I find the latest gravel bike fashion amusing.
It's like the marketing department has a stack of MBUK magazines from the early 2000's are just copying and pasting what they see.
I know it's been said that gravel bikes are essentially 1990's mountain bikes, well now they've moved in the 21st century.
I love it how they 'gravelista' are now wearing Camelbaks whilst most mountain bikers only use theirs for epic days out, and hang unloved in the shed gathering stoor.
Now we have the Trek Checkout 
Apart from the eye watering price, I only bloody well like it! Damn you marketing magicians!
I also like the Giant, it's on sale too, the temptation is almost too much. I don't need it, I have a racy xc bike for big Highlands trips, and I've just spent a few quid on my cx / gravel bike ahead of a trip to France, so don't have the funds.
Ooh! Is that a 25 month 0% credit card I see.
Must resist.
- But YOLO!
A mate has the Revolt - tempted by the suspension forks. He's decided he'd rather keep his other gravel bike and get a short travel hardtail to go with it.
I now need eye bleach for that Trek. The nice thing about gravel bikes is that they are simple and useful that Trek is covered in crappy suspension with a horrid paint job.
90s xc bikes were never a good comparison as they still had rim brakes until about 1999/2000.
90s xc bikes were never a good comparison as they still had rim brakes until about 1999/2000.
And? 😎 I don't think rim brakes really make or break (excuse the pun) a gravel bike, and in the terrain they really matter in I prefer my (2015...) hardtail MTB anyway.
I think gravel bikes are just filling the niche for long days off-road where by their nature you're not going to be stringing together 100km of gnarly singletrack where you need a bona-fide MTB.
Oh, and back to the OP's original point, I give you my unintended Alpinestars homage
ck I
Retro? I was expecting tweed knickerbockers and a Campagnolo musette/cap combo at the very least
In mind we have to seperate two things.
Gravel bikes. These plug a genuine gap in the market. Wide tyre drop bar bikes with lots of mounting points. These are really useful
Gravel riding. Planning a mixed surface ride a cross a map. Does have to be gnarly just enjoy the views are get your head down and feel the burn. Great that these have come back round
The question is are the gravel bikes the best tool for gravel rides? The certainty work for me round here, but i accept the case for a hardtail instead
I don't reckon my Ortlieb panniers would hang on that rack and if they did they'd bash my heels.
A suspension fork is welcome but 100mm please.
Rear suspension I'll live without and I definitely want 100mm up front before adding rear suspension.
SRAM, no thanks, Shimano cable please.
Dropper post - err, no.
Even within a trend there are well thought out and not so well thought out bikes. I've seen and ridden some gravel bikes that I've really liked as rough stuff touring or as non-knarly loose surface bikes. However that thing is seriously flawed for anything I want to do on it beyond going for an hours pootle on the local cycle path on a dry day.
I had a Giant Revolt a few years back , never used the drops , converted it to flat bars . Ended up selling it because all I needed was a pair of Panaracer Gravel kings for my 2012 Ti HT job done 👍
I must have done over 20K miles on this thing , perfect tool for the job .
I have 2 gravel bikes to cover the smooth to rougher stuff. My Revolt X is great ! 
This is actually my favourite looking gravel bike. They look even better in real life IMO.
This is my actual gravel bike for local gravel trails.and occasionally longer one with the even less occasionally cx and gravel race.
And my bike for bike packing and.....
more gnarly gravel.
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I love it how they 'gravelista' are now wearing Camelbaks whilst most mountain bikers only use theirs for epic days out
They might do for Unbound XL or the gravel "worlds" or other roadie races disguised as gravel but not in real life, a bar bag filled with a jacket, some cheese sandwiches and an e-pump maybe.
As for an inappropriate bike for the job most if the time oh yes, that's what makes it fun.
They might do for Unbound XL or the gravel "worlds" or other roadie races disguised as gravel but not in real life, a bar bag filled with a jacket, some cheese sandwiches and an e-pump maybe.
I use mine for enjoying rides that are longer than 2 bottles worth and with no guarantee of a resupply. Which is a surprising number of good big rides around me.
Was puzzling over how to carry overnight gear for a 'light packing' trip later in the year, I just don't like big saddle bags or handlebar bags. Non-cycling sister wondered what was wrong with a small rucsac, especially since I'd be using a hydration pack anyway. Problem solved! 😎
Still not sold on a hydration pack or backpack.
I find my small frame bag enough room to cram in a bag of honey roasted nuts and a bag of jelly babies (about 1500 calories of joy), with enough room for keys, money, hydration tabs and a buff.
My tools and spares go in a tool bottle and I take a bigger water bottle in the front cage. I use my jersey pockets for my phone, lightweight jacket or gilet.
If I need another bottle, I take that in a bar mounted soft bottle holder and only take a half litre bottle.
Does me for longer rides as long as I can get water midway somewhere. And if I come across a convenient cafe then it would be rude not to indulge in some cakey goodness.
Mine is so retro it uses rim brakes. But the eTap is nice and so is the (lack of) weight.
I find my small frame bag enough room to cram in a bag of honey roasted nuts and a bag of jelly babies (about 1500 calories of joy), with enough room for keys, money, hydration tabs and a buff.
Yeah, but you've ridden with me, you've seen how I eat! 😀 I haven't found an upper limit of what I can usefully eat/drink on a big day out, 60g carbs per hour is what I try to pack in my bags/bottles, which quickly mounts up and becomes difficult to carry.
4-5 hours locally I'm just stuffing pockets and taking two bottles. The bottles are good for about 100g carbs so 1.5hrs riding. Your bag of jelly babies (being generous and assuming it's a big bag) would be good for another 3hrs. The peanuts maybe another 1hr.
Plus I don't want to just be drinking energy drink so for the bigger days out, especially in the summer, the hydration pack does hydration duties (shock!) and carries two litres of some sort of mild carbohydrate electrolyte drink.
if it sounds like I'm being some sort of desperate keano and weighing out carbs etc. it's only because I feel so much better for fuelling properly and enjoy the rides a lot more, plus it enables longer and longer distances so can explore further and do more in a day 😎
(oh and actually I'm getting a reputation now for being some sort of miserable taskmaster who doesn't do cafe stops, but getting home early/ on time is a prerequisite to being allowed to ride as much as I do, cafe stops just eat into available time and mean less riding!)
Don't like bags on my bikes unless I have to. Bags about top tube annoy the hell out of me when out of the saddle, frame bags rub knees, handlebar bags rattle about. So I will use a camel back type thing on longer rides and have food in pockets. Tools tubes etc in a down tube bottle mount. Although new bike I have yet to ride has in frame storage, looks ideal for chocolate eclairs and a tube or 2.
^^ same. I use a small Tailfin top tube bag on road bike and smooth gravel bike. On the Revolt X I use a small Evoc backpack. This is a throwback to my MTB days when I didn’t like having anything extra on the bike for lifting it over obstacles etc. I also like the security feeling of having phone, keys etc all securely zipped away in a backpack.
Yeah not a fan of frame bags but for practicality I don't think they can be beat, I want food and snacks as close to my hands as possible and am now debating a sort of elasticated mesh sort of contraption under the bars to stash a waterproof in. Stopping to get stuff out of a rucsac just makes me less likely to do it in the first place, not ideal for waterproofs and food!
If your gravel rides need a suspension fork and a dropper are you better off on a racey XC hardtail?
If your gravel rides need a suspension fork and a dropper are you better off on a racey XC hardtail?
Dunno, maybe. Can that hardtail have drop bars? Is it gravel or XC?
I'm confused. Erm. No I'm not. It's a bike.
😀
Surely elevated chainstays need to come back.
If your gravel rides need a suspension fork and a dropper are you better off on a racey XC hardtail?
Having ridden a Trek Checkout, my opinion is that it obviously isn't a racey XC HT. But that's obvious even without riding one - it has less travel, different geo, etc. I enjoyed the few minutes I spent on one and would happily buy one if I had enough money and space, but already having a gravel bike, XC HT, trail HT, full sus, etc, I'm not sure which niche of a niche I'd be filling!
If your gravel rides need a suspension fork and a dropper are you better off on a racey XC hardtail?
You are better off riding whichever bike you enjoy riding the most in a given scenario. I enjoy riding fixed gear off road (even more than on road) so I am better off riding a fixed gear. Most other people would not feel the same but that doesn't matter to me.
I've tried a couple of bar bags and I really don't get on with them, this setup works for me
Apart from the eye watering price
This is why I don't get the appeal.
My gravel bike was cheap, it was probably about as light and fast an off-road bike as you could build for <£500, the compromise was obviously that fast only applied to less technical terrain. You could (and I did) bounce it down some moorland trails and the Yorkshire Dales, but it probably wasn't as fast as a cheap mountainbike. But for razzing around the Chilterns it was great fun and covered fairly large distances easily.
When the prices go £2k+, £3k+, then you're well into XC FS bike territory (especially in the current discounting retail climate), and I'm not convinced there's really any speed to be gained Vs say a BMC Fourstroke unless the route is so smooth that aerodynamics become the deciding factor.
What's fast and speed got to do with anything if you're not in an actual race?
If your gravel rides need a suspension fork and a dropper are you better off on a racey XC hardtail?
in my case, no, my Revolt X is nearly as fast on the road sections as my Diverge, and on rides with linking fireroads and minor roads it is a more pleasant ride than a HT, for me.
Just revisiting thread having followed my own link to the Sinnet Cycles website.
https://sinnett-bicycles.co.uk/nuclear-option
I love this frame even more now although sadly £2300 is a bit rich for my blood, could get a fully built Addict 30 for that 🙄
After reading Cy's article in this month's mag about mountain bikers moving to gravel bikes as they feel that the sport has moved onto a more extreme image. It really struck a cord with me and the type of cycling I mostly do and who I do it with.
If I go out riding locally with my gravel bike and put it up on group chat, I will get one of more folk who will come out with me, but if I do the same for mountain biking, I'll probably get no one.
I think it's because gravel biking is so accessible and nearly all gravel bike are pretty similar in their capabilities so it's a real leveler.
Where's mountain bikes are so niche now with so many different types of mountain bikes from xc hardtails to full sus enduro machines, and now we also ebikes splintering the genre even more. I have two mountain bikes that are as far apart from each other as my gravel bike and my xc hardtail are, in their capabilities yet both are called mountain bikes.
May gravel biking continue in it's popularity and bring more like minded folk together doing what we like doing which is just playing out on our bikes.
Just revisiting thread having followed my own link to the Sinnet Cycles website.
@didinthurt
Lovely video, looked a super fun day out.
None of the video had anyone on the Drops. Do you use them? Just curious!
I had a gravel bike for linking up roads and paths. I didn't like that it wasn't as fast as road bike on the road (tire choice mostly, 35c pananracers) and I also didn't like getting battered off road (35c pananracers, no suspension fork).
Sold it and now have a rigid hardtail. It's slower on the road (2.3 mezcals) but feels so much more in control on the off road.
I wish I still had my first proper MTB a fully rigid Saracen with cantis. I think it would be perfect for the job. The current 29" disk braked vandal is in reality better and much less likely to crumble into rusty dust so I've not revisited my youth
'kin hell, can you say 1990 'Alpinestars'?
Yeah they don't hide their influence, specifically mention it in the description.
Lovely video, looked a super fun day out.
None of the video had anyone on the Drops. Do you use them? Just curious!
I've just got a Specialized Creo 2 Comp and have been trying it out this week despite the crappy weather. Tried a bit of singletrack which went fine, just easing myself into it. But never went on the drops other than riding to and back to Tunnel Hill. It's something I want to try on trails but I've got a feeling I wouldn't be comfortable doing it on many drop ins. I don't think I'd feel I was getting far enough back despite it having a short dropper.
Yeah they don't hide their influence, specifically mention it in the description.
Aye, I subsequently read the linked page. Lusted after a Cro Mega at the time, now less so - and I say that as someone who's most used bike so far this year is a drop bar variant built around a 15 year old Rockhopper frame...
I pretty much always move to the drops if i stand up to descend. This is easier on flared bars. The drops give better access to the brakes and allow 1 finger braking so you less likely to be bounced off the bars
I pretty much always move to the drops if i stand up to descend. This is easier on flared bars. The drops give better access to the brakes and allow 1 finger braking so you less likely to be bounced off the bars
Good to know 👍 I'll experiment (carefully) and bear that in mind.
This isn't meant to be a dig at anyone but I wonder if the ubiquity of droppers on mountain bikes has led to an under-appreciation of good body positioning when descending. As above, I'm in favour of using the drops on the descents, helping to lower my CoG, giving me better use of the brakes and using the bars themselves for a bit of bracing. That's completely different from the more "sit up and beg" position more commonplace when riding MTBs nowadays.
I like to use the drops for steep technical sections. I feel that riding with my hands on the hoods, leaning forwards with my wrists sitting on the handlebars to be a better position for fast flat sections.
This is my actual gravel bike for local gravel trails.and occasionally longer one with the even less occasionally cx and gravel race.
I have one of those! Mine is from 2013 (14 model year I think) but feels very much like it could be from last year. Pretty cool that a cross bike from well over a decade ago has hydraulic discs, and I can easily get a 43mm tyre in the front without pushing the limits on clearance.
Over the years I've done 10 mile TTs with road tyres on it, winter club rides, bikepacking trips, couple Dirty Reivers, and also descended a Munro on it (was actually fairly slow and dicey but still). I like how it's got the capabilities off-road but doesn't feel much different from a road bike at all on tarmac compared to the new gravel bikes.
The only thing I don't like about mine is quick releases, and it seems to be centrelock only for rotors...on 6 bolt rotors the bolts rub against the post mounts! Makes finding wheels quite tricky these days because they need to be centrelock and with changeable end-caps for QR.
It's old for a modern bike, and I got it cheap, but I'm tempted to drop some coin on it nevertheless and get new wheels & a GRX groupset. May it never die.
Look at Hunt wheels. The hubs and hub end caps pull apart with no tools and they can supply whatever end caps you want. They're centre-lock too. I've just bought a pair of their race wheels in the sale. I've been happy with my Hunt wheels on my hardtail.
Look at Hunt wheels. The hubs and hub end caps pull apart with no tools and they can supply whatever end caps you want. They're centre-lock too. I've just bought a pair of their race wheels in the sale. I've been happy with my Hunt wheels on my hardtail.
Do they now sell non boost to boost end caps? They didn't a few years ago.
Now there's a question I do not know the answer to. Although 'boost' seems to have a few sizes these days so best to email them.
Edit: There does seem to be a fair bit of choice though. https://www.huntbikewheels.com/collections/axle-adapters?srsltid=AfmBOoo-ifWdbmi0PffPa7KGNcaDui8GJKRRHfwSXH16XflTN49gA1Yr
I find the latest gravel bike fashion amusing...
I know it's been said that gravel bikes are essentially 1990's mountain bikes, well now they've moved in the 21st century...
Maybe gravel bikes are essentially 1930s-1960s sports (as opposed to racing) bikes. They were very capable, comfortable for all day stuff, could handle rough stuff, and light enough to shoulder over the odd rock face. The only major improvement is braking.
1955 Dawes Windrush - built for rough stuff.
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and here at Loch Einich, about as gravelly a ride as you get, and the 3 speed hubgear was enough.
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