Gravel bike £2K recommendation

The spirit of Grav-lo-cross. No but seriously, cyclocross and gravel go here!

Moderator: Moderator Team

Post Reply
Neillp
Posts: 156
Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2020 4:22 pm

by Neillp

Hi all
Looking for a recommendation for a gravel bike my budget is £2k max. I have so far come to the following must haves.
1. Hydraulic disc brakes
2. Needs to be available for order in the UK
3. Want a full bike (due to the availability of groupsets)
4. I don't want an alloy frame (steel, titanium or carbon is what I am after).

At this price point I know it won't be a weight weenie build but not too bothered about that as it is a gravel bike.

Let me know what you would recommend?

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



Toybota
Posts: 84
Joined: Tue Jan 19, 2021 9:16 pm

by Toybota

Lauf Anywhere. (1x Rival Build)
You can even upgrade it to a 12speed later with 12speed ratio kit.

User avatar
saldegracia
Posts: 452
Joined: Wed Jan 08, 2020 12:14 pm
Location: Madrid, Spain

by saldegracia

I was also looking at the Lauf some time ago, they went direct-to-consumer last year and lowered prices quite a bit by doing so. What I don't like about the Lauf is the 15mm through-axle at the front. It basically means you're stuck with MTB wheels or you have to find adapters if you want to use road or gravel wheels and those are not always available. Even the Rival model is still a little more expensive than GBP 2000 though I think?

I ended up with a Fuji Jari Carbon with Rival group set which I paid 2000 Euros for. It's a nice frame but most components were average at best (as you would kind of expect from a carbon bike at that price point), so I have swapped most components (but not the Rival stuff which works great) for something lighter and better since I bought the bike. Dropped almost 2kg in weight and now it's a really nice gravel rocket :)
Canyon Aeroad, Votec VRC, Fuji Jari Carbon, Sensa Fermo SL, Principia R700, Cannondale Bad Boy Ultra, Ciöcc Singlespeed

User avatar
saldegracia
Posts: 452
Joined: Wed Jan 08, 2020 12:14 pm
Location: Madrid, Spain

by saldegracia

Sorry, wanted to edit my post but somehow ended up quoting myself :)
saldegracia wrote:
Thu Apr 15, 2021 10:20 am
I was also looking at the Lauf some time ago, they went direct-to-consumer last year and lowered prices quite a bit by doing so. What I don't like about the Lauf is the 15mm through-axle at the front. It basically means you're stuck with MTB wheels or you have to find adapters if you want to use road or gravel wheels and those are not always available. Even the Rival model is still a little more expensive than GBP 2000 though I think?

Edit: there's a lot to like about the Lauf though, if you can live with the axle thing...the long top tube geo looks interesting and components looks pretty nice overall, even for the base model. The carbon bars also looks nice but they cannot swap it if you want a different width. I would have needed an XL frame and that comes with a 44cm bar which would have been to wide for my liking...would be a shame to buy a bike with nice carbon bars but having to remove them because they're too wide...

I ended up with a Fuji Jari Carbon with Rival group set which I paid 2000 Euros for. It's a nice frame but most components were average at best (as you would kind of expect from a carbon bike at that price point), so I have swapped most components (but not the Rival stuff which works great) for something lighter and better since I bought the bike. Dropped almost 2kg in weight and now it's a really nice gravel rocket :)
Canyon Aeroad, Votec VRC, Fuji Jari Carbon, Sensa Fermo SL, Principia R700, Cannondale Bad Boy Ultra, Ciöcc Singlespeed

Post Reply