Hello everyone, I'm new to the forums and new to bikes as well. I am looking to finally get my first bike after putting it off for 3 years or so. I think the gravel/adventure type bikes will suit my needs.
\n
\nI want a bike that I could commute on a daily basis with but also be able to ride some single track with. No crazy trails as from what I've read it really seems worth it to get a dedicated mountain bike eventuallh but I would love to ride off road a good amount. The bikes I've been looking at are the Specialized Diverge A1 for $800 (the LBS has one that I rode and I like it), the Jamie Renegade Expat for $999, the Raleigh Willard 2 for $780, the Raleigh Stuntman for $1025, and maybe if the bike shop has an older Specialized AWOL they can discount a bit because $1200 is out of my price level. I really don't want to spend more than $1000, but the lower the price the better. I'd also like the bike to do be functional for some touring, whether that be trails or roads and trails. It doesn't have to handles ton of weight though as my camping gear is very lightweight and I weigh around 155 lbs. Is it worth it to try to get the AWOL or would one of the other bikes suit me well? Thanks for your help!
\n
\nI'd like to add that the Willard 2 seems to be different than the one on their site. The one I found for that price has a SRAM 1x drivetrain with 11-42t cassette.
I have a Willard 1 (2016) with about 4k mi on it and honestly have been quite satisfied with it. Comfortable ride. The new Willard 2 looks like it has front fork mounts on it which should help with your touring aspirations. Plus it has the new Sora group set which routes the cables under the bar wraps. I have taken mine on trails and single track and it does just fine within it's limits (low bb) but anything sensible it's fine.
They changed the cranks too from a 34-46 to a 30-46 which should help on trails or hills. But they went from a Shimano crank to an FSA looks like a wash there , my sora cranks have been very strong.
I'm actually thinking about getting the W2(2018) model with the mounts if that is true to the picture on the site. Then sell my old bike but I really like my red black and white color scheme..
The Stuntman looks good too but from what I've read it is on the heavy side. The Awol would be good for loaded touring. Check out the Specialized Sequoia dont know the prices but looks nice.
That's great to hear. The Willard does seem like a really nice bike. What size did you get yours and how tall are you? I'm 5'9"/5'10" but my legs are slightly shorter than other people my height. I tested a Trek Crossrip 2 in a 56cm and it felt too big for me.
\n
I have the 60, I"m 6'1" 215lbs, mine fits just right.
\nNot much standover to speak of. But I'm ok with that. The Willard is what I would call a sporty geometry, not as relaxed as some other bikes in the genre. I can't help on the sizing, I just went by Raleigh's chart and matched it to my
\n ride at the time and am very happy with the fit.
I rode a Willard today and I think I've decided I want something not so aggressive. I don't plan to do any racing and I think a more relaxed bike would be much more comfortable to me for commuting and riding around. Are there any bikes you can recommend in my price range? I've looked at the Raleigh Stuntman that I found a good deal on for $1050 but may still not be able to spend that much.
I bought mine sight unseen and just got lucky I guess. I ended up flipping the stem from negative to positive rise and put all the spacers underneath and that made a huge difference.\n\nI haven’t been checking out to many bikes lately since mine is dialed in but you might want to check out the Kona Rove Al. It’s in your budget. I owned one and put a couple thousand miles on it. Compared to the Willard it was better off road, more relaxed and had fork mounts. The only bummer was the Claris Group set which for me acted up after about a thousand miles. I did love that bike though and it had good resale value.
If you like the fit? on the Diverge, then you'll find the Stuntman and AWOL being longer in the reach. The Stuntman is also pretty heavy (pushing toward 29lbs in medium?).
The Jamis and Diverge in size 54 and 56 are very close in reach and stack. Both 54's being within a couple of mm.
The Diverge can fit around a 700x36 tire. The Jamis; a 700x42 (or 650x47), which would point me in the Jamis direction, when looking at how you want to use the bike.
Heaps of normal mounting points on the Jamis. Plus there's a threaded BB.
aguerra.1993 wrote:I rode a Willard today and I think I've decided I want something not so aggressive. I don't plan to do any racing and I think a more relaxed bike would be much more comfortable to me for commuting and riding around. Are there any bikes you can recommend in my price range? I've looked at the Raleigh Stuntman that I found a good deal on for $1050 but may still not be able to spend that much.
I don't know anything about the Raleigh Willard but did you take a look at the Tamland 1. Not a techy guy here but I have one and like it. It weighs in right around 25 lbs for a 56 cm frame.
I ended buying a Raleigh Stuntman last night for $1090 new and it'll arrive on Wednesday. It's probably a lot of bike for me but I am excited to mess around in a bunch of different types of riding with it. Thank you everyone for your help! Any tips you can give on keeping it well maintained? I have to read up on maintenance for hydraulic brakes and drop seats and all that fancy stuff which is a bit intimidating.
