Help a Noob please!
Discussion
Hi All
I am looking for my first proper bike - have had a variety of cheap mountain bikes in the past and currently ride a 1990's Raleigh Max, but I am now starting to use it to commute and so need something much better.
I am going to use the Cycle to Work scheme and plan to spend close to the £1,000 limit to get the best bike I can. My commute is part drive part ride (maybe one day I will ride all the way in, around 20 miles each way) and will mostly be on roads (in Bournemouth), but with sections of gravel cycle track etc. It would also be nice to be able to use the bike on our local trailway (a former railway line) with the kids. However, I also am thinking of entering some of the easier UK Cycling Events events, which are road based. I would guess that usage wise I would be around 80% road and 20% gravel/off road.
I have decided a full on road bike is not suitable, nor is a full on mountain bike, and so am looking at cyclocross or gravel bikes. I am leaning towards Giant, mainly because my local shop is a dealer for them and they have been very helpful whenever I have been in. The three bikes I am looking at are the Revolt 1, the Anyroad 1 and the TCX SLR2 (links below).
Can anyone offer any advice on which to go for? Looks are not really important to me, function is my primary concern. At the moment the TCX is winning in my head as it has a 105 groupset and the frame is more conventional road bike, which to my mind lends itself well to what I want, but I am new to both road and gravel bikes and so any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
James
Links:
TCX: https://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/t...
Anyroad: https://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/a...
Revolt: https://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/r...
I am looking for my first proper bike - have had a variety of cheap mountain bikes in the past and currently ride a 1990's Raleigh Max, but I am now starting to use it to commute and so need something much better.
I am going to use the Cycle to Work scheme and plan to spend close to the £1,000 limit to get the best bike I can. My commute is part drive part ride (maybe one day I will ride all the way in, around 20 miles each way) and will mostly be on roads (in Bournemouth), but with sections of gravel cycle track etc. It would also be nice to be able to use the bike on our local trailway (a former railway line) with the kids. However, I also am thinking of entering some of the easier UK Cycling Events events, which are road based. I would guess that usage wise I would be around 80% road and 20% gravel/off road.
I have decided a full on road bike is not suitable, nor is a full on mountain bike, and so am looking at cyclocross or gravel bikes. I am leaning towards Giant, mainly because my local shop is a dealer for them and they have been very helpful whenever I have been in. The three bikes I am looking at are the Revolt 1, the Anyroad 1 and the TCX SLR2 (links below).
Can anyone offer any advice on which to go for? Looks are not really important to me, function is my primary concern. At the moment the TCX is winning in my head as it has a 105 groupset and the frame is more conventional road bike, which to my mind lends itself well to what I want, but I am new to both road and gravel bikes and so any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
James
Links:
TCX: https://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/t...
Anyroad: https://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/a...
Revolt: https://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/r...
Three interesting looking bikes there, tbh if your LBS is a Giant dealer then I'd be inclined to ask them for a ride on them all. You can then base your decision on the one you like the ride of and the looks of. I don't know if I'd worry about a single gear between them?! From what I understand, the Tiagra 20 speed group set is just as capable as 11sp 105 for most of us mere mortals.
Banana Boy said:
Three interesting looking bikes there, tbh if your LBS is a Giant dealer then I'd be inclined to ask them for a ride on them all. You can then base your decision on the one you like the ride of and the looks of. I don't know if I'd worry about a single gear between them?! From what I understand, the Tiagra 20 speed group set is just as capable as 11sp 105 for most of us mere mortals.
Thanks for the reply. I have tried for a test ride of each, but unfortunately the shop is limited in the sizes in stock and sod's law means that none of the three are in stock in store in the correct size at the moment. I might try to find a large Giant store somewhere nearby and take a look there.Banana Boy said:
Three interesting looking bikes there, tbh if your LBS is a Giant dealer then I'd be inclined to ask them for a ride on them all. You can then base your decision on the one you like the ride of and the looks of. I don't know if I'd worry about a single gear between them?! From what I understand, the Tiagra 20 speed group set is just as capable as 11sp 105 for most of us mere mortals.
I've read the latest 105 is the sweet spot in the Shimano range; its very hard to tell it apart from Ultegra and it is a lot less. If the only difference between the bikes is 105 or Tiagra then get the one with 105.Most big bike shops don't offer test rides of sensibly-priced bikes; my local Giant shop had a £2.5k Propel when I was trying to keep the spend to £1.6k. Having ridden the £2.5k bike I very nearly "found" the extra money, it was fantastic. I think you will struggle to get a decent test ride on those three bikes.
From what you have said it does sound like a gravel bike is what you need. I'd be looking at one that could take at least 32 mm tyres, to me 28 mm isn't that significant a step up from 25 mm.
Daveyraveygravey said:
I've read the latest 105 is the sweet spot in the Shimano range; its very hard to tell it apart from Ultegra and it is a lot less. If the only difference between the bikes is 105 or Tiagra then get the one with 105.
Absolutely, buy the best you can! Real shame you're finding it hard to get a ride on them - maybe you should just pick the one you like the look of most?! That's pretty much how I ended up with my Trek SL5 - the bright green swung it for me 
To be fair, I can't fault the 105 5800 group set in any way. My Trek came with it and my Dawes was upgraded to 11sp 105 from 8 speed (Claris?) and apart from the impractical thumb shifters on the hood, I thought the 8 speed was perfectly usable!
Thanks to everyone for the responses.
Slight change of plans - I have acquired a second hand road bike which, although entry level, will give me something reasonable to ride to work on through the summer months to ensure I am actually going to stick with commuting by bike. The plan is to run the bike for the summer and see if I have the willpower to stick it out through the winter months, before upgrading to something better next spring. My current bike could potentially then become my winter hack.
To cover the trailway / off road use by brother in law is letting me use his spare MTB for a few months whilst I look for my own.
I think that, given I intend to cycle the full 18 miles to and from work, a road bike may be better for me. I can keep the whole route on road with only a marginal (1/3 mile) increase in distance.
Regarding starting to commute, I had planned to do a part drive/part ride arrangement, but several seasoned commuters have advised just jumping straight in and going the full 18 miles (each way) from the start. Work are flexible and so there is no issue with me arriving later than planned, and there are showers here too. Would anyone on here care to offer any advice on this?
Thanks
Slight change of plans - I have acquired a second hand road bike which, although entry level, will give me something reasonable to ride to work on through the summer months to ensure I am actually going to stick with commuting by bike. The plan is to run the bike for the summer and see if I have the willpower to stick it out through the winter months, before upgrading to something better next spring. My current bike could potentially then become my winter hack.
To cover the trailway / off road use by brother in law is letting me use his spare MTB for a few months whilst I look for my own.
I think that, given I intend to cycle the full 18 miles to and from work, a road bike may be better for me. I can keep the whole route on road with only a marginal (1/3 mile) increase in distance.
Regarding starting to commute, I had planned to do a part drive/part ride arrangement, but several seasoned commuters have advised just jumping straight in and going the full 18 miles (each way) from the start. Work are flexible and so there is no issue with me arriving later than planned, and there are showers here too. Would anyone on here care to offer any advice on this?
Thanks
Well I did it :-)
Commuted into Bournemouth from Blandford this morning on my new (to me) road bike. 19.3 miles took me 1hr 24m which I thought was pretty good given I have not prepared myself in the slightest.
The slight downside is the realisation that in about seven hours time I have to do it all again in reverse.
Commuted into Bournemouth from Blandford this morning on my new (to me) road bike. 19.3 miles took me 1hr 24m which I thought was pretty good given I have not prepared myself in the slightest.
The slight downside is the realisation that in about seven hours time I have to do it all again in reverse.
I think it's a fair old distance to start with.
My previous commute was 10 miles each way and during the winter, there were definitely days when the thought of it really, really didn't appeal.
You're probably best giving the full distance a go two or three days a week to begin with, so that you build up your stamina and/or willpower.
My previous commute was 10 miles each way and during the winter, there were definitely days when the thought of it really, really didn't appeal.
You're probably best giving the full distance a go two or three days a week to begin with, so that you build up your stamina and/or willpower.
Well done mate! That is a good distance to start, and nothing wrong with the time taken. It will come down as you get fitter and more practiced in the routines of commuting.
I only live 7 miles from my work, but that is an awful road, so I usually ride at least 10 each way, sometimes 30 if I get up really early! I'm lucky in that I can go on country roads on my road bike, or over the Downs on the mountain bike.
I think you have a good plan with the secondhand bike, as you say it will show you if you are dedicated enough to keep going through the winter, and then it will be worth spending some of the money you have saved on something very nice. There's loads of info available on what you need for night riding.
I don't make myself ride every day, it can become a chore if you do that. It is nice sometimes to just hop in the car and have none of the faffing about.
I only live 7 miles from my work, but that is an awful road, so I usually ride at least 10 each way, sometimes 30 if I get up really early! I'm lucky in that I can go on country roads on my road bike, or over the Downs on the mountain bike.
I think you have a good plan with the secondhand bike, as you say it will show you if you are dedicated enough to keep going through the winter, and then it will be worth spending some of the money you have saved on something very nice. There's loads of info available on what you need for night riding.
I don't make myself ride every day, it can become a chore if you do that. It is nice sometimes to just hop in the car and have none of the faffing about.
CoinSl0t said:
That's a great effort, I know those roads and wouldn't fancy being buzzed by people texting at 60 mph instead of concentrating on their driving.
There are days when I can't be arsed to ride 5 miles along the seafront to get to my work, so hats off if you can stick to it
Thanks for all the replies.There are days when I can't be arsed to ride 5 miles along the seafront to get to my work, so hats off if you can stick to it
On the subject of busy roads - I can get to Wimborne (9 miles) on empty country roads, and then keep off most of the busier sections by cutting through housing estates etc. Once into Bournemouth itself there are plenty of cycleways (on and off road). The one really busy bit is around Bournemouth Uni, but I saved some energy for that so I could blitz it with the traffic at 25mph.
Edit: I will also take on board the recommendations to not ride every day. I will try a Mon/Wed/Fri cycle and Tue/Thu drive for the next few weeks (or if I feel truly knackered maybe reverse them so I cycle two days a week). It will also give me a reason to use my car - I only got it yesterday and so far haven't used it.
Edited by cv01jw on Friday 10th June 13:33
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