Can a gravel bike take a heavy rider?

As my fitness level is slowly improving I can now manage about 10miles on local roads (roads mainly so far due to all the rain) around dartmoor though still pushing up some hills. I’m riding a second hand mtb but thinking I may prefer a gravel bike and it may be more suited to trail riding on dartmoor, I prefer to travel off road and feel ik I’m covering distances, rather than super rough ground and jumps etc..

My main concern being heavy is wheel/tyre durability I’m concerned I’ll get punctures and damaged wheels on the rougher parts of some trails. I’ll carry on with my mtb and hopefully will be able to ride a gravel event one day. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Most bike manufacturers will have a system weight limit for bikes if you look on their website or enquire.

Quite a few gravel bikes have the option to put 650B wheels on, with smaller MTB tyres.

Gravel bikes are more versatile if you’re riding on and off road. They are terrifying on anything that’s gnarlier than gravel.

If you’re riding for fitness, then there’s not a lot of benefit in going for a more efficient bike, other than it can help your confidence.

If it’s not too personal, how much are we talking about here?

Different people have different definitions of “heavy”…

How heavy?

It is the wheels and possibly the seatpost that would be the problem. I bought a new canyon grail a few months ago, sold the zip wheels to fund some much stronger rims on dt swiss hubs from light bicycle. I also set up tubeless with rimpact tyre inserts.

I was 140kg when I bought it and have lost 5kg since, I have been riding bikes above (or way above) the recommended system weight for years, it is only the wheels and sometimes seat posts that cause me problems.

For mountain bikes I run 36 spoke wheels, for gravel that is harder to find, but splashing out on some light bicycle deep rims also means the spokes are shorter, and that adds the strength and rigidity that would be alternatively achieved by a higher spoke count. Light bicycle would probably put 36 spoke holes in a not deep rim, I never asked them because I was attracted by the “bling” of deep section rims.

Depnds on manufacturer but total weights for frame warranty can be rider,plus gear,plus luggage =160-300lbs so up to about 21stone with everything.

From memory different styles of bike have different rider/system weights so a roadbike will be tested at a lower weight limit than a big travel mtb

Yes they can no prob. How heavy are we talking? 100-120 kg is heavy in layman’s terms but doesn’t require anything special with the bike – above that you are starting to lay some weight on the machine so can think about things like 36 spoke rear wheels.

It’s as much your experience riding as weight, which will come in time. A good but heavy rider can take a gravel bike over the xc mtb style rocky terrain no prob, wheels will be straight as a die, when a beginner would fold them in half. So just riding more will build confidence and skills on the off-road.

Wheel inserts are popular for some MTB and gravel styles – they protect the rim from rock impacts. But I wouldn’t be in a rush to get any if you’re just starting out unless you’re really hitting the rocks. Just something to be aware of for future.

+1 on how heavy.

I’m riding a Genesis Vagabond with tough tyres and inner tubes. I’ve not had a puncture or issue yet. I’m 92kg, plus panniers and camping kit of 10-15kg, off road.

Also look out for the rim width, a lot of gravel wheels come with 25mm internal width now, and I wouldn’t want anything narrower, it really affects the way the tyre walls support you through the corners, maybe even use tyres designed for ebiks as they tend to also have a bit more meat in the sidewalls.

Thinner tyres aren’t as good for handling a touring/bikepacking load or a heavier rider off-road. ime it’s better to have a bigger tyre (29er MTB) and lower pressure than a gravel bike with 40 or 45Cs pumped up hard. I like gravel bikes but for mixed terrain multi-day rides with 7-10kgs on the bike I prefer a 2.3 – 2.4 XC race type of tyre.

Plus if you prefer off-road riding drop bars aren’t ideal. They won’t stop you riding most things but they’re only really offering an advantage when on road much of the time.

I reckon you might be faster, comfier and having more fun on a light rigid 29er with some alt bars (or very flared gravel bars if drops appeal).

I’m 150kg down from 169kg I would be getting anything this year maybe next I am just curious if it was possible. I have seen it might be worth having custom wheels built.

Hmmm. When you say “gravel bike”, do you specifically mean a drop bar bike? There’s a very wide spectrum of gravel bikes from a full on road bike which can take slightly wider tyres right the way to hard-tail mountain bikes with 3+” tyre clearance.

Have you tried a drop bar bike? If so, do you prefer the fit over flat bars? What about the gear change/brakes? Either way, strong wheels and tough tyres are gonna be the key as you’ve already summized…

20 stone here at present.

swapped my fatbike for a carbon specialized diverge a couple of weeks ago.

so far so good. i have put about 300 miles on it with a 60 mile pure offroad loop with no issues whatsoever.

I’m 125KG and ride a Sonder Camino alloy frame with Moonglu build Hope pro 5 on DT GR531 rims (32H)

Have 45mm tyres on and have ridden it around Cannock pebbles and off small doubles.

Done around 200 miles on it so far and everything is holding up ok.

My limited experience Dartmoor tracks would suggest an mtb might be better than a gravel bike. Its also easier to get low gears on a flat bar bike.

To be clear i own a gravel bike and love using it. But i live in a faster smoother area.

I don’t think one type of bike is stronger or weaker

@ton Doesnt the diverge have a max rider and gear weight of 275lbs? Doesnt mean you cant ride it, but  does mean it may fail sooner than expected and not be covered by warranty if it does crack

I got a Kinesis Crosslight – the wheels have lots of spokes….and some nice Mavic MTB rims on it.

Speak to a local bikeshop that is happy to build a bike up for you…

Something like a cotic cascade might suit- burly end of gravel, aimed at rougher terrain and maybe a little stronger. As above I’d get hand built wheels after advice from a reputable builder, and big tyres.

112kg, Pipedream ALICE, 2.2″ tyres on Hope Wheels, ride it on MTB type stuff, never missed a beat. Not the most ‘gravel’ of gravel bikes, but gravel is for roadies and I’ve got more self respect than that.

For the OP, just ride the bike you’ve got – drop bar bikes are far, far harder to ride on anything other than smooth descents than a flat-bar bike; especially if you’re on a ‘portly’ side.

But to answer your overall question, a quality frame should be fine with your weight, but it might be worth looking at those aiming at ‘adventure’ as they’ll be built to take luggage, lots of.  You will need stronger wheels, but any wheelbuilder can build strong wheels (36 spokes etc) and heavier-duty finishing kit (bars, stem, seat post, saddle etc) from a quality provider (look for DH/tandem aimed kit).

And make sure whatever bike you run has bigger rotors.

Cheapest easiest option is to try some fast rolling tyres in what you have something like a continental Race King- depending whether you have a decent bike at present or a heavy peice of crap.
What is the MTB?
Well done BTW it’s hard to get started and a faster lighter bike definitely feels more motivating.

A mate of mine who’s definitely on the ‘larger gentleman’ side of the scales picked up a second hand Genesis Croix de Fer which he reckons is perfect for his size since it’s a full steel build including the fork, it was a carbon fork he was worried about in terms of loading. Only change he made from the stock build was to upgrade from the cable discs to JuinTech cable hydros for a bit more power. We had a few days bikepacking up in Galloway and both he and the bike coped brilliantly.

Gravel bike with mountain bike wheels. Done.

I’m 150kg down from 169kg

Congratulations. The riding you are doing is having an effect. As already mentioned, wheels and seat post might be a challenge. But… we have things called tandems that take two adults and luggage without issue. So a gravel frame would be fine (I’d suggest carbon or steel rather than alloy), you could use a steel seat post, and get some custom wheels. Any decent wheel builder will be able to build a nice set of strong wheels that will be stiff. 26″ wheels are stiffer by design, and wider tyres will make up the diameter to 27″/700c.

Happy bike hunting, it’s part of the fun of cycling!

tazzymtbFull Member

@ton Doesnt the diverge have a max rider and gear weight of 275lbs? Doesnt mean you cant ride it, but  does mean it may fail sooner than expected and not be covered by warranty if it does crack
Posted 14 hours ago

on inspection this morning, i have discovered my Diverge is Alloy and not carbon.

so hopefully i wont kill it too easily.

I’m 135kg (sometimes heavier and sometimes light).

I’ve smashed my gravel bike through some pretty rough stuff and it’s held on really well (kinesis G2 with the original alex rims which are actually good apart from they don’t hold air for a tubeless set up)

I’ve never had a problem with seatposts but often have to sort the spokes out on my mtbs but haven’t had to touch the gravel bike.

My experience of steel is pretty poor, that nice compliance and give for an 80kg rider can become noodly flex for us more “powerful athletes”

@MSP     whereas my experience as a 130kg rider is, that if you source a good solid gas pipe frame like a Surly disc trucker, and a 753 frame like my Spa tourer, with the right wheelset you could build yourself a cracking gravel/offroad touring bike.

The spa tourer is pretty bombproof, I specced the strongest wheels and regularly carry heavy shopping in panniers, I reckon rider weight plus load at c 140kg.  No spoke breakages yet, 35c tyres just fit but it’s close.  Really nice bike, bought for commuting but do pretty much everything on it.

and a 753 frame like my Spa tourer,

Probably not 753, that’s a whippet light race tubeset, more likely 725.

Just over 100kg here, down from around 114. I reckon stock wheels are the weak link. You can get a set built with 36 spokes and sturdy DT swiss rims for less than you think, which will be super reliable and easy to service/maintain.

I’ve got a set of 32H Pacenti rims built onto Hope hubs on my Gravel bike – think i’ve broken 1 spoke in 6 years, and that was riding a really rocky downhill path in Italy.

@mert

Correct mate. I posted wrong numbers

Yes 36 spoke front here, clear weight penalty but in the scheme of things well worth it.  Bike feels bombproof, I sometimes tow a cargo trailer I can feel it pushing me downhills.