Dolan GXC Carbon Disc Gravel Bike - Shimano 105 R7020 HDR

Went for gloss black with white decals,fancied something different from traditional road bike.Wanted a more upright position so opted for mtb riser bars with flat bar shifters and found it to be a comfortable ride with 32mm conti tyres.

I got this bike to replace my ageing Specialized Tri-cross which served me well over the last 10 years. I am amazed how comfortable and good looking the bike is and it handles like a dream. I am well impressed and if I was to rate this as 10/10 my old Tri - cross would be a measly 3/10 in comparison. Well done Dolan it's a winner for me!

I bought this as a winter bike, commuting bike and for cycle trails with the family. It will see mostly road riding, although many of the roads around here are barely farm tracks, littered with pot holes and loose gravel. It was bought to replace a Decathlon bike, wrecked when I was hit by a careless taxi driver while getting to work which also left me with broken bones. Thought I'd take the chance to upgrade to a better bike as so much of my riding is in the winter or bad weather. Bike arrived in perfect condition. I opted for Mavic Allroad Elite wheels and Yksion 30mm tyres which I have set up tubeless. The tyres measure almost 35mm on the wide rims. I also replaced the saddle and seatpost straight away with my usual type. Whole bike now weighs at around 8.8kg including bottle racks, pedals, Garmin mount etc. Bike rides well on roads and feels safe and planted on any road surface; all but the worst potholes are shrugged off. Brakes are awesome and give a lot of confidence. It handled the one very tough trail I have done really well considering the tyres I chose. No brake squeaking, although a tiny bit of brake rub on the rear rotor which I am still trying to stop. I have ridden about 500km so far (better weather has meant I have used my sunny day bike lately). For a full carbon bike with full 105 this bike is a bargain. Lots of mounting points. You could use this bike for anything really, although if you are a serious road rider and this was your only bike, I would get a second road specific set of wheels and tyres. I really recommend this and I love the way you can customise your bike with Dolan. Usually you are stuck with stock crank lengths, wheels, cassettes, bar widths etc. Communication good, and delivery took about 3 weeks which wasn't bad considering we were at the worst period of lockdown. Only problem is this bike is probably a bit too good for commuting, so now trying to persuade my other half that I need another bike...