Hi all, looking for some advice/suggestions as I’ve done my research but keep going round in circles!
I have a hardtail mountain bike I love (a Vitus Nucleus VRS), but its tyres are so chonky it exhausts me riding it any distance on roads/flat tracks, so I want to add a second bike to let me ride more places and get further. I’ve been looking at gravel bikes/hybrids for 3 reasons: I’d like to be able to ride it on the occasional non-road surface, and also I want a flat bar bike rather than drop bar. This is because a few years back I broke my wrist and although it’s fully healed, I feel the vibrations way more in the “hands vertical’ riding position of drop bars and so they’re just not for me. I’m also not the tallest at 5 ft 6 so like the extra visibility when on roads of being less hunkered down.
My ideal bikes would be a Poseidon X FB or a Norco Search XR FB, but I’m in the U.K. and so (v. expensive import aside) they’re sadly not options. So far I’m looking at these as best value for money based on kit:
Saracen Levarg
Levarg FB
OctaneOne Gridd
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/p/octane-one-gridd-flat-gravel-bike-2022?color=black&sizeStandard=M
BMC Alpenchallenge
https://www.balfesbikes.co.uk/bikes/hybrid-bikes/bmc-alpenchallenge-al-four-hybrid-bike-2022-in-redblack__29189?
Any thoughts/suggestions/alternatives greatly appreciated! I don’t want to go crazy on budget as it’s a 2nd bike and I don’t need some sort of crazy 1 gram carbon fibre beast, but can be convinced on basis of value.
by f1ngl0ng3r