Thinking of a mid range "special" bike... Gravel?

[woots787]

http://www.vernonbarkercycles.co.uk/

I spoke to these guys on the phone, really helpful and spoke a lot of sense, although they did some very anti all modern kit, like more than 9 gears, disc brakes, thru axles etc.

[Sway]

woots787 said:

The other,alternative is to get a custom frame from someone like Rourke or vernon baker. No cycle to work saving though but doable for your money.

No near 40% C2W saving, and 'my money' is far less!!

[woots787]

https://www.cotic.co.uk/cycletowork/
https://www.cyclescheme.co.uk/retailer/fairlight-c...
Both companies are listed, if you live near the peak I'd ring cotic up and go for a test ride, might help the decision. Good luck it's a nice choice to make.

[andy-ski]

Something from Genesis like a Croix de Fer would be on my shortlist.

[Matt London]

Sway said:

ps off. Git!

Hope you're well bud?

All good thanks Sway.

I was looking at a custom Ti frame from Enigma about three years ago. They are somewhere in Sussex so that may be a bonus. The only reason I ended not getting one is my dodgy back made it a bit of a gamble that the bike would sit dormant.

[Sway]

Matt London said:

Sway said:

ps off. Git!

Hope you're well bud?

All good thanks Sway.

I was looking at a custom Ti frame from Enigma about three years ago. They are somewhere in Sussex so that may be a bonus. The only reason I ended not getting one is my dodgy back made it a bit of a gamble that the bike would sit dormant.

Glad to hear that squire - and hope the back is gradually getting there?

Yep - there's a little cabal of Enigma, Reilly, Hunt, and a few more all based in Sussex which makes a visit much easier (although, a bit like Ali G, I'll point out it'll mean a trip into the moderately scary, and definitely inferior East side... .)

Had a few unexpected things to sort over the next couple of months, so this is going to take a slight back seat - but have really appreciated everyone's inputs/suggestions...

[Matt London]

A very very good friend (former Londoner) of mine (Sussex now) refers to a certain kind of person from there as East Sussex C***s!

Apparently, it’s not an uncommon sentiment!

[Sway]

Matt London said:

A very very good friend (former Londoner) of mine (Sussex now) refers to a certain kind of person from there as East Sussex C***s!

Apparently, it’s not an uncommon sentiment!

As hopefully a decent (if lapsed!) acquaintance, who is also originally from London and now Sussex based - I could not possibly confirm or deny such notions.

All I'll say, is them lot in Lewes are bloody odd, and as for that Brighton, well... A city full of contradictions.

[Matt London]

Sway said:

As hopefully a decent (if lapsed!) acquaintance, who is also originally from London and now Sussex based - I could not possibly confirm or deny such notions.

All I'll say, is them lot in Lewes are bloody odd, and as for that Brighton, well... A city full of contradictions.

Well if they are ‘*****’ to you and my mate, they are ‘*****’ to me!

[Usget]

How about a Charge Plug 5? Mate of mine has one and it's lovely.

http://www.chargebikes.com/plug-5/

[Sway]

Usget said:

How about a Charge Plug 5? Mate of mine has one and it's lovely.

http://www.chargebikes.com/plug-5/

Cheers - don't know how I've missed the existence of that!

It's on the list!

[benny.c]

I don’t think Charge make bikes any more? I purchased a Grater and had to go used as I couldn’t find any new ones for sale.

[Usget]

Ah nuts - that's a shame. Strike it back off the list then!

[Maxington76]

I can definitely vouch for the gradient. Similar to you, it seems, I wanted a ‘special’ gravel bike, steel or ti, and plumped for the Reilly. It really is quite lovely. Fast enough on the road and a hoot in the local forest. Bought it from their base in Brighton, Mark and his colleagues are really good to deal with. All positives from me.

[Sway]

Maxington76 said:

I can definitely vouch for the gradient. Similar to you, it seems, I wanted a ‘special’ gravel bike, steel or ti, and plumped for the Reilly. It really is quite lovely. Fast enough on the road and a hoot in the local forest. Bought it from their base in Brighton, Mark and his colleagues are really good to deal with. All positives from me.

Crikey, I feel honoured your second post in over a decade was for little old me!

Thanks - seeing as I'm based very near Chichester, I think I really should make the effort to go across and see them. It does look just right aesthetically to my eyes.

[Deefor62]

Sway said:

Crikey, I feel honoured your second post in over a decade was for little old me!

Thanks - seeing as I'm based very near Chichester, I think I really should make the effort to go across and see them. It does look just right aesthetically to my eyes.

Although I went for a Reilly road frame I can heartily recommend paying them a visit. I went from a carbon Colnago to the Reilly, and I absolutely love it.

[Sway]

Mildy necrotic post resurgence...

Life threw a few curve balls - so purchase was delayed.

However, I'm now looking at three months minimum working from home (and aiming that even once all this turns back to normal, I'll be WFH the vast majority of the time) - so a bike is back on the agenda to help keep me sane.

My Boardman HT has done some decent service - can't really fault it.

Mate leant me a Tailfin rack and top bag - just utterly stunning, even in the all alloy spec.

I've decided on a Gradient. Budget is a tad more flexible... 😉

So, spec time.

Brushed frame, polished logos. Grx600 groupset.

Thoughts on Hope Fortus versus Hunt 4Seasons (both 650b)? - always ran Hope hubs "back in the day"...

Or, I could split the voucher and grab a frameset then full Thomson cockpit/grx800/Hope everywhere for another couple of hundred quid?

[Daveyraveygravey]

A colleague at work has a Reilly and loves it. It's road biased though, so not an escapade as far as I know. He went a bit spendy on it too, nearer £3.5k. I don't think you'll get a Mason under £3k either.

[Sway]

Daveyraveygravey said:

A colleague at work has a Reilly and loves it. It's road biased though, so not an escapade as far as I know. He went a bit spendy on it too, nearer £3.5k. I don't think you'll get a Mason under £3k either.

Yeah, budget has "shifted"...

Currently working on £3200 for the Gradient with Hunts. Expecting somewhere around £3500 to swap some bits out for Hope via Reilly.

If I went frameset, then spendy with Merlin, it'd be £3800 with grx800 instead of grx600 and full Hope/Thomson Elite...

[Sway]

Update!

Can you tell I'm a tad bored today?

Reilly got in touch - great chap to chat with.

I'd looked at Wiggle, and saw I could get a Force 1x etap group for the same price as I'd seen for grx800 mechanical... Pricing up the rest of the kit at Wiggle, and it was looking like a significant upgrade for pretty much zero extra cost.

However, Cyclescheme won't let you process two vouchers. Bugger.

Reilly called, and spoke through a few bits.

They do a "Hope upgrade pack" for a very reasonable price - plus I get to pick colour - get in the basket.

I'll be going GRX, just waiting on an email showing the difference between 600 and 800 (both mechanical). He explained quite why Sram are so cheap on Wiggle - they can sell them for a good few hundred quid cheaper than Reilly can buy them...

So voucher going in as soon as I've had the email (I think we all know that I'll be getting grx800...).

Then, trip over to have a bike fit...