Real.. I thought I could get something good for about 500 eur, and when I started looking into bikes and understand stuff a bit more, I realized I couldn't get anything good SECOND HAND for that price 😳
I have this bike, and my yt channel if full of rides I made on it. I can vouch for the quality, and I agree on basically everything that's been said in this review. As for upgrades, I'd suggest the tires first if you can, went with DT Swiss GR 1600 spline and I'm much happier with them, the bike is more responsaive AND more comfortable to ride especially on gravel/single trails. Also the saddle, which goes without saying ; currenly on a Brooks C15 which also adds a lot to the general comfort. Nice channel, subscribed 🤘
I started out on a Poseidon X - it carried me for a few seasons and over 3,500 miles before I felt the need to upgrade. Mostly due to geometry issues. But no one out there can beat Poseidon for a great value on a really decent starter bike imo !
I just joined the Redwood owners club. Got it last week in the seemingly elusive white colored frame. Definitely one of the greatest values on the market right now. I dont include some of these $400 gravel bikes that seem popular to review on TH-cam because while they are more inexpensive, the problem is that they are just junk. They really are not "upgradeable" in a lot of cases for various technical reasons. The thing that makes the Redwood so great is that the frame itself is nice and has all the correct modern specs, so it is very easy to upgrade at your leisure. There's guys that have supposedly modded the Redwood down to 18 pounds. Not sure I would put that much money in it since I bought it for bikepacking and more agressive gravel. I kind of like it built like a tank, but it definitely needs to go on a diet and lose about 4 or 5 pounds.
i have a Grandurance RD7, a more commute/road focused version with 105 instead of grx that comes with a dynamo, mudguards and a rack and i really love it. Only bad thing is the aluminium fork without internal routing for the front brake.
Good question, the cables go underneath the stem which gives you quite a bit more freedom compared to if they were actually inside the stem. But I haven't tried a full disassembly just yet
I picked up an Alloy Cannondale Topstone with the Apex 1x group as a winter bike and commuter to supplement my 3T Exploro…I have to say that it’s an amazing bike for 1/3 of the Exploro cost, able to take 44c tires and mounts for racks and fender.
Cannondale are alloy experts and their bikes last. The welds on my 20 year old XS800 crosser are smooth as silk. And the Headshock soaks up the bumps. The only downside is it can't run disc's. So I make do with Magura hydraulic rim brakes. Cheers
Ragley Trig is another nice UK brand. Very similar in spec and near same price, but made of 4140 (and oddly enough, also almost same exact plum color), so probably good option for bikepacking.
Nice bike, however I don't see it as a budget deal.....try a Canyon Grizl or Grail AL7, 1800Euros, plenty of value for less money. Just to mention some cool features: dt swiss gravel ln wheels, Shimano Grx600 and carbon seat post.
Even budget is more then what people pay 😂 Get a road bike, flat bar optional…Grx absolutely not needed. Even a decathlon 400 bike will do. Put on 35-38 gravel tyres… now you have a gravel bike for £400/£500 If your on a budget… There is no point putting a 2k machine through a bath of mud. The consumable repairs will be a pain.
For 500 pounds more i bought the canyon grail 7 rival etap 12 speed with a good powermeter integrated. And nice dt swiss wheels. And 500gr lighter. But these are indeed nice fun bikes to ride for the mony. Also more relaxed and quicker than my MTB on the road and the gravel trails. Can ride hours and hours on the hoods.
How is 1800 quid a BUDGET bike? This is already a premium price tag for most people who aren't pros or youtube reviewers :D That's considerably more than my monthly salary, I doubt even people who earn 4k a month would consider half of their paycheck a "budget" buy :D
Look at what people into cycling spend... Your pov as someone who "just looking for a bkie" is the same for someone who "just want a camera to take pictures" but isn't into the hobby. Take a seat back mate.
Imho, I think that fully integrated stem/cockpit with internally routed cables through the bearings should not be on a budget bike. Changing headset bearings used to cost 50 bucks and take 10 minutes for any good mech. Now, it could take 3hrs and just to change headset bearings you have to cut the brake hoses, sometimes you need to replace the entire hoses because they are cut to size with little excess if any. Once or twice I've had to remove the crankset and bottom bracket to re-route the hydraulic hose for the rear brake. The cost of replacing those headset bearings are now 5 times more expensive. Budget bike?
Gaahhh I miss riding in the mud and wet trails so much. Here in the US they close the trails even if there is the slightest hint of rain or damp on the trails.
How well do these mechanical group sets shift when the cables are routed through the front tube like that? Seems like a tighter bend then conventional layout.
Decent all round spec. but something like nukeproof digger comp is even better value & better colour.(only my opinion)🤔🚴👍oh & at around £500 cheaper you could use the change to upgrade the wheels 👍sonder Camino al grx also one to consider 🚴
I was thinking exactly the same thing! I've been eyeing a Digger for a while. It's also 10kg for a medium frame and the specs look pretty decent. Cheers
@@BrianRPaterson I have a Nukeproof digger swapped the tyres out to vittoria terreno and handlebar down to a 42cm as they come with a 50cm. Bought the bike from We Cycle in Snowdonia at £1195 in the sale 2 months ago that's all I can it's a brilliant bike absolutely love it and its 9.7kg.
Thanks for reviewing the Bergamont. I'm accustomed to the buzzy road feel of an aluminum frame, so it's fine with me. With one major change, that could be my gravel bike: I'd set it up as a 3X.
Cool looking bike. Question: do you think advanced engineering of aluminum designs can make such frames as compliant as carbon? Aluminium and steel seem like better materials for gravel riding due to durability.
The best aluminium frames have definitely gotten better and narrowed the gap but from the bikes I've ridden there's still a noticeable difference. But wide tyres, 27.2mm carbon seatposts and other spec details can go a long way to reducing that gap
@@davidarthur thanks for the answer. I personally prefer steel for gravel MTB applications. BTW That place you were riding looked amazing. The atmosphere and fact you had it to yourself must have made it memorable.
I’ve had about a dozen bikes, mix of alloy, steel, and carbon. High end Steel bikes can be moderate weight and nice ride, high quality alloy frames will ride nice, and do well with with larger tires to soak up some of the vibrations, and can be very stiff and good bang for the buck. A high quality carbon frame is still superior in my opinion , light weight and nice vibration absorption, but you will need to pay extra.
Almost the right bike. A bike like the Kona Libre or on the budget Poseidon Redwood would have been perfect here with the ability to run wider tires & longer bike to make it a bit more stable.
Buy a cheap hardtail mtb and put gravel tires on it. I got a BMC two-stroke, and replaced the fork with a 27.5 mtb fork (reduced the HA by 2 degrees, and fits a 700x47c tire). Thing just rips!
Sorry, but £1800 is not budget. Not even in today's hyper-inflated market. I would never pay that amount of money for an alloy frame bike on alloy wheels from a relatively unknown brand.
What do you classify as budget option? I know bike prices can go crazy, but wouldn't the grandurance 4 be more of the "budget" option? Still love the review though!
There is a brand new X model, if you did not see it called the X Ambition. It looks to be a better geometry for a gravel bike, as opposed to the original X which is more of an All-Road bike. The new model has a higher stack with slightly more sloping top tube for more endurance oriented riding and supposedly now includes the better brakes which they use on their Redwood model.
Am considering the grandurance expert carbon.. usually ride xc bikes and having sit on one it's a weird experience, feels very short and the narrow bars will be a bit of an adjustment, while the gearing is way more suitable than an xc bike for my needs I am unsure about the feeling of gravel bike geometry
Hi David, My wife and I will be transitioning from road bikes to gravel bikes this year. We have our eyes on the Trek Checkpoint SL6. Would be interested on your thoughts on this bike ?
I have a 2022 model and love it. However, this is the first decent bike I've owned and I'll not have a chance to ride gravel in the near term, so I'm running it "road" with 30mm Vittoria Corsa N.EXT G2.0 TLR tyres. I've done about 1800Km since purchase and it's a joy to ride. I'm in my mid-50s and the relaxed geometry, Iso-speed seat post, and SRAM Rival groupset make for a very nice ride. I'd ditch the Bontrager Team Issue GR1 tyres and Bontrager tubeless sealant immediately though. I've never had so many non-sealing punctures! One small niggle with the 1x though is that there are a couple of ratios where my cadence jumps by over 10rpm. Oh, and like the bike in the review, mine came with the same useless rubber grommets. I replaced them with M5 grub screws: nothing to catch on when cleaning! There's a big Checkpoint community on Reddit called CheckpointClub if you need some Q&A.
In these times with the cost of living crisis, it's expensive. Any bike is better than none. Love the bike including the colour, but I'm not sure if I would send that sort of money, I would get a 2nd hand MTB, which would cover all surfaces. I'm looking for a replacement bike for my hybrid which was a lockdown bike after my road and mountain bike got stolen. I found I missed both my old bikes and thought gravel would replace both, but the prices as put me off.
I only meant budget in relation to the very expensive bikes that seem to command all the attention these days, of course everybody will have their own idea of what constituents a budget bike
Thank you for not forgetting and testing lower end bikes, and not just the 5k+ ones. If they only sold them in the states…
Good lord, is 1800 GPB or EUR a budget bike nowadays? I would have thought that a quality entry level bike would be around half that.
Real.. I thought I could get something good for about 500 eur, and when I started looking into bikes and understand stuff a bit more, I realized I couldn't get anything good SECOND HAND for that price 😳
Very nice video, a bit more emotion than usual, especially about the surroundings where you rode the bike - enjoyable video
Glad you enjoyed it
I have this bike, and my yt channel if full of rides I made on it. I can vouch for the quality, and I agree on basically everything that's been said in this review. As for upgrades, I'd suggest the tires first if you can, went with DT Swiss GR 1600 spline and I'm much happier with them, the bike is more responsaive AND more comfortable to ride especially on gravel/single trails. Also the saddle, which goes without saying ; currenly on a Brooks C15 which also adds a lot to the general comfort. Nice channel, subscribed 🤘
I absolutely love my Poseidon Redwood. $1000 and a great starter bike out of the box.
I started out on a Poseidon X - it carried me for a few seasons and over 3,500 miles before I felt the need to upgrade.
Mostly due to geometry issues. But no one out there can beat Poseidon for a great value on a really decent starter bike imo !
I just joined the Redwood owners club. Got it last week in the seemingly elusive white colored frame.
Definitely one of the greatest values on the market right now.
I dont include some of these $400 gravel bikes that seem popular to review on TH-cam because while they are more inexpensive, the problem is that they are just junk. They really are not "upgradeable" in a lot of cases for various technical reasons. The thing that makes the Redwood so great is that the frame itself is nice and has all the correct modern specs, so it is very easy to upgrade at your leisure.
There's guys that have supposedly modded the Redwood down to 18 pounds. Not sure I would put that much money in it since I bought it for bikepacking and more agressive gravel. I kind of like it built like a tank, but it definitely needs to go on a diet and lose about 4 or 5 pounds.
@@fennec13 State Bicycle All Road is amazing too and cheaper than Poseidon Redwood
Wow what a back drop.
Exactly what I would visualize when I think about England. I hope you got some pictures.
Like from some Robin Hood movie
David thank you for all these great videos. I'd like to see reviews on more niche bikes like Sarto, Olmo, Somec, Faggin, No.22 etc
Noted!
I wish I had that kind of roads in my area tho. Those trails looks stunning.
Love the plum colour on this bike. Wanted to buy purple Rondo bike but ended up getting black with golden glitter.
to make it short: i like: bsa bottom bracket. i don't like: cable integration. After all seems like a good bike! Thanks for testing it, David. 👍
yeah, I could do without the fully integrated BS - its entirely un-neccessary at this level. or most levels of bike. imo
I have the grandurance 4, that’s a fantastic little bike! :)
i have a Grandurance RD7, a more commute/road focused version with 105 instead of grx that comes with a dynamo, mudguards and a rack and i really love it. Only bad thing is the aluminium fork without internal routing for the front brake.
Is it true that the painting wears off that easily?
Epic video the fog made it stand out
Thanks Terrill! I was worried the footage would come out real bad but turned out okay I reckon
@@davidarthur gives the video a mysterious opening. If you would have rode through and out of the fog to start, oooh wee. But love the content
A beautiful place. Watch out for the old mine workings though!
Good to see focus on value bikes 👍
Q. How does the internal cable routing at the stem affect disassembly to place in a bike bag for travel?
Good question, the cables go underneath the stem which gives you quite a bit more freedom compared to if they were actually inside the stem. But I haven't tried a full disassembly just yet
I picked up an Alloy Cannondale Topstone with the Apex 1x group as a winter bike and commuter to supplement my 3T Exploro…I have to say that it’s an amazing bike for 1/3 of the Exploro cost, able to take 44c tires and mounts for racks and fender.
Cannondale are alloy experts and their bikes last. The welds on my 20 year old XS800 crosser are smooth as silk. And the Headshock soaks up the bumps.
The only downside is it can't run disc's. So I make do with Magura hydraulic rim brakes.
Cheers
I have bergamont from 2020. It was priced 1399 3years ago. I am really happy with the bike
Those trails look perfect for a gravel bike to me!
Great intro... levels above the bike´s rating! Joking ofc, cheers!
Ragley Trig is another nice UK brand. Very similar in spec and near same price, but made of 4140 (and oddly enough, also almost same exact plum color), so probably good option for bikepacking.
The Gran Durance is sold in Australia by Avanti. Different colours and spec over the range.
Nice bike, however I don't see it as a budget deal.....try a Canyon Grizl or Grail AL7, 1800Euros, plenty of value for less money. Just to mention some cool features: dt swiss gravel ln wheels, Shimano Grx600 and carbon seat post.
Even budget is more then what people pay 😂
Get a road bike, flat bar optional…Grx absolutely not needed. Even a decathlon 400 bike will do.
Put on 35-38 gravel tyres… now you have a gravel bike for £400/£500
If your on a budget… There is no point putting a 2k machine through a bath of mud. The consumable repairs will be a pain.
For 500 pounds more i bought the canyon grail 7 rival etap 12 speed with a good powermeter integrated. And nice dt swiss wheels. And 500gr lighter. But these are indeed nice fun bikes to ride for the mony. Also more relaxed and quicker than my MTB on the road and the gravel trails. Can ride hours and hours on the hoods.
Bike looks great. Similar to Rose Backroad but cheaper. I have a Canyon Grizl AL at similar pricing and specs.
Thanks for the video.
How is 1800 quid a BUDGET bike? This is already a premium price tag for most people who aren't pros or youtube reviewers :D That's considerably more than my monthly salary, I doubt even people who earn 4k a month would consider half of their paycheck a "budget" buy :D
Look at what people into cycling spend... Your pov as someone who "just looking for a bkie" is the same for someone who "just want a camera to take pictures" but isn't into the hobby.
Take a seat back mate.
@@94Ninsound94 "take a seat back"?
Imho, I think that fully integrated stem/cockpit with internally routed cables through the bearings should not be on a budget bike. Changing headset bearings used to cost 50 bucks and take 10 minutes for any good mech. Now, it could take 3hrs and just to change headset bearings you have to cut the brake hoses, sometimes you need to replace the entire hoses because they are cut to size with little excess if any. Once or twice I've had to remove the crankset and bottom bracket to re-route the hydraulic hose for the rear brake. The cost of replacing those headset bearings are now 5 times more expensive. Budget bike?
Hello from Santa Rosa, CA
Looks like a fantastic deal~!!!🎉❤
Bergamont and Scott Addict Gravel, is same owner and same bike as 2022. Just colour has changed.
I know its subjective but for me Bergamonts are the best looking bikes, especially forks.
Gaahhh I miss riding in the mud and wet trails so much. Here in the US they close the trails even if there is the slightest hint of rain or damp on the trails.
How well do these mechanical group sets shift when the cables are routed through the front tube like that? Seems like a tighter bend then conventional layout.
Would love for you to review the Basso Palta II, looking to buy one for a discount but it is sadly never available in my size
Decent all round spec. but something like nukeproof digger comp is even better value & better colour.(only my opinion)🤔🚴👍oh & at around £500 cheaper you could use the change to upgrade the wheels 👍sonder Camino al grx also one to consider 🚴
I was thinking exactly the same thing! I've been eyeing a Digger for a while. It's also 10kg for a medium frame and the specs look pretty decent.
Cheers
@@BrianRPaterson I have a Nukeproof digger swapped the tyres out to vittoria terreno and handlebar down to a 42cm as they come with a 50cm. Bought the bike from We Cycle in Snowdonia at £1195 in the sale 2 months ago that's all I can it's a brilliant bike absolutely love it and its 9.7kg.
@@JSC131 Thanks. I'm glad to hear that. The Digger looks like a great bike on or off road. And the prices are great at the moment. Cheers
@@JSC131 good to hear mate👍I know the cockpit was designed to ride like a mountain bike with the short stem& wide bars.pleased you like it 🚴
So is this where we're at? A 1.8k bike is considered budget?
Thanks for reviewing the Bergamont. I'm accustomed to the buzzy road feel of an aluminum frame, so it's fine with me. With one major change, that could be my gravel bike: I'd set it up as a 3X.
Wish x3 would come back. It works perfectly for gravel bikes.
Cool looking bike. Question: do you think advanced engineering of aluminum designs can make such frames as compliant as carbon? Aluminium and steel seem like better materials for gravel riding due to durability.
The best aluminium frames have definitely gotten better and narrowed the gap but from the bikes I've ridden there's still a noticeable difference. But wide tyres, 27.2mm carbon seatposts and other spec details can go a long way to reducing that gap
@@davidarthur thanks for the answer. I personally prefer steel for gravel MTB applications. BTW That place you were riding looked amazing. The atmosphere and fact you had it to yourself must have made it memorable.
I’ve had about a dozen bikes, mix of alloy, steel, and carbon. High end Steel bikes can be moderate weight and nice ride, high quality alloy frames will ride nice, and do well with with larger tires to soak up some of the vibrations, and can be very stiff and good bang for the buck. A high quality carbon frame is still superior in my opinion , light weight and nice vibration absorption, but you will need to pay extra.
Almost the right bike. A bike like the Kona Libre or on the budget Poseidon Redwood would have been perfect here with the ability to run wider tires & longer bike to make it a bit more stable.
Buy a cheap hardtail mtb and put gravel tires on it. I got a BMC two-stroke, and replaced the fork with a 27.5 mtb fork (reduced the HA by 2 degrees, and fits a 700x47c tire).
Thing just rips!
Sorry, but £1800 is not budget. Not even in today's hyper-inflated market. I would never pay that amount of money for an alloy frame bike on alloy wheels from a relatively unknown brand.
Can you suggest a sub £1800 carbon frame GRX equipped bike, fully integrated and from a known brand please. Genuinely interested
Happy to disagree with you. Think for the price, this is a banger of a deal, and it looks the part.
@@TrickyTree84 scott addict gravel grx 400 for 1400, mmr grip x for 1550, canyon grizzle, orea terra, I can go on
@TrickyTree Why can't I have an opinion without suggesting some random carbon bikes to you?
Besides carbon is hardly budget bike material?
@@wojciechgregorkiewicz2415 none of the bikes i mentioned where carbon
Not available in Canada :(
Great review. 👍
What do you classify as budget option? I know bike prices can go crazy, but wouldn't the grandurance 4 be more of the "budget" option? Still love the review though!
Poseidon X dropbar is the ultimate budget gravel bike.
There is a brand new X model, if you did not see it called the X Ambition.
It looks to be a better geometry for a gravel bike, as opposed to the original X which is more of an All-Road bike. The new model has a higher stack with slightly more sloping top tube for more endurance oriented riding and supposedly now includes the better brakes which they use on their Redwood model.
@@alexjohnson6462 I've seen it but I'm waiting for reviews on it. I wonder what the new geometry translates to? More comfortable on long rides?
Looks like good value! so it is just an off label Scott?
Very interesnting Seat angle
Nice & Thanks :)
Am considering the grandurance expert carbon.. usually ride xc bikes and having sit on one it's a weird experience, feels very short and the narrow bars will be a bit of an adjustment, while the gearing is way more suitable than an xc bike for my needs I am unsure about the feeling of gravel bike geometry
Hi David, My wife and I will be transitioning from road bikes to gravel bikes this year. We have our eyes on the Trek Checkpoint SL6. Would be interested on your thoughts on this bike ?
I have a 2022 model and love it. However, this is the first decent bike I've owned and I'll not have a chance to ride gravel in the near term, so I'm running it "road" with 30mm Vittoria Corsa N.EXT G2.0 TLR tyres. I've done about 1800Km since purchase and it's a joy to ride. I'm in my mid-50s and the relaxed geometry, Iso-speed seat post, and SRAM Rival groupset make for a very nice ride. I'd ditch the Bontrager Team Issue GR1 tyres and Bontrager tubeless sealant immediately though. I've never had so many non-sealing punctures! One small niggle with the 1x though is that there are a couple of ratios where my cadence jumps by over 10rpm. Oh, and like the bike in the review, mine came with the same useless rubber grommets. I replaced them with M5 grub screws: nothing to catch on when cleaning! There's a big Checkpoint community on Reddit called CheckpointClub if you need some Q&A.
In these times with the cost of living crisis, it's expensive. Any bike is better than none. Love the bike including the colour, but I'm not sure if I would send that sort of money, I would get a 2nd hand MTB, which would cover all surfaces. I'm looking for a replacement bike for my hybrid which was a lockdown bike after my road and mountain bike got stolen. I found I missed both my old bikes and thought gravel would replace both, but the prices as put me off.
MTB for gravel and road at decent speed..?
How fast can you go with only 40 theeth in the front?
Try the Forme Monsal if you want an actual budget gravel bike.
Good review awesome video.
But you can’t use “budget” on a $1000+ bike.
I guess is just for big rollers
I only meant budget in relation to the very expensive bikes that seem to command all the attention these days, of course everybody will have their own idea of what constituents a budget bike
@@davidarthur I know man. Everyone has a different budget
Good riding,fast I thought
Lovely bike , but always choice the mtb for that sort of riding
Zulässiges Gewicht inkl. Fahrer und Zuladung
115 kg
Ist das ein WITZ??
Nice bike for the cash
Think you accidentally a letter in the thumbnail, Dave - great video, though!
I'd like to see a gravel bike with cantilever brakes.
Buy a time machine and go back 30 years!
I would love to meet these people who pay over a thousand quid for a bike. It's crazy. Where do they find the money?
THEY WORK
The one thing it really has going for it is it doesn't have that ugly dropped chainstay.
i go for aluminium everytime
All bikes ride nice downhill...🙃
B U D G E T ?
Aluminum frame from gravel bike? Not for me even for 500. All that vibration through your body
£1800 a budget 🤣🤣Jesus how the other half live eh!!
budget gravel...£1,799
"Not as progressive as some more progressive" 🤣