stampz

Afternoon all,

I am just about to pull the trigger on my first gravel bike and was looking for a bit of a nudge in the right direction before I do so...bit of background

I am a keen road cyclist currently owning a Giant TCR and Defy and an Orba Avant winter ride, but want something I can chuck down the gravel paths and knock about with my kids without fear of sliding all other the place or damaging anything.

I have a very tight budget of £600 and "not a penny more", and am looking for a new bike (I know I can get more value second hand but new is what I'm after)

The market at the moment is not exactly flush with bikes in that price range, but I have managed to find the following (all of which I know are a lot lower specced than my usual rides, but that's fine)

Merling Malt 2 - https://www.merlincycles.com/merlin-...22-197226.html

Claud Butler Primal - https://www.leisureoutlet.com/168242...-commuter-50cm

Schwinn Scree - https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/schwin..._/R-p-X8657138

Triban RC 120 Gravel - https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/gravel...575940&c=GREEN

My gut is leading me to the Merlin, but I would love to know what other people the pros and cons are? 3 out of the 4 have a double right on the front, I didnt think that was great for gravel?

Any advice appreciate...thanks :-)

RH Clark

Of those I would go Merlin first and Triban second. I didn't check the conversion price but you might look at Poseidon X as well. Claris and Microshift are decent. I would throw a Tourney away and replace it immediately but using a POS derailer may point to cost cuttings everywhere.

mstateglfr 

Merlin or Triban.

It does drive me nuts that in 2022 brands don't show a full geometry chart. That is shocking. How anyone at the brands can look at the offering on a website and think 'nah, we don't need to provide critical information' is beyond me.

Herzlos

I'm a big fan of the Triban, but the Merlin is a pretty good deal too. It depends if you feel you need the extra range from the 2x on the Merlin, but Claris is bottom end of the Shimano range.

If it's a bike to take out with the kids and mostly slower/off-road then the Triban is probably the nicer bike (it's 500g lighter too) and has less to go wrong.
If you're likely to be covering faster road sections and rougher gravel, then the Merlin will give you the gear range.

Attilio

Money is always a limiting factor but my experience with Claris isn't that good and Tourney is much worse.

What I mean is it shifts perfectly nice until it gets problems, then it doesn't. And Claris is kind of low end with cheap materials so you will need to take it to the shop a lot more often for adjustments. It doesn't last. I got 2k miles out of my first chain on my Salsa Journeyman flat bar Claris, and another 2k out of the drivetrain total 4k. It was all chewed up. But the second 2000 miles in particular I had a lot of problems and needed ever more frequent trips to the shop. At one point the forward derailleur just stopped working and shop couldn't get it back working so I ran the bike as a 1x in the larger chainring.

I also bought a Salsa Journeyman flat bar Sora one level up from Claris and had it shipped to Italy a few years ago. For what I was doing it was fine although there are a lot of steep climbs and descents and the mechanical disc brakes needed constant adjustments. This year that I am more ambitious and I was doing 1-2 centuries a week with like 10-12+k of elevation and some more serious gravel trails in the mountains I ended up spending *MORE* money replacing all broken components to keep bike going than I did when I bought it. Nobody has XL's in Italy as I am tall so if I wanted to keep riding I just had to keep shelling out. The bike maybe has a total of 2000 miles and it saw an enormous amount of wear. Especially this year I needed to take it back to shop every ride or two as something was always breaking down.

Claris is fine but it just doesn't last the rigors of intense, long regular rides. Tourney is a toy, don't bother with that one. So know what you're getting. If this is for shorter, recreational rides go for it. If you're planning more serious riding then save your money until you have enough for minimum of 105 drivetrain. You don't need any more than 105 really but the difference isn't in "Oh it shifts nicer" or "It has another gear". The biggest difference is in quality and durability, the lack of which will end up costing you more than you though you were going to save.

veganbikes

I don't know you are going to find a quality bike in that low initial price point. The Triban seems like the top of the heap it is a more modern 10 speed very low end 10 speed components but better than the bottom Tourney and Claris or worse on the other stuff, I wouldn't buy a Schwinn for any reason these days unless it was vintage paramount or homegrown series or something in that quality zone (which really was just branded Schwinn in some case), if it has to say quality on it that is a bad sign.

You are likely to find a hybrid or single speed with slightly better spec for that low initial price but it is on the tougher end these days.

However maybe that Orbea or Defy can fit a wider tire or maybe take the bike you ride the least sell it and buy a quality gravel bike. N+1 unless you are just buying cheap stuff then I wouldn't, I would rather have one or two really high quality bikes then 4 or 5 lower quality bikes.

Herzlos

Good point actually. If you're not set on drop bars, then you'll get a lot more from your money if you go for a flat bar hybrid. Like the riverside 900 is only £399 and it's basically the Triban RC120 Gravel but with 63mm travel front suspension and is about 2kg heavier.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/hybrid...8577823&c=GREY

alcjphil

My take is that I like the Triban the best. The 1x10 drivetrain will be more than enough for what you envisage and it has a couple of nice features you may not find at that price. I comes with tubeless ready wheels, pre taped and good quality tubeless ready tires. Tubeless conversion would be easy, I converted my Canyon Grizl to tubeless when I received it last February, took me about 15 minutes and I have been riding trouble free all summer. The Merlin is also a nice bike for a little bigger price, but its gearing is more suited to the road than gravel riding

mstateglfr 

I will counter your single experience with an opposite single experience.
A teen I have worked with for 5 years just turned 18 and entered the Ironman in Madison last month. She has ridden a Claris drivetrain Trek Domane for the last 3 years and has put over 6000mi for sure on it. It had cables changed 8 months ago and brake pads changed 3 months ago. Besides that, it has been cleaned(poorly) every couple months and I lube the chain. She has ridden 9 centuries in the 3 years she has had the bike and that 7000mi comment is extremely conservative since its the miles I know she has ridden with me/my group and she rode outside that during the '20 pandemic year.
It has been the bike with the fewest issues. Its seriously amazing when I have thought about it- not even a flat tire.

She keeps an 18mph road solo average with that drivetrain, has used it for a ton of miles, and cares for it at the level you would expect a teenager to care for it(none).
I am guessing I will swap the chain this winter just because I have had one here waiting for it to be needed for the last year. Besides that and a cleaning of the drivetrain, no maintenance will be done.

sean.hwy

If you are used to those kinds of bikes I would hold out for GRX / shiamano 105 group set

alcjphil

This is not what the OP is looking for. Rather, they are looking for a beginner gravel bike at low cost that can also be used for relaxed rides with their children. "Holding out" isn't on the menu,