Hey. I'm looking at touring bikes, or gravel bikes, since I think they're very similar(?) Any recommendations? Planning on taking a European trip later in year. I'm getting it on bike to work scheme in work, so %50 off price of bikes up to €1,200. So I'm pricing bikes between €800 and €1,500. Bike below looks good, anything similar to this
by KaleidoscopeLeft5511
2 Comments
The Fuji Touring Disc LTD is a great option towards the top of that price range. My partner has one and it’s fantastic.
I have a Marin Gestalt from 2021 and I really like it. It’s a more “roady” gravel bike with 2×8 drivetrain and max 35mm tires, but has all the mounts for fenders and racks. Marin has a wide selection of gravel bikes, some of them are almost road bikes (Gestalt) through nice steel tourers (Nicasio, Four Corners) and some are basically flat bar 1x drivetrain rigid MTBs (DSX) – [https://www.marinbikes.com/ww/bikes/use/beyond-road](https://www.marinbikes.com/ww/bikes/use/beyond-road)
Personally, for standard touring (so mostly road, gravel, fire roads etc.) I like something from the “road-like” gravels, just with wider tires (like 38mm). This feels nice and fast on long stretches of asphalt and hard-packed gravel which is probably 99% of touring. I kind of dig my entry level, full-mech road components which are really easy to maintain but I think hydraulic disc brakes are an upgrade worth looking into!