Entry Level Gravel Bike £1200~

[owenw89]

Hi all,

I've recently got a new job and have access to a cyclescheme and I've been looking at buying my first gravel bike with a budget of around £1200. My aim with the bike is to use it for some trails but mostly road cycling for leisure. I have limited options as the scheme is only available through cyclesolutions.co.uk but I've narrowed it down to two bikes:

GT Grade Sport 2023 - Cost through the scheme = £673.20

https://www.cyclesolutions.co.uk/bikes/ ... en__115425

Cannondale Topstone 4 2023 - Cost through the scheme = £ 734.40

https://www.cyclesolutions.co.uk/bikes/ ... ngo__95534

From my research these are both great deals and the spec/price for these bikes is very similar however I am a novice to biking so I was hoping if anyone could weigh in and give me any pointers or if they would recommend any other bikes/etc for the money it would be much appreciated.

Many thanks in advance,

Owen

[Jdsk]

Welcome

Those URLs don't work for me so I can't see the descriptions of the bikes. (It flicks past them. You might be able to see them because you've previously entered some details for the scheme,)

Jonathan

[Nearholmer]

Things that I would suggest from experience make the off-road component of the ride more fun, in ascending order:

- good, low bottom gear, certainly 1:1 overall, ideally lower, unless you live in very flat country;

- tubeless tyres, which can be run at lower pressures than is typical on road, giving much better comfort and traction, so look out for “tubeless ready” wheels;

- disc brakes, which are less prone to getting clogged with mud and vegetation than rim brakes;

- hydraulic disc brakes, which are a lot less tiring on the hands than manual when riding on steep and/or twisty paths.

The bike that I know ticks all those boxes and can be had within your price range is the Boardman ADV8.9, but it may not be available via your scheme. If you can access Halfords via your scheme, scour their website for the “secondhand” section, where some of the bikes seem to be ex shop display; when I looked last week they had the ADV8.9 in all sizes, at about £800 for “as new condition”, available via CtW.

[Pendodave]

Decathlon (triban) do a decent budget gravel bike. 520? Not sure if they're cycle to work though.

Another good value, decently put together, option is the boardman. Available though halfords, which I think is on CtW

** edit, crossed with nearholmer. That's the boardman model I was thinking of

[TheBomber]

I have limited options as the scheme is only available through cyclesolutions.co.uk but I've narrowed it down to two bikes:

With cyclesolutions you’re not limited to buying from just the bikes they have listed. Most shops that accept any cycle to work voucher will accept one from cyclesolutions.

[owenw89]

Welcome

Those URLs don't work for me so I can't see the descriptions of the bikes. (It flicks past them. You might be able to see them because you've previously entered some details for the scheme,)

Jonathan

Hi there, thanks .

Updated the links!

[owenw89]

I have limited options as the scheme is only available through cyclesolutions.co.uk but I've narrowed it down to two bikes:

With cyclesolutions you’re not limited to buying from just the bikes they have listed. Most shops that accept any cycle to work voucher will accept one from cyclesolutions.

From checking this they state "If you cannot find the perfect package via Cycle Solutions, why not take advantage of our partner store network which has over 1100 local shops available to you. " however looking through those local bike shops the prices are a lot higher meaning I'd be better off going to a cheaper retailer and not using the discount.

[owenw89]

Things that I would suggest from experience make the off-road component of the ride more fun, in ascending order:

- good, low bottom gear, certainly 1:1 overall, ideally lower, unless you live in very flat country;

- tubeless tyres, which can be run at lower pressures than is typical on road, giving much better comfort and traction, so look out for “tubeless ready” wheels;

- disc brakes, which are less prone to getting clogged with mud and vegetation than rim brakes;

- hydraulic disc brakes, which are a lot less tiring on the hands than manual when riding on steep and/or twisty paths.

The bike that I know ticks all those boxes and can be had within your price range is the Boardman ADV8.9, but it may not be available via your scheme. If you can access Halfords via your scheme, scour their website for the “secondhand” section, where some of the bikes seem to be ex shop display; when I looked last week they had the ADV8.9 in all sizes, at about £800 for “as new condition”, available via CtW.

Thanks for your reply.

The Boardman 8.9 was another I looked at and for £800 would be a steal. How would you say it compared to the two that I've posted? From what I can see they do tick the boxes that you've mentioned above apart from perhaps the gear as they are only a 10 speed?

[Eyebrox]

The Boardman is a far better equipped bike. Shimano GRX, in my view as a bike mechanic, wins hands down against Microsoft. Halfords have been smart in pricing this bike to appeal to the biggest percentage of cycle scheme customers, particularly gravel ride newcomers. They have clearly managed to take advantage of high volume sales in the toughest price/spec range. I am not surprised it won one of the Bike of the Year accolades. The Boardman is a step up from the other two in my opinion, with hydraulic braking, though there are a couple of cheaper sacrificial components fitted elsewhere.

[Nearholmer]

As said, drivetrain is much nicer, and it has good hydraulic brakes.

I had their CX Team and used that as a gravel bike, and it was excellent, but …….

Get a friend who really knows bikes to check over Halfords work on assembling one, because their mechanics vary from excellent to neglectful, and it’s pot luck which you get!

[owenw89]

The Boardman is a far better equipped bike. Shimano GRX, in my view as a bike mechanic, wins hands down against Microsoft. Halfords have been smart in pricing this bike to appeal to the biggest percentage of cycle scheme customers, particularly gravel ride newcomers. They have clearly managed to take advantage of high volume sales in the toughest price/spec range. I am not surprised it won one of the Bike of the Year accolades. The Boardman is a step up from the other two in my opinion, with hydraulic braking, though there are a couple of cheaper sacrificial components fitted elsewhere.

Gotcha, thanks however unfortunately through my cyclescheme I can't use Halfords making the cheapest I can get the ADV 8.9 is £920 through the second hand part of the Halfords site.. would you still recommend it at that price over the 650-720 range of the two other bikes?

[Nearholmer]

Definitely!

It’s simply a better-equipped bike, so provided the secondhand one is in “near new” condition, a better bet,

[Pinhead]

Hi all,

I've recently got a new job and have access to a cyclescheme and I've been looking at buying my first gravel bike with a budget of around £1200. My aim with the bike is to use it for some trails but mostly road cycling for leisure. I have limited options as the scheme is only available through cyclesolutions.co.uk but I've narrowed it down to two bikes:

GT Grade Sport 2023 - Cost through the scheme = £673.20

https://www.cyclesolutions.co.uk/bikes/ ... en__115425

Cannondale Topstone 4 2023 - Cost through the scheme = £ 734.40

https://www.cyclesolutions.co.uk/bikes/ ... ngo__95534

From my research these are both great deals and the spec/price for these bikes is very similar however I am a novice to biking so I was hoping if anyone could weigh in and give me any pointers or if they would recommend any other bikes/etc for the money it would be much appreciated.

Many thanks in advance,

Owen

Remember if it is cycle to work you won't OWN the bike after you just rent/lease it

Correct me if I am wrong

[Eyebrox]

Definitely!

It’s simply a better-equipped bike.

Agree. Cycling Plus reviewed this bike and rated it as excellent at that price point.

Here is the BikeRadar report.

https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/bikes ... an-adv-8-9

[owenw89]

Loud and clear! I'm going to go ahead and try to go for the Boardman 8.9.

Thanks everyone, your help is much appreciated.