100km on my gravel bike this morning on urban roads, parks, cycle paths, canal paths, country roads, singletrack, gravel roads and even some dual carriageway
Definitely not what I'd describe as shit
regiegasket
You need to clarify which statement is the correct interpretation.
The first.
It can be the wrong bike in the wrong place, and having the attitude it's better than not being there and not having a bike.
Have to say. That video posted on by sailor74 on P4. I’d definitely want my rigid MTB for most of that riding! I’d be broken by the end of that
I think I could cope with most of that on my Diverge (apart from that bit around 1:30). I would be considerably slower though.
That 3T Almeria got me watching a few of the XPDTN3 videos. Really nice, I'd like to take a look at some of those areas of Spain. Great music too, unlike many bike "edits".
I rode a gravel bike for the first time seriously last summer and loved it.
Saying that, it was solely on long distance gravely trails in Derbyshire.....!
For roads I'd have preferred a road bike and anything more than gravel a mountain bike.
Very niche for the amount of attention they get.
Would have been perfectly happy on the gravel with a road bike and a spare set of cheapo wheels and gravel suitable tyres or a hardtail and pumped the tyres up.
I’m a bit slow to this, but to my perception - gravel bikes just seem to be what mountain bikes were back in the late 90s and early 2000s in terms of capability (apart from the odd looking bars).
If I had gravel roads leading to and from my house instead of paved tarmac and smooth concrete, then I might consider getting one - but that’s not the case so a road bike makes more sense.
If there was no singletrack for me to ride in the woods or mountains when I try to go mountain biking, then a gravel bike might also make sense there.,. But that’s not the case with that there either. I’d have to go searching for a decent gravel road spin.
I’ve not tried one or ridden one, but they don’t appeal to me.
I’m lucky to have this about 3 miles of C class road away from my front door, I’m riding gravel more than road at the moment as a lot quieter
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No horses, no drones, no gnarr, not very far, no thrash metal soundtrack, the whole ride was utterly shit
Good to see lots of folks happy with they’re gravel bikes. I initially was but after the honeymoon period and possibly the terrain from my house made it a poor choice.
Few mates still have gravel bikes and I use my hardtail and keep up with them no issue. I just get to enjoy any remotely rough/slightly techy bits more.
I lasted 9 months before I realised it wasn’t for me. I’ve since ridden lots of smooth’ish gravel/off/road on my winter roadie(28mm) tubeless tyres and it’s just as capable as the gravel bike(in dry obviously)
Have to say. That video posted on by sailor74 on P4. I’d definitely want my rigid MTB for most of that riding! I’d be broken by the end of that
80% of the off road in that video is similar to what I ride locally, there's some which is bit more gnar, but I've also walked far worse climbs 😁
It's officially summer now as I've just swapped the wtb senderos for wtb byways, no need for anything knobbly now as the trails are bone dry, even the last few stubborn wet patches are almost dry.
The forecast gives not a drop of rain for the next week here 😎
I went out for a ride today on my mountainbike, very similar route to what I did on my gravel bike earlier in the week...I enjoyed both!
I’m lucky to have this about 3 miles of C class road away from my front door, I’m riding gravel more than road at the moment as a lot quieter
Yip, been up there a lot on the gravel bike. Perfect ride from my door. Bit of road all the way up the a77, then cut in there for some miles on the gravel then back home via eaglesham. My usual ride is down the a77 to Fenwick, through waterside then into the back of the windfarm. Meander up to the visitor centre then over to eaglesham and home.
The gravel bike is perfect for this. 650b wheels with 48mm tyres are perfect for potholed roads and gravel
I lasted 9 months before I realised it wasn’t for me. I’ve since ridden lots of smooth’ish gravel/off/road on my winter roadie(28mm) tubeless tyres and it’s just as capable as the gravel bike(in dry obviously)
Yep, I am back on 28mm tyres and just as good on the gravel roads as bigger tyres. I wouldn't want to be doing many fast corners on them but on the compacted gravel roads where I live they are fine and faster/less work on the tarmac sections. I do use some heavy duty tubeless 28mm tyres (400 grams) so not really getting the benefits of a decent light road tyre but that sort of tyre wouldn't last 10 minutes on flinty gravel.
The gravel bike is perfect for this. 650b wheels with 48mm tyres are perfect for potholed roads and gravel
I can imagine ! I’m using my Croix de Fer with 700x35s so good on road and a bit harsh on the hard packed turbine roads. I do have a new bike coming end of the week with 650x47 though 😜
@thisisnotaspoon do you have a YouTube channel
One of my favourite things is watching (sorry but it's mostly over biked under skilled people) is searching YouTube for swinley crashes and your name is one of the top hits
Edit
I'm not having a dig
do you have a YouTube channel
One of my favourite things is watching (sorry but it’s mostly over biked under skilled people) is searching YouTube for swinley crashes and your name is one of the top hits
Edit
I’m not having a dig
Haha, no, well only for posting random crap, not edits.
My OH bought me a gopro for a birthday and that crash was its first ride! So fell out with the idea, but then worked in TV production for a few years so absorbed a bit of knowledge and plan to make a few videos. That one was just a an hour in the woods with 3 cameras.
I really need to get a decent PC built to do it properly.
o my perception – gravel bikes just seem to be what mountain bikes were back in the late 90s and early 2000s in terms of capability
No chance. Suspension was normal by then and discs were pretty popular. Go back to the early 90s you'd be closer but still nowhere near really. You might look at bikes from then with a modern eye and think they weren't used for technical trails, but I can testify they definitely were. Nowhere near as fast as I would these days, but we still rode it, we gave those bikes a hammering along the way.
It's mostly about tyre size. I sometimes went with 1.9s but was often on 2.0s or 2.2s. Even now gravel bikes rarely have tyres that big - and simply having flat bars that were still much wider than gravel bike bars, and flat bar levers gave you a more capable riding position.
No chance. Suspension was normal by then and discs were pretty popular. Go back to the early 90s you’d be closer but still nowhere near really. You might look at bikes from then with a modern eye and think they weren’t used for technical trails, but I can testify they definitely were. Nowhere near as fast as I would these days, but we still rode it, we gave those bikes a hammering along the way.
It’s mostly about tyre size. I sometimes went with 1.9s but was often on 2.0s or 2.2s. Even now gravel bikes rarely have tyres that big – and simply having flat bars that were still much wider than gravel bike bars, and flat bar levers gave you a more capable riding position.
Not so sure, suspension that actually worked was very late 90s, i think i had a set of marzocchi z4 which were probably the first fork that actually felt recognisably like a modern fork (spring, damping and stiffness) arround 2002?
Disk brakes, I bought some C2s around the same time, minis and e4's came out 2002 ish?
Disk brakes and suspension might have existed in the 90s, but it was more of a liability than an upgrade 😂
1.9" is ~47mm, and TBH I think even my 40mm tyres are wider than the old Michelin xc tyres i had back then! And as for the 2.3" Continental Vertical Pro's we all bought when 2.1 Fire XCs went out of fashion, I suspect you could probably fit one in a cross frame they were that far from 2.3"!
I'd actually go as far as saying that modern tyres that work mean gravel bikes are actually better than those early MTB's!
back to the early 90s you’d be closer but still nowhere near really
You're right - a gravel bike is better. Speaking as the owner of an Arkose and a '92 Breezer Storm...
Enjoyed mine kitted out with 700x43 on a Road/Gnarmac/Gravel ride today, only a hour spin but got me out the house.
Can't say I'd want to go as far as fitting a dropper post to one but I was a latecomer to droppers on MTBs so got pretty adapt at sticking weight out over the back of the saddle with it at full height. Still forget to drop my dropper half the time....
I do kinda wish I bought a Slate when I had the change....
Firstly 200+ posts excellent trolling OP.
I'm a confirmed "Gravel" fanboi, however nobody has ever actually defined what the Gravel niche really is.
I know what I think it is, and my idea is quite a loose definition, I just view it as owning/using a bike (almost any bike) that you can enjoy riding on/off road without a uniform (wear lycra/baggies/boiler suits/whatever) where the focus isn't on competition "race pace" or outright speed (although there are races and events now) but on simply enjoying riding that bicycle where it can take you, what you get to see.... The bike is almost secondary, if it's an MTB to you then fine, ride an MTB, you're as well riding an "industry approved gravel bike, a tourer a fixie... I don't think it really matters TBH.
I do think it's funny though for MTBerists to be criticising gravel as a marketing promoted niche... Of course it is! So is just about every sub-genre and splinter faction of MTBing, or for that matter road/CX/touring/BMX/commuting and so on, there are very few "non-commercial" bike companies, I've never managed to buy anything from one...
Very few forms of cycling are really the counter-cultural, underground phenomenon participants often think they are, "gravel riding" arguably comes closest (at present) despite being one of the bike industry's favourite hype trains, precisely because it's so poorly defined...
i said earlier that for me its a training tool. i took the mtb out this weekend and the speeds just felt pedestrian after riding the gravel bike so much recently, not to mention everything is that little bit calmer with suspension. im therefore concluding it was entirely down to gravel bike training that i managed some sneaky top 10 strava segments.
