Co-op Cycles  ADV 2.3 Bike

I picked up this ADV 2.3 gravel bike at 40% off as my first gravel bike. I love it so far coming from a mountain bike, as the geometry and comfort are so much nicer for the gravel and paved trails that I'll primarily be riding on from this point forward. The bike and drivetrain feels solid overall, which is important at 6'3" and 270lbs. The 1x11 gearing is well-matched to the intended purpose, and I can mash it when needed! Not every bike will tolerate me doing that. Did 26 miles on the C&O canal over the weekend and have about 60 miles on it total including 12 miles of paved trail. I think this bike should be able to handle some of the more mild singletracks in my area also with care, but haven't tried them yet. It's flawless so far, but will see how well it holds up. Very pleased with the purchase.

I left a great review on this bike around 3 months after I had purchased thinking nothing would go wrong. Well, as the title suggests, in the middle of a ride the stock FSA crank fell off on the drive side. I took it to the REI I got it from and they said the crank had been put together with epoxy. I have put less than 200 miles on this bike and the crank falling off is completely inappropriate. Unless REI changes the cranks that come on the bike, I would recommend replacing the cranks immediately to prevent any accidents. Every other component is amazing and works flawlessly. Very disappointed with the poor quality parts on an otherwise great bike.

I have owned the bike for about one month and absolutely love it. I transitioned from a 21 speed road bike and am truly impressed by the way it rides on pavement as well as gravel roads and paths.

Closeout model pricing caught my attention. I had been browsing REI and competitors for my first gravel bike after riding my old mountain bike on a local trail multiple times over the past year. I’d “wanted/desired” a lighter weight carbon frame, but the specs of this drivetrain and dropper post led me to click on the good price. I’m not a racer so the aluminum frame and not quite lightweight wheelset won’t be a detriment for me. The GRX 1x11 drivetrain shifts really smoothly during my first 4 rides so far. I’d guessed the bigger cog tooth jumps as compared to my road bike might feel “clunky” but I’m pleased with how well the RD quickly moves from cog to cog - both directions. Assembly from local REI store was good. I got home and measured distance from pedal to top of saddle on my road bike and adjusted this new one to match. It’s close to right on the mark. At pickup the store clerk pointed out with a new bike, they offer 15% off accessories, which was helpful as I’d planned to add SPD pedals and a couple of bottle cages anyway. This bike is not a lightweight, but is much lighter than my older triple-ring mtn bike that I’d been riding on a local gravel trail. The website specs show a GRX crankset, but as others have noted, it has an FSA Gossamer Pro 40T. So far, I like this bike. The wheels and 40mm gravel tires don’t spin like my road bike on pavement (about 20 miles mixed in of some rolling hills so far) but that’s not the intent of this setup anyway. For the 50 miles of gravel so far through 4 outings, it’s been fun and trouble free.

I’ve been cycling for a few years but this was my first gravel bike. Got the ADV 2.3 on sale which made it a great price for what you get (hydro disc brakes, upgraded components, dropper post). I had the REI shop set it up tubeless right away. I’ve put on nearly 200 miles in the first month and I’m in love with the bike and the sport. If I had to nitpick, as others have said you can find tiny flaws in the paint job. I wouldn’t have picked the red color myself, but it was the only option and it has definitely grown on me. My only other complaints would be the lack of mounting points on the top tube and on the down tube near the bottom bracket, but there are ways around that.

I have a Canyon Grail SL 7 and wanted an aluminum gravel bike with rear rack mounts for touring and pulling a kid trailer. I got the ADV 2.3 on sale and so far, I’m super happy with it. It’s relatively lightweight and has well-spec’d GRX components. I don’t need or want front fork mounts so I didn’t miss this feature. Kid trailer attachment requires a change of thru axles. I’m 5’5” and 157 lbs. Size Small fits well.

I'm a novice cyclist and was looking for a gravel bike as a way to cross train, bike commute, and maybe eventually dabble in some bikepacking. I'm also the type to buy aspirational gear, and I wanted something that I can grow into. My last bike purchase was about 20 years ago and it was a maybe $500 Trek mountain bike, so I didn't really have anything to go off of. I did lots of research for options, setting a budget of no more than $2,000. When I saw this was on closeout at 40% off it really seemed like an amazing deal with similar or better specs than other options I was looking at and I would say it definitely has lived up to that so far. I've only had it for about a week (about 50 miles), but I am really happy with this bike. The components seem to be high quality and I love the 1x drivetrain. So far it has handled everything in stride, including rough roads, multiuse paved trails, and a little dabbling in dirt trails. Like I said, I don't really have a good comparison, and I've never ridden a bike with road bike geometry much in my life (my most recent cycling experience was a rented Dutch bike in Copenhagen for 3 days), but if you're like me, ready to dive into the sport, I think this is a great option. For sizing, I'm 6' tall with about a 33-ish inch inseam and probably fairly average wingspan. I tried out both the L and the XL. While I could comfortably ride both, I went with the L since it felt like I was more connected to the bike and would feel more athletic on it as opposed to a more relaxed position on the XL.

I’ve owned this bike for about a year now and absolutely love it. I ride it on all of the bike paths in and around Denver, highline canal, waterton canyon, bear creek Singletrack, Matthew winters Singletrack, & much much more! A few necessary upgrades that I did for this bike though were right off the bat I switched the handlebars out for the more traditional flared gravel bar (Salsa Wood-chipper), I added Cushcore in both tires, and lastly, I actually rebuilt the rear wheel around an Industry Nine Hydra Hub. The only downside to this bike is the gearing and lack of fork mounts (Topeak Versa Mount is the answer to that). The front chainring is a 40t and the rear is cassette ratio is a 11spd, 11-42t. For all those not familiar, this gear ratio is not a long distance, pedaling ratio. It’s a rather burley gear ratio that will require a fair amount of strength on climbs, especially if the bike is loaded with gear. There’s two, cost effective, solutions to this before you go down the road of switching the entire drivetrain, which I would not recommend at all. 1). Replace the front 40t chainring with a smaller ring; 32t, 34t, 36t, & 38t. 2). Replace the rear hub with a high engagement hub; Industry Nine, Hope Tech, DT Swiss, White Industries, etc. I went this route and have noticed a difference when pedaling for longer distances and climbing, however, do note that this method does NOT make it easier to pedal, it just maximizes the efficiency of every pedal stroke. Overall, solid bike. Happy trails!

I am a heavy rider 320lbs. and this bike is working well for me. I go a little overboard when researching new purchases and I landed on this as the best-value bike out there, I am an REI member and used a periodic coupon along with the credit card sign-up bonus and was able to get this bike and gear it up for a very reasonable price.

Taken this bike on paved roads, dirt forest roads, gravel roads, and it has handled all of them very well. The paint seems to scratch off really easily but other than that there are no complaints!