Bicycle recommendation for gravel road riding?

[Okey Dokey]

Hi, I'm looking to get a bike to replace my irrevocably broken 20 yr old 10 speed. I live on a gravel road and that is where I would ride, with perhaps the occasional venture onto a sealed road. I ride just for general fitness/health. I will NOT be doing jumps, ditches, creeks, off road.

For say $300 would you go a new Avanti discovery or pay more for an expedition. Or go for a "hybrid" second hand? What about a Trek 4500 series (ex rental)?

Any suggestions gratefully received, particularly from cyclists. Thanks.

EDIT: If anyone would like to comment on MTB brands entry/intermediate level such as Avanti/gt/Giant/bauer I 'd like to hear your thoughts. Value for money, piece of crap, etc

[neels]

If you're going to be riding mostly on gravel roads then a hybrid is not really what you're after, they're basically a road bike with flat bars so designed for sealed roads, the Avanti discovery is similar as it's more a city commuting bike. The Trek would be a better option if you can get it for a reasonable price, hopefully being an ex rental it should have been well looked after.

[Okey Dokey]

Thank you. I wasn't sure about the hybrids, so that clears things up. They don't sound suitable. I am wary of any trademe stuff because I don't know the bike's history, but I also wanted something better than warehouse quality. Cheers!

[scissorhands]

A sprung seat post or rear suspension would be good. Tyres make a bike feel totally different. Getting large volume 2.6x26 tyres will work to soften the ride too. Cable disk brakes suck, stick with rim brakes for $300.

Trademe bikes are fine, just ask questions and look at the feedback. At pickup you can always walk away if they lied.

[Okey Dokey]

Thank you for that information. My local bike shop kind of scared me off trade me with tales of worn sprockets and bearings destoyed by going through water. Your brake advice is great- I always thought my rim was a great big disk anyway:)

Although I am a pretty gentle rider, I would prefer a solid reliable bike.

[Tank]

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/20/article-1288065-0A1DE8DC000005DC-837_634x455.jpg

[Okey Dokey]

looks perfect- thanks, tank! :)

[Flip]

I also do a little MTBing on gravel roads and found that the tires make a huge diference to how the bike rides. The factory tires were road biased ones and I brought some track tyres that improved the grip 300%.

[Okey Dokey]

Thanks, Flip. That is something I hadn't even thought about. Makes good sense.

[marty]

I bought a 2 year old top of the line Avanti Competitor for $400. It's fucking brilliant - hardtail, light, great componentry, beautiful to ride anywhere, but holy hell >> http://www.trademe.co.nz/Sports/Cycling/Mountain-bikes/Downhill/auction-298005077.htm

[Okey Dokey]

Geez, Marty, it is WAY out of my feeble budget (and ability), but someone is going to get quite a bike!

[CookMySock]

My local bike shop kind of scared me off trade me with tales of worn sprockets and bearings destoyed by going through water.Thats the whole idea. Bearings are trivial to replace and you can check the sprockets from a photo anyway.

Steve

[neels]

Bearings are trivial to replace and you can check the sprockets from a photo anyway.
Um, no.

Bottom bracket min $40 plus fitting, if hub bearings are shot then you're possibly throwing the wheel away, new freehub around $60, headset head min $60. Not trivial.

There's no way you can tell if chainrings or cassette are shagged from a photo, if a bike has been running with a worn chain (and you're only talking 0.060" in 6") a new one can skip. Replacing chain & cassette starts at around $70, if the chainrings are stuffed then you're looking upwards of $100 to replace them.

A cheap bike can become an expensive bike very quickly. Your bike shop is not trying to scare you into buying a new bike, there's money in it for them if you buy a dog and take it to them to fix it, but it's no fun for them telling people that their $200 bike is going to cost them $400 to get to a usable state.

[Okey Dokey]

Thanks, neels, I think you understand that I am looking for a ready to go bike at $300, and don't really have the excess $$$ to spend fixing bits. Added to that is that the local shop has no secondhands at the moment, and I am 3 hours from Chch and Dunedin. I can't really afford to drive all that way to find a liar and a bad bike.

I am playing it "safe" looking at bikes with known service histories, in return for a bit of security. I realise by doing this I am missing potential bargains (but also avoiding bombs, I hope)

DB, I appreciate your input, too. A bit more cash, local bikes, or mechanical ability would make your approach work.

Cheers.

[CookMySock]

Um, no. Ok. I've only worked on older stuff. ;)

Steve