I started biking around three years ago. Lots of biking, like 5000-8000+ km a year. As long as I don't weigh my ideal weight and aren't planning on becoming a machine myself, I have zero interest in spending anything in optimizations which will make my bike a better one. I don't care if it could go faster or be more lightweight, spending 600€ for the bike was enough. The cheapest 30€ Schwalbe tires are good enough; I…
That’s absolutely fine. This article is aimed at people who race bikes for fun and for a living.
I bought a cool book yesterday which is all about gravel trails in the UK. I had never heard the term gravel bike until reading it. Silly question but can I do these trails on my full suspension mountain bike, or will I be mercilessly mocked and possibly chased out of town? I already have a mountain bike and a road bike so not keen to add a third!
It will certainly be more of an effort with the fully, but I don't see anything wrong there. I'm not even sure we have a lot of so-called gravel trails here (not the UK) but the norm is more: people ride on MTBs and sometimes there's a rider on a gravel bike or cyclocross.
> I already have a mountain bike and a road bike so not keen to add a third!
I bought a cool book yesterday which is all about gravel trails in the UK. I had never heard the term gravel bike until reading it. Silly question but can I do these trails on my full suspension mountain bike, or will I be mercilessly mocked and possibly chased out of town? I already have a mountain bike and a road bike so not keen to add a third!
If anything, you might be thankful of a full suspension mountain bike on some of our "gravel" trails in the UK. There's such a wide range from US-style back county roads all the way to bridleways with baby-head sized rocks that you probably wouldn't want to be riding on something typically sold as a gravel bike.
Yes, this. There's actually not that much US-style "gravel" in England and Wales: basically a few Forestry Commission tracks in mid-Wales, Northumberland and places like that. Elsewhere it's single-track bridleways that dominate. Routes like King Alfred's Way, the Pennine Bridleway, the Great North Trail and West Kernow Way are sometimes marketed as gravel routes but they're probably more MTB than anything.
I am an out of shape former racer who has ridden his bike 10 times in the last two years. I have a dad belly and rarely work out at all. I recently did The Rift this summer - a 200km gravel race here in Iceland that people come from all over the world to race. I did it on a carbon cyclocross bike from my racing days with file treads. I felt like the light weight of my bike outweighed just about every gravel fad that'…
There is actually very little difference between a cyclocross bike and a lightweight gravel bike. Slightly lower BB, slightly longer wheelbase, sometimes slightly different headtube angle, flared handlebars. Actually the first gravel bikes were rebadged cx bikes. You can race cx with a gravel bike and race gravel with a cx bike. The rider makes most of the difference.
I am an out of shape former racer who has ridden his bike 10 times in the last two years. I have a dad belly and rarely work out at all. I recently did The Rift this summer - a 200km gravel race here in Iceland that people come from all over the world to race. I did it on a carbon cyclocross bike from my racing days with file treads. I felt like the light weight of my bike outweighed just about every gravel fad that'…
I think you’re overestimating the ability of most of your competition. As a former racer, you probably have leftover power and you know how to race. It was less about your bike being “light” and more about your personal ability.
A gravel bike is the perfect commuter bike! At least if you're not going electric. Almost as light and fast as a road bike. But a bit more upright riding so it's more comfortable. Wider and more treaded tires means tram lines, pot holes, curbs etc. are less of a problem and can handle rough surfaces and not just asphalt. Mounting points and wider forks allow for mudguards / fenders so rain is no problem. The wider sp…
I agree. I ride a Niner RLT Steel with drop bars, 1x10 gearset, 650b wheels, and Panaracer Pacenti tires.
I specify those things because my Bike of Theseus went through MANY variations before I got it to where I was happy!
I'm in agreement with almost everything except the tires. Unless your commute has a significant portion of rough surfaces, you definitely want to use some road tires. Not the super skinny ones used on road bikes, so you don't have an issue with tram lines/pot holes/curbs, but good reinforced road tires (so you don't have flats when going over glass/nails/whatever). I've been commuting daily on a mountain-bike (chosen…
There are slick gravel tires. The author of the article sell some of his own brand Rene Herse. They are made by japanese brand Panaracer who also produce slick and treaded gravel tires under its own name and for other companies. Slick large volume gravel tires are also sold by most bicycle tire brands. Most of them are tubeless compatible which remove the need for reinforced heavy tires as any puncture usually seal i…
Panaracer Pacenti's have been my goto everything tires for a few years now. Excellent hybrid tire.
I’m sorry but Jan Heine has unscientific methods and his products are of questionable reliability. You can drop 200usd on his tyres. It’s like hifi nerdy but for rubber.
Where are the supposed alternative people with scientific methods?
A gravel bike is the perfect commuter bike! At least if you're not going electric. Almost as light and fast as a road bike. But a bit more upright riding so it's more comfortable. Wider and more treaded tires means tram lines, pot holes, curbs etc. are less of a problem and can handle rough surfaces and not just asphalt. Mounting points and wider forks allow for mudguards / fenders so rain is no problem. The wider sp…
Gravel bikes are good commuters, if you like drop bars. Many commuters prefer flat bars for the more upright riding position, which allows for a better field of view for misbehaving drivers. You still also have the classic problem that higher end bikes lose all the commuter friendly features. Carbon forks and frames often lose mounting points for fenders+rack. The marketing vision of a gravel bike is someone expectin…
My steel gravel bike was built with bikepacking in mind, so it's carbon fork was revised after the first year to have those mounts for exactly that reason (Niner RLT Steel).
Gravel bikes are good commuters, if you like drop bars. Many commuters prefer flat bars for the more upright riding position, which allows for a better field of view for misbehaving drivers. You still also have the classic problem that higher end bikes lose all the commuter friendly features. Carbon forks and frames often lose mounting points for fenders+rack. The marketing vision of a gravel bike is someone expectin…
Drop bars can be set as high as you want. There are even off road drop bar bikes built with stems looking like goose necks to put the bar high enough (see example in the link). It is more about the position in which you want to put your hands/wrist that matters. Gravel bikes are sold in many different kinds, and different materials. Steel, alu, titanium, carbon, you name it. They are also build with different use in…
I cut my stem long and run my bars high due to a back injury.
It does mean that I essentially had to learn how to build my entire bike from scratch since noone builds a bike that way, but I'm happy I did.