[Closed] Gravel bike has ruined mountain biking

Looks like a good place for a rigid 29er ; )

Gravel biking is actually really quiet good, and not just a marketing ploy shocker!

Looks awesome, I'd have one too if I lived up there.

I suspect you're not really troubled by this turn of events, but just in case you are - don't worry, just crack on with it and try MTBing again when the urge takes you.

I guess my gravel bike is just an old-skool rigid 29er and would be even closer if I stuck some more sensible tyres on like a set on nanos.

I'm not complaining about the gravel bike being fun though, I'm just surprised and a little disappointed that something which I used to really love (riding my full suss MTB in the mountains) now feels like a chore.

Maybe you have lost your mtb skills over lockdown and do not feel like going fast on your cotic which will make it less fun. Doubt you can take such risk on a gravel bike so you've got used to playing it safe on your gravel bike.

Choice is good, I don't see a problem here. All that's happened is that the bike industry started making your ideal bike.

I just felt like a moan.

Why? You're enjoying riding, so why moan?

We all sit somewhere different on the timid to fearless scale, but starting off with this feeling

riding down stuff that I know I’m going to crash on sooner or later just seems even more stupid than it did before I had a few months away.

isn't going to end well for you mentally (and possibly physically).

I've seen your pics before and think you've got a great suitable bike in that flare max. And that photo above seems to be a gravel bike salesman's dream. I'm truly envious of where you live.

Would it help to consider the two things as entirely separate activities? Decide that you are going for a gravel ride from the door, or an MTB ride from the car, and enjoy what that brings. Or you'll spend half of every ride annoyed you're on the wrong bike.

Oh and @SaxonRider

All bikes are fun. 'Mountain Biking' has evolved into something more trail-centre-berms-and-whoops and gravel has back-filled the explorer gap to some degree. However I think that as Jameso says a rigid 29er might be the long term filler of that whole for the masses.

My mate traded in his MTB for a Gravel Bike and is riding more than ever. I got one so I could go out with him but have actually used my full suss for most trips as much as I like my big tyre, drop bar thing.

Problem for me with gravel/touring bikes is that my road bike makes them feel sluggish and anything other than towpaths or steady bridleway's make me turn to the MTB. Saying that, my Marin GB was cheap so can easily be justified within the stable and I expect to use it more as the weather turns.

N+1 is now a shorter travel hard tail to complete the fleet but don't tell the wife!

So, you like bimbling more than gnar. That's reasonable, you're not obliged to like gnar and if you're having fun, crack on! I like to ride gravel to get fit (it's more fun than road biking) and to explore - I've seen some lovely bits of the area on my gravel bike I'd never venture to on my mountain bike. But I also like riding real technical chunky stuff on my mountain bike.

Trumpton - I find after I've ridden my gravel bike a lot I'm quicker on the MTB. You get more familiar with getting your weight over the front, and my times are quicker even on stuff that's not even remotely like gravel biking such as the DH trails at Innerleithen. My pals I ride with have found the same.

Does this mean a FlareMax will soon be in the classifieds?

Just do both. If you change out of your mtb clothes post ride and have a thermos of soup or something you shouldn't get cold.think I'd go on my rigid mtb for local rides with views like those.dont think I know anything about gravel bike riding

However I think that as Jameso says a rigid 29er might be the long term filler of that whole for the masses.

Well I ride one a lot, and I sometimes wish for suspension. And I might get it if I could find a sus fork that rides like a rigid fork when locked out.

shivering in the car on the way home

Sounds like the problem is with your car not your bike.
Does the heater work?
All of the windows present?

So I bought a gravel bike and started exploring routes from my front door.

Which is what we used to do BITD on our MTBs. MTBing has changed, it doesn't mean you have to.

I suspect you’re not really troubled by this turn of events

I've certainly got no right to complain have I? That ride was probably the definitive gravel ride. It started with a killer road climb from Cock Bridge over to Tomintoul and then off road on some amazing tracks to get back to the car. The weather played its part but it's the variety that you can get on a gravel ride that still amazes me. From the almost constant roar or sports cars and motorbikes using the Lecht road as a race track to the almost total quiet of Glen Avon. Four and a half hours of riding, 3,800' of climbing and every minute was a joy.

You'd have to be pretty spoilt to moan about that. Particularly with everything else that's going on in the world. Any yet, and yet there is still a part of me that mourns the loss of enjoyment of the FlareMax. Maybe upset isn't the right word (that would be stupid) but I've been out and ridden routes that I loved last year and its weird how a year later you can struggle to find the joy in what you once thought was the best ride ever.

Lack of skill? Could be, but if anything I'd say that picking my way down off-road sections on the gravel thing has heightened my (admitted meagre) skills and makes the FlareMax seem like a rocket ship. I've been bombing a few sections and set a few PRs. But I can no longer seem to shut out that voice that keeps reminding me that one day it will go wrong and I'm going to find myself laying on this trail, in the middle of nowhere, on my own and in a lot of pain. I'm sure I'm less likely to crash the FlareMax than I am the gravel bike (at least off road) but the consequences of that crash are much higher.

I'll stick with it though and I'm sure the fun will come back. Something that was that enjoyable before will probably be enjoyable again.

Great pics - Glen Avon? I guess the thing is unless you know a loop is going to be quite well surfaced all the way round, a gravel bike gets quite uncomfortable enough to get you wishing for something a bit more plush.A HT is as far as I get - and often rigid 29r / 650b+. Suits me fine and as long as you're getting out and smiling, it's all good. Management of expectations?

All bikes are fun. All as suitable.

You also live in an ace place for a rigid, faster bike to cover ground on long glens, big climbs and road returns.

As a newbie to Gravel, and really to drop bar bikes in general, I can see what you are getting at.

I'm finding it hard to put my finger on exactly what it is about Gravel rides that I am enjoying, but enjoying them I am. Hugely. I do share your comments on the MTB feeling sluggish now.

After so long having only 1 bike, I think variety is helping.Nice to have a choice.

Which is what we used to do BITD on our MTBs. MTBing has changed, it doesn’t mean you have to.

TBH that's probably 90% of my cross/gravel riding. Even 10 years ago we would have been discussing a 'clean' run down tracks that are now judged on strava times not dabs. Ive got a bike for that sort of fun too, and equally I dont shy away from attempting stuff on the cross bike that it wasnt designed for. But the CX bike is by far the quickest tool for the job of covering distance off road. Even the roadie club now has an occasional gravel clubrun (although its always had a few nutters that did it, it just now has a name).

Sounds like the problem is with your car not your bike.
Does the heater work?
All of the windows present?

I see you mentioned where the trail is later in the thread. I dont think you should be allowed to post photos without saying where they are Roverpig!

I have swayed the other way and just got an XC bike (with suspension fork) after riding for years on more road bike like bikes with at times drop bars.
XC bike is marginally slower on the road but better fun and I am finding it more enjoyable and leads to more messing about than a gravel type bike (hopping over things, wheelies, manuals etc,.)
Also clearly does MTB stuff way better.

its weird how a year later you can struggle to find the joy in what you once thought was the best ride ever

I actually don't think so. We grow and evolve - or at least I do! I can't give you my favourite film or album, because I've listened, loved and moved on to new things. Same for riding. I actually keep three very different MTBs for completely different types of riding (luckily all of which are present near me) and I'll change focus between them over a course of 6-12 months, just to keep things fresh. When I wheel out my long travel bike I find that loads more cheeky tech have been built; when I get on my rigid 29er I find new places 30 miles from home; when I get on my XC bike I make myself faster.

Do more endos.

I get what you mean RP (worryingly enough😉)

I’ve been riding further / deeper into MTB territory on my gravel bike. So much do that I just bought a HT. Still feels sluggish for the more sedate bits but then takes over where I’d have likely stopped on the gravel bike.

Bikes are fun 😎

Well spotted @kcal and fair cop @daviek

Thanks for all the comments folks. I feel as though I should respond to them all, but then the thread would just be overly long (and self-indulgent). I do appreciate them all though, whether they are supportive or pointing out the flaws in my logic.

I'd agree that gravel bikes are basically filling the gap created by the evolution of MTBs. My first "MTB" was a rigid steel ATB (Raleigh Dune Dancer) back in the late 80s and the gravel bike does indeed feel like the spiritual successor of that bike, which I rode everywhere. It's faster on the road and actually better off-road too. If only because the brakes actually slow you down 🙂 But it largely does the same job.

Does this mean a FlareMax will soon be in the classifieds?

Never say never, but not yet. As @ayjaydoubleyou says, it's hard to think of an MTB that's really better suited to how and where I ride. The problems are all in my head and not in the bike of course.

Bikes are fun 😎

Ain't that the truth. I probably should have just said that and avoided all this navel gazing 🙂

MTB for excitement
Gravel for scenery
Road for dodging arseholes in cars

Sounds like the problem is with your car not your bike.
Does the heater work?
All of the windows present?

🙂 🙂

I did do what @trumpton suggested for a while i.e. took a thermos and a change of clothes with me. It did make the drive home less unpleasant, but a new bike is always the best answer, right.

I'd say maybe your mountain bike has ruined mountain biking! I'm not surprised a steel full suspension bike feels sluggish after riding a carbon gravel bike.

I got more and more into cyclocross and gravel because of how fast and versatile my Trek Superfly was, with 40mm tyres and the right handlebar setup it does the same job as my gravel bike and barely feels any slower. It's not even a very high end Superfly so I could easily make it lighter and faster if I really wanted.

Maybe you just need a lighter, faster MTB. Your comfort window might remain wide open due to how much more capable the MTB seems compared to the gravel bike.

edit: just realised where your pics are from. Am excite. Will be riding that track in two weeks time 🙂

Riding from your door rules.

Save the full suss bike for fully off road rides.

I've got a Singular Peregrine, 10 years old, people used to ask me about it, I'd explain, they'd ask if it was a hybrid. "Well, not exactly...".

Now they ask me if it's a gravel bike, and I can be snooty about that too! "Well, this has been around a bit longer than "Gravel" bikes..."

All the snoots. Not many opportunities for that sort of thing on the mtb. I should ride it more often.

It depends a bit where you live doesn't it?

I do a lot of riding from the door, not all of it is particularly interesting but if I think about the route, I can fit in 3 or 4 good descents and a couple of tech climbs that make it fun on a MTB.

I wouldn't want to do those on a gravel bike and missing them would make the ride a bit meh.

So I go on these rides on my MTB and enjoy seeking out the rough, bumpy, MTBy stuff and put up with the slight inefficiency of dragging a MTB along the tame stuff.

If there were no "fun" bits I would change my routes and bike choice I guess.

Will be riding that track in two weeks time

I hope the weather is as kind to you as it was to me. Here are a couple of pics from the track down from Tomintoul before you turn right into Glen Avon. It really is an amazing place to ride if you don’t care about the gnar and just want great scenery. Not big mountain or wild moorland, just really chilled riding.

Watch out for the adders though! I nearly ran over two of them. A small brown (presumably juvenile) one then a bit later a much bigger almost black one.

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Watch out for the adders though! I nearly ran over two of them.

Pretty certain I ran over a slow-worm the other week 🙁

Just realised I won't be passing through Glen Avon properly, shame, looks great. I'll be doing the usual (e.g. Cairngorms 300 loop) Tomintoul -> Loch Builg route

You'll still do the bit on those second two pictures then. You'll just have to avoid the temptation to turn right at the bridge 🙂 I find the bit around Loch Builg itself a bit annoying as the trail basically becomes a hiking trail for a bit. But it's only a short section and you can always stop and gaze into the water for a bit. That's what I did, until the midges found me.

Funnily enough I've just been putting that bit south of Loch Bulig down to Braemar into a loop to try this weekend if the weather and family duties allow.

@netrapier

I’ve got a Singular Peregrine, 10 years old, people used to ask me about it, I’d explain, they’d ask if it was a hybrid. “Well, not exactly…”.

he he, I'd get asked "what is *that*" too with mine. Once by a police patrol car 🙂 My response is usually along lines of "my general purpose / do-it-all bike"

@roverpig - the Cullardoch bit (up and over, b@stard climb and hell for leather descent, or the Glen Builg riverbed up towards Quoich and then back down into Braemar? I quite liked the Loch Builg bit last couple of times, just about rideable and a decent challenge.

you’re not obliged to like gnar

I think that's the nub of the matter; I kind of feel like I am. Not with the logical part of my brain of course. I'm quite capable of rationalising my cowardice. But the irrational part of my brain does still see it that way.

Those early MTB/ATB days were tame by modern standards. Then I was a roadie for many years and only came to "proper" MTB riding fairly late in life. Ever since then I've looked at those black lines on the TrailForks map and thought "I wish I could ride those. Having the FlareMax in the shed allows me to claim that one day I might. But maybe it is time to accept that I never will.

It's not that I can't. Of course I'm capable of learning the skills (physical and mental) that would get me down. What I can't seem to do though is enjoy it enough to make the effort worthwhile.

Occasionally I'll challenge myself to ride something that scares me. Just to prove that I can. And I do. But I never enjoy it. I'm relieved when I get to the bottom and even more relieved that I don't have to do it again. So what's the point? Why not just accept that I prefer riding mellower trails? What am I trying to prove and who am I trying to prove it to?

Wow, talk about not letting this thread get too self indulgent 🙂

the Cullardoch bit (up and over, b@stard climb and hell for leather descent, or the Glen Builg riverbed up towards Quoich and then back down into Braemar?

I was looking at the Cullardoch bit as a loop coming in from the East and back via Gelder Shiel and Balmoral on the gravel bike. Sounds as though I might need lower gearing or just accept pushing up that climb. Not sure what the Quoich option is though. I've done a loop from Linn of Quoich on the FlareMax recently, which I actually enjoyed a lot. Probably because it was tame enough that I could have done it on the gravel bike 🙂

I absolutely get where you're coming from on the 'just don't feel it' bit -- sections of trails where I kind of feel queasy if it's suggested we do 'X' trail, I sometime ago with the flow and often arrange to RV at the bottom by alt route. Maybe just too old! I'm happy doing what I do, mostly, and the stuff I do with the bikes (rigid and HT, 29/27.5+) and SS old school 26" for blasts. To be fair I think I can tackle more now than I could say 10 years ago, some of 10UTB course for example; but bits of Badaguish XC course I'll balk at and just walk.

A few years ago I did a skills course with a good instructor who taught me a lot. The group were looking at a section and deciding if we each fancied giving it a go. He was saying, if you don't feel like it today that's fine. Just come back another day. After all, the mountain isn't going anywhere. He was right of course, but as you get older you do start to realise that the mountain might not be going anywhere, but you are.

I did ride that section by the way. Others in the group didn't and I didn't think any less of them. They just didn't feel like it at that moment. Funny how I can't be as kind to myself as I am to others. Anyway, I thought we were talking about bikes 🙂

Maybe you just also need a lighter, faster MTB

ftfy 😉

Maybe you just also need a lighter, faster MTB

Of course I do. A new bike is always the answer. What was the question again 🙂

[img] [/img]

I rode those trails a few weeks ago - out to Faindouran Lodge - no snakes but there were some skinny-dippers in the pool below the waterfall!

[img] [/img]

Rode from home south to Tomintoul today, did a lap of the red trails at Glenlivet and then Speyside Way north back home.