Hey all, looking for some advice on a gravel bike purchase. I currently have a Giant TCR advanced pro 2 I use for road riding and absolutely love it. I'm looking to get something at the other end of the spectrum that handles off-road pretty well, but will need to be ok for pavement as I have a bit of a ride to/from gravel tracks (so not particularly keen for a flat bar MTB).
I've narrowed my selection down to two heavy duty gravel bikes that have wide tyre clearance and front suspension:
Giant Revolt X Advanced Pro 2 https://giantbrisbane.com.au/collections/gravel-bikes/products/giant-revoltxadvanced-pro-3?variant=47006843044138
Canyon Grizl CF 8 w/Rift https://www.canyon.com/en-au/gravel-bikes/adventure/grizl/og/grizl-cf-8-w%2F-rift/4145.html
At first glance the revolt looks like the better buy, currently being on sale and already coming with light carbon wheels. My main concern with it is the frame isn't UDH compatible, so I'm not sure how future-proofed the bike will be if I wanted to upgrade the Apex/Eagle groupset going forward. The grizl on the other hand comes with the latest 1×13 SRAM XPLR groupset, is UDH compatible and really the only thing I'd want to upgrade would eventually be a lighter set of wheels.
Any advice/recommendations between the two (or even another competitor) would be greatly appreciated. Cheers!
by cmath2
7 Comments
I ride my crux on chunky gravel with 50mm tires and then have a wheelset with gp5000 32mm tires on it for the road. It does great on both
There’s also the Salsa Cutthroat, it’s probably the best for extreme off road and you really don’t need suspension with bigger tires unless you’re riding washboard roads or chunk, because in that case a hardtail is your best option.
well, Shimano just released new mtb and gravel groups with regular derailleurs, so you can be future proof without UDH.
more importantly, how is the geometry/fit between the two?
And finally, buying gaunt means you are buying it from a local shop, vs Canyin being consumer direct, so thats a big plus for the Giant there.
UDH should not be a deal breaker. There are plenty of drivetrains with non-direct mount derailleurs out there to choose from, even from sram itself
Specialized Diverge (but not the one with that weird rear suspension thing)
I am questioning your spec of “handles off-road pretty well, but will need to be ok for pavement” if you are selecting “heavy duty gravel bikes that have wide tyre clearance and front suspension:” So, the following is throwing a curveball at you. Sorry if that offends.
If I wanted “…..ok for pavement” I would be looking for something sub 20lbs at least and hopefully sub-19lbs which would likely preclude front suspension and big tires. While I get the big tires and suspension, how much do most people ever need it? A lot depends on where you ride. If it truly requires big tires and suspension then great. But, I wouldn’t go that way just because it is trendy. In my experience a good carbon frame with 45’s handles 99% of the gravel.
Budget is the other consideration. If you have $12K the world is your oyster. If not, then compromises have to be made. While I’m not weight-weeny, I do appreciate a lighter weight bike in many circumstances not least of which is on a long climb.
This is list has some crazy bikes on it but at least is a starting point in the world of light weight gravel bikes.
[https://www.cyclingabout.com/lightest-gravel-bikes-in-the-world/](https://www.cyclingabout.com/lightest-gravel-bikes-in-the-world/)
SRAM 13 speed groupsets are the best thing on the market. Dont fall for shimano oldhead propaganda. Literally just look at the gravel pro scene and notice how 90% of them are on SRAM 13 speed.