→ Help me to choose my first gravel bike ←
05-31-22, 11:42 PM
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→ Help me to choose my first gravel bike ←
Hello!
So far i was riding 2004 y. old mountbike. I use it for cross-country, bikepacking and brevets. After few years of riding i came to conclusion - i need a gravel bike. My rides is around 80-90% pavement roads and +-10% gravel road. Also i like to ride fast and for longer distances (50+ km). I did recently 740 km bikepacking tour across Estonia and also 400 km brevet. It's time to get correct bike for my needs. I will use gravel bike for fast pavement/gravel roads training for competitions and for brevets/bikepacking trips.
I found few gravel bikes i like, but nothing is available till end of the year
. I was looking for Canyon Grizl. So i decided, that i don't want to wait till winter come - i wanna ride this season, so i will choose from what is available in my country. Will ride, enjoy and then maybe for next season i will upgrade to something more serious if bikes will be available again.
I choose between this two bikes:
Kellys Soot 30 (2021) https://www.kellysbike.com/en/gravel...soot-30-p67847
Specs:
shifters SHIMANO Claris ST-R2000 Dual Control
f/derailleur SHIMANO Claris R2000 (braze on)
r/derailleur SHIMANO Claris R2000 (direct mount)
brakes TEKTRO Spyre Mechanical Disc
brake rotors 160mm front / 160mm rear
brake levers SHIMANO Claris ST-2000 Dual Control
hubs NOVATEC Disc (32 holes)
weight kg 11,08 (M)
and
Bergamont Grandurance 4 (2021) https://www.kellysbike.com/en/gravel-c912/soot-30-p67847
Specs:
Shifters: Shimano Sora, ST-R3000, 2x9-speed, road STI-shifter
Rear Derailleur Shimano Sora, RD-R3000, long cage
Front Derailleur Shimano Sora, FD-R3000
Brakes Shimano BR-R317, mechanical disc brake
Rotor Shimano SM-RT54, 160 mm
Approx weights in KG 11
I have arranged, that both of them will be waiting for me in stores (200 km traveling) and will come already this Friday to choose one of them.
I like how they look, but I'm not sure, witch one has better technical specs. I know SORA probably is a bit better due 9-speed compared to 8-speed of Claris. Is there a noticeable advantages to Sora compared to Claris, if for me important speed and long-distance riding? But what about other specs? What i should look for or they almost the same?
Thank you
So far i was riding 2004 y. old mountbike. I use it for cross-country, bikepacking and brevets. After few years of riding i came to conclusion - i need a gravel bike. My rides is around 80-90% pavement roads and +-10% gravel road. Also i like to ride fast and for longer distances (50+ km). I did recently 740 km bikepacking tour across Estonia and also 400 km brevet. It's time to get correct bike for my needs. I will use gravel bike for fast pavement/gravel roads training for competitions and for brevets/bikepacking trips.
I found few gravel bikes i like, but nothing is available till end of the year
. I was looking for Canyon Grizl. So i decided, that i don't want to wait till winter come - i wanna ride this season, so i will choose from what is available in my country. Will ride, enjoy and then maybe for next season i will upgrade to something more serious if bikes will be available again.I choose between this two bikes:
Kellys Soot 30 (2021) https://www.kellysbike.com/en/gravel...soot-30-p67847
Specs:
shifters SHIMANO Claris ST-R2000 Dual Control
f/derailleur SHIMANO Claris R2000 (braze on)
r/derailleur SHIMANO Claris R2000 (direct mount)
brakes TEKTRO Spyre Mechanical Disc
brake rotors 160mm front / 160mm rear
brake levers SHIMANO Claris ST-2000 Dual Control
hubs NOVATEC Disc (32 holes)
weight kg 11,08 (M)
and
Bergamont Grandurance 4 (2021) https://www.kellysbike.com/en/gravel-c912/soot-30-p67847
Specs:
Shifters: Shimano Sora, ST-R3000, 2x9-speed, road STI-shifter
Rear Derailleur Shimano Sora, RD-R3000, long cage
Front Derailleur Shimano Sora, FD-R3000
Brakes Shimano BR-R317, mechanical disc brake
Rotor Shimano SM-RT54, 160 mm
Approx weights in KG 11
I have arranged, that both of them will be waiting for me in stores (200 km traveling) and will come already this Friday to choose one of them.
I like how they look, but I'm not sure, witch one has better technical specs. I know SORA probably is a bit better due 9-speed compared to 8-speed of Claris. Is there a noticeable advantages to Sora compared to Claris, if for me important speed and long-distance riding? But what about other specs? What i should look for or they almost the same?
Thank you
Last edited by AlfaW; 05-31-22 at 11:46 PM.
06-01-22, 01:54 AM
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I'd go Sora because of the range. Claris has either a shorter range or bigger gaps between gear. I also found the derailleur is not as accurate as Sora. All 8 speed bikes have been updated to 9 with Sora or Acera.
Sora can take a 11-36 cassette on a short cage derailleur (2 of my bikes have that set up, 3rd has a 11-25 as road orientated) so I would imagine that the Long cage should work with 11-40 cassette.
If you look at other brand like canyon, cinelli etc., the gravel range starts with Sora group set.
Claris is a groupset aimed at hybrid commuter/leisure bikes: inexpensive, low maintenance (if any)
Ultimately, if you choose to go for Claris and don't like it, you can always upgrade to 9speed by swapping the cassette and the right shifter (pull rate are the same for 7-8 and 9). or just bite the bullet and swap the full groupset for a Tiagra 2x10 or if off road orientated, microshift Advent X (1x10 wide range)
Sora can take a 11-36 cassette on a short cage derailleur (2 of my bikes have that set up, 3rd has a 11-25 as road orientated) so I would imagine that the Long cage should work with 11-40 cassette.
If you look at other brand like canyon, cinelli etc., the gravel range starts with Sora group set.
Claris is a groupset aimed at hybrid commuter/leisure bikes: inexpensive, low maintenance (if any)
Ultimately, if you choose to go for Claris and don't like it, you can always upgrade to 9speed by swapping the cassette and the right shifter (pull rate are the same for 7-8 and 9). or just bite the bullet and swap the full groupset for a Tiagra 2x10 or if off road orientated, microshift Advent X (1x10 wide range)
Last edited by Fentuz; 06-01-22 at 01:58 AM.
06-01-22, 08:17 AM
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I have no experience with either brand or model. In general, I would choose Sora over Claris.
I figured I would chime in to just say I really like the options you chose- its neat to see some offerings from outside the US that have entry level components. These are neat bikes.
I figured I would chime in to just say I really like the options you chose- its neat to see some offerings from outside the US that have entry level components. These are neat bikes.
06-01-22, 01:25 PM
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I have no experience with either brand or model. In general, I would choose Sora over Claris.
I figured I would chime in to just say I really like the options you chose- its neat to see some offerings from outside the US that have entry level components. These are neat bikes.
I figured I would chime in to just say I really like the options you chose- its neat to see some offerings from outside the US that have entry level components. These are neat bikes.
06-01-22, 06:51 PM
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Claris only if it is absolutely all you can possibly afford, Sora is a big step up for just a bit more money.
06-01-22, 08:00 PM
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I very much like my Cannondale Topstone. Mines a 2020, aluminum frame, 105 components with an FSA 30/46 crank. Has decent low gearing, eyelets for a rear rack, top tube mounts for a bag. I added a 2nd wheelset with 32mm slicks, makes a nice road bike. The 43mm Gravel King tires on the gravel wheels roll very well on asphalt and are pretty good as well on dirt. This bike was a very good buy.
Likes For Steve B.:
07-04-22, 03:52 AM
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Hey AlfaW , not sure if you made any decision so far...
I was also looking for a new bike and looking more towards gravel and hybrid models.
After going to a bike shop which had a decent number of models available and testing a few of them I ended up choosing the Bergamont Grandurance RD 5.
I did not test the Grandurance 4 (they had it available, but I was focusing mainly on commuter-ready models) but I did test the RD 3 which has a Claris groupset.
Coming from a MTB with Shimano Tourney, the Claris gave a good first impression, but the difference was pretty clear when compared with the other models I tested with Sora/Tiagra/GRX which felt much more responsive.
I was also looking for a new bike and looking more towards gravel and hybrid models.
After going to a bike shop which had a decent number of models available and testing a few of them I ended up choosing the Bergamont Grandurance RD 5.
I did not test the Grandurance 4 (they had it available, but I was focusing mainly on commuter-ready models) but I did test the RD 3 which has a Claris groupset.
Coming from a MTB with Shimano Tourney, the Claris gave a good first impression, but the difference was pretty clear when compared with the other models I tested with Sora/Tiagra/GRX which felt much more responsive.
