need a bike, adventure/gravel bike ?

[blueant27]

Hi all

As the weather improves I think its time to cycle to work, fitness and saving money on fuel is the aim.

My journey to work on a bike would be approx 5-6 miles each way. Mixture of road, gravel, dirt and cycle path. So would a adventure/gravel bike be the best option for me?

Been looking at this

http://www.cyclesuk.com/Mobile/MobileModels.aspx?M...

Really don't want to spend much more than that so is that the best option for the bucks?

Cheers in advance

[Chirpsean]

It would certainly do the job, you could use it all year round by putting some mudguards on it. I did think about one as I am in a similar situation to you, in the end I went for a MTB because I have a carbon road bike and I couldn't justify it to the missus !!!!

[numtumfutunch]

Ive just spent weeks stewing over the same dilemma for my commuter and ended up with a Specialized Diverge - in true PH fashion £150 more than your budget

I have a fast road bike, MTB and crosser but none did what the Diverge does:

Mudguards - surprisingly good and solid
Rack mounts
Discs
Fat tyres
Not stupidly heavy - bye bye Planet X Kaffenback........

Im really pleased with it and find it easy to justify as it will be the bike I ride most often for 10y plus

Its biased more to road than bridleway (cant bring myself to say gravel) but does a decent job of devouring the trails when asked
On the road its not as slow as youd think, Id certainly take it on winter club runs, and 28mm tyres give a lovely ride - you can fit bigger

My road bike is faster on the road, and my crosser faster off and much more aggressive but for what I want to do the Diverge is perfect

Cheers

PS I did like the GT Grade and the Planet X London Road was also on my radar - maybe worth a look

[blueant27]

thanks for the info

just stumbled across this, are Mango any good ?

http://www.mangobikes.co.uk/bikes/point-ar-all-rou...

[bakerstreet]

Still a bit baffled by this latest niche (Gravel/Adventure bikes)

Have a look at the entry level Boardman Cyclocross bike. Think its the comp. Comes with SRAM Apex, discs and guard mounts. I've ridden one and I quite liked it

Think you might have to hang it out for one of the Halfords Bike Discount weekends for it to meet your budget, but a few people on this forum have one and are quite pleased with it.

[Your Dad]

At the price range you'd get better value looking on eBay for something pre-loved.

Earlier this year I got a 2015 Whyte Suffolk 105 for £525, it's done very low miles and is mint apart from a tiny mark on the top tube. It's got 28mm road tyres but will happily take CX tyres.

[SixPotBelly]

OP, do you want drop bars or flat bars?

If you're new to cycling, and only intend to do 5-6 miles at a time, then flat bars might be the better bet. Wider, so more control off road, and hydraulic brakes become much more affordable. Drop bars are better on long road rides, for sure, but for your distances their advantages would probably be negligible.

Don't get me wrong, I have a drop bar Pinnacle Arkose 'adventure bike' as a second bike for bridleway bashing and love it. But then I'm a much more a roadie than I am an MTBer these days, to the extent that I feel more at home on drop bars. For a casual rider though I'd recommend a Lithium over an Arkose. My advice would be to test ride one of each, then you'll know which sort of bars you'd prefer.

[Barchettaman]

Bear in mind the Boardman CX entry-level bikes have Avid BB5 disc brakes, which are pretty fiddly to set up and keep working at optimal performance.
I have them on mine, they're finicky bloody things.