Riding on a sunny evening in the English countryside is one of my favourite things in the world. Very few cars, golden hour, rolling hills. Excellent.
Road Cycling
- Thread starter FrenchTart
- Start date
Riding on a sunny evening in the English countryside is one of my favourite things in the world. Very few cars, golden hour, rolling hills. Excellent.
not been out for a while, went to france for a few days to drive the ricer honda on track, got ill and came back nursing a fat man flu, want to get out but weather is looking grim for a few days now. Will be fat and slow once I recover from this.. boo
miss it.
not got a new bike either, tempted by this : https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-ultra-grit-rival-xplr-axs-e1/?colour=midnight-metallic-blue
miss it.
not got a new bike either, tempted by this : https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-ultra-grit-rival-xplr-axs-e1/?colour=midnight-metallic-blue
Everything is on sale right now, is there nothing else out there that takes your fancy that can be had at 30+% off?
my main requirements are :
sram xplr 1x groupset, - AXS version, so electronic.
decent frame with some storage in downtube ideally
universal hanger
decent tire clearance 45c +
ribble is one that does that, there's not much else for that price sadly.
we recently got(6months ago) the cgr-725 steel and honestly it was way better built/put together than the boardman I have and the argo18 that was done by sigmasport - no issues with loose brake discs, stem etc.. mind you, it was the first and only bike we got from them so I can't comment on how consistent it is..
Trek 2025 Checkpoint SL 5 AXS Gen 3 Gravel Bike
Trek 2025 Checkpoint SL 5 AXS Gen 3 Gravel Bike LAVA/BLACK OLIVE £2900.00
Cervelo Aspero Apex XPLR 1X 2026
Flat-out fast meets all-road refinement. The Cervélo Áspero Apex XPLR AXS 1 2026 is built for riders chasing speed and versatility across any gravel terrain. With aerodynamic gains…
www.wheelbase.co.uk
I really like that Trek...
Both great looking bikes.
My August has been very sedentary as we moved rental again and then general tiredness and busyness at work has led me to have no energy to do anything. Really hoping to start making a shift back to decent volume as otherwise i'm going to head to the Traka and be dropping distance again!
My August has been very sedentary as we moved rental again and then general tiredness and busyness at work has led me to have no energy to do anything. Really hoping to start making a shift back to decent volume as otherwise i'm going to head to the Traka and be dropping distance again!
yeah I saw the camino Ti but it's not a good looking thing is it, what's with the bars/shifter setup..
Trek 2025 Checkpoint SL 5 AXS Gen 3 Gravel Bike
Trek 2025 Checkpoint SL 5 AXS Gen 3 Gravel Bike LAVA/BLACK OLIVE £2900.00www.cyclesuk.com
Cervelo Aspero Apex XPLR 1X 2026
Flat-out fast meets all-road refinement. The Cervélo Áspero Apex XPLR AXS 1 2026 is built for riders chasing speed and versatility across any gravel terrain. With aerodynamic gains…
I really like that Trek...
Trek is very good spec, https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Trek-Check...een/Ivy%20Smoke%20Splatter,size:S&sku=1040059 is what I'm quite keen on, we'll see once I get back from my holidays..
cervelo is a nice frame but basic apex with no electronic for that price?
similar to @Martynt74 I've done nothing, went to europe, got back with a cold and now the weather decided to just turn british..
Last edited:
Having bought my BikeBoxAlan a couple of years ago at such a bargain price, I've put off buying a new EasyFit version as I can't find them second-hand, so would have to pay full price, but I've just bit the bullet. My next two trips mean early departures home, so probably packing the day before after a long hard ride... the thought of it being much easier to pack, tipped the balance. I now have a bright pink BBA I don't need if that interests anyone... (although maybe I should look into renting them?)
nice spec but for me gravel should be standing out a bityeah I saw the camino Ti but it's not a good looking thing is it, what's with the bars/shifter setup..
Trek is very good spec, https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Trek-Checkpoint-SL-6-AXS-Gen-3-2026-Gravel-Bike_278849.htm?variations=colourark%20Green/Ivy%20Smoke%20Splatter,size:S&sku=1040059 is what I'm quite keen on, we'll see once I get back from my holidays..
cervelo is a nice frame but basic apex with no electronic for that price?
similar to @Martynt74 I've done nothing, went to europe, got back with a cold and now the weather decided to just turn british..
not muted colours hahaAgreed, the Cervelo was a superb colour!
Annoyingly i came to go out at lunch and had a flat tyre. Pumped it up and could hear some air leaking as i removed the pump. Couldn't see/feel any obvious air gap and it was absolutely fine last time i was out. Ended up grabbing my ebike without the battery and doing a quick ride on that.
Got home and my front tyre on my proper bike was completely flat and looks like it'd come away from the rim slightly and leaking a bit of sealant.
Guess this is the excuse i've needed to finally start swapping over the forks/wheelset!
Annoyingly i came to go out at lunch and had a flat tyre. Pumped it up and could hear some air leaking as i removed the pump. Couldn't see/feel any obvious air gap and it was absolutely fine last time i was out. Ended up grabbing my ebike without the battery and doing a quick ride on that.
Got home and my front tyre on my proper bike was completely flat and looks like it'd come away from the rim slightly and leaking a bit of sealant.
Guess this is the excuse i've needed to finally start swapping over the forks/wheelset!
Apex XPLR is electronic btwyeah I saw the camino Ti but it's not a good looking thing is it, what's with the bars/shifter setup..
Trek is very good spec, https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Trek-Checkpoint-SL-6-AXS-Gen-3-2026-Gravel-Bike_278849.htm?variations=colour
cervelo is a nice frame but basic apex with no electronic for that price?
similar to @Martynt74 I've done nothing, went to europe, got back with a cold and now the weather decided to just turn british..
It's all so good not sure you would notice much difference to Rival, although that has gone 13 speed this year (also means more expensive parts etc.)
nice spec but for me gravel should be standing out a bit
that's what my boardman is, bright yellow. But wife confiscated that..
no, the XPLR is their 1x "gravel" groupset category, the XPLR AXS is what electronic ones are classified as
rival has had a chunky upgrade, massive change in braking performance(one thing I dislike compared to say 105 shimano) and longer hoods which I much prefer, not major but nice to have. And the 13spd is again, nice to have, the 12 currently on boardman is perfectly fine. My view is, if I'm buying a new bike, I want current groupset with it so no previous generation rival etc.
Yeah understood on the latest generation stuff that's coolthat's what my boardman is, bright yellow. But wife confiscated that..
no, the XPLR is their 1x "gravel" groupset category, the XPLR AXS is what electronic ones are classified as
rival has had a chunky upgrade, massive change in braking performance(one thing I dislike compared to say 105 shimano) and longer hoods which I much prefer, not major but nice to have. And the 13spd is again, nice to have, the 12 currently on boardman is perfectly fine. My view is, if I'm buying a new bike, I want current groupset with it so no previous generation rival etc.
But the Cervelo is definitely AXS lol
their website must be a mess, the official cervelo is more like a £4k+ bike with AXS, the website title is the non-axs version(£3200 RRP) and the description is of the AXS version, bet ya it's the non AXS version, the pics show the non axs version too.
Áspero Carbon Gravel Bike | Cervélo Cycles
The Áspero is a new kind of gravel machine, one engineered not to roam the trails, but to slay them. Learn more about our latest gravel bike.
www.cervelo.com
cervelo website has a better..
but also, they list the correct version with correct pics and description here : https://www.wheelbase.co.uk/product...ad-bikes/cervelo-aspero-apex-xplr-axs-1-2026/
their website must be a mess, the official cervelo is more like a £4k+ bike with AXS, the website title is the non-axs version(£3200 RRP) and the description is of the AXS version, bet ya it's the non AXS version, the pics show the non axs version too.
Áspero Carbon Gravel Bike | Cervélo Cycles
The Áspero is a new kind of gravel machine, one engineered not to roam the trails, but to slay them. Learn more about our latest gravel bike.
cervelo website has a better..
but also, they list the correct version with correct pics and description here : https://www.wheelbase.co.uk/product...ad-bikes/cervelo-aspero-apex-xplr-axs-1-2026/
Yeah, can even see the cable going to the RD on the Wheelbase link above.
I started swapping bits over on my bike last night. Got the forks swapped over. I had bought a cheap gravel handlebar from aliexpress. My intention being that i want to move from Integrated to stem/bar combo and then i can experiment with different widths/shapes. Once i settle i'll then buy an integrated in that size again.
When it arrived a month ago it looked a bit narrow but in the house move i didn't think much of it. Came to fit it last night and it's massively narrow. I measured it and realised that in swapping pages on the website i didn't select the 460mm width version on the final purchase and it's defaulted to 340mm. Luckily Aliexpress offer 90 day returns as i don't think that'll ever be useful for me.
Also it seems my wheelset included tubeless valves so i didn't need to buy any. Although i did buy some sweet gold ones.
Going to drop the bike off at the shop in a bit. In changing the forks the headset bearings were a bit rusty in places where salt/sweat has dripped down and i think it makes sense to give it a decent check over. I know the shop has some Richey gravel bars so hoping they have something suitable. Otherwise i'll just stick with my current ones for now and route the cabling externally.
Also, also. The colour of these forks don't go with my frame at all!
Last edited: