Hello, looking for a bike for around 1400 USD mark (converted from local currency), plan to ride daily to work around 20 km round trip on mostly tarmac with occasional pebbled bits. The roads are quite smooth so I’m not sure if I even need a gravel bike, but I guess I’d like to have an option to go on nature trips on my days off, but nothing too extreme.
With quite limited options available, I’ve come up with 4:
Superior X-Road Comp – around 1350$
GT Grade expert one of the previous year models with GRX/tiagra/FSA mix – around 1200$
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Cannondale Topstone 2 – around 1400$
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Cannondale Topstone 3 with future complete upgrade to GRX in about a year – around 1200$ without upgrades
What would you choose given those prices and options? I’m somehow leaning towards Superior but not sure since it’s not gravel (trendy).
by zhbk
2 Comments
https://www.canyon.com/en-us/buying-tools/in-stock-bikes/?srule=sort_price_ascending&start=0&sz=24
For the topstone 3 it has 2×9 speed and cable brakes so it will cost a lot in parts to upgrade it to 11speed and hydraulics later, would not buy with the intent to upgrade.
The Superior does present excellent value, I wonder how they are getting carbon frame that cheap but they do appear to have a good warranty. It’s not normal to have a carbon bike for just commuting and exploring since there weight isn’t critical for that use but normally it would be a lot more expensive. It does have plenty of tire clearance for your use even though the stock tires it comes are slim you can swap them out for 40mm for more adventures and cushy commutes. The body position is not meaningfully more aggressive than the grade or topstone. So the main things you will notice with it not being gravel are the hanging is more agile vs stable and it doesn’t have eyelets for mounting racks, mudguards, bags.
The gt and the topstone 2 are both good options if you would like that bit of extra stability and also luggage and accessory mounts. They also don’t have any questions about the quality of their frame production.