If steel and non 1x is on your list, Erik's has last year's Tamland 1 on sale at a pretty good price right now. No affiliation.


https://www.eriksbikeshop.com/Raleig...E16617/Product


One other thing to keep in mind, which may or may not turn out to be anything to consider. Many bikes are made in China. Recent tariff action probably impacts bikes at some level. Prices may increase to some extent if the current political climate continues USA vs China. Who knows. Just throwing that out there if you come across a deal on something you like in the near term.

That is a very interesting bike. Thank you for posting this.

Giant Toughroad SLR GX may be another to possibly have a look at and not sure if they're available in the US but Pinnacle Arkose ticks most of your boxes.

The 2018 fuji jari 1.7 is 990$ at performance bikes right now, 2x10 tiagra with 46/30 and 11-34 out back, should be a decent low gear and 46x11 isn't too bad for the descents. It's not steel though... the steel Jari are sora and priced ever lower at performance right now. The jari 2.3 comes with 46/30 and 12-36 9 speed so slightly lower gearing than the 10 speed one. I've never shopped at performance but it seems the points program they have might be worth it?

I bought the Breezer Radar Pro 2 months ago, I love it. It is stout offroad and does great on the blacktop.

A couple of things to consider... (and i'm open to corrections if necessary) first, someone mentioned price increases due to tariffs. This will affect Chinese products, but many bike products (not all) are made in Taiwan, not China. Taiwan is excluded from the tariffs if what I read recently is true.

Also, although good deals can be found in the fall/winter season, especially with last year's models being cleared out, stock also dwindles considerably. I know some brands have sold out their 2019 stock (first rollout group), which were only recently just announced. So 2018 model options will be slim, unless they are a huge company like Trek, etc. It's all a balancing act.

In the end, never ever pay full price :)

eric/fresno, ca.

I have a hard time with this. One, for personal reasons, Im not really a Trek fan (Acquisition and death of Klein Cycles) But 2nd reason is that back in the day Tiagra was always associated with high end big box store bikes and the bottom end racing/top model bikes were Shimano 105. So seeing a 1700.00 bike with Tiagra components just seems riduculously high priced.

Thats my personal view though. I think you can do better than Tiagra for 1700.00 if you wait and get the right deal. Keep 3 or 4 bikes that you like in your back pocket and keep watching for sales. Black Friday might be a great chance to get 2018 bikes on clearance.

-Sean

Me too.

eric/fresno, ca.

I think you are going kinda big on the tire size, but the best answer to you is a bike that takes fat 650b tires or fast lean 700c tires.

For fast road rides (averaging 20-30, with higher peaks) I use some light wheels and 700x28mm tires. My bike is as any road bike set up like this.

For gravel I’ll use 40mm tires. Really, that is as big as I need to go for this bike, for gravel and light single track – the kind where I don’t need a suspension (not tons of rough rocks, roots, or jumps).

It is fun to put some 54mm tires on the bike and go play. But at that point it really feels like a drop bar mountain bike. I would be better off just riding my mountain bike in those conditions. The fat tires slow down the handling slow down acceleration, and my top speed. Even though the “rolling resistance” is great, the acceleration and handling is (obviously) much different than with the 28’s (or the 40’s).

But, I find “under biking” to be rather fun – going a little outside of the bike’s comfort zone where I have to read the trail and pick my line…

Funny, some people like the big brands, others find you get a better deal with the brands with less cache (Raleigh or Fuji).

I rather like the checkpoint, I like the way it handled with a sheepish head tube angle and long wheelbase. It made the bike nimble and stable at the same time (for a hard core gravel bike, some might even enjoy less nimbleness). Marc's designs with those Raleigh gravel bikes seem to be the perfect compromise and I'm not sure I would change a thing for a gravel bike.

Exactly what I hate about the Trek Crossrip. Lower bottom bracket and stretched out top tube for stability, but then it has a really quirky steering to make up for it. and that quirk is 100% of the time. in short, all of my previous bikes (road bikes) have been more stable in actual riding experience.

Can't help you with the 2 and 4, but Raleigh's web site has a reviewer listing the Willard 1 he purchased as weighing 21.3 lbs for the 50cm model without pedals.

eric/fresno

I think my 2017 Willard 2 weighs around 22 pounds, give or take one pound.

The 18 boats will be similar. Small drivetrain variations, whether carbon or alloy fork. Tire size. Basic bike unchanged. You could easily lower the weight by putting some more upscale, lighter wheels and tires on the bike. Most budget bikes, i.e. bikes in the price range of the Willard's MSRP, have relatively heavy wheels/tires.

I hate to throw you another option but..

Giant TCX SLR 2. $1,550. Great tire clearance, 650b & 700c compatable. Sram Apex 1x11 gives you a great low gear. But just saw you don't want 1x.

Sorry!

HED wheels and finish kit is a real nice touch for a mid range bike.

You might check out the Scott Speedster Gravel 10. The 2018 model can be had with a decent discount. It retails for $1,600 and has 105 group with Hydro Disk.

Any idea what the max tyre clearance is on these .. they look quite interesting.

I would strongly recommend this bike. It will do everything you described, and is an absolute blast to ride. Kona currently has some in stock. Be prepared to size it one size smaller than your road bike. I ride a 54cm for almost everything, but the 52cm Sutra LTD was perfect for me. What a bike!

+1 When I think Tiagra, I think $1000 to $1200 bike.

Make sure to check on Craigslist/Marketplace etc for a used bike. I found a 2016 Giant Revolt 1 for less than $500. It can handle bigger tires, carbon fork and mech disc brakes.

Those Scott Speedster/Speedster Gravel bikes sure look nice, but i too would be concerned about max tire clearance. They come with 35c tires, but looking at the front fork photo, there doesn't seem to be much clearance for anything bigger than say.... 37c, and that may be pushing it. Granted, I am new to gravel, and have zero hands-on experience with a Scott bike (besides seeing one in my local shop). Aren't they more of a CX bike than gravel/adventure/light touring? sure, you can use any bike for any type of riding...

From your initial post: "...as well as mixing in a lot of gravel roads. However, I really want the bike to have big tire clearance, because I’d like to be able to do some trails with it as well. Preferably, I want something that can comfortably use 700x35 tires and then when need be, can handle 700x45’s or even slightly bigger MTB tires for singletrack."

I'd suggest looking for a bike that can handle up to 45/47c tires, heck even 50c would be nice for any future needs/desires, BUT run 40s for now, which would be a nice in-between for pavement and gravel. 700c and 650b ability too. Have you considered the Salsa Journeyman Sora? it runs $1,199 on their site. i was pushing that for my buddy who is currently cash-strapped. If bike riding in general adhered to him, he could always sell and upgrade later, AFTER he put in a year of saddle-time lol

It seems to me, as i've been internet-surfing for bikes for him, the best deals right now, of course with slight compromises, may be:
Salsa Journeyman Sora $1,199 (Al frame/carbon fork, 700c and 650 compatible, mech disc brakes)
or the lower-end Raleighs/Diamondbacks on sale or discount (Erik's has the 2017 Willard 1 Sora 2x9/Al-frame, carbon fork, on clearance for $699, how can you beat that for a good budget gravel bike??? Willard 2 is $899)
Jamis Renegade Expat, Explore, or Exile $879-$1,299 (Even the lower Exile has room for FIVE water bottles, YAY!) Heck, a google search can find you a 2017 Renegade Exile for $700!
Giant ToughRoad models, but they're only 2x7, 2x8, and 2x9

A step up could be:
Salsa Vaya 105 $1,999 (Steel frame/carbon fork/700c at 50c wide tires)
Kona Rove NRB $1,799 (Al frame/carbon fork, 700c and 650 compatible, mech disc brakes but 1x)
Kona Rove ST (all steel, 700c and 650 compatible, but 1x)

SO MANY choices these days. let us know what you decide upon and how it rides.

eric/fresno, ca.

Not sure if OP bought a bike yet, but I'll throw SOMA in here as well. If you're not averse to doing a frame up build, you can get a discounted frame and fork from Biketiresdirect and they give you something like 10 percent back as store credit that you can use for finishing kit.

However, I'm parital to the Expat. Having owned one for 2 years it is a sweet ride for the money. The official tire clearance is conservative, but admittedly not as good as some of the others mentioned here.