Hi bike lovers!
A little backstory. I have recently completed a 300+km organised bike journey with some friends. Everything was provided since I don't have a bike YET.
And now here I am, about to buy my first gravel bike after this wonderful experience and I decided to get some feedback from the people that know best, the ones that actually ride these bikes.
I looked at several used options which I will link here and would love to get some feedback from you, every comment is well appreciated.
Edit: I am mainly looking to ride in the city and on light-medium trails in the nearby forest, nothing too crazy.
Also I can't decide whether to get Mechanical or Hydraulic brakes. Here the hydraulic ones are usually about 200 Euros more expensive and I don't know if that is worth it.
Option 1:
https://www.olx.ro/d/oferta/orbea-avant-h30-d-echipare-shimano-105-IDjSyxK.html
Option 2:
https://www.dirtbike.ro/bazar/oferta/bicicleta-gravel-mondial-by-scott-1×12
PS: The prices are in RON because I currently live in Romania and that' where I am looking to buy the bike.
by KaBalazs
9 Comments
Just got into riding and all the information I could source suggest led that getting hydraulic brakes were a massive upgrade and worth the cost. It was that singular upgrade that forced me into the used market as I didn’t want to spend the $2000+ CAD it would cost for a gravel/endurance bike with hydraulic brakes.
It’s reddit so you’re gonna get 99 posts about how you’ll explode if you put mech brakes on a bike.
The truth is they are fine in almost all circumstances. You want hydro brakes if you are very heavy and/or tend to do long mountain descents where heat can build in the brakes.
Other than that, mechanical brakes are way less annoying to do a quick fix in the field and they have no chance of leaking or line getting slashed.
In 10 years and thousands of miles, no issues with mech brakes personally, and I’m a large rider (6’4, 255 lbs)
Figure out what kind of riding you want to do. Then match the equipment to that, and your budget. Hydraulic brakes have more power and feel nicer in the hand. Mechanical brakes have enough power, and are easier to work on yourself
Hydraulic brakes 100 percent.
A little anecdote: I built a budget bike for my girlfriend a few years back when she was just getting into cycling. I wanted to save 200 Euros and went mechanical discs. She was really having trouble going downhill. As soon as things got steep she stopped, didn’t feel great going over loose ground and on long descends needed breaks to shake out her hands. That she didn’t have the confidence on the bike to go into the drops on technical sections was a huge issue because from the tops it was really hard for her to stop properly.
I also hopped on her bike because I wanted to see how bad it was. It was not great. I really had to grab them hard to slow down and had very little feeling for modulating the brakes, leading to more locked up wheels. It works if you know what you’re doing but if you’re a new rider or struggle with confidence, they can be a real hindrance for your fun on the bike.
I upgraded her to hydraulic brakes and it’s night and day. She still isn’t the best descender ever ofc, but we spent a holiday in Croatia recently and she road down steep, loose rocky sections like a champ, even admitted to having a little bit of fun doing so. No way that would have happened with mechanical discs.
What is your experience with maintenance? 1 is 2x so maybe a bit more faff in maintaining (not much). Hydraulic is more set and forget but cable brakes you might have to adjust as the pads wear. I have cable hydraulic on my daughter’s bike as her hands are too small to get round the hoods on hydraulic brakes. But the brakes work great, the standard cable brakes she had before I wasn’t impressed with.
My preference would be to go for the Scott because I prefer a SRAM groupset, it’s 1x and Apex is a solid option, and get hydraulic. I had the 11 speed version and loved it, have upgraded to force.
I’m not certain but but I think 105 is more suited to road/smooth gravel as I don’t think the 105 rear mech has a clutch so if you’re on rough trails you might get more chain slap, maybe more chain drop. The next groupset up would be GRX.
But no matter what you get you’ll get used to it and many miles of fun to comes
What is your experience with maintenance? 1 is 2x so maybe a bit more faff in maintaining (not much). Hydraulic is more set and forget but cable brakes you might have to adjust as the pads wear. I have cable hydraulic on my daughter’s bike as her hands are too small to get round the hoods on hydraulic brakes. But the brakes work great, the standard cable brakes she had before I wasn’t impressed with.
My preference would be to go for the Scott because I prefer a SRAM groupset, it’s 1x and Apex is a solid option, and get hydraulic. I had the 11 speed version and loved it, have upgraded to force.
I’m not certain but but I think 105 is more suited to road/smooth gravel as I don’t think the 105 rear mech has a clutch so if you’re on rough trails you might get more chain slap, maybe more chain drop. The next groupset up would be GRX.
But no matter what you get you’ll get used to it and many miles of fun to comes
If you can stretch the budget to hydraulic brakes then 100% yea get them. However, mechanical discs work alright. Big emphasis on the alright. They work, they’ll stop you fine if they’re set up correctly and you have compressionless housing.
Been riding a gravel bike with Sora and Tektro mech disc brakes for 3 years. Recently got a road bike with 105 DI2. Yes, hydraulic brakes stop better but it’s not “night and day” or “game changing” IMO based on my own very recent experience.
The mechanical discs are easy to look after yourself with basic tools, they won’t lock together if you accidentally pull a lever whilst the wheel is out and you don’t need to bleed them or replace the fluid (although you will need to replace the cables eventually)
Personally I’ve never understood the people who say you should go for inferior brakes. I don’t know about where you live, but around me there are a lot of cars, people, children, who can move into your path of travel at any time. Therefore, brakes are about the last thing I’m going to compromise on. Hydros all day. That said, I don’t know how much money 200 euros is to you. To me, it’s a cheap price for hydro brakes.