It might make boring trails more fun, but aren’t they still just boring trails.

If you find riding along gravel roads boring then it doesn’t really matter which bike you are using, just as if you find riding along the road boring. If that is the case then cycling on road or gravel roads is probably not for you and you should find something to do on a bike that is not boring.
I enjoy riding on gravel roads and don’t find it boring at all. I also enjoy riding on the road but the advantage with gravel roads is that I don’t have careless drivers to contend with.
Can’t say it is any more exciting on a track bike than an MTB but it is the type of bike I like riding most so ride one.

I had a few Koms back in 2010-12 as it took a while to catch on here. Then they got hoovered up one by one as pros started using it and came through on the Vuelta or Pais Vasco. Seemed unfair as they were arriving at the bottom of climbs doing 55kmh in the bunch ;P
Never managed to get this one back, for example:
https://i.imgur.com/PpjKWfg.png
A riding mate has a 20k flat KOM from around that time, from when he was racing in Elite. It’s a local testers’ segment, and no-one can get near it. He confessed to me he’d drafted a Dutch motorhome almost all the way.. it’s still no mean feat to hang on for that long, especially as it has a few ‘repechos’ along the way. I think it’s valid.

You can ride all but downhill course type trails on a road bike.

In the same way you could take a track car greenlaning, it’s not going to be doing anyone any favours, least of all your wallet. If you can do it comfortably then your trails are shit.

Thanks @kerley I was playing devil’s advocate of course, but you are right, it’s not so much a question of the bike as whether I enjoy riding back roads and simple tracks enough to make it worth buying a bike for the purpose.

I’ve tried those rides on both my MTB and road bike now and neither work. The MTB is too slow on road to be enjoyable for more than a short while and I have to nurse the road bike too much on the tracks to avoid destroying tyres and wheels, so that’s not much fun either once the novelty wears off.

I have found some lovely little sections of track, through woods, by streams etc. But without the technical challenge would they get boring too after a while? I suspect not. I enjoy exploring more than tech these days and a gravel/adventure bike does look like a good option for that.

In the same way you could take a track car greenlaning, it’s not going to be doing anyone any favours, least of all your wallet. If you can do it comfortably then your trails are shit.

No damage to my bike at anytime so no problem with wallet and wouldn’t say I can do some sections comfortably but I would agree that the trails where I live are shit hence why I use a fixed gear road bike for them as it makes them more challenging.

He confessed to me he’d drafted a Dutch motorhome almost all the way.. 

That needs flagging, no motor pacing 😤😤

I’ve somehow collected a few KOMs when out on my #gradventourer. It’s undoubtedly quicker than a MTB on some tracks. I certainly don’t regard it as cheating in any way, just the use of a more appropriate bike.

As Charlie once said, if your trails are boring, get a worse bike. They will then become terrifying. The advantage is that you won’t have to jump off an Alp to get a thrill and face the consequences of getting it wrong. Pleasant bimbling becomes a thrill ride but you’ve normally got somewhere soft to land if it goes wrong.

The most fun I’ve had is normally on the wrong bike.

Oh, OP, stop pretending that you don’t care about your KOM. Just publish where it is so someone can steal it on a unicycle.

😉

I’ve got KOMs!

What? I’m supposed to type a bit more whe n getting that statement out there’s the main purpose of the thread, shirley? Okay, every single one of them will have been with good ground/road conditions (actually I don’t think i’ve any road KOMs left) and the wind blowing strongly in the right direction. Or moving from back to the front of a group, or with faster riders who weren’t stravaing. You get the idea: It is what it is,

@scotroutes I wouldn’t regard you as cheating either as your #gradventourer still fits within the broad envelope of appropriate. My dilemma is that my road bike was in no way appropriate and had to be nursed along just to stop it breaking. So, I can see how it might look as though I took a totally inappropriate bike along just to bag a KOM. I didn’t: despite this thread I’m really not bothered and would happily have marked the ride as private if anybody thought it was cheating. I didn’t know there was a segment there and the only reason the time is respectable is because my gearing is so high that my only choices were bust a gut or try to waddle up the hill in my road shoes.

Anyway, I’ll shut up about it now as I’m clearly the only person who thinks I was cheating anyway.

I’ll shut up about it now as I’m clearly the only person who thinks I was cheating anyway.

If it makes you feel better, I’ll take your side.

Thanks 🙂