Hello everyone,
I want to buy my first gravel bike soon. Main use is commuting, some day tours every other weeks and one or two bike packing tours per year.
My local bike shop has quite many bikes to pick from, here are the ones I found interesting:
[https://www.giant-bicycles.com/md/revolt-1-2022](https://www.giant-bicycles.com/md/revolt-1-2022) (personal favorite, in sale for 1500€)
[https://www.scott-sports.com/us/en/product/scott-speedster-gravel-40-eq-bike](https://www.scott-sports.com/us/en/product/scott-speedster-gravel-40-eq-bike) (in sale for 1500€)
[https://www.feltbicycles.com/en-us/bikes/gravel-adventurebikes/broam-adventure/broam-40.html](https://www.feltbicycles.com/en-us/bikes/gravel-adventurebikes/broam-adventure/broam-40.html) (in sale for 1400€)
[https://www.lapierrebikes.com/fr-en/o/crosshill-30-2023/](https://www.lapierrebikes.com/fr-en/o/crosshill-30-2023/) (in sale for 1400€)
[https://www.cube.eu/de-en/cube-nuroad-pro-fe-metalblack-n-grey/b1a4787e06bd64680df963277ad6fb22](https://www.cube.eu/de-en/cube-nuroad-pro-fe-metalblack-n-grey/b1a4787e06bd64680df963277ad6fb22) (1400€)
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Also, I have another question: how important are hydraulic brakes? I read online that they were worth it, but without a justification.
My budget for the bike alone would top out at 1500€.
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Thanks in advance for any feedback
by Zentriax
1 Comment
If you were able to test the revolt and liked the fit then by all means it is a great choice. There is none of the the other options that are significantly better or more value, just preference changes in the ergonomics and what spec and accessories are included, like you noticed the brakes is a significant one. The racks and mudguards are less significant because it is easy to add afterwards. The most important difference is if you are comfortable, the scott is the most aggressive positon, the felt is the most upright, the giant is closer to the felt than the scott.
Hydraulic brakes have some good advantages: Better power, better modulation, less adjustment required, usually less maintenance required. The disadvantages are the maintenance when it is time is more difficult, and they are more expensive, it is not possible to mix and match many gears and brakes if you are a tinkerer, and it is very hard to do trail fixes if you are in the middle of nowhere,