£600 vs £3500 Gravel Groupset

Big price difference = Big difference in performance? We find out.

The following companies (that you'll see in my content) support me either financially or with free stuff, so huge thanks to these guys for helping the channel thrive:
Attacus Cycling,
SCOTT,
MET Helmets,
Shimano,
fidlock,
Hutchinson Tyres
Sungod
Tailfin
GT85
Garmin
Parcours Wheels

#cycling #bikes #bicycle

[MRAlexzocktify]

Regarding the two smallest gear ratios of the groupsets: Its not the teeth difference which defines the gear ratio. The ratio is defined by front teeth divided by rear teeth.
That means 30/34=0, 88235 and 46/52=0, 88461. The smaller ratio is the easier Gear which means that the grx400 has a very slightly lower gearing.

[axelfrisch]

Well, 3500 is more than my roadbike and my daily commuter bike together… so 600£ group set it is 😂

[GuybrushThreepwood]

You are so right to mention the ongoing costs of the groupset. Chainset, chain and cassette will need replacing from time to time. Unless you are racing and have money to burn, something like GRX 400 will do everything you need and you'll be able to afford to keep it in great nick!

[msburns]

Nice one, gents! RX400 user here. It's a workhorse of a groupset, and as you stated, the low replacement cost translates to less worry overall. I replaced the original cassette with a SunRace 11-40 and have all the low gear I need.

[TryboBike]

4:48 - That is in fact, not accurate. The GRX has 475% of range, the SRAM setup has 520%, which is - in fact - wider.
HOWEVER
the bottom gear on both bikes works to about 0.88 and the top gear on the sram system - 46/10 is barely useful for anything other than spinning out downhill. For all intents and purposes those bike have equally useful gearing range.

[Carftymk]

Jimmy's math is dogshit. The 30/34 on the tiagra actually gives you a (very slightly, its pretty much the same - 0.884 vs 0.882 ratio) lower gear than the SRAM mullet. but SRAM will have a slightly faster top speed

[stevefarrell]

Your maths is wrong. The lowest gear with GRX is the 30t small front ring with 34t max on the cassette. 30÷34 = 0.882. With Sram Red it's 46t at the front and 52t on the cassette. 46÷52 = 0.885. So on the GRX, one revolution of the crank equals 0.882 complete revolutions of the wheel. On Sram Red, one revolution of the crank equals 0.885 revolutions of the wheel. So GRX has a slightly lower lowest gear than Sram Red.

[Aragorn.Strider]

My bike has the GRX Tiagra stuff, and I like it. Good to see you basically confirm its decent as well.

[VikingEngr]

I just built up my first gravel bike with the next step up to the shimano groupset here, RX600 11 speed but with a small tweak, I'm using a SRAM PG1130 11--36 cassette. Paired with the RX600 46/30 Crankset, it's basically perfect gearing imo. Shifting is not as silky smooth as I would expect if it were a shimano cassette but I feel like I just got a bent derailleur hanger out of the box. Ratios are perfect for the type of riding I do. The last 3 or 4 smallest cogs are basically the same as the 105 11-30 cassette on my road bike so on the flats I get nice tight spacing between gears with the 46T big ring. I'm basically just as fast on the flats as I am on my road bike, I spin out between 55-60 kph but realistically why would you wanna go any faster on a gravel bike. The 30T small ring with the 36T cog on the cassette also means I get easier gearing than Shimano's suggested max of 34T. The derailleur can handle it no problem.

[petertreadway]

I’ve just converted a hybrid flat bar to drop bar gravel and left the Tourney TX groupset on it. It’s actually really smooth. I think for the vast majority of people, a lower end groupset is fine. If you’ve got £3.5k to spend, then have at it but I don’t think it makes that big a difference.

Interesting comparison video though. 👌🏻

[thebikerei]

Content really profits from the second person. Perfect side kick !

[zzhughesd]

Lads lads lads. Solid video. Go 600 grouppo. Maintain with bike shop. Easy. Cheap chains cassettes. I have low mid and top end bikes. My bike steed just so nice. Mechanical 105. Job done.

[craigrichardson-smith]

I’ve had GRX800/GRX600 and currently have Rival AXS and truth be told I prefer the GRX800. Great video as usual and also the build video!

[benbockting]

Please bring more videos about people on bikes rather than just what bikes to buy.

Imo the bike is a tool to enjoy places and people rather and is more important than the bike itself

[yurimow]

4:40 hi jimmy, it's me again. what you are saying about 34:34 = 1:1 is correct, the negative 6 thing is not. gears are ratios, not differences. the easiest gear on the grx bike is 30/34 = 0.88 = 46/52, so the two bikes have about the same easiest gear. on the top end side, the sram bike has more top end, as 46/11 = 4.18 < 4.60 = 46/10. so yes, the sram bike has more range as 4.18/0.88 = 475% < 520% = 4.60/0.88

[alexanderh]

It's time for 2024 bikes with grx 12 speed and the insane ratio. Today I was climbing with my ebike and had to do roughly 350 watts for an extended period of time with eco mode. I guess with a regular bike, bikepacking gear and my weight I will need the 51 on a gravel bike. Was very happy to have 11-51 today.

[ak-emyr]

A problem to notice about the GRX: You are very limited with big handlebar bags for bikepacking. The actuation of the lever can get in the way of your bag, inducing shifting issues...

[jevgeniardassov]

Producing an electronic shifter is actually much cheaper than a complicated mechanic one, less need for very small parts and very precise tolerances. So in actuality e-shifting should be and I think will be cheaper down the road.

[shepshape]

More and more channels are highlighting the less expensive bike parts and bikes and it's a pleasure. I find cycling and golf to be very similar in that they know they have an elitist audience, and they constantly try to convince you that if you spend thousands of dollars, you can golf or ride like the top pros. Now those among us with common sense know that's just not true, but it takes channels like yours and all the others to show us what cheaper gear is quality and which is just garbage. Speaking of which, I'd love to get your opinion on the Super Team carbone wheels. I have a pair that I've had for about 5 years now and many thousands of miles and they're still in great shape. Paid less than $300 US when they were on sale on Amazon for the 38mm. There's no reason you can't have a really quality bike for less than $2, 000 including carbon wheels. Keep up the great work and thanks for helping us watch our wallets!!

[norfleetbuilding]

Great video and good insight on the Sram Rival option. I converted to wireless Sram Rival from regular Sram Rival on my bike. Pure vanity purchase, but I absolutely love it!