New Gravel bike or convert existing bike

[Pale Rider]

another vote for decent tyres, what you have is a gravel bike anyway, it now (with its drop bars) looks identical to
Grant Fondo's Spec diverge. You have disc brakes and wide tyre clearance (the key difference to a road only bike) and a decent ally frame.

My gravel bike runs a bar end shifter (its 1x10), an manufacturer compromise to run hydro disc brakes cheaply with TPR Hylex's that don't come with a Brifter option) I find them as easy to change as the brifters on my road only bike to be honest (albeit I don't have a front change to worry about, just 10 sequential gears)

Some people prefer bar end shifters because it's easier to fine tune the changes.

I reckon, say, 105 brifters in perfect order probably are nicer, but unless you are anal with maintenance that perfect order may not last.

 

[Blue Hills]

Sturdier frame, tyre clearance, bombproof wheels? I would have trashed my roadbike on the same off-road routes.

In that case I think I may have built myself one based on a bike I bought for £21.
It is flat bar with bar ends, has rim brakes and a triple on the front but I don't think that really disqualifies it does it?
Tyres are 40mm vittoria Voyagers, 44/32/22 on the front and 12-36 on the back. 9 speed.
Done two 50 mile rides on it in the last couple of weeks and it feels fine on road and on some riverside paths - as close to gravel as you can probably get here. Not a lot of strade bianche in the UK.

 

[T4tomo]

Some people prefer bar end shifters because it's easier to fine tune the changes.

mine are indexed, I think friction shifting (if thats what you referring to above) offroad would present a challenge, they change very smoothly, and i guess indexed friction shifters are less complex than brifters, as its a continuous pull vs a ratchet, so less to go wrong, and cheaper to fix /replace if it does.

 

[Pale Rider]

mine are indexed, I think friction shifting (if thats what you referring to above) offroad would present a challenge, they change very smoothly, and i guess indexed friction shifters are less complex than brifters, as its a continuous pull vs a ratchet, so less to go wrong, and cheaper to fix /replace if it does.

Makes sense, and I think some brifter groupsets have a trim function, although that's outside my area of knowledge.

 

[Grant Fondo]

Ok I'm convinced as it will take up to 36mm tyres.

 

[Pale Rider]

Ok I'm convinced as it will take up to 36mm tyres.

If the OP is back in a month with an 'is this frame a write off?' post, I shall be nowhere to be seen.

 

[Dwn]

The new tyres arrived yesterday, so went for a shortish trip today on a mixture of roads and paths (smooth tarmac in parts and bumpy / small gravel surface in others). Definitely soaked up the bumps more effectively, although slightly harder work on tarmac. Planning on a slightly more challenging route tomorrow.

I had a look at the specs for the Triban RC520 gravel bike and it appears to be the same frame and wheel set as the bike I’m using, so not sure another £1000 would buy me much in terms of extra benefit.

I don’t much love the bar end shifters, but can live with them for the time being. I’ll ask the lbs to price replacing them with brifters but that’s for another day. I might also change the cassette to help with some of the steeper hills.

Thanks for all the advice

 

[Dwn]

If the OP is back in a month with an 'is this frame a write off?' post, I shall be nowhere to be seen.

If I get to the stage of writing off the frame I suspect that it will be the least of my worries!

 

[Pale Rider]

The new tyres arrived yesterday, so went for a shortish trip today on a mixture of roads and paths (smooth tarmac in parts and bumpy / small gravel surface in others). Definitely soaked up the bumps more effectively, although slightly harder work on tarmac. Planning on a slightly more challenging route tomorrow.

I had a look at the specs for the Triban RC520 gravel bike and it appears to be the same frame and wheel set as the bike I’m using, so not sure another £1000 would buy me much in terms of extra benefit.

I don’t much love the bar end shifters, but can live with them for the time being. I’ll ask the lbs to price replacing them with brifters but that’s for another day. I might also change the cassette to help with some of the steeper hills.

Thanks for all the advice

Sounds like a happy ending to me.

As you are in no rush, it might be worth asking the bike shop to look out for a pair of used brifters.

My LBS sometimes takes new or nearly new brifters/groupset off a bike for a customer upgrading, or there might be a groupset warranty claim which doesn't involve the brifters but the whole lot gets changed anyway.