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Aug 2020
8:55am, 28 Aug 2020
288 posts
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ftrobbie
Sorry NE, I suspect because you are looking at them you are already better informed than I
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Aug 2020
8:56am, 28 Aug 2020
45,698 posts
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Derby Tup
I think if you’re buying a bike the first thing to consider is what do you want to do with it? It’s a bit like considering new trail shoes. Comfort or grip?
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Aug 2020
9:02am, 28 Aug 2020
6,755 posts
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Northern Exile
Well, I would like both. Does comfort necessarily come with a gravel bike? I would like to be able to ride it all day, certainly.
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Aug 2020
9:02am, 28 Aug 2020
18,297 posts
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Gooner
I have one and did a fair bit of research before buying and since owning, but am by no means an expert.
I ended up trying to keep the price down after a certain point as I wasn't planning on doing any massive climbs regularly so the weight of the components wasn't massively important, I wanted a decent groupset to deal with the variety of terrain so went for one with the GRX equivalent of Ultegra, I wanted a wide range of clearance for tyres so I can vary between comfort and performance depending on use and I wanted carbon forks to reduce a bit of the buzz.
In the end the bike I wanted was sold out everywhere and Specialized said that they weren't sure if they would be producing more due to the virus so I went elsewhere with a similar spec and got a Merida Silex.
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Aug 2020
9:02am, 28 Aug 2020
45,699 posts
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Derby Tup
It might sound trite but if you’re going to ride it year round in all weathers then mudguards need to be a consideration. Disc brakes I guess are standard on everything?
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Aug 2020
9:03am, 28 Aug 2020
18,298 posts
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Gooner
You can get comfort if you have a wide range of tyre clearance and/or gravel specific front suspension depending on what surface you want to prioritise.
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Aug 2020
9:04am, 28 Aug 2020
18,299 posts
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Gooner
All the gravel bikes I looked at had plenty of mounting options for guards, cages etc. They majoritively had discs too.
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Aug 2020
9:04am, 28 Aug 2020
6,756 posts
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Northern Exile
Gooner - yes, I was looking at GRX too, probably the Ultegra equivalent. The bike I was looking at came with 40mm tyres as standard and had plenty of clearance.
DT - yeah, mudguards (or the ability to mount) essential. Disc brakes standard on all gravel bikes nowadays.
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Aug 2020
9:09am, 28 Aug 2020
45,700 posts
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Derby Tup
A quick look at a few models threw up fact some have more sloping top tubes than others. A sloping top tube on a MTB generally makes handling easier and a gravel bike would be the same I’d guess. Knowing you NE you aren’t buying it to ride to Liverpool on the canal
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Aug 2020
9:12am, 28 Aug 2020
3,947 posts
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K5 Gus
Whatever you do, please don't go for a Canyon Grail, those handlebars look wrong on so many levels 
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