all the bits on the configurator so don't get hung up on the specifics.

Edited by lufbramatt on Thursday 1st August 08:57

[Gin and Ultrasonic]

I do very similar riding to this (farm tracks, gravel paths, singletrack, tracks that used to be roads, general hilliness), with some road sections thrown in to link them all up.

I bought a gravel bike (Specialized Diverge carbon) a few months ago and have hardly used anything else - it is absolutely brilliant for what you're doing, and way better than my MTB for this kind of thing. I think it would be perfect for your use. I've only had 2 or 3 occasions when I've wished I had my MTB (short, steep off-road stuff), and loads more where I'm glad I didn't (a road, and a headwind!).

Things to look out for -
Low Gearing - if you live somewhere hilly, you probably want a low bottom gear. I have 40-42 as my easiest gear and it can be a struggle on long off-road climbs. A slightly easier bottom gear (40-44 or 40-46) would be great for me.
1x or 2x - this is mainly personal preference. 1x might suit you better if you're not doing a lot of road riding.
Sram or Shimano - again, personal preference. I have to say I'm not a huge fan of the Sram double tap I have compared to Shimano. To the extent I'm actively looking to change to Shimano.
Tubeless ready setup - it seems pretty much everyone rides gravel tubeless. Check the wheels and tyres are tubeless ready.
Proprietary components - this is a personal bugbear. Look at our B-shaped seatpost with special adapters, behold our 1mm wider than standard bottom bracket for extra power, our seatpost and saddle rail special interface! Worth checking things if you ever plan to upgrade later.

Incidentally I bought my bike online using a cycle to work scheme from Sigma Sports, and their service was excellent. I have indeed cycled to work on it too (and not just when working from home!).

[zedx19]

Thanks, Ribble one seems top of the list then, but I've seen this which seems a lot of bike for the money, anyone have experience with Boardman bikes?

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Boardman-ADV-8-9-2025-Gra...

[RicksAlfas]

Sonder Caminos are on offer at the moment.
Well worth a look:
https://alpkit.com/collections/sonder-camino

[zedx19]

RicksAlfas said:

Sonder Caminos are on offer at the moment.
Well worth a look:
https://alpkit.com/collections/sonder-camino

Not on the bike2work scheme my employer uses unfortunately, as they do look great!

[RicksAlfas]

zedx19 said:

RicksAlfas said:

Sonder Caminos are on offer at the moment.
Well worth a look:
https://alpkit.com/collections/sonder-camino

Not on the bike2work scheme my employer uses unfortunately, as they do look great!

Alpkit are on bike2work.

[zedx19]

Weird, doesn't list that scheme on Alpkit website, but does list it on bike2work partner website, I'll have another look.

[dave123456]

I bought a ribble gravel bike on the C2W scheme. Should’ve gone cgr as the 2x suits my riding more.

Good value for money but it’s a bit of a lottery in terms of customer service and quality control.

In terms of competition at that price point ribble are pretty competitive to be honest. If you can spare a few quid more then the configurable specs allow for a wheel upgrade.

[jamm13dodger]

I've been very happy with my Giant Revolt Advanced 2. Your budget would get you the 3 (lower spec) but if you can get it I too would go for the Camino

https://www.balfesbikes.co.uk/bikes/gravel-adventu...

[WPA]

oddman said:

The only things I don't like about it, is it has an Aluminium fork - might be a bit harsh would be worth reading some reviews or even test riding before committing. Also 2 x gearing. 1 x is simpler and will give you the same spread of gears

The Ribble is carbon forks, I would look at Giant Revolt or Genesis CDF, not heard good things about the Ribble and build quality

[Daveyraveygravey]

Will require some budget creep, but Orro have a grand off one of theirs -

https://www.orrobikes.com/product/terra-c-1x-grx82...

Just spotted this one, 900 quid off, no budget creep necessary -

https://www.orrobikes.com/product/terra-c-apex-1x

[Gin and Ultrasonic]

I've heard bad things about Ribble's comms and after-sales service from a few years ago, although this may be sorted now. They also seem to be using road groupsets rather than gravel, which seems a bit odd. Not sure they are vastly different from the GRX groupsets.

The Sonder looks great, especially the AXS version which looks amazing value, if slightly over budget.

Alloy versions of the Cannondale Topstone and Specialized Diverge are also worth looking at as they seem to be well regarded, and widely available in your budget.

[corroded]

Just be very sure what you want to use it for. I use my Diverge for a mix of lanes, tracks, the occasional red trail but also touring. So I looked for rack and mudguard mounts, a threaded BB for reliability, a double chainset, Shimano not Sram, and carbon. It’s been the bike with the most smiles per miles I’ve ever owned and my FS now only comes out a few times a year. Prior to the Diverge, I had a GT Grade carbon, which is also superb (very comfortable) and often discounted.

[Hugo Stiglitz]

https://www.orrobikes.com/product/terra-g-105-fsa

[zedx19]

Hugo Stiglitz said:

https://www.orrobikes.com/product/terra-g-105-fsa

Wow why so cheap??

[FamousPheasant]

Dolan GXA could also be worth a look, it comes with a carbon fork and GRX groupset for that price: https://www.dolan-bikes.com/gxa/

I have two ( A tuono and a GXA) and really rate them.

[DE1975]

zedx19 said:

Wow why so cheap??

Looks an OK price rather than cheap. Aluminium frame, mixed groupset with older 11 speed 105, FSA chainset and Riderever cable pull disc brakes. No idea how well them brakes work with the 105 levers designed for 105 rim brakes

Edited by DE1975 on Friday 2nd August 09:31

[markcp]

Seems to be lots of good deals at the moment. A couple of members of my club just bought these and are really pleased:
https://www.merlincycles.com/felt-breed-30-grx-gra...