Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 123 total)
  • Is gravel biking becoming more relevant now we are all riding from home?
  • sailor74
    Free Member

    its an hours drive to anything decent in Kent but there are plenty of bridleways and flowing singletrack so are gravel bikes all of a sudden relevant post lockdown?

    ogri
    Free Member

    No,not to me and never will be.I have a 29er xc bike that dependent upon tyre choice is suitable for any surface/distance.
    Not a dig at Gravel bike owners JMO

    joebristol
    Full Member

    I’m not feeling the need for one I’m Bristol really. I’m either road riding from home on the road bike or going local exploring from home on one of my mountain bikes. The ability to manual / pop off stuff on the mtb’s on just average street furniture makes a ride more interesting.

    I would fancy a 1x type thing like a Space chicken for cycle commuting when / if we ever go back to office working just so I can leave my nice bike without mudguards / not locked up in the work bike compound / covered in winter road crap. But it’s never going to happen – the wife already thinks 4 bikes is too many.

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    sirromj
    Full Member

    No. Or maybe if I was working and my commute was nearer 10 miles than 4.

    Mister-P
    Free Member

    As with all of these questions, the answer is “it depends”. For me road riding is the most relevant when riding from my front door. If I lived 5 miles from here then perhaps gravel would make more sense.

    weeksy
    Full Member

    No, like Zwift, it’s a means to an end

    Gravel, Ridgeway, SDW, they’re riding, but that’s all they are

    ta11pau1
    Full Member

    A picture paints a thousand words, so:

    A gravel bike, in Kent, sometime this year/last year.



    IMO, a big, fat, yes. All the above were taken on rides from my front door, rides for which my 150mm FS bike would be complete overkill.

    If you were just doing bridleways and byways then an XC hardtail would be just as good, and probably a little better, but if there’s any road involved, the drop bars make it so much better.

    My occasional commute to work is 10 miles of 95% tarmac so my space chicken is perfect for this, and it’ll do the pilgrims way without any issues.

    OP – I bought mine for exactly that reason you say – any decent trails are 45-60 minutes drive, yet there’s loads of mellow offroad near me.

    sirromj
    Full Member

    Sailor74, didn’t you stick with the BMX then? I’d rather do that than ride gravel… but I went for trials instead, which is why gravel is a no from me unless needed for commuting. Saying that, I still enjoy MTB from my doorstep in Thanet, just need to let go of the idea of ‘proper mountain biking’.

    Rubber_Buccaneer
    Full Member

    No, ride what you have.  At worst you will get more of a workout and emerge from all this a cycling powerhouse like me 🤣

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Some of us have been riding the local natural trails for 30 years, it’s still MTBing. And it’s not just me, plenty of other riders on them. Gravel bikes are just a choice of bike so they are relevant as are all other types of bike.

    Are they relevant *to you* would be a better question.

    roverpig
    Full Member

    Well I must admit, I have been feeling pretty good about my decision to buy one at the end of last year. Turns out that there are lots of fun little bits of trail/track near home that are too short and tame to be worth taking the MTB to but are fun to include in a short “gravel” loop from the front door.

    ta11pau1
    Full Member

    Some of us have been riding the local natural trails for 30 years, it’s still MTBing. And it’s not just me, plenty of other riders on them. Gravel bikes are just a choice of bike so they are relevant as are all other types of bike.

    Are they relevant *to you* would be a better question.

    Thing is, MTB’s have been getting bigger and slacker and longer and lower and heavier. If an MTB today was the same as an MTB of 10 or 15 years ago, gravel bikes wouldn’t exist.

    Gravel bikes are basically a 90’s rigid MTB, with drop bars instead of of onza bar ends and a girvin flexstem 😀

    Because a lot of people have a 160mm gnarpoon in the garage, it’s opened up a gap in their bike collection for something more suited to local exploring.

    Narrower bars are very handy for massively overgrown bridleways too, try riding down some in summer with 800mm bars and you end up like you’ve gone 5 rounds with a tiger!

    trumpton
    Free Member

    I am using an xc retrobike and loving it

    scotroutes
    Full Member

    Thing is, MTB’s have been getting bigger and slacker and longer and lower and heavier. If an MTB today was the same as an MTB of 10 or 15 years ago, gravel bikes wouldn’t exist.

    Gravel bikes are basically a 90’s rigid MTB, with drop bars instead of of onza bar ends and a girvin flexstem 😀

    Absolutely this.

    My “gravel bike” is my Ti tourer (#gradventourer). It works really well around here in various wheel/tyre combinations.

    However, I recently built my old 26 Ti hardtail into a Singlespeed with rigid forks, flat bars and Ergo Bar Ends. I’m absolutely loving it  on all of the same trails the gravel bike went on. Obviously, I try to avoid too much tarmac with this one, as the tourer is much better on that, so choice of bike will be determined by route of the day.

    sailor74
    Free Member

    , didn’t you stick with the BMX then? I’d rather do that than ride gravel… but I went for trials instead, which is why gravel is a no from me unless needed for commuting. Saying that, I still enjoy MTB from my doorstep in Thanet, just need to let go of the idea of ‘proper mountain biking’.

    still have the BMX although full disclosure i have proper hurt myself a few times! used it at the Source Park and Cyclopark, plus the Velosolutions pump track which was where i was planing to use it most this summer as its more relevant to MTB.

    im 10 mins ride from the Pilgrims way but its still a long ride, including road, to get to Blue Bell Hill or Kings Wood so the gravel bikes makes more sense while driving to the woods is frowned upon. im sure it would never replace MTB but thought local trails on a gravel bike would be more challenging and interesting than letting go of the idea of ‘proper mountain biking’

    matt_outandabout
    Full Member

    I’m riding what I have. Although I’ve swapped 2.4 Mountain Kings for 2.1 XR2’s…
    We are definitely riding more road and track. Our local singletrack/gnat trails were busy the couple of times we tried.
    I’m really enjoying the change.

    dobiejessmo
    Free Member

    I find the gravel/cyclocross bikes make canal towpaths more interesting and places like the Ridgeway plus you can cover a lot more ground quicker everybody to own lot of wasted energy on the Ridgeway with a full suss but Hey Ho.

    cheers_drive
    Full Member

    I got a gravel bike a couple of years back so I could make the most of the 1hr windows I had before working from home because 2 preschool kids had killed of any opportunity for travelling to the trails it long road rides. It’s the same reason why gravel bikes are ideal for the current situation.

    dobiejessmo
    Free Member

    Plus its a lot more relaxing off-road than the road.

    weeksy
    Full Member

    It’s the same reason why gravel bikes are ideal for the current situation.

    MTB only works if more than an hour from home?

    ceramicmatt
    Full Member

    Thing is, MTB’s have been getting bigger and slacker and longer and lower and heavier. If an MTB today was the same as an MTB of 10 or 15 years ago, gravel bikes wouldn’t exist.

    Really good point. I think a lot of modern trail bikes are overspecced for riding out of the front door. Currently my steel, rigid 29er seems too much bike for the local routes. Looking forward to investing in a gravel bike later in the year for this purpose and using the 29er for when it gets wet and muddy again. Enjoy your 1 ride a day folks.

    eddiebaby
    Free Member

    Haven’t owned a car for years so always ride to my rides unless I ride to the station for further afield. So not in my case. But a 29er rigid bike, 1×11 and 2.3 tyres isn’t that far off part of the gravel spectrum.

    scotroutes
    Full Member

    I mean, just look at the height of that seatpost and those lovely bar ends!

    rOcKeTdOg
    Full Member

    its an hours drive to anything decent in Kent

    but there are plenty of bridleways and flowing singletrack

    Sounds like you don’t need to drive anywhere.

    dobiejessmo
    Free Member

    Very good point back in the early 90s all you could get was a rigid MTB try and get one now not easy
    remember having specialised stumper M2 etc all rigid thats what you raced on always remember seeing Steve Pleat racing XC and downhill on the same rigid Kona times have changed some what much more simpler then.

    ta11pau1
    Full Member

    MTB only works if more than an hour from home?

    Obviously if you have Innerleithen on your doorstep then you’re golden, and a enduro bike is perfectly suited – but for the vast majority of us, riding proper mtb trails means a drive in the car, when there’s plenty of riding from the front door that doesn’t need an enduro bike.

    I mean, just look at the height of that seatpost and those lovely bar ends!

    I can see you have the massive horn.

    I’ve gone for a more subtle timber! bell on my ‘local riding that’s not a mountain bike, bike’ 😁

    chiefgrooveguru
    Full Member

    Still riding my fairly long and very slack 150mm hardtail or my 160/150mm eMTB – but I have nice singletrack less than 10 minutes away and steeper stuff only a few minutes further (and halve the time to the trails when I’m on turbo essistance!)

    Just staying focused on being flowy and safe rather than trying to go fast.

    scotroutes
    Full Member

    I can see you have the massive horn.

    That’s my new “social distancing” accoutrements

    crazy-legs
    Full Member

    Perfect cross-over bike really. Most of the roads around here (South Manc, edge of the Peak District) are so shit that a regular road bike isn’t really worth it. Most of the trails bar some of the full on MTB stuff like Cavedale or The Beast or Jacob’s Ladder are fairly low-tech – sure they’re a bit slower downhill on a gravel/CX bike but uphill they’re usually quicker.

    Opens up so many options on a ride, just ducking off down a tiny country lane that’s too rough and gravelly to really do on a road bike but only losing a couple of mph to a road bike on the few decent roads.

    Most of my riding now is mixed terrain – bit of road, some lanes/cobbled tracks, some gravel, a bridleway or two.
    Really the only time the MTB ever gets a look in these days is a day out at Leeds urban Bike Park!

    igm
    Full Member

    Gravel bike.

    It gets used for commuting with panniers.
    As a winter bike with mudguards.
    As an support bike when taking the youngsters on road rides.
    As a training bike (I held 19mph average on it earlier this week – more to come I think).
    Light offroad – eg bits of Dalby.

    And occasionally on gravel.

    It’s a great bike

    weeksy
    Full Member

    when there’s plenty of riding from the front door that doesn’t need an enduro bike

    No, but the enduro bike still does the job, just slightly slower and in more comfort 🙂

    kerley
    Free Member

    Gravel biking has been relevant to me for the last 20 years. Where I live there are quiet roads and loads of gravel roads and single track so I started gravel biking when I moved here 20 years ago.

    I don’t think the word relevant is the correct one, more like is it a better option at the moment.

    willard
    Full Member

    Still using a 2008 or something Malt2 to commute and, as has been said before, it’s super good for hopping on and off curbs and the like. I would love something new and bling, but it works, is already too shiny for the city and I really can’t justify a new bike right now.

    Also not really keen on drop bars around town. I like having a bit more head up.

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    Thing is, MTB’s have been getting bigger and slacker and longer and lower and heavier and something you drive somewhere to do

    FTFY.

    When I started MTB’ing there were 3 annual club trips, one weekend in Mid Wales, a day out in the Peak and a midsummer evening ride when we went north up the A38 to the white peak rather than staying local. No one had a van, and at least 75% of the people there (in a fairly rural area) were riding 5/10/15 miles to the starting point.

    These days people ask “what bike rack” more often than “what tyres”, ST mag does van grouptests and you take a spare pair of 5.10’s and a branded T-shirt for the pub.

    I got a CX bike a few years ago and rediscovered the fun of just going for rides from my house. There was an intermediate step of riding an MTB to Swinely rather than drive but I found too many “I wonder where that goes” bridleways. There’s even a “CX” group in the office that ride a couple of lunchtimes a week!

    It’s not better than taking a nice modern bike to a honeypot, but most of the time I’d rather just “ride my bike”. I managed to go for a ride at lunchtime, and got back at exactly 13:50, I was showered and dressed and on a skype call by 13:58! Taking an MTB down the road to Swinley, easily turns a 90min lap into 3-3.5 hours including packing, loading/unloading, driving etc.

    Nobeerinthefridge
    Free Member

    Is gravel biking becoming more relevant now we are all riding from for those of us that have no decent trails near home?

    FTFY.

    flyingmonkeycorps
    Full Member

    Not necessarily *more* relevant for me, as it was anyway.

    I live in a city, with probably 5 – 6 miles before I can get off road, and pretty tame when I do. I used to drive out with the MTB and do a loop, but as time has become more and more at a premium I’d much rather ride to the trails than spend 40 minutes plus in the car, and the gravel bike is ideal for that. Much better on the road than my 456 with chunky tyres, and capable enough to have fun on the trails.

    It’s also used for commuting (less now as my route is rubbish) with nearly 4,000 miles racked up since I got it.

    When time is *really* short (as it is at the moment) it’s either a run or a spin on the BMX, which is a pretty good workout for half an hour or so.

    scandal42
    Free Member

    I timed building my winter roadie into a more offload focused thing the week before the lockdown. It’s proven an awesome move for me. I can still ride off road but link up the roads etc.

    It brings the more tame tracks to life for me, I really love riding it.

    Insta

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    Is gravel biking becoming more relevant now we are all riding from for those of us that have no decent trails near home?

    I suspect most people live within a sensible drive of somewhere “decent”, very few people, relatively, live right at the bottom of the Golfie or Merthyr. If I got in the car Aston, Swinley, Tunnel Hill, Peaslake, are all within an hour’s drive.

    Gravel bikes, and the more racey XC bikes just give the option of covering bigger distances and getting to more trails.

    I used to live up the road from a trail center, knew all the off piste, but even then there’s an appeal in just going for a ride in the opposite direction.

    matt_outandabout
    Full Member

    Gravel bikes, and the more racey XC bikes just give the option of covering bigger distances and getting to more trails.

    They also require less gradient, gnar and Huck to be really good fun.

    chakaping
    Free Member

    If I had one it’d be getting plenty of use, but instead I’m happy to alternate road & MTB rides.

    If the roads were still as busy as normal I might be considering buying a gravel bike, but the novelty of near-empty roads is not gonna wear off quickly.

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 123 total)

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