New Bike Dilemma

I have a titanium framed Dolan ADX disc, very much a road bike but has clearance for 35 mm tyres. It's marketed as an "endurance/audax" bike and it's certainly got a very relaxed geometry but in all honestly there is barely any difference between how this feels in terms of performance on the road compared to my more "racy" road bikes.

In winter it's on 30mm road tyres with mudguards. This summer I got rid of the mudguards and fitted 34mm WTB Byways and have been using it on bridleways, fire-roads etc and it handles this really well. My only criticism is that even with a 34T sprocket and 34T chainring it's a little overgeared in some scenarios, the hydraulic disc breaks with 1140mm rotors handle most descents well but I might consider going to a 160mm rotor up front in the future.

On road with these tyres it does feel sluggish and requires significantly more effort to move at speed! I guess in my opinion the tyres have a much bigger impact than the frame in terms of how it feels on the road. In the past I have done some light off-roading with the 30mm slicks (tubeless at 50psi), having now tried the 34mm nobblies I conclude the sluggishness on road is worth it for the better grip and increased comfort off it!

The Specialized Roubaix might be worth a look if you want something that can go like the clappers on road but take a fair bit of off-road punishment? Not sure what its weight limit is though.

A modern gravel bike is only sluggish if you fit gravel tyres to it, the weight difference in the actual bike is minimal, and coming from MTBing and not wanting to set the world on fire, a relaxed endurance ride is where you are likely to be.

I have a gravel and road bike and the gravel is harder work, but then it has 32mm heavy tyres on it, as opposed to 25mm Conti's.

I keep meaning to swap rotors to try out a frame vs frame comparison. I'll do that when road bike is having its major service.

Modern road bikes are moving towards gravel-like specs anyway - 30mm+ tyre capacity, more relaxed geometry.

Basically, the answer is wheelsets - if you want a road bike fit lightweight wheel and narrower, lighter tyre, off-road, heavier wheel, more robust, treaded tyre - to whatever degree. Gravel with the right tyre can get down pretty severe stuff that is really MTB territory, though that is generally get you out of trouble riding.

Hello Joe, I have had a Cube Attain GTC (2016 model) since 2017 when I weighed between 95kg and 100kg.  I'm now down to 85kg, but the bike has been pretty sturdy (although I did snap a few spokes on the original rear wheel).  I ride in the Yorkshire Dales, so it gets heavy use and it as stood up briliantly. I even took it on some off-road sections in the Lakes this year (on some Lost Lanes routes).  I have had a few offs, but the paintwork/finish has stood up well. I ride it through winter too.  I'm on 25s all year, but I think you can get 35s on there pretty easily. Have fun choosing!

If you're close to the upper weight limit, I would be inclined to think that going for a "gravel" bike over a "road" bike is prudent. Although the nomenclature isn't always definitive, bikes are designed and tested based on various classifications. In Europe, the most common scheme is EN 17406 (summaried neatly here https://www.focus-bikes.com/int/bike-classification) or ISO 4210 (summarised in this manual from Specialized: https://media.specialized.com/support/collateral/0000171141.pdf ). In America, the ASTM categories are more common (https://www.cpsc.gov/Regulations-Laws--Standards/Voluntary-Standards/Top...) 

Gravel bikes tend to be built to a higher classification of intended use and therefore will be a bit more robust. Taking a road bike on a gravel path might be fine for a light rider, but is asking for trouble if you're close to the weight limit, especially if the surface gets lumpier. Even on roads, a gravel bike will give you a bit more of a safety margin if you encounter potholes or other road defects.

You do get carbon gravel bikes, and carbon is pretty tough - although I would also be concerned about the potential for additional damage to a frame from stones if the frame was not designed for it. This can be ameliorated to some extent with after-market protection (e.g. RideWrap or generic heli-tape). Some gravel bikes come with integrated protection in key areas such as the bottom of the down tube. 

With appropriate tyres, a gravel bike also gives very little speed away on the road compared to a road bike. Sure, if you're at the pointy end of a race then it might make a noticeable difference, but in all other situations it won't matter. Fitted with slick tyres, you can quite happily do fast road rides on a gravel bike (and indeed I like the fact that my gravel bike has clearance for relatively wide slick tyres and full mudguards - for winter riding in the UK, both are highly recommended).

I know plenty of people who have Sonder and Ribble bikes, and they generally seem happy with them. Ribble have had some customer service/supply chain issues recently (well documented on this site) but as far as I can tell, the bikes themselves are good. My gravel bike is a Fairlight Secan which I am very happy with (although a slightly higher price point than the entry level available at Sonder/Ribble). 

Whilst having a LBS on hand for warranty issues can be useful, remember that a LBS will be capable of servicing/repairing bikes from pretty much any brand.

I'd say go for a gravel bike with wide tyres and get another spare set of wheels with fast road tyres, swapping them out depending on your route. I had an oldish cyclocross bike, a tad sluggish, and tried on the wheels from a road bike and found out the speed difference virtually disappeared. 

Its always been possible to get or build-up an all-purpose bike albeit such mounts are not the very, very best at all kinds of cycling. Only the marketing names have changed.  Well, and a few of the technologies have improved.

I currently have such a bike which is the most versatile of such bikes I've ever had .... and I've bought or built-up a few in over 60 years cycling.  These days it would be called an "all-roads" bike.

It's used primarily as a winter (road) bike but also as a touring bike, a gravel bike and a shopping bike. The design of the frame is such that the swap of a few components transforms it into whatever sort of bike you like. It could do cyclo-cross, audax, commuter and also road racing bike. The compromises are very few indeed compared to such bikes of yesteryear.

The important features are: ability to take wide tyres as well as road-width tyres; fixings for mudguards & rack (which can be of the hidden or standard kind); a geometry that enables changes of rider position by use of different stems, bars, setposts and saddles.

Such bikes are still rapid on the road, even if not TdeF standard. Yet they're tough enough for all those other uses with just a change of a few components (stem, tyres/wheels, gearing, mudguards/racks, etc.).

A bike purveyor will generally prefer to sell you two or even five bikes, one per cycling-style. But there really are bikes that can do it all. These days they do it all very well, with so little compromise that you won't notice.

You do have to be something of a bike mechanic and component collector to make the most of them, though. And immune to the yen for a collection of bike frocks of various current-fashion must haveness. 

PS The bike I have of this ilk is a Vitus e-substance but you can find any number of similar designs without the motor/battery. The e-bike version uses Fazua, which is a motor/battery module that can be taken out and replaced with an empty case (good for carrying stuff if you need to). This makes the bike even more versatile in being a 14.5kg e-bike or an 11.5kg ordinary bike.