Looking at buying a gravel bike. Thoughts?

I personally wouldn't get a SRAM road (including gravel) bike but that's just me.

$2k is too much to pay for an alloy frame.

I can't say much about the specific bikes you're looking at. Canyon is well respected and typically a good value because of their sales model which may be a bit inconvenient.

Do you know where you're going to be riding? "Gravel" is a broad term that can mean anything from pea sized rocks that your wheels want to sink into, to smooth hard packed dirt which is a lot like pavement. That tends to be a regional thing, and what you need out of a gravel bike depends on the surfaces you'll ride on. You might also want to look at "all road" bikes but maybe not depending on this. Also a bit on how hilly it is where you ride?

Does your hubby do group rides? You didn't ask, but one thing I noticed is a good gravel bike is extremely versatile and doubles very well as a road bike. But the one area it falls a little short is in competitive group rides. Mostly because of the gearing.

Also, most people who use a gravel bike as a road bike have a second pair of wheels, with different tires and a different cassette on. That isn't necessary, but saves a lot of hassle over the long term. Because gravel tires aren't very good on pavement, and nobody wants to change tires every time they do a different kind of ride. I have nice road wheels, and I have a cheap pair for gravel that I don't mind beating up.

I would put this one on your list if 48 or 51 cm would work for you, also if you're not going to be riding much really deep gravel: https://bikesale.com/cervelo-c2-105-disc-road-bike-2020.aspx That also makes a fantastic road bike. You might be able to find a deal locally, they replaced it with a new line this year.

When I came to retiring end of 2017, my family bought me a 2018 Trek X-Caliber for a retirement/Christmas gift, saying, "get out and ride, it will be good for you." They were right. This was several months before the Checkpoint line came out. I made mods to the X-Caliber (29er hardtail), including semi-slick Schwalbe Big Apple 29x2.35 tires to replace the stock knobbies, to fit my projected profile of 50/50 road/offroad, 80/20 paved/unpaved, and these turned out to be fitting. I can go well in gravel, moderate stone, dirt, grass, etc., plus smooth and broken pavement, but not deep/loose mud, snow or sand (I live near the beach). I also put on Ergon GP-4 bar-end grips, which are slightly out-of-fashion, to give multiple hand positions/etc., something of the advantage of drop bars - but, being older and such, I liked the idea of straight bars. Another mod was flat pedals - I won't use clipless (personal preference). As a big guy (read: not so concerned with minor component weight variances), and with exposure to carbon components in sailing contexts, I prefer to stick to metal, Al or steel.

Had a gravel bike such as the Checkpoint been available when we bought the X-Caliber, I might have given that a look. But, I'm satisfied and happy with the bike I'm riding. It has been good for me.

Good luck in your own choices.

Cool bike! Gravel bikes that aren't covered in dirt are considered neglected and might be taken away at any time, so it's good you're giving yours the exercise it needs to be happy and complete.

I'd lean towards the Trek cause you know it fits.

pridesabtch wrote: »

BrianSharpe wrote: »

Have you considered a Giant? Having ridden tens of thousands of KM on my Defy (plus my MTB is a Giant) I have to confess that I'm a little biased towards them.

I looked at Giant but I’m not a fan of the aesthetics. I hear they ride nice though.

LOL funny you mention that. The first metric century I ever rode gave out jerseys that perfectly matched the colour scheme of my Defy, when they changed their jerseys I jokingly suggested that I needed a new bike.