Thinking of buying a Gravel/Adventure bike, any experiences?

[JustinF]

Arkose again here, mines a 2015 4, sixpot belly's fault but I can't blame him , I bloody love it! It's the swiss army knife of bikes.

also you can do those rocky descents on it, six just isn't as relaxed about crashing as me

[lauda]

Don1 said:

I'd also look at the Cannondale Slate.

Just.... because.

That looks stunning. Just looked up the price. *gulp*

[47p2]

Having great fun on my Raleigh RX Team

[grenpayne]

Just to bring this thread to a close, the winner is....a Kenisis Tripster ATR

It's taken me a while to decide to spend this much as the original budget wasn't even close, but a good dollop of man maths, together with some 'fk it, life's too short' means it's decided. I also declined any 40th birthday presents this year due our house renovation costs so my wife is in agreement that I should treat myself

I'll not be buying until the Spring so in the meantime I'll do some reading and decide on the spec, though it'll most likely be 105 based to keep it vaguely sensible!

[grenpayne]

neenaw said:

If you're anywhere near the Surrey area and about 5'11" or so you're welcome to try my Tripster if you fancy a go on a gravel bike.
Might be worth trying a couple off road first to see how you like them?

Sorry neenaw, only just seen your very kind offer. I'm a bit far away though in Wiltshire and I'm only 5'9

[tuffer]

I'm in Wiltshire, could I tempt you with a Felt F4X, great condition size 55.

[grenpayne]

That is a lovely bike Tuffer thank you, but I'm not ready to buy until the Spring and I really want a Ti framed bike now

[neenaw]

grenpayne said:

Just to bring this thread to a close, the winner is....a Kenisis Tripster ATR

It's taken me a while to decide to spend this much as the original budget wasn't even close, but a good dollop of man maths, together with some 'fk it, life's too short' means it's decided. I also declined any 40th birthday presents this year due our house renovation costs so my wife is in agreement that I should treat myself

I'll not be buying until the Spring so in the meantime I'll do some reading and decide on the spec, though it'll most likely be 105 based to keep it vaguely sensible!

You'll not go far wrong with the Tripster. Bloody brilliant bike. I've put off buying one for the past couple of years and now I have I realise that I should've just got one when I first looked at it.

If you're looking for ideas for a build, check out the Tripster thread on Singletrack. It's about 65 pages full of pretty much everything you need to know about them.