[Closed] Just bought a gravel bike. Will I regret it?

You can push it as far as you like, enjoy, feel comfortable with. No idea what that Orange is like (badged mediocrity to appeal to brand loyalists?)

My view is they can make pretty tame terrain quite exciting (by virtue of being unsuitable)
And make road bits tolerable.
You can spin it the other way of course, crap offroad and crap onroad, but you wouldn’t have bought it if you thought that surely?
A compromise, just like every other bike ever made.

TBH my gravel bike is pretty indistinguishable from my early MTB's and trail centres aside, the geography hasn't changed much.

Rigid.

Narrow tyres

Narrow bars (curly but about the same width)

Only difference is with discs, I don't have to send a postcard ahead to advise I want to slow down.

I really enjoy my 'road and tracks' bike. It is totally different to my 120mm hardtail and I use it to take me on totally different rides.

Gravel bike are great for non-technical BWs/tracks that are rideable from home but not worth taking the mtb for. Guess it depends where you live, but there's loads of that kind of stuff within 10 miles of where I live. I've tried some off-piste rooty woodsy single-track but found myself wishing I was on my full suss. I've done a lot of road riding on mine too. Slower than a road bike but being able to shortcut down gravel tracks or just go exploring is great. Gravel bike are a compromise, but if I could only own one bike that would be it.

They can be as fun as you want to make them, fast and nimble, not a chore on tarmac, encourage more exploring etc. etc. Amazingly versatile if you have the legs/technique to push a big gear through the rocky loose stuff.

Come winter stick some CX tyres on and learn to love the mud 😎

I doubt you'll regret it, I went from a Cross bike to Gravel and for me it's a far better bike.

In practice theres a wide range of Gravel bikes out there which means you've hopefully ended up with the bike best suited to your actual riding.

As others have mentioned,  often there best trick is to make tame trails fun and road links faster than an MTB would manage.

Put a dropper on it.

Will make stupid shit seem possible.

theotherjonv
Full Member

TBH my gravel bike is pretty indistinguishable from my early MTB’s and trail centres aside, the geography hasn’t changed much.

Rigid.

Narrow tyres

Narrow bars (curly but about the same width)

Only difference is with discs, I don’t have to send a postcard ahead to advise I want to slow down

Pretty much echo this^

In fact my gravel bike is closer to the road end of gravel bikes and yet still ticks these boxes.

In fact, it has fatter tyres than my first 2 MTBs.

Staying in the Yorkshire Dales seeing my parents this week. Brought the cx/gravel bike rather than the MTB. It's certainly more of a challenge coming down the steeper/rockier bridleways, but for trails like the Cam High road, High Lane, Busk Lane etc it's almost ideal.

Only almost ideal mind you, descending require a big dose of bravery and luck. The trail down from Wether Fell to Crag Side today was a bit........ rideable...... Just!

I bought a sonder camino, so a similar price point and spec to yours and its got to be my most ridden bike now. Sold the road bike, the singlespeed and mtb has not been ridden for 6 months as a result. I think that'll be used just for winter now. The gravel bike is fun to ride straight from the front door, relaxed and more capable off road than I thought it could be. You don't have to faff with a roadbike uniform and feel inclined to follow a set of cycling rules. If I could only have one bike, a gravel would be it. Enjoy!

There's just something about riding on tarmac, seeing a gravel track or lane and heading off where your nose takes you.

Yksion Allroad 30mm tyres for faster tarmac use and a bit of off piste.

Schwalbe Allround 38mm for a bit more gnar.

Did get myself in a twist at first attempting MTB terrain but you soon learn to tone it down a bit. They're very capable.

Convenience of grabbing the gravel bike for a spin and its versatility means it gets much more use than my mtb.

On the right terrain they are a blast. Loads of suitable trails all over England. Not better than MTB or road. Just another great option

As long as you remember, gravel bikes aren’t ‘proper’ mountain bikes because most ‘proper’ mountain bikes get put in a van and are driven somewhere to ride man-made trails.

I am still getting to grips with mine. Last ride out I concluded the front is definitely too low (I need to flip the stem to rise rather than flat) and the tyres are still pumped up too hard (40psi, probably needs to lose 5psi at rear and 7-10 up front) and possibly need setting up tubeless.

Descending in the drops seem to give the best control but I'm struggling to contort myself into the right position to not crick my neck over longer descents. I'm not very flexible and a bit podgy though!

I've done a couple of easy MTB rides on it when other bike has been out of action and it's been fun, quick on the climbs and ok on the descents.

For me its sweet spot is road/easy tracks linking up stuff that might be a bit lacking in challenge/interest on an MTB. It's so much more capable than that but I'd rather be on the MTB once it gets interesting going down.

Depends……………

I have a Mason Bokeh and love it, it allows mr to ride a multi terrain route right from my door.

But I ride narrow tubeless 38 Gravel Kings which are bloody uncomfortable on bumpy / rutted and when I hit these I’d rather be on my Scott Spark RC.

However I’m able to hit decent speeds on tarmac and gravel so for this it’s a fantastic bike. I dare say if I were to fit 650 wheels with wider tyres it would be more suited to rougher trails.

Gravel bikes are great imo.

I bought an RX9 earlier this year second hand. It's probably my most used bike now. I use it for road riding evening session with a local club, lots of Lake District miles mixing road and bridleways. Great bikes and very versatile go pedal and ride anything that looks interesting.

Convenience of grabbing the gravel bike for a spin and its versatility means it gets much more use than my mtb.

Exactly this for me. I can jump on the gravel bike and end up miles away down some path, trail or farm track I've never been to before. Getting to and from these places on the road is much less of slog too (I don't drive).

I still love my full suss but it's definitely my least used bike now.

For those with gravel bikes that they use on the road, what tyres would you get if you started again?

I'm looking at a Ribble CGR and contemplating a set of 650b with 47mm tyres and a set of 700c with 28/30mm road tyres.

Most of my riding is long road rides or short mixed rides (tarmac, bridleways and woodland - but very little rough riding). I'm missing a bike that can do the slightly rougher woods stuff, my full suss makes it a total non-event and boring. My old CX bike made it an event.

@boombang I run 700x38 G-One Allrounds but if if I was I was riding predominantly on road I'd consider some 30mm G-One Speeds. As for the 650b option, probably something from WTB.

four

I have a Mason Bokeh and love it, it allows mr to ride a multi terrain route right from my door.

But I ride narrow tubeless 38 Gravel Kings which are bloody uncomfortable on bumpy / rutted and when I hit these I’d rather be on my Scott Spark RC.

This - they can be ridden on bumpy rough stuff, but mountain bikes they are not. I love mine, but the off road stuff I use it for is not what I'd ride on a mountain bike or anything close.

Love my gravel bike, as per many people, I can just ride out my door, smash out some miles on the tarmac at a decent speed, then when I spot a gate or bridleway, I can dash off and explore.

There are odd its of singletrack, small woods, paths and tracks near me, but all far too spread out to be any fun on an MTB. Gravel bike allows me to access this riding, and also makes what would be quite tame singletrack, much more fun and interesting.

As for tyres - I run 700x50mm. If you've got the size, use it.

I've never understood the whole 650b for off-road thing. I personally believe that 650b is just an excuse trotted out by manufacturers to cover poor design of a frame that wont take a tyre big enough in 700c for the intended use.

I am still getting to grips with mine. Last ride out I concluded the front is definitely too low (I need to flip the stem to rise rather than flat) and the tyres are still pumped up too hard (40psi, probably needs to lose 5psi at rear and 7-10 up front) and possibly need setting up tubeless.

Descending in the drops seem to give the best control but I’m struggling to contort myself into the right position to not crick my neck over longer descents. I’m not very flexible and a bit podgy though!

Mine is tubeless, 700 x 50c at 28psi.

My drops were too low (compared to my seat) so went for a set of these:
https://eu.ritcheylogic.com/eu_en/bike/handlebars/wcs-beacon-handlebar

Really good as they've a short drop and very easy to flip between hoods/drops. Before these, I'd put a dropper on but now find I don't really need it.

Had an RX9 for a couple of years and its versatility makes it my most ridden bike. It can cope with tougher ground than I thought it might with 40mm tyres on it. Not regretted getting it at all.

I've got a Merlin Malt, 700c, running 35mm Schwalbe G Ones - if I had to only have one bike it would be this one, or one very much like it.

All I've done to it is flip the stem to get the bars higher, and fit an old 100mm dropper I had in the spares box (under seat lever type). I averaged over 13mph on a 14 mile pre-breakfast ride last week, with perhaps 2.5-3.0 miles of that being off road of varying degrees of gnar, plus four gates/bridges to negotiate. When my tyres need replacing I'll probably go a bit bigger, and tubeless, as punctures are my biggest issue. Any half decent mountain bike territory is about 10 miles from me, so for a nice varied ride from the door, including some sections to scare me, the gravel bike is perfect.

I'd advise a helmet with no peak (or at least removable) as you're best off descending in the drops, and you'll either see bugger all or get a bad neck fast riding with a peaked helmet!

You're unlikely to regret it if the alternative is a turbo trainer in the garage.

😀

[not a troll] What's the benefit of a gravel bike over a 29er with suspension? [/not a troll]

Take for example; my Scandal, it'll happily do 16-17mph on the road, and off-road it's about a brazillion times better than a rigid bike...Honestly, what am I missing?

16-17mph on the road

So, pretty slow then.

Take for example; my Scandal, it’ll happily do 16-17mph on the road, and off-road it’s about a brazillion times better than a rigid bike…Honestly, what am I missing?

Drop bars. Unless you don't like drop bars. I love them, and actually struggle now to get comfortable or stay comfortable on flat bars for any sort of length of time.

Depending on tyre size, maybe also speed, my MTB with very fast 2.1" slick tyres is still just that bit slower on tarmac, which puts me off just riding from the door when I know I have 30-40 minutes tarmac between me and the first decent trails.

Aero?

Dunno. All I know is that it was a fast 29er with 40mm gravel tyres that gave me the bug for gravel riding after 125km of mixed roads and tracks in Perthshire, but I now much prefer my bona-fide gravel bike.

Edit: actually I'd say in all honesty that if you like your Scandal on road and off, then don't change! Most of my rides I don't really care about my speed on the tarmac sections but just because the 29er *feels* more sedate, I'm less inclined to take it out. That said, maybe you should try a light, drop barred rigid bike on some swooping, tight singletrack. You know? The sort it's impossible to actually thread a set of 800mm wide bars through now? 😁

I had a day off Friday and chose to ride to our weekend away, west coast if Cumbria to Lindisfarne, had planned a mixed route so took gravel bike, had to make a couple of route changes on the go which added in an extra 30km. None of the off-road sections warranted an MTB and the range of hand positions and also how that affects shoulders, back backside and arms was greater than if I had a fast 29er. It wasn't fast but I enjoyed the day out. I'd have been faster if I'd put road tyres on an maybe I would for the same ride again and just stick to tarmac. I wouldn't attempt a ride like that on a MTB, although you could happily do it and some people would be faster on one than I was. If I'd take my road bike and stick to roads, the lower front end would have been less enjoyable after the first 5 hours and although faster a less enjoyable day out overall.

I have a set of 650b wheels with 50mm tyres. Way more cushioning than the 40mm 700c tyres I had on before. The 700c rims now have 35mm tyres for mainly road. If bikes frames and parts were easily available I'd have built a bike to take big 700c tyres. But I couldn't face betting struck for parts on a build. I'm loving the 650b way more than I thought I would.

I set the whole thing go for a planned big ride last weekend. 140 km including good sections of the ridgeway, road and some single track. Really only a couple of places where would have wanted for suspension. But it was a very well planned route

If I had a spare set of 650b wheels/tyres will they swap out for the 700c easily?

I don't understand the diff between 650/700

650b wheels are the same as 27.5, 700c the same as 29 inch wheels. So smaller wheels generally means you can get wider tyres in the frame if it was designed for 700c wheels.

Only problem is it tends to drop the bottom bracket height but can offset that with bigger tyres.

I love my Kona Sutra LTD gravel bike which came with 700 x 50mm tyres which were great and really fast. But I’ve swapped them for 29 x 2.25 tyres so basically a drop bar mountain bike. I’m struggling to think when I’ll go back to the 50mm tyres to be honest as it’s so much fun on the bigger tyres.

Take for example; my Scandal, it’ll happily do 16-17mph on the road, and off-road it’s about a brazillion times better than a rigid bike…Honestly, what am I missing?

You are not missing anything if that is the bike you prefer to ride and don't want/need to go any faster, although if you are doing 17mph on road an on MTB you would probably be doing 18-19mph on a gravel bike for same effort. Same applies to gravel roads.

It is all down to the bars and tyres. Put drop bars and fairly slick tyres on your MTB and it will be similar, the suspension fork won't be holding you back.

If your hardtail MTB is a brazillion times better then you are not riding the sort of terrain a gravel bike is made for. They are made for road and hardpacked gravel, not riding down rocky, rooty or tricky single track. They can do all that but an MTB is better for the rocky/rooty stuff.

@nickc - you are not missing anything.

Ride the bike that most suits you.

I like my do it all road and tracks bike. However if I had to buy it again, I would be going the flat / alt bar route and more "touring" gearing as the stuff on my bike is way over geared.

Got you, so I should be thinking as these bikes like more* capable road bikes, rather than less* capable mountain bikes. I've not really paid much attention to them TBH as I'm not much of a drop bar fan.

*for a given value of capable

Got you, so I should be thinking as these bikes like more* capable road bikes, rather than less* capable mountain bikes. I’ve not really paid much attention to them TBH as I’m not much of a drop bar fan.

Differently capable 😉

My gravel bike is surprisingly capable in some pretty MTB type terrain, but my god it requires more effort and concentration, which is fun in it's own way, like the equivalent of cleaning a really tricky rootsy singletrack on the MTB.

Sounds like you should just think of them as your next n+1, don't give up your MTB but prepare to be surprised and delighted by how much fun drop bars and sketchy slick tyres can be off road 😎

Plus in winter I reckon EVERYBODY should be riding CX bikes instead of plodding around on their MTBs in the mud, so stick some spiky 33s on your gravel bike and REALLY learn to love mud.

I did give up my MTB for the gravel bike, but for space reasons more than anything. Like a lot of people on this thread, my gravel bike (a Mason Bokeh) lets me go ride off-road without having to get to the riding first via driving or some other form of transport. I can do a 100km gravel ride down to say, Leith Hill, with more than 50% of it off road, from my door. I count this as a major win living in west London.

Because when I bought it I thought I'd use it for commuting as well it's only got Gravelking SK 35s on it, but when they wear out I'll definitely try something wider.

Sounds like you should just think of them as your next n+1

No, not really, like I said I'm not a drop bar fan, I have a roadie, but it mostly sits on the rollers for when the weather/ground is rubbish and I can't be bothered to clean gear/bikes. I'm not in the market for one of these bikes, but I keep seeing threads for them, just wondering what the deal is really.

Just like there are 20 different kinds of mountain bike there are also 20 different kinds of gravel bike. My gravel bike is a road bike with small off road capabilities, my friend's gravel bike is probably better off road than my hardtail was.

If you want a gravel bike then buy one but remember that just like your first mountain bike, its not going to be perfect.

Got you, so I should be thinking as these bikes like more* capable road bikes, rather than less* capable mountain bikes.

That is exactly what I think they are and a point I made many years ago.

I forget which website it was but they basically said the gravel bike is the road bike the general public should buy.

@boombang I've got a Ribble CGR 725 which came with 650b wheels and 47mm WTB Byways, which are surprisingly not slow on the road - at least for the kind of riding I do, probably not for fast group rides though! I've got a few long road rides coming up so I've just got a second set of 700c wheels with Gravel King Slick 38mm. When I ordered the bike I was thinking a future set of road wheels would have something more like 28-32mm tyres on. But having ridden the Byways for a few months I couldn't bring myself to give up all of that volume, hence 38mm as a compromise. Only done 100km in them so far but I'm haopy. Again though I'm no racer.