🚴‍♀️ Bikes

Currently in the market for a new bicycle. I don't want a mountain bike because I don't think that I will ever cycle up, nor down a mountain. The tyres are far too grippy for commuting, and the suspension is wasted for the kind of use i'm anticipating. Nor do I want a pure road bike, because I'd like the option to go off the tarmac occasionally.

There are so many types to choose from. I've been advised to consider a gravel bike, which is more road-bikey than a hybrid bike, but less mountain-bikey than a cyclo-cross bike. Apparently gravel bikes are also known as adventure bikes. I just found this out and have been looking at this stuff for days now 🤦‍♂️.

There are so many price points depending upon what you are after. From what I gather the more you pay, the more carbon fiber you get. The cheaper models are full aluminium, with a metal fork. The more expensive models are aluminium frame and carbon fiber forks, then carbon fiber frames etc. You can probably tell i'm not an enthusiast at this stage, there's definitely more to it than that.

From the looks of things prices are higher right now than they were last year, which is no surprise. The Cannondale Topstone 4 is retailing for around £1050 right now, whereas it looks like it was around the £850 mark late last year. Alternately im looking at Specialized Cirrus X 3.o or Diverge E5 models. The Cirrus is a hybrid whereas the Diverge and Topstone are Gravel/Adventure.

I'm open to ideas though; it's difficult to navigate the space with demand so high and supply chain issues due to covid just starting to improve. Thankfully my employer is registered with cycle2work so I should be able to get a decent price reduction through tax relief and spread the cost in payroll.