Which bike?
I’m looking for an ‘entry’ level gravel steed made of aluminum that has hydraulic brakes, thru axle and mid level components for under $2k.
This will be a bike that sees gravel, single track and pavement, as my vision would be to ultimately buya second lighter wheelset and slick tires for more efficient road rides (not chasing KOMs).
I’m fiddling with these two top choices right now:
- Canyon Grizl 7: https://www.canyon.com/en-us/gravel-bikes/adventure/grizl/al/grizl-7-raw/3715.html?dwvar_3715_pv_rahmenfarbe=R075_P06&dwvar_3715_pv_rahmengroesse=M
- Polygon Path X5: https://bikesonline.com/products/2023-polygon-path-x5-gravel-bike?variant=49874202722596
I nearly bought the Grizl a few different times this week but held off contemplating the Polygon
But am also keeping the door open to some mechanic brake options, with lesser quality groupsets.
- Cannondale Topstone 3: https://www.cannondale.com/en-us/bikes/road/gravel/topstone-alloy/topstone-3
- REI co op ADV2.2: https://www.rei.com/product/159859/co-op-cycles-adv-22-bike
What would you choose? What are your thoughts? Appreciate it!
by ecollins109
1 Comment
Ideally I would recommend you to buy whatever $1800 gravel bike your local shop stocks rather than a mail order.
Cannondale Topstone 3 is kind of a weird spec bike vs the Topstone 4 which is currently on “sale” for $1175 (it was down below $1000 last year). People do prefer the Sword shifters vs the AdventX drop ones. And people are kinda meh on the lower end Promax brakes. But is that worth $425 to you? You also get Shimano brand hubs instead of Formula, and tubeless compatible tires but you’re probably going to play with tire choice.
[Van Rysel Grvl AF2](https://www.rei.com/product/246445/van-rysel-grvl-af-2-sword-bike) is equivalent spec to the Topstone 3 for $1400
the pricing on the REI ADV 2.2 is pretty tempting RX600/400 is still plenty good. I ran that tire/rim combo and it’s a heavy wheel but it’s well suited to single track shenanigans.