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It still all depends on your definition of "better". If better means faster that is different than if better means more suited, more comfortable, more fun but maybe slower. Does a bike that is 1mph slower on a 50 mile ride matter to you, are you after the fastest time on every ride?
I am very much a single bike person so just ride whatever type of bike I have at the time so have ridden rigid SS MTB, XC MTB, fixed track with narrow tyres, fixed with 40c tyres, CX bike and even a road bike on the exact same routes that contain road, gravel and some single-track.
The fastest bike over mixed terrain was the CX bike so closer to gravel bike but the most fun was probably XC MTB and it was better on Singletrack and that tends to be more fun that gravel or road.
Scott Scale for me, the fork lock out option was the game changer. Had a drop bar Kinesis Tripster which was great but for proper stoney or rutted tracks it was just uncomfortable. All depends where you live and what the tracks are like IMO.
When off road drop bars become unsuitable is my measurement. To cover all bases I just have a racey HT now. Yeti Arc. I have participated in a few gravel events on it. Not because I want to place high, I just feel it is more comfortable. Some gravel events are drop bar only, so beware if you have this inkling. Look for a bike with off road orientated drops.
I'm going to disagree about dropbars being unsuitable off-road. They can be better in tight undulating singletrack IME. They allow you to get really close to trees, to the point that your shoulders are skimming the trunks. Mountain bikes are definitely better on chunky offroad trails when they start to get steep on the downhill.
I never thought I'd be an advocate for gravel but.....
I rode a route last week around the Tweed valley that included road, gravel double track and trail centre singletrack. A road bike would have been better suited on the road sections, a mountain bike would have been better on the singletrack but my cx bike managed all of it and was loads of fun too. Route was 60km long with a 1000m of ascent and I rode it at an average speed of 19km/h, loved all of it.
I think some of these newer gravel bikes with suspension/dampers really blur the lines even further.
I'd love a shot of a top of the range Cannondale Topstone or Specialized Diverge. I think they'd be incredible for big days off-road in the highlands.
Well, I have finally made the change from my Fortitude Race ( rigid steel flat bar 29 ) with Gravel King SK 42’s and bar ends inboard of grips for a Specialized Crux - why did I wait so long! More comfortable, faster, more agile and much more fun!
I bought, and rode a Genesis Fortitude Race once, hateful thing. Not surprised the gravel bike is better!
Still really struggling with this, currently swinging between the Canyon Exceed CF5 for £1449 and either Sonder Camino AL Apex 1 or Ribble CGR AL 105
Canyon could be used as a winter MTB, Sonder or Ribble would be better if I wanted to load up with guards and bags for occasional shopping (rode 15 miles off road to get honey at the weekend and loved it)
I'm also turning over the idea of getting a budget MTB and budget gravel bike instead of one good one something like a Voodoo Nakisi and a Carrera Fury for about the same money, but crappy brakes on both bikes put me off that idea.
So frustrating, I just want to spend some money
@prawny I wouldn't wait too long to decide as there are some fantastic deals around at the moment. Shops and distributors are carrying far too much and its very easy to find 30% off, I got 36% off the crux
prawny
Still really struggling with this, currently swinging between the Canyon Exceed CF5 for £1449 and either Sonder Camino AL Apex 1
Have you ridden either?
You can hire a Camino from an Alpkit store & try it out on a suitable loop - might help to make your mind up one way, or another.
I bought a Camino 1xGRX earlier this year & love it. It's a great bike for a mix of terrain & I've not found it massively slower than my road bike, even though it has 45mm tyres on it. It does feel a lot different though.
I've also got a rigid Inbred, which is/was my do-it-all bike for local rides, loops of Rutland water, pub bike, bike to go riding with my daughter etc.
I haven't ridden it since getting the Camino. Probably gonna clean it up & either store it until my daughter is tall enough to ride it, or sell it.
I've not been able to ride either, and won't be able too, I do all of my riding between 6 and 10am so no chance of demo rides or having a go on anyone else's similar bike unfortunately.
It's mildly annoying, I know wither will be fine, but there is probably 1% of times where the opposite would make more sense, I really could do with both, but I don't really want two slightly crap bikes.
I went one way on the hybrid last week where it was well out of it's depth which would have been awful on a gravel bike, but then I did have to spend a short time on the road at the weekend, which would have been worse on an MTB, but now much worse is the question I suppose.
Hmmmm.
The road can be entirely bearable on an MTB with the right tyres. Problem is convincing yourself of this in advance! I'm never inclined to take MTB for any rides from doorstep due to the amount of tarmac I'll need to cover, I think it's just 20 years ingrained habit from riding chunky MTB rubber rather than fast rolling MTB tyres like Terrenos or Mezcals