I do see the appeal and utility of gravel bikes in big sparsely populated countries with a network of unmetalled roads because there’s insufficient traffic to justify sealing them. But for the most part you’re kidding yourself in this country. Even Charlies Gravel dash was non-technical off road rather than gravel (and therefore quicker on an XC bike).

+1

I would like to do one of those big Kansas or Norwegian gravel races though. On the to-do list for my 50s I reckon.

I’ve been riding the UK version of gravel roads for 20-odd years, and have seen the way that cross bikes have been sexed up to make them a ‘must have’. All the trails people are gnarmaccing or gravel racing on have been there forever, it’s just marketing shite to suggest it’s a new thing and you must buy a new bike to explore this new niche.

Before mountain bikes, people were riding off road in the Peaks and the Dales and managing perfectly well.

Has grit.cx died yet ?

No one seemed to stock them, so I e-mailed Zyro. They didn’t reply.

Have you tried walking into a bike shop and speaking to someone? Or phoning a shop? If someone had asked me to get them a pair of them this morning they’d have probably had them tomorrow.

I reckon you are going about it from the wrong end. Assuming you are ridng gravel and by that I mean Fc type stuff or Salisbury Plain stuff then you don’t need knobblies. As you have found CX tyres are meant for just that. An hours blast around a playing field. Punctures are few ( well lungs might feel as if they are).
You don’t need tread for gravel but you might need puncture resistance.
I have been banging round the Fc tracks here in the FoD for at least a dozen years on my road bikes and have always ended up going back to heavy road/touring tyres. I must admit to starting with road tubs as that’s all I had and I rarely punctured. They fell apart first. Road tyres will also allow you go up a bit in size as the knobbles are not getting in the way.
Should you do as I do and also ride on single track, green lanes and the road you will still find that virtually all of the time your road tyres work. Wet HONCs included. The odd off camber descent will benefit from tread I admit.
You’ll also find that tyres last longer. I had some CX tyres given to me so I tried them over a winter. In a couple of months the rear was through to the inner. That’s in around 1000 miles. I will say that CX tyres worn slick roll well and do still have a bit of side tread. I’ll tempt fate and say that in all those years I have had 2 offs. One on black ice and the other hitting a rock on a slow chicane when I was eyeing up some woman’s arse. Neither can be attributed to tyres.
Of course this may not suit every one but its worth a thought.

I bought a gravel/adventure/marketingmansdream bike and if i put skinny tyres on and pump them up rock hard it goes fast on the road, and if I put bigger ones on it goes slower than my hardtail on the rough stuff. It’s just a little less twitchy than a cx bike and i’m old so twitchy is a bit of a faff. There you go marketing people – ‘cx bikes for old blokes’. You can have that for free. It’s a bike at the end of the day, innit? Sit on it and pedal…

I don’t think it’s the same sort of “Gravel” riding here in the UK as they have in the states.

I get the impression that the US has something a bit more like offroad audax’. Large organised events and a bit of a “scene” to go along with it. Most “gravel” type bikes sold in this country are used for commuting I reckon…

To most people here, “Gravel riding” probably means trundling about bridleways and tow paths on your own or maybe with a mate or two at your own pace…

Second using touring tires for non technical off road. I have done this on road bikes and in touring mode loads. Sometimes a little spicy in the wet round corners but if I wanted max off road control i would be on a MTB.

You don’t need tread for gravel but you might need puncture resistance

Agree. My experience over last 10+ years of riding on fire-roads and smooth singletrack. My rides tend to be under 2 hours so I am not even bothered about how big the tyres are and use 25c quite happily.
In other words I can just take a road / track / whatever 700c bike and ride gravel with no issues other than number of puncture based on how flimsy a tyre I choose.
Mainly why I keep a Marathon + on the back as I really hate getting punctures…

On the subject of tyres…. WTB Cross Boss come in 35c and look good for an all-round (slight bias to off-road) tyre.
Mine went up tubeless hassle free and held air overnight without any gunk. I’ll still put some in but it suggests the sidewalls should be pretty robust.

Mainly why I keep a Marathon + on the back as I really hate getting punctures…

I have 28c Marathon Plus tyres on my Cotic X and have taken them off road with no problems and no punctures.

My rides tend to be under 2 hours so I am not even bothered about how big the tyres are and use 25c quite happily

however…

I keep a Marathon + on the back as I really hate getting punctures

Marathon+ are aweful on the road, I think id enjoy carrying my bike more than I would riding those offroad, especially in 25c 😆

Tell me again why gravel bikes with 40c tyres are just marketing?

I’m running a 40mm on one gravel tyre(made by vee rubber) on rear.. went up tubeless fine despite not being tubeless and it
Is quick/grippy and robust £19.99

crikey – Member
…All the trails people are gnarmaccing or gravel racing on have been there forever, it’s just marketing shite to suggest it’s a new thing and you must buy a new bike to explore this new niche.

Before mountain bikes, people were riding off road in the Peaks and the Dales and managing perfectly well.

I agree, but it’s good that there’s finally a move to having bikes made for the job (again*).

The danger is that racing will rear its ugly head and the evolution of the perfect offroad bike will be stunted by being narrowly defined.

When I was young, before mtbs, I was riding the same offroad stuff as I’m riding now but on 1¼” tyres (32mm) with road tread, ie no tread, and later tubulars.

These days I ride it on 2.35″ Big Apples, still no tread, and that is perfectly good for anything but slick mud. I’d sooner ride the 2.35″ slicks at a low pressure than a skinny cx high pressure tyre, because it’s more comfortable, and its got better grip IMO. (Someone travelling at high speeds may have a different outlook).

Obviously I have to use a 29er to fit tyres that size, and it is a compromise.

I think the ideal “gravel” bike would be something shaped like a Pompino (nice handling on gravel) but with clearance for big tyres. If you ride with slick big tyres then the on road riding doesn’t feel draggy, and all those road obstacles you normal swerve for can be steamrolled.

I doubt most of us would feel any performance hit with a bike like this – other than the dedicated high speed roadies. BTW braking and cornering are brilliant on road, effing amazing compared to the skinny stuff.

*This sort of bike was perfected around 1900 in the colonies – all roads were “gravel”, and 28″ bikes with dropbars and 2″ tyres were used.

Marathon+ are aweful on the road, I think id enjoy carrying my bike more than I would riding those offroad, especially in 25c

Yes, they are not the best road tyres but they are fine off road.
Horses for courses, you would rather get punctures/walk home, I would rather use a heavier/worse riding tyre and not get punctures.

Like I said, I hate getting punctures as they completely screw up a 1-2 hour blast around the forest (especially at 0 degrees in middle of January!)

Horses for courses, you would rather get punctures/walk home, I would rather use a heavier/worse riding tyre and not get punctures.

No, id rather have a gravel bike (or cx bike) with 40mm tyres so I can blast around with more comfort, grip and no punctures 😆

These days I ride it on 2.35″ Big Apples, still no tread, and that is perfectly good for anything but slick mud. I’d sooner ride the 2.35″ slicks at a low pressure than a skinny cx high pressure tyre, because it’s more comfortable, and its got better grip IMO. (Someone travelling at high speeds may have a different outlook).

The guy who came second (I think) at the Dirty Reiver was on a Cannondale slate with the lefty and 650b x 42mm slicks. Briefly heard him say at the finish they were fast but a bit sketchy on the loose corners.

How’s everyone puncturing offroad? If it’s snake bites then just put a bit more air in, if it’s sharp objects then pick your line better. Gravel bikes really aren’t designed for smashing over stuff, leave that for your Enduro bike.

For what it’s worth I’m currently running 700 x 35 Rapid Robs.

How’s everyone puncturing offroad?

because he is riding 25mm tyres 😆

I have Soma Cazadero 42c for days when a little cornering tread and volume is needed and usually run Vittoria Voyager Hyper 38c.

I ride road and estate tracks with gentle off road on my charge plug 5 titanium. As said 95% of the time a big volume slick is great off road.

The 38c vittoria voyager hyper are brilliant, a bargain at £15 for the shop you love to hate, supple and low rolling resistance, proves you don’t need a 100psi 25c tyre bone shaker to go fast.

I think tyres make the single biggest difference to any decent road or cross bike. Choose supple (120 tpi), wide (38c+), and lightweight (folding) and run them tubeless and at low pressures.

How’s everyone puncturing offroad? If it’s snake bites then just put a bit more air in, if it’s sharp objects then pick your line better.

The punctures are caused by small pieces of sharp flint from the stony gravel. You may be able to pick your line to avoid the 3mm big pieces of flint but my eyesight is not that good….

No, id rather have a gravel bike (or cx bike) with 40mm tyres so I can blast around with more comfort, grip and no punctures

Whether running a 40 or a 25 does not make any difference. I tried all sorts of larger tyres when I used a cross bike the only tyres that didn’t puncture were the tough (and very heavy) touring tyes.

And as I said, I am comfortable enough on 25c and I have the grip I need on 25c with the benefit that for a given tyre, 25c is lighter.

Realise this is not for everyone but after 10+ years of riding gravel it is where I have settled.

Tubeless(35-45mm) tyres is a no brainer for me off/on road bit of everything riding .. no issues with flats

Or run your 25 or 28’s tubeless ? (Tubeless ready tyres)

Realise this is not for everyone but after 10+ years of riding gravel it is where I have settled.

So you’ve used lots of tyre in the last 10 years but settled on 25. So you’ve not used these new crop of gravel tyres then since they are only new?

I agree its amazing what you can you can ride on 25’s, I just recently rattled my way along the Edinburgh-Glasgow canal route on my fixie with skinny Halo Twin-rails, ive done the offroad coast and castles (inc dunes and beaches) route on a road bike with 25c GP4seasons and on my Tourer with 35mm Marathons. But having done the same tracks on 40mm WTB nano and now 40mm Gravel-kings I can say its a lot easier and comfier and hence I go faster, on these tyres built for the job plus they are perfectly puncture proof.

I’m running a 40mm on one gravel tyre(made by vee rubber) on rear.. went up tubeless fine despite not being tubeless and it
Is quick/grippy and robust £19.99

And sold out, sadly.

Says it all ^ 🙁

Mountain biker is educated and thanks you for your explanations. Mountain biker won’t be buying a gravel bike.

Great thread. I’ve been riding my Fuji Tread all year, on road, trails etc. Its such a laugh and very similar to my first taste of mountain biking in Surrey 20+ years ago. I can mix up quiet back lanes with bridleways I wouldn’t normally bother with on my MTB. Consequently i’ve opened up hours of picturesque, quiet riding on my doorstep without loading the bike onto the car.
So far i’ve been on the stock touring tyres it came fitted with, but planning on fitting some bigger tyres for a little off-road riding this weekend.

Can’t say I really see the point in the whole gravel bike thing here in the UK. 29er with fast tubeless XC tyres rolls along plenty fast enough, and is far more versatile.

For what it’s worth I’m currently running 700 x 35 Rapid Robs.

Not a bad choice at all – come with a kevlar puncture guard, and roll faster than the knobs would suggest. Wear out REALLY fast though – I weigh nothing and mine were pretty much down to the carcass after 500mi.

In answer to the OPs original question, I would say, yes it is very much under the radar. Until I read this thread I had literally no idea that ‘Gnarmac / Gravelmac’ was anything other than a ironic (? perhaps not?) way of referring to cyclocross. I certainly didn’t know there were dedicated bikes. Learn something new every day – i’m evidently not as well informed about bikes as I thought!

Am I alone?

Ride the 3 Peaks CX, and you’ll realise 35mm tyres can cope with anything 😉

As others have said, if you want bigger tyres, buy the right frame.

My new On One CX frame has enough clearance for these tyres:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/continental-mud-king-mtb-tyre-protection/rp-prod83014

but I’ve got MTBs, so don’t need to go that silly, and just stick to 38mm Armadillos for road riding (still get 1cm clearance each side of tyre).

Try the Tour of the Black Country sportive, it’s fun (sorry for using the ‘s’ word here).

Am I alone?

No. I read a Cyclist magazine supplement all about gravel bikes, and I was still none the wiser about why they are different from cyclocross bikes. Is it just chunkier tyres? Different geometry? I scan read all that up there ^ and I’m still unsure.

Is it road, cyclocross, gravel, XC in terms of off-road capability then?

No. I read a Cyclist magazine supplement all about gravel bikes, and I was still none the wiser about why they are different from cyclocross bikes. Is it just chunkier tyres? Different geometry? I scan read all that up there ^ and I’m still unsure.

A gravel specific bike will tend to have bigger tyre clearance, more relaxed geometry, and possibly a slightly slacker head angle.
The gravel bike is to a CX bike what a sportive bike is to a race bike.

So you’ve not used these new crop of gravel tyres then since they are only new?

I don’t need to use them, a tyre than weighs 240 grams for a 25c is going to puncture where I ride. The tyre has nothing about it that makes it any more special than many tyres made for puncture resistance and as I have punctured the likes of RibMo, Armadillos and even a Marathon+ once, I can make that statement.

Of course if I went tubeless this all changes (just as it did on my MTB where I have had one puncture in 18 months)

The gravel bike is to a CX bike what a sportive bike is to a race bike.

Now i get it. Thanks Andy

I recently ride NCN78 and had to choose a tyre to suit both the extensive tarmac and the few off-road sections including the forest track at Clunes. I decided on 28mm Marathons (not the Plus version). For sure they could have been comfier on the rough gravel but grip wasn’t an issue. I’d day the whole Marathon range would be fine for most “gravel” riding in the UK, especially as you’ll likely have to involve tarmac sections to make up a decent length of ride.

I’m currently considering some touring round the Caithness flow country where there is a bit of a network of gravel roads.

I’m with Ollybus, riding a CX with some middle of the pack tyres has opened up huge amounts of fun, scenic mixed surface riding from my doorstep. Maybe a 29er XC bike would do similar, but I only have a heavyish full-sus as an MTB. Makes my commute a lot less boring too…

Tubeless Schwalbe G-One’s are a lovely compromise.

The gravel bike is to a CX bike what a sportive bike is to a race bike.

It also crosses over into tourer and traditional ATB territory as there’s as much variation within the niche as there is outside of it!

It crosses the whole gamut from relaxed road bikes wit bigger tyres, to XC29er with smaller tyres, and darts sideways into offroad tourer as well.

Just ‘bikes for riding places’ really, and adjust the bias in whatever direction floats your boat.

Yawn!! …all this talk about tyres is quite tyresome really! I don’t even know what tyres I have on my CX bike. What I do know is that I enjoy riding it!

@ plus_one I am going to try the 26″ wheels thing