Looking for Gravel bike under £1000

[Arrowfoot]

Need to mindful that single chainring in later models are designed differently - teeth, chain etc. In fact the whole draintrain were reengineered for some. So parts are not readily available like the usual types of chain rings while touring. So if you dropped your bike packed with touring gear on a tarmac road on the drive side, it will need work.

MTB chaps with such expensive gears do not drop their bike on tarmac but on earth. There is a difference

Commuting means a daily grind that requires a pleasant sensation due to the daily routine - so 2 x on a asphalt is a real smooth and pleasurable ride. Remember fixies and single speed are more towards lifestyle choices and not exactly functional.

Might want to have a re-look at options. .

 

[DRM]

1x is utterly pointless on a mixed use gravel bike, the gear steps will not be optimum, the rear cassettes are a fortune to replace, as mentioned previously either a Spa Tourer, built to your spec, or for comfort I can recommend the Marin Gestalt 2, with 2x Tiagra, as a very comfy bike, if you can get one that is.

 

[vickster]

Ribble CGR AL with Tiagra £999 and apparently available in S/M/XL from early July
https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-cgr-al-orange-shimano-tiagra/build/#Bike

 

[battered]

Commuting means a daily grind that requires a pleasant sensation due to the daily routine - so 2 x on a asphalt is a real smooth and pleasurable ride. Remember fixies and single speed are more towards lifestyle choices and not exactly functional.

Certainly true IME. It sounds like a great idea, just the simplest possible machine. Then you discover that there isn't really any less maintenance and the night comes when it's raining, dark, you have a bag of shopping, you're knackered, had a crap day at work and dragging a 70 inch gear up a hill is suddenly just no bloody fun at all.

I've used a singly for commuting, but only for short trips to and from on flat roads at easy times of the year. I often work away so I can end up in a hotel for weeks on end with an easy couple of miles across town to work. Perfect for that.

 

[Blue Hills]

The other problem with a 1x is the twisted brother of the much vaunted "simplicity". If that chainring develops problems (always possible from wear or a bash) you are stuffed until you find a replacement ring. I do have a kind of 1x bike - a speedpro sports folder - 1 at the front - rear 7 speed cassette on a 3-speed internal hub. ie 21 gears. It slips terribly at the moment and is verging on dangerous - need to change the ring. The bike isn't toured on of course - it's just for day rides.

Me?
I'd go for a bike with something like 9 speed 44/32/22 on front and 12-36 on the back.
Stuff whether it's fashionable or not - supremely practical - bits cheap - of course there is a certain near duplication on some gears but I see that as a plus - built-in redundancy for any ontour problems until you can find a (cheap) spare ring.

 

[vickster]

Here you go a nice 725 steel tourer, triple and the very good Spyre TRP brakes, 32mm tyres, a bit over the £1000 but not too much
https://spacycles.co.uk/m1b0s225p3866/SPA-CYCLES-Wayfarer

 

[Blue Hills]

Here you go a nice 725 steel tourer, triple and the very good Spyre TRP brakes, 32mm tyres, a bit over the £1000 but not too much
https://spacycles.co.uk/m1b0s225p3866/SPA-CYCLES-Wayfarer

good suggestion.
That front chainset is excellent.
The OP just needs to consider what sort of hills they might be going up - how much junk they might be carrying.
seems to me that with all this great advice/money saved from 2 grand the OP has already more than made back the cost of their cchat subs.

 

[Pale Rider]

Here you go a nice 725 steel tourer, triple and the very good Spyre TRP brakes, 32mm tyres, a bit over the £1000 but not too much
https://spacycles.co.uk/m1b0s225p3866/SPA-CYCLES-Wayfarer

I see one or two of the Spa bikes now have disc brakes.

Ruddy modernisers.

They will be offering a sloping top tube next.

 

[vickster]

The OP would like disc brakes.
They do one without for old fogies

 

[Blue Hills]

I see one or two of the Spa bikes now have disc brakes.

Ruddy modernisers.

They will be offering a sloping top tube next.

i think spa are moving towards discs because of user demand - whether that's sensible and what is influencing their users/customers is another issue, but they probably have little choice in the matter.
I'll be mixing and matching - favouring sloping top tubes but rim brakes.
On the OP, I have the idea that there is an idea that a gravel bike has to have drops and disc brakes. but I was riding alongside someone a couple of weeks ago on his new £2,000 gravel bike and I reckon my flat-bar rim braked self-built bike was as much a gravel bike as his.

 

[Blue Hills]

The OP would like disc brakes.
They do one without for old fogies

well he'd also like 1x but may be persuaded otherwise.

 

[Baldy]

Seems to me its down to what the customer wants, not what you all think is right. If he/she wants a 1x and disk breaks then that's what he/she wants. Plenty of bikes around with that setup. Almost inevitable they'll have to wait anyhow.

 

[vickster]

Seems to me its down to what the customer wants, not what you all think is right. If he/she wants a 1x and disk breaks then that's what he/she wants. Plenty of bikes around with that setup. Almost inevitable they'll have to wait anyhow.

But the reasoning for 1x is a bit weak.
They also need to consider the gearing and potentially access and the cost of replacement parts.
Nothing wrong with disc brakes.
@Lauris where will you be touring? In the U.K. or Europe most bits will be accessible at least after Covid shortages have resolved.
If the wilds of Africa, simplicity and freely available (ie established) is best

 

[Kajjal]

I see one or two of the Spa bikes now have disc brakes.

Ruddy modernisers.

They will be offering a sloping top tube next.

Are you still riding your bike with the huge front wheel and very small back wheel in top hat and tails

 

[Pale Rider]

Are you still riding your bike with the huge front wheel and very small back wheel in top hat and tails

Yes, although I need the help of one of the servants to get me started and stopped.