Researching to buy a decent bike for road and gravel
 

I went to LBS and the guy came up with Revolt Advanced 2 based on my needs.
He also suggested to have two set of tyres, one for road biking and one for gravel?
I am looking to buy a bike that would be so to say, my ultimate bike. I need advice as to what other bike models I should look into.
I usually make a mistake by not going for the best option and taking care of foreseeable future needs. (case in point, my camera and my target practice equipment) Don't want to make that mistake again.
If any one could advise me a structure for my research, based on their own experience, would be much appreciated.

At that price point you’ve got a lot of options, Cannondale, Specialized, Trek etc...

Personally I’m very tempted by the Topstone 105, but I’m not in the market to buy this year, so hopefully by next spring Cannondale will have moved to the new GRX groupset?

I just recently bought a 2o2o Topstone Sora with the Sora Groupset. It’s a decent beginners bike that is good for gravel and road. You can also switch out the rims/tires combo to fit your need. Eventually, I will upgrade the Components to a better one than the Sora but for the price point and the color, it’s a win.

For the record, I’m new to the bike world and originally I got a Miyata CT3000 on craigslist for a good price. That was 2 month ago. I wanted something a little modern and after talking and researching knew that a gravel bike was what I wanted. Found a Topstone Sora for a great price and after reading reviews on it...it was perfect for my needs.

Good luck on finding a bike that’s right for you. Go and try out the bikes that you want. For me, I knew I wanted a Cannondale.

That a nice bike, reasonably priced and equipped. Issue is what can you test ride ?, do you have a road bike now ? and as the Chief said, there are a lot of options at that price point. Curious how much will you be riding on dirt/gravel ? You are in north central NJ, are there a lot of paths and gravel you expect to explore ?.

I use a Cannondale Topstone 105, same frame as Daytona’s bike. It’s aluminum as this met my price point as a 2nd bike. I purchased a compete 2nd wheel system, including disc rotors and cassette, so as to be a 1 minute swap between the gravel wheel and tire set and the road set. I also use this bike for commuting so this setup is about as flexible as you get. It’s MUCH more work if you you only have one set of wheels and want you swap tires.

OH and as BTW. I wish you well finding a bike. My local shop looks like they are half to moving or something, at least 30%-40% their floor stock is sold. I have NEVER seen them cleaned out like now. Buying a bike now is what buying toilet paper was like late March.

Same at my LBS, the store is half empty. They never sold so many bikes this quick. They can not get new stock in,

Researching to buy a decent bike for road and gravel

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ryobi (Post 20982121)

I went to LBS and the guy came up with Revolt Advanced 2 based on my needs. He also suggested to have two set of tyres, one for road biking and one for gravel?

I am looking to buy a bike that would be so to say, my ultimate bike. I need advice as to what other bike models I should look into.

I usually make a mistake by not going for the best option and taking care of foreseeable future needs. (case in point, my camera and my target practice equipment) Don't want to make that mistake again.

If any one could advise me a structure for my research, based on their own experience, would be much appreciated.

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FWIW, I have previously posted about my buying strategy, with personal recommendations:

I have the bike you're looking for.

Cannondale SuperX. It's a CX with hydro disc brakes and it came with 35mm knobby tires

I replaced the 44cm bars with 42cm bars. I replaced the stock saddle with a spare road bike saddle I had. I purchased a second set of wheels and mounted 32mm tubeless all weather tires.

It's my winter/foul weather bike and can easily handle anything on the road and any dirt/gravel trail.

http://glenn-ring.com/emonda/cannondalesuperx.jpg

http://glenn-ring.com/emonda/SuperX_Bethpage.JPG

Glenn, PM sent about these bars

Edit: Or not. Your profile cannot receive PM’s.

Do you want to sell the 44’s and are the adventure/gravel bars with a sweep ?

If you want them, come by with whatever you feel is fair.
https://i.imgur.com/fbPoAIh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/aNETD3T.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/2GeFthn.jpg

Thx for the quick reply. Will pass as they are not the same design that my Topstone uses, which has a flair to the drops.

But thank you for the pics as well.

SB

No problem, i'll put them back on the nail it was hung on.

Check out Lauf Anywhere

https://www.laufcycling.com/product/lauf-anywhere

Thanks for the link.

Curious though why I would want to spend $220 for a carbon handlebar ?, that weighs 250 grams, when I can buy 6 FSA Adventure bars for $36 each, in aluminum at 320 grams, a whopping 2.4 oz. difference.

Just sayin'.

I was responding to the Original Poster who was looking for Gravel Bike suggestions. The link is to the Lauf Anywhere, a full bike nor just bars.

Apologies, the thread got taken in a tangent when I asked Glenn about bars. Note that the OP was a actually about a year ago, then resurrected last Thursday by Daytona,

Ha Ha no worries...I should have looked at the date.