Help with bikes?

greatalpineroadhey desperately trying to fill my life with distraction now the season is over and i’ve got into bikes.

i have an older hard tail kona mtb that i’m learning the ropes on and will probably use as a gravel/touring bike as well. also have a single speed flatbar.

my questions are:

would the mtb work as a gravel bike considering it doesn’t have those holes for mounting bags and panniers etc?

also — thinking of selling the cheapo single speed because as much as i love riding it it does top out at a certain speed and i want to upgrade to a properly geared drop bar road bike because I want to work on actually getting better at cycling.
are there any brands that i should keep an eye out for that aren’t complete garbage but aren’t going to be over $800 because i don’t have a dentist salary

thank you and have a great day

**This thread was edited on Oct 11th 2021 at 9:16:03am

Yes, there are solutions to not having bosses for mounting bags. You'll have to look a little harder and it won't be as clean, but you can make it work if you want. Also, what kind of touring are you really trying to do? Actual unpaved roads, light singletrack? 50/50 on and off pavement? These are all going to have significant impact on the kind of bike you'll want to be on.

Under $800 I'd keep an eye on the used market. I have a diamondback haanjo I got for around that much to supplement my mountain bikes that I really enjoy. I'm also really fond of the salsa journeyman for entry level gravel bikes.

How steep / long are the hills you ride? If its flat or shortish climbs you should be fine on a standard 50/34 front crank, 11/28 back 9 speed, shimano sora or w/e, aluminum frame, rim brake bike that is maybe 5-10 years old used. Should be able to pick up for $500 (or at least you used to be able to) and it'll be easy to service, dependable, etc. Basically all the new stuff - tubeless tires, wider cassettes in the back, disc brakes, fat tires, etc. are all only really nice on a road bike if you ride a lot of long ass steep climbs that have some dirt mixed in and you are not that strong. Else the older bikes actually work almost as well and are way easier / cheaper to deal with albeit a bit less comfortable. Spend some $ on nice tires (28c if it can fit it, but maybe stuck with 25c), clipless pedals / shoes, flat change kit, and a helmet and roll on!

Edit: this is for a road bike. If you want to ride mixed surface just ignore all of this, for the most part. Then I would prioritize being able to fit like 35c tires at least.

**This post was edited on Oct 11th 2021 at 2:12:18pm

byuboundYes, there are solutions to not having bosses for mounting bags. You'll have to look a little harder and it won't be as clean, but you can make it work if you want. Also, what kind of touring are you really trying to do? Actual unpaved roads, light singletrack? 50/50 on and off pavement? These are all going to have significant impact on the kind of bike you'll want to be on.

Under $800 I'd keep an eye on the used market. I have a diamondback haanjo I got for around that much to supplement my mountain bikes that I really enjoy. I'm also really fond of the salsa journeyman for entry level gravel bikes.

single track and unpaved roads definitely

I don’t think I’ll both buying a gravel bike, I think i’ll just buy a proper road bike and ride the mtb on gravel trips.

ericformanHow steep / long are the hills you ride? If its flat or shortish climbs you should be fine on a standard 50/34 front crank, 11/28 back 9 speed, shimano sora or w/e, aluminum frame, rim brake bike that is maybe 5-10 years old used. Should be able to pick up for $500 (or at least you used to be able to) and it'll be easy to service, dependable, etc. Basically all the new stuff - tubeless tires, wider cassettes in the back, disc brakes, fat tires, etc. are all only really nice on a road bike if you ride a lot of long ass steep climbs that have some dirt mixed in and you are not that strong. Else the older bikes actually work almost as well and are way easier / cheaper to deal with albeit a bit less comfortable. Spend some $ on nice tires (28c if it can fit it, but maybe stuck with 25c), clipless pedals / shoes, flat change kit, and a helmet and roll on!

Edit: this is for a road bike. If you want to ride mixed surface just ignore all of this, for the most part. Then I would prioritize being able to fit like 35c tires at least.

**This post was edited on Oct 11th 2021 at 2:12:18pm

cheers thank you!!

thank you both for the help :-)