Top of the aluminium Silex bikes, the 700 is worth a look if you want the frame's load-carrying practicality with a drivetrain you would happily race. Shimano's GRX820 1x12 groupset is the centrepiece: a 42 tooth chainring, a GRX822 clutch rear derailleur and a 10-51 cassette, which covers everything from a fast fire road to a hike-a-bike gradient with no front shifter involved.

Braking is GRX820 hydraulic with 180mm RT64 rotors front and rear. The calipers are flat mount and sit inboard on the chainstay, which keeps the lines tidy and gives braking heat somewhere to go - worth knowing if you tend to ride loaded or in the hills. The Lite II aluminium frame brings internal cable routing, a threaded bottom bracket, five sets of bottle bosses and rack mounting points, plus routing for an internal dropper post. Because this is the second-generation frame and fork, you can swap in a suspension fork later without changing the geometry.

Wheels are Shimano's WH-RX180 gravel wheelset with a 25mm internal rim width, which supports the 45c Schwalbe G-One RX Performance tyres properly rather than pinching them into a light bulb shape. The finishing kit steps up too, with a carbon Expert SL seatpost, an Expert SL saddle with a Merida minitool tucked underneath and an 80mm Team CC III stem across all sizes. Pedals are not included.

Features

• Lite II 6066 triple butted aluminium frame with internal cable routing
• Silex II CF2 full carbon fork with tapered steerer
• Shimano GRX820 1x12 drivetrain with GRX822 clutch rear derailleur
• GRX820 42 tooth chainset with Shimano M7100 10-51 cassette
• Shimano GRX820 hydraulic disc brakes, 180mm RT64 rotors front and rear
• Shimano WH-RX180 wheelset, 25mm internal rim width, centrelock
• Schwalbe G-One RX Performance RaceGuard tubeless ready tyres, 700x45C
• Carbon Expert SL seatpost and Expert SL saddle with integrated minitool
• Team CC III 80mm aluminium stem on all sizes
• Five sets of bottle bosses plus rack mounting points
• Clearance for 700 x 45c tyres, 42c with mudguards