Gravel - Please help me "get it"

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Gravel biking is mountain biking from the 80's. But with much more expensive equipment than anyone would have considered smart in that era. Plus the tires can be a lot bigger now.

I recall riding a full hard mountain bike in the early 90s on the exact same trails we now gravel ride. That was called trail riding. We hike-a-biked our rides up and down the rock gardens we encountered and even had frame bags and stuff sacks on our racks. I had friends who did the same in Marin and Santa Cruz on 700c bikes in the 80s with the biggest tires they could fit, dropper posts without remote triggers (release below the seat), and eventually, the first front shocks on these bikes. Suddenly, gravel bikes emerge from burly road frames in the 2010s and now we are getting ruby front fork suspension or headset suspension, dropper posts, and even mountain or hybrid groupsets.

History repeats itself.

This is pretty much it. Hite Rite, Jaand frame bags etc. Anyone remember the Specialized Rock Combo? Bruce Gordon Rock and Road?


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[Dromond]

This is my take.

I can road or mountain bike ride from my house, so my gravel bike gets very little use.

I am lucky and have access to thousands of kms of paved low traffic roads that I can ride to from my house. I don't feel the need to get on the dirt roads (which are generally in bad shape around here).

What region are you in? I actually love the feeling of gliding along on smooth pavement, but hate being near cars. It seems like there are bad driver interactions everywhere from city to rural these days - at least in North America?

[ironhippy]

What region are you in? I actually love the feeling of gliding along on smooth pavement, but hate being near cars. It seems like there are bad driver interactions everywhere from city to rural these days - at least in North America?

I'm on the east coast of Canada - https://www.google.com/maps/place/Fredericton,+NB/

We don't always have smooth pavement, but the lack of traffic means you are generally free find a smooth line.

Luckily we've overbuilt our road ways, so we have a underused highway travelling the length of the province. That means the older roads generally only see local traffic and there's not much of that.

We don't have huge hills, but I can certainly make things work when I want to climb.

[Dromond]

Got it - that is definitely a lower population part of the world.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Location is probably the biggest factor when it comes to riding and what you choose to ride. I live at the confluence of the Wenatchee and Columbia rivers. There are really limited paved roads in the Valley not enough to make “road” riding interesting. There are good/great mtb trails here but they’re pretty limited too. What we do have are hundreds of miles of FS/State gravel and dirt roads and double track. Most of these roads climb over and traverse the mountains that separate the river valleys that drain into the Columbia on the east slopes of the Cascades. This makes it possible to put together loop and point to point rides anywhere from 30-100+ miles with very little pavement and traffic. There’s usually a ton of climbing but the scenery is really great. That’s why I like “gravel” riding. I can leave right from home and be on FS roads in 5 miles and ride all day with no traffic


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[farmguy]

This ^^. Im about 50 miles south east of you and while I do not have close access to FS roads, the farm ground around here is loaded with routes. I can leave the house and weave thru secondary paved/gravel roads until I hit the good stuff. It is pretty easy ride 40-60 miles and have 3-4 stop signs and the same amount of cars. Plenty of hills to add some suffering.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

^^ I’m not averse to crossing the river. It’s a bit more to get to dirt but once there miles and miles of nice dirt and some surprisingly big climbs. I really like the area on the Waterville Plateau bound by Moses Coulee, Highway 2 and the Columbia throw in the Beezely Hills. When the weather is right it’s fantastic.


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[farmguy]

^^ I’m not averse to crossing the river. It’s a bit more to get to dirt but once there miles and miles of nice dirt and some surprisingly big climbs. I really like the area on the Waterville Plateau bound by Moses Coulee, Highway 2 and the Columbia throw in the Beezely Hills. When the weather is right it’s fantastic.


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Sagebrush Flats (?) Flat?? are my favorites. Ephrata Fondo area. Then after I am in shape, Rock Island grade for lots of pain.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Yeah go to ride over there is Rock Island grade/Indian Camp/Upper Beaver Creek. It’s about 55 miles and 5700’ of climbing from my house in Wenatchee

Getting there is the tricky part, short sections of 28 and it can be pretty unpleasant at the wrong time.


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[Shredhead]

Do you guys ride in the winter?

In a perfect world you would always have the right bike, for every condition.
But I don’t want to own, store or maintain that many bikes.

I ride from home, just about everyday, year round.
My FATe covers snow, gravel and road.



I also have an Enduro for single track and the park.


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[ironhippy]

Do you guys ride in the winter?

In a perfect world you would always have the right bike, for every condition.
But I don’t want to own, store or maintain that many bikes.

I've attempted this:
Fat bike without studs - muddy, early/late season conditions or if I need a lot of floatation
Mountain bike without studs - wet/non frozen conditions, I don't mind if it gets salty/dirty
Plus bike with studded tires - all around bike, normally my go to if conditions are solid
Mountain bike with studs - wet frozen conditions, I don't mind if this gets salty/dirty
Fat bike with studs - go to fatbike when conditions aren't solid enough for the plus bike
Mountain bike with studs - for dry, sheer ice conditions



This is overkill, it's been built up over the years and I have some redundancy so my wife can ride or I can loan out bikes to friends.
This season I rode the fat bike with studs 90% of the time and I have been considering getting rid of some of them.

[singlecross]

Grant Petersen had it right 30 years ago.

Just like frat boy jocks put on cleats and turned Ultimate Frisbee into a “sport”, Type A Strava cyclists will make backroad gravel riding far too serious.
That’s, like, my opinion Man.

And, for fucks sake, can you PLEASE shut off your damned strobing lights when you get off the pavement and away from automobile traffic. You’re triggering my flashbacks.

[buttahflake]

Retro-grouch bullshit was always for slow people. Grant Petersen is a dick.

[joetron]

Lol. I’m troubled by my growing alignments with Buttah. He’s correct. Haha


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[Bunion 2020]

Shoulder surgery has me off my Mtn bike for the near future. I will be clear to ride road or my gravel bike on roads. So I don't care if you "get it" as long as I do.

[bodywhomper]

Anybody have recommendations of bike shops in the Sacramento/Davis area that would have a variety of gravel bikes in stock? Want to get my kid pedaling in a parking lot on a few frames.

Petersen is a bit of a trip. He was a bit of a pioneer bringing the touring and gravel bikes back, and he started the momentum for bringing back the 650B. I’ve briefly met him a few times, and my boss used to live next door to him. It sounds like he is extreme in many parts of his life.

One winter (2007?), I went up Mt Diablo to ski and ran into my boss on his morning ride, grant and his entourage, and several bikes clubs (lots of matching Lycra kits and 80% men) at the road junction in the park before the single road climbs to the summit, which I had just skied. It was quite the scene and reminded me of watching films of male birds ridiculously showing off to attract a mate. My boss, was dressed sensibly for the weather (it was near freezing) and is generally a very positive person - he just shines on. He wasn’t riding with grant. Grant was dressed in think wool, burkenstock sandals, and no helmet. He was scowling under his breadth at the scene. The whole thing was funny (and I was stoked because I had just checked a box off my ever growing ski list).

[Peruvian]

Retro-grouch bullshit was always for slow people. Grant Petersen is a dick.

I don’t think calling someone who is recommending “Go Slowly” slow is the burn you think it is.

I don’t know much about Peterson beyond his work with Bridgestone and Rivendell. What makes him a dick?

[buttahflake]

The same thing that makes you a dick, your air of superiority.

[singlecross]

I don’t think calling someone who is recommending “Go Slowly” slow is the burn you think it is.

I laffed…



And then went for a nice gravel ride, on a bike with moustache bars and downtube shifters.

[biggins]

^^^Love the 3x

[Shredhead]

I had no idea who Grant was until today.
But I’ve been a disciple my whole life.
I had a Bridgestone MB-1 in the early 90’s and a Bridgestone mini bike in the 60’s.


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[bodywhomper]

I had no idea who Grant was until today.

If you’re ever on mt diablo and see an older guy riding a gravel bike in burks, wool socks, and no helmet….

I thought it was pretty fun to go into the riv store in Walnut Creek and ogle (and test ride) the pretty lugged framed built bikes. There is/was also a steel frame builder storefront shop on Bancroft in Berkeley, Jitensha Studio. Felt like a museum with the beauty of the craftsmanship and shop curation.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Retro-grouch bullshit was always for slow people. Grant Petersen is a dick.

Yeah, having fun is bullshit. In every face to face or phone conversation that I’ve had with Grant he’s been anything but a dick. You?

Grant preaches “go slowly” and I imagine that he’s slowed down but he used to race and he’s a strong rider. Using a bike for fun, camping, exploration, commuting and utility is what biking is about. Lycra clad losers are the dicks. You fit right in.
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[MagnificentUnicorn]

I laffed…



And then went for a nice gravel ride, on a bike with moustache bars and downtube shifters.

Nice bike, looks comfortable and fun


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[MagnificentUnicorn]

The same thing that makes you a dick, your air of superiority.

I think the irony of this post is lost on you


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