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Hi,
I was hoping the wonderful world of singletrack could help me.I have been looking at getting another gravel bike last one i owned was a boardman cx team which to be fair was great. I have seen the Saracen levarg on offer which seems like a to good to be true for the money but worried about the 650b wheels with reference tyre choice in the future. The bike will be used for riding to work a couple of days a week and in the winter as a training tool to get fit to race some mtb events.I would also like to do some gravel events too. Suggestions please medium frame and around £1000 or am I dreaming. Thanks in advance
Sorry about the layout struggling on small phone with old eyes.
650 vs 700 is very much a personal choice, partly dictated by the terrain/surfaces you'll be riding and your own comfort/resilience.
I bought my Topstone and had 650x47 tyres from new. They're great on rougher, rockier and softer surfaces. I also bought some other wheels to run 700x40. These are a bit faster rolling. Inevitably, almost every route I ride would benefit from the "other" wheel/tyre combination at some point 😂
Many will suggest that a 700 wheel with a wider tyre would be the ideal compromise but I find that results in a heavier feeling when riding (might not matter so much if you're younger/taller/heavier yourself) plus I feel that's getting into XC MTB territory and I already have one of those!
Hi,
I was hoping the wonderful world of singletrack could help me.I have been looking at getting another gravel bike last one i owned was a boardman cx team which to be fair was great. I have seen the Saracen levarg on offer which seems like a to good to be true for the money but worried about the 650b wheels with reference tyre choice in the future. The bike will be used for riding to work a couple of days a week and in the winter as a training tool to get fit to race some mtb events.I would also like to do some gravel events too. Suggestions please medium frame and around £1000 or am I dreaming. Thanks in advance
I'm not familiar with what's 'in' at the moment, but I do have a 650b gravel bike. Being an XS frame - it came with the smaller wheels.
I don't quite have the same tyre choice as my 700c brethren... my max tyre width is 40. It was considered a gravel bike at the time, but now we're seeing road bikes approaching that tyre width.
You're right to consider the types of tyres (and widths) that you might run... but if things keep trending in the same direction, a bit of extra room might help?
I was very close to buying a Camino but just as I thought yes that's the one I want after a couple of weeks of doing nothing but look at bikes the sale ended. However they did tell me they expect another in September so might be worth holding on. Probably a good choice if you are thinking of MTB events as geometry wise it's towards that end of things.
Double post - as an aside and in relation to the post above I actually ordered a Secan partly because it will take 700 x 2.1 and 650 x 2.4. I don't actually envisage needing that clearance given I've also got a rigid 29er but it seems to come without too much compromise on how it handles on the road so it was a plus point
Buy the Saracen of you like it and worry about the tyres in a couple of years when they're worn out. You can always get a 700c wheel set if there's really nothing available.
650b with 2.1" rubber and 700c with 40mm rubber here. As ever, more is more! For me and where I ride this is a great combination with the 650b the default choice and the ability to switch to 40mm if it basically a road ride with some smoother off road.
I wouldn't buy a 650 specific bike, as you say tyre choice is limited and as we're seeing lots of 700 tyres upto 60mm now id not buy a frame that couldn't take at least 700x50. The levarg will take a 700 I think but the tyre width will be imited. Fine if you intend to ride it as a winter road bike but for any serious UK off road riding I'd want the extra clearance if only for mud without even thinking a of the added comfort/traction a wider tyre brings
Aye, mud clearance is a good call. I'm lucky in that it's not a major issue where I normally ride.
700c with as much clearance as possible; no downsides to that and plenty of options for the future.
Camino is a good call and good value, although a bit heavy (but they all are at this price level).
I wouldn't buy a 650b bike unless I needed a very small frame size.
If you'd consider used I have a near immaculate 2019 Giant Revolt Advanced in Medium that I'm looking to move on for less than your price limit.
Always open to offers please pm me on here and we can discuss.
@avdave2 great choice.
I have a secan, over budget but wheels. I've got 650b with 2.1 conti, awesome. And for road use 700c 32mm Which after coming from 22mm is a total delight.
Gearing is the other major consideration. I'm very happy with my grx 1x for gravel and road with a 40t chainring
when I bought a gravel bike which is nearer the road end of the spectrum I bought two sets of wheels. Prompted by a conversation with the bike shop I ended up with a pair of 700 road wheels and a pair of 650 gravel wheels because they are a more differentiated ride than had they been 700 gravel set.
PM sent 👍
I have 2 650b bikes. I’m not sure they are the best solution. But I’ve never felt the tyre size was an issue whilst on the bike. Both have been taken on mtb terrain
The main benefit is the 2 sets of wheels thing in distant sizes. Slightly easier to find space for bags and shorter chain stays too
Feeling flush hold out for big clearance 700c. But if you’ve seen a bargain then i don’t think 650b should put you off
700c with as much clearance as possible; no downsides to that and plenty of options for the future.
100% this
I wasn't keen on 650b at all, swapped to 700x45 and that was much better. Would ideally go wider if I had stuck with gravel.
Look at used bargains. I sold a very nice spec lightly used Ragley Trig for £900ish recently, just to give you an idea of the level.
Personally I like 650x50 or around that size on a gravel bike but that's partly because I'm usually on a small/medium frame and find 700's over around 35mm cause issues with toe overlap when pedalling up and around rooty/tight trail climbs which is a good proportion of my riding.
I also like how they accelerate and generally feel and there's no shortage of tyres around the 650x47-50 range (also good XC tyres like the Vittoria Mezcal can be found in 27.5x2.1" for example).
The Saracen is certainly a really good deal, to the point of why not swap the wheels out for a set of 700c if that's your preference? The site says it'll run up to 35c.
Alternatively, whilst not strictly a gravel bike, how about an ex-demo/display Sonder Santiago? Ticks the boxes of a commuter/training ride.
The Saracen is certainly a really good deal, to the point of why not swap the wheels out for a set of 700c if that's your preference? The site says it'll run up to 35c.
The 35c is the why not, that's CX tyre territory and will leave no room for mud
The 35c is the why not, that's CX tyre territory and will leave no room for mud
But the OP seemed to like his Boardman CX and description of riding tends to imply (to me at least) that his riding leans towards more of the same kind of bike than something needing much bigger tyres.