ivp

Hey everybody,

I'm looking to buy a versatile road (or road-like) bike.

Main purposes are:
- riding in the city(commuting and fun rides on weekend)
- riding asphalt roads in the country(2-6 hours rides).
- having ability to ride gravel roads without big pain defenitely would be a big plus.
- I like feeling of riding fast, accelerating fast, but I'm not into real racing, Strava etc. So I would prefer having bike which enables me comfortable 5 hours ride, than the one which rides 5km/h faster for same effort but cause pain on longer distances.

More to riding conditions:
- asphalt in my city is not perfect (some small cracks, untidy joins). Some people who tried to commute with pure racing road bikes said it's not that comfortable here.
- There are mountains nearby, so I would count for long uphills/downhils (probably disk brakes are not good for long downhills?)
- I don't hesitate to ride in rainy weather (here I assume disk brakes are better)

So I'm looking on two options: gravel bike (Giant Anyroad 2, Specialized Diverge A1) or endurance road bike with cromoly frame (Kona Penthouse).

Do you guys have an idea what whould be better for my purposes?

Thanks a lot in advance!

Barrettscv 

Welcome to Bikeforums!

Definitely the steel road bike. Gravel bikes are built for stability and abuse, but aren't the best tool for the job on pavement. An endurance road bike will feel faster on pavement and can handle smooth and firm gravel with a 700x28 or larger tire. You won't have much fun on deep or rough gravel with a 700x28 tire, but many cyclist don't need to go on those surfaces.

Disc brakes provide plusses and minuses. The major advantage to disc brakes is wet weather performance. However, disc brakes add weight and involve additional maintenance skill than rim brakes. Don't feel compelled to include disc brakes unless you need wet weather performance regularly.


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mstateglfr 

Which model diverge? The A1, id assume based on your kona choice being Claris.

You in europe?...just guessing based on the penthouse being an option.


Anyways, the giant isnt a beauty to me, but the better drivetrain of the 3.
The specialized is hardly anything special and the wheelset is entry level (its an entry level bike, to be fair).

I lean towards steel and like the look of the kona.



How much would each cost you and whats the better fit? All 3, to me, are going to fill the same goal so call and categorize them how you want, they arent really much different unless one fits best.

ivp

Thank you!

biketampa

With a similar 700 x 28 tire, wouldn't a gravel bike be similar, performance wise, on pavement, to an endurance bike?

ivp

exactly - I'm looking at Diverge A1.

yes, I'm in Munich, Germany.


Well all three are in acceptable price range 600-1100$. Currenlty Kona is cheeper then the other two (640 USD vs 1050 USD). This can however change if the shops change the offers (e.g. there were some good deals on Giant a month ago)
About fit - I don't know really since neither of 3 is available in local shops, so I cannot test it.

kuroba

+1 for the Kona. I like the look and that it's steel. It comes with 700x30 tires so it'll give you a comfy ride even on gravel (dirt road, hard packed gravel, something like that).

Barrettscv 

I would look at this bike: https://www.wiggle.com/verenti-substance-105-2016/

The seller is in the UK and it's a value packed deal. 2x11 Shimano drivetrain, disc brakes, steel frame, which is smoother riding more comfortable than aluminum.

To answer your question;



That would depend on the model of gravel bike. The more expensive carbon fiber gravel bike with an expensive open-tubular tire tire, like the 700x27 Vittoria Pave would perform as well as a bike like the Kona on pavement. Less expensive gravel bikes have heavy steel or aluminum frames and heavier budget wheelsets, they are heavy-duty but also heavy feeling and sluggish.

I use multiple bikes for gravel and mixed gravel & pavement.

My Carbon fiber Raleigh Roker Comp is used on deep and soft gravel. If I installed a tire like the 700x30 Schwalbe S One, it would be moderately fast and efficient on pavement and could still perform well on firm gravel. It's built for bigger tires and deep and soft gravel.




I also have a budget-build Carbon fiber Cyclocross bike with cantilever brakes that is very fast on pavement with 700x27 Vittoria Pave tires, fast enough to keep up with carbon fiber road bikes. If I put a 700x36 Clement MSO gravel tire on this bike, it's very capable on almost any gravel road and as fast as most gravel bikes.




I also have a steel vintage Cyclocross bikes that has a Challenge Parigi-Roubaix tire that is about 30mm wide. This bike would perform and be more like the Kona in practical terms. This bike is fast on pavement and can handle smooth and firm gravel with a the Parigi-Roubaix tire.




If you want a do-it-all bike on a moderate budget, a Cyclocross bike is the best solution.


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mstateglfr 

Simple answer- yes.
Longer answer- it depends on the geometry of the gravel bike and endurance bike.

But yeah, they will perform relatively the same on pavement with the same tires. Anyone who says otherwise is either really picky or just regurgitating what theyve read. That may insult some here, but too bad so sad.

Applying this to the 3 bikes in question- they are all relatively entry level and will have wheelsets which match the pricepoint. Butted cromo with entry level wheels simply wont feel radically different(sluggish) on 28s from an entry aluminum frame with entry carbon form on entry level wheels unless the geometry is a lot different.
Geometry will make a bike feel more sluggish at this pricepoint.

biketampa

Seems right. I have a jamis ventura race which is aluminum frame and more race-like compared to my raleigh tamland steel frame. But even on the raleigh with the 700x32c it's not like I'm super slow on the pavement. Sure, the jamis is much lighter and I probably am faster on it but for my intended use the performance difference means little. If I had known better and if gravel/adventure bikes were more numerous a few years ago I would have gone that route rather than the jamis.

ivp

Thank you! It looks like an excellent deal. Unfortunately my size is currently out of stock....

chas58

Yeah, my gravel bike is faster than my road bike. Its a little lighter and a little stiffer than the road bike.

But it depends what you mean by gravel bike:

A long, low, slack compliant gravel bike isn't going to feel as fast and may be a little too soft and slack to be really fast
A good cyclocross bike with good tires is going to do fine in a paceline with road bikes.
A gravel bike like the Diverge will be the same as a road bike in just about anything but actual race conditions.

The biggest difference comes from the tires and the motor more than the "category" of bike.

biketampa

I agree. For my purposes, I'm know my steel framed tamland with 32c tires is certainly going to be slower. By how much I'm not certain and not really feeling obligated to find out. But I wanted the steel frame and bigger tires so it would be more comfortable to ride, be able to do some pavement rides, and go on gravel. I can always add size 25-28 tires if I want a little better performance for some pavement only rides.

thehammerdog

What we have here is a distinction without a difference....Buy what u like it can afford. These are mere terms. 😃

Zurichman2

new bie posting test

Godspeed7

Hope you found your bike. I own a kona penthouse and so far it has been a dependable steel steed. Smoothe and comfy ride. I use it for my fitness, commutes and erands. It still gets down the road fast. In all a good all rounder. A little pricey in these here parts. 2017 is also the last year for the penthouse in the lineup. 700cx30 tires help with the ride and comfort.

All the best

gettingold

Feel better now?

Abu Mahendra

Takes up to 38mm meat with fenders