Cyclist0114

Hey! I have big dilemma - endurance vs road bike. Right now I have... both, but need more space for something and have to say "goodbye" to one of them. Not sure what option will be the best.
First, my current setup:

Endurance alloy (with carbon fork) road bike
- Full Ultegra R8000/R8020 11s groupset - hydro brakes, 50/34T + 11-32T
- Thru-axles (12x100 + 12x142)
- Custom build alloy wheels - DT R470 + DR R350, internal width 20 mm, ~1750g
- Schwalbe Pro One 700x28c
- Tire clearance: front ~700x40c / rear ~700x35c
- Weight: ~9.2 kg

Gravel alloy (with carbon fork) road bike
- GRX 600 shifters, GRX 800 crankset 1x 42T + XT cassette 11-40T, GRX RD812 1x
- Thru-axles (12x100 + 12x142)
- OEM wheels - DT R500 + Shimano tiagra hubs, internal width 24 mm, ~2100g
- Gravelkings EXT 700x38c
- Tire clearance: 700x50c
- Weight: ~10.5 kg


I ride... I think in mix way. "Every day" cycling is 50/50 roads and fine gravels, but few times a year a make some bigger, one-day trips like 250-400 km, 99% on roads.
Do not race, and do not plan to race, but like fast riding. Do not make and do not want any backpacking, I'm not bike-wanderer and definitely want to sleep in bed
Also, want simple things. Already tested 1x on road and really like that idea, something like 46T front + 11-34T on my local (mostly flat) area and second cassette for mountains.


But, what do you think, which bike will be better? Gravel gives me more opportunities, but in reality, probably I will not use them. Road bike is lighter and with some comfort limits, but with 700x32c tires like Gravelkings SS should be nice choice.
I also consider second wheelset, but gravel bike has strange issue - it has thru axle, but every time I unmount and mount again front wheel, I have to adjust brake caliper.
That issue doesn't not occur on road bike. I checked rotors, pads etc, everything is fine.

joesch

Define your alloy's.
Generally means a mix of metals.
Metal is enduring, ie endurance.
TI is the most enduring as it does not rust.

Cyclist0114

joesch oh, sorry - both frames are made of aluminum

CAT7RDR

Neither.
How much space can one bike possibly take?
Be creative with your space and keep both.

wolfchild

Definitely choose a gravel bike because it's a lot more versatile....With a gravel bike you have a choice running bigger tires or smaller tires and room for putting on full fenders if you ever decide to ride in wet weather...A road bike with it's skinny tires and fragile frame and uncomfortable geometry is useless on anything but a smooth clean pavement...Don't worry about weight and about speed because there is very little difference in speed between a gravel bike and a road bike. Speed has more to do with the weather conditions, terrain, road conditions and the fitness of the rider more than the bike. If you ever venture off road the gravel bike will be a lot faster and more comfortable and handle better than a road bike.

WhyFi

Generally speaking, many gravel bikes are endurance road geometry with greater tire clearance. With the clearance of 35mm/40mm tires on your endurance bike, many would be consider it to do a more than adequate job for the occasional and/or not-too-gnarly gravel roads. I would think that you'd be able to get along just fine with this as an only bike, based on what you're describing. Also, if you think that 1x would give you adequate gearing range and spacing, there's no reason that you couldn't convert it, simplifying the drivetrain a bit and/or shedding a few grams.

On the issue of caliper adjustment when swapping wheels, just find out which rotor is further inwards and get some rotor shims to adjust it outwards to match the position of the rotor on the other wheelset.

billridesbikes

The Endurance bike is much better suited to your current riding.
You can always slap some wider tires on it and swap the chain rings for a 46/30 if you want to do a bigger gravel ride as you already mention.
Plus the front wheel issue on the gravel bike being finicky would seal the deal for me.

mstateglfr 

The road bike with 35mm tires seems like it would probably be plenty good for your riding since you mention the gravel is 'fine gravel.

The road wheelset is lighter and it has 2x which to me makes sense for any bike thsts used on roads(paved or unpaved).

I would ignore the earlier claim that your road bike is fragile- nothing you posted indicates it is fragile.

70sSanO

The real answer is based on how much you like the overall handling and performance of each bike because gearing is a cheap fix.

If you really like road geometry and would be disappointed riding the gravel all the time on the road, keep the road and change the gearing if necessary.

If you have a 1x on your gravel bike and the only issue is the wrong gearing, just change it to what you want. Put on a 46t chainring and an 11-34 cassette and ride it.

John

PeteHski

How are we supposed to answer a question like this? These are your bikes and so you should know which one you prefer to ride. Your gravel bike is going to be more versatile, but you already know that.

Reflector Guy

WOW! Who knew? I've been doing it wrong all these years!

SquishyBiker

Absolutely go with the gravel bike, but I would swap the tires to something like a WTB Byway with a slick centre and side knobs, where you can basically run them anywhere.

JWK

Now you know. You will sleep better from this day forward.

Random11

I have both, and I'm keeping both. But if I had to choose only one, I'd keep my gravel bike. I ride it mostly on paved roads, but it is just as comfortable (maybe more comfortable) and just as enjoyable to ride as my road bike. I'm riding the gravel bike on pavement with 700x38c tires, and the only thing I feel like I'm giving up is a bit of speed. When I'm riding the gravel bike on pavement, I don't feel like I'm missing out on something by not riding the road bike. If the gravel bike is less enjoyable to ride on pavement for you, maybe you could consider giving up that bike, but I don't feel that way. I'm also on board with what others have said: keep them both.

AdkMtnMonster

I have lots of bikes, but if I had to go with one of the two options that the OP is facing I’d choose the endurance bike and swap out road wheels/tires for a set of gravel wheels with 32-34mm gravel tires.

rsbob 

Have an endurance bike which I use on gravel about 25%. It can fit 36 and 40s but have no need since the 32s do just fine on the surfaces I ride. Yesterday did 1o miles of gravel and 30 road - road speed averages 18, and gravel on flats can do the same or more,

cyclezen

which ever bike you like the most - because if you give it up, you'll always be thinking you did wrong, and want it back.
coming from old-school - cyclocross (special gear train aside) for most of time has been a light 'road' type bike with tires that could go thru sand, mud, gravel, climb steep grades and be bulletproof. If you're not racing, what are you're most important considerations??? fast road ride? handle anything in dirt? It often comes down to choice of wheels... and tires...
so most importantly - 2 WHEEL SETS - one set for 'road, one for 'gravel' with whatever fits in the frame you keep.
The gearing spread on the 2 bikes is very similar - so either current gear train should be able to handle either/both wheelsets.
... you can never have too many wheels... LOL!
Ride on
Yuri
... course having only one bike, for me, would be impossible, disastrous ... LOL!

guachi

I went with and endurance bike (Domane SLR 7) and two sets of wheels. The rotors didn't line up and getting that sorted out was a hassle but now it's an easy swap. Also much cheaper.

Even an absurdly expensive wheelset was cheaper than a new bike.

Maelochs

Dude .... really?

First off .... build a wall hanger so both bikes have the footprint of one bike.

Second .... read your thread. Better still, ride your bikes.

I say "read your thread," to highlight these points: "I ride... I think in mix way. "Every day" cycling is 50/50 roads and fine gravels, but few times a year a make some bigger, one-day trips like 250-400 km, 99% on roads.

So basically any bike with 40 mm tires suits you quite well. You aren't riding singletrack, deep mud, soft sand .... so the extra-wide tires are nothing but added weight most of the time.

But, what do you think, which bike will be better? Gravel gives me more opportunities, but in reality, probably I will not use them. Road bike is lighter and with some comfort limits, but with 700x32c tires like Gravelkings SS should be nice choice.

Opportunities you do not use are not opportunities. You could buy a full suspension mountain bike and ride it on the road on slicks and claim "it gives me options" but if you never ride off-road, it really doesn't. it just weighs more and eats up energy with suspension movement.

I also consider second wheelset, but gravel bike has strange issue - it has thru axle, but every time I unmount and mount again front wheel, I have to adjust brake caliper.
That issue doesn't not occur on road bike. I checked rotors, pads etc, everything is fine.

So, you have a messed up gravel bike with factory wheels which weighs more and which doesn't really add anything but added weight to the experience. You have a road bike with custom wheels which has clearance for wide enough tires to handle all the terrain you would ever want to ride, and which is likely better suited to All your rides. I certainly bet the road bike is easier to accelerate with lighter wheels and tires--and while you don't appreciate the double chain ring, if you hit some persistent headwind on your extra-long road rides, you sure might.

However .... what counts is riding each bike. Ride each bike for two or three weeks. Every ride, road or gravel or whatever, use the same one for two or three weeks and get that experience.

Then do the same with the other.

Then ask yourself, Which One Do You Like Better?

Maybe you will ride a friend's Walmart beach cruiser, fall in love, and sell both of them.

Whatever, if you only keep one, you---YOU, not people on the forum---had best really like it.

Personally I would come up with \creative storage and keep both--wall rack, hang them from the ceiling, whatever. But you do you.

But seriously ... this is like asking "Which girl should I date? I don't want to try to date both of them." if you don't know, maybe you shouldn't be making the decision to get serious with only one.