My favorite bike brand Salsa is out with a new version of its entry level gravel bike.
https://www.salsacycles.com/bikes/road/Journeyer
Renamed Journey
er instead of Journey
man. Builds are $1000 to $2800, with the bottom being pretty much like the prior model's bottom, and the top a reincarnated Warbird Alloy. I have a Stormchaser which is a more versatile-drivetrain, more tire-clearance version of this, and it's a fantastic bike. The Journeyer keeps things a little more road-gravel standard, and less complex. Of course they launched it with all the usual gravel blabla, but Jo owners know it's a fantastic commuter, easy seating and handling, a good no-fuss build, mounts for conventional racks and fenders, 3-pack on the fork with the bottom hole doubling low rider duty, lots of 3-pack water bottle bosses and extra ones for accessories... yet not a heavy old steel freighter.
Apex 1 build
The flat bar versions, as before, have a much longer frame and shorter top tube. The flat bar builds top out at a cheaper level, at $1200, compared to the drop bar versions that go up to $2800 with full GRX 810. The flat bar Deore build is
nearly the bike I'd have bought if it were available in the off season 2019-20... 1x10 Deore and hydro brakes. I looked for a Sora flat bar at the time, which had the carbon fork, but they were sold out, and had 2x front and cable brakes that I'd have wanted to replace for $$$ anyhow.
Flat bar Deore
The drop bar version is available as a frame set and comes with a Waxwing (Warbird) fork.
