£1800 vs £8000 Gravel Bike

Two bikes that do the same job, but how much more do you get for your money?

Thanks Scott for supplying the frame and Parcours & Hutchinson for the wheels/tyres on my bike. The Speedster gravel I paid for with money.

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

[melissasinclair]

I think videos like these that are more for the normal, every day rider, is what's needed. MOST of us are just hobby riders and don't want or need to spend a fortune on a bike, but it is so hard to sort out what's important and what's not so important to spend extra money on for a everyday, all around bike.

[erikklumpp]

I really think a 1600 aluminum bike serves as a great bike, and you can destroy anyone with the appropriate fitness, and obnoxious kit. I just don't think the added money is worth it, I am even going back to aluminum on my mtb. Get out ride your bike and have fun.

[Nickescaped]

Like the format. Like that you both provide good reasons when providing opinions on the various aspects of the bike. I think adding a 3, 000 pound version for comparison would be great! You both did a nice job.

[kevinflummi]

I think every person (who doesn't have infinite money resources) should start out with a cheap gravel bike, maybe 500-1000€ just to see if they like gravel riding. If you then discover that you enjoy gravel riding, you can buy a "proper" gravel bike around the 2000 area. The difference between these two price classes is super huge. After that, I think it makes more sense to just upgrade single parts instead of buying brand new bikes... You learn more about the mechanics of your bike and can focus on the really important parts that will make a difference to your personal riding profile.
For some, this might be a new saddle or new handlebars, others might want to upgrade the wheels, others want suspension, others want to change the gear group. Maybe some even want to go for a frame upgrade at some point. That's the best way to (at some point) have the "perfect" bike.

[liquidSpin]

Scott doesn't get the respect it deserves. They do make quality bikes and they do innovate whereas I feel a lot of the other brands play it safe and copy the trends. Besides, Scott bikes are beautiful looking

[onurakkulak]

I think you could probably upgrade the cheap bike to make it feel significantly more comfortable, while still keeping the total price under £3000. Stuff like tubeless, better tyres, new saddle and handlebars could already make a massive difference and get it much closer to the feel of the expensive bike.

[Tdezayo]

It'd be great to see what upgrades you'd put on the budget bike to bring up the performance and see how close you can get it to the $3k bike feel

[cxbkpmf]

Silca.. good choice. From what I can tell this is a serious company. Meaning they won't sell any kinda of crap just to make profit. Silca sincerely strives for quality in all the things they sell. Respect.

[CameronFraserACHF]

My experience of the "cheap" vs expensive is quite a bit different so I suspect this is one of those situations where the results of other comparisons would vary a lot.

I'm currently riding a 2013 Giant Defy 1. That's an aluminum frame with carbon fork and seat post. It originally came with a mix of 105 and unlabeled Shimano components. I've upgraded everything that wasn't to 105 and put much better wheels on. The best part was everything I added, with the exception of the wheels which I bought used, was second hand new...components people had bought for projects and never got to them...so effectively new but at very reasonably prices.

This past fall I had an opportunity to spend a few hours riding a 2022 Defy 1 I was considering buying. (It had been a rental from a local shop and they clear out their rental fleet at the end of each season.) Full carbon and full (mechanical) Ultegra. The cost of the new bike would have been about 5 times what I paid for my older bike. The difference? The shifting on the new Ultegra was simply glorious...just incredibly smooth and quick. Everything else? Meh. Perhaps I just don't ride far enough or fast enough, or I am just not sophisticated enough to detect the differences, but there wasn't much in it.

I dream about finding a bike that is as big a leap ahead as my Defy was from it's predecessor, but the upshot is I'm still riding my 2013 bike. I'd love a new one, and I'd love to have that Ultegra groupset, but for now I'll spend the money on trips with the old bike.

[earthmaniebo]

"You make friends with golfers so they don't hit you with golf balls" - Jimmy 2023

[JamesMScoltock]

Yes, thank you for mentioning Sora and Tiagra. It seems far too many people forget about how big these groupsets are and immediately jump to 105 and above.
My first bike was a Sora (and Microshift) build and my commuter bike was Tiagra, both incredible pieces of kit for the money, and I’d bet a big part of Shimano’s sales.
Look forward to some future videos on them…

[cemark]

You two are the best duo on youtube. You have take Jimmy to a loooong bike packing trip with you. That guy is a genuinely funny.

[markbailey]

Great vid. I have a 2021 Cube Nuroad EX gravel bike that was about £1700 when I brought it.. I immediately ditched the home branded wheels and brought (eventually 3 pairs!) new hoops with the main ones being DT Swiss GR1600s and some Mavic all road pros while of course making them tubeless. Bar tape, saddle and chain were also swapped out to parts I trust and like.. It rides like a far more expensive bike now despite only changing the points of which I touch on the bike and where it touches the road. The 3 sets of wheels have varying Shwalbe G-one tires varying from Allroads to ultra bites to use depending on weather/terrain I am riding on... One thing I also did was change the standard Shimano brake pads to ceramic pro ones made by Disco brakes. A mega cheep upgrade that improves the performance massively.  
Final note.. As an ex MTB racer and someone who has toyed with road bikes for 35 years I LOVE gravel bikes and in fact find it faster on bumpy towpaths and mild single track to my mountain bikes.

[mattgardner]

Nice to see you guys doing videos together again! keep 'em coming!!

[Omnis]

8:05 We won't TRY to hit you with golf balls. LOL.

[redauwg]

thank you for the video Francis it's always great when Jimmy's on board

[tomreingold]

Brilliant. I normally bore of this type of chat about the ins and outs of which equipment is better than which. But you treated it fairly and meaningfully. I would welcome stuff like this. And you've got me inspired to design a bike for myself. I'll start with a good, light frame and equip it with mid-range components such as Tiagra which you mentioned. That could be the sweet spot. The biggest trick for me would be to find a suitably lightweight frameset and wheels on a low budget.

[nobbycycles]

GRX groupsets - totally agree. Great around performance. I mean I love my Di2 on my road bike but I never feel like anything isn't working absolutely bang on the money when I'm out on the gravel / winter bike (£1800 orbea Terra) - pound for pound its an absolute belter.

[daredemontriple]

I ride a Cannondale SuperSix with 105, and having never owned anything better than my dad's 40-odd year old Raleigh Record Ace, it absolutely blew my mind. The shifting is almost instant, the brakes are strong as I'd ever need, it works well enough that having never ridden anything Ultegra or Dura-ace or whatever, I'm genuinely not sure what (if any) noticeable difference there would be.

[pedalhead]

I actually own an EQ version of Speedster Gravel from last year. With fenders and all, it is even heavier. However, it was a very conscious decision, and with a few likewise planned upgrades (including going tubeless with the biggest tires the frame would swallow) it is a bike that can be nicked and banged, takes on a beating and keeps on coming. Removable rear rack, frame bag, bento box, and it is a hell of a commuter that you won't be too scared to lock to a post somewhere in the town.

What you've said about the groupsets, I can only agree with. The 4700 series Tiagra that came on mine is such a satisfactory ride! Threw on a bigger cassette in the back to get at least a bit of "minus" gearing, found a deal on hydraulic brakes with levers, and the damn thing just sails through anything for 3000km already. City, Gravel, light singletrack, snow and sleet in the winter, ridiculous cobblestone descents... You CAN be satisfied with a cheaper bike.