Gravel - Please help me "get it"

[plugboots]

Think of the guy that is otherwise athletic but not a cyclist… that rides that one local charity ride every year, maybe participates in bike-to-work day or rides down to the farmers market on Sunday’s… in 2005 that guy had a rigid steel mountain bike hanging in the garage… In 2023 that guy would be best served with an AL gravel bike.


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That dude bought an eBike.

[Jtlange]

It's for roadies who don't want to get hit by cars and mountain bikers that don't have good trails.

If you're not a roadie and you have good trails, there's no good reason to ride groad.

Its hard to train zone 2 on a MTB if you have good trails. That's my main use case, easier training and sometimes, I just want to pedal.

[toast2266]

Its hard to train zone 2 on a MTB if you have good trails. That's my main use case, easier training and sometimes, I just want to pedal.

You don't have any dirt roads that lead to good descents?

[Jtlange]

You don't have any dirt roads that lead to good descents?

Not near Boulder, CO. Its either flat or straight up. Front Range riding is bipolar. Even half of our gravel rides are straight up and straight down.

[toast2266]

Not near Boulder, CO. Its either flat or straight up. Front Range riding is bipolar. Even half of our gravel rides are straight up and straight down.

Gotta say, complaining that you can't keep your heart rate in an optimal zone on a mountain bike makes it sound like you fall into the "roadie that doesn't want to get hit by cars" category of groad rider.

[GoSlowGoFar]

Its hard to train zone 2 on a MTB if you have good trails. That's my main use case, easier training and sometimes, I just want to pedal.

I hear ya, it’s tough to stay in Zone 2. That’s why I got an emtb, the acoustic only comes out on my Zone 3-5 days.

[Jtlange]

Gotta say, complaining that you can't keep your heart rate in an optimal zone on a mountain bike makes it sound like you fall into the "roadie that doesn't want to get hit by cars" category of groad rider.

Complaining is a strong word for what I am doing. Merely stating the nature of the riding around me and my fitness level.

If im riding a trail, I just ride the trail for fun I don't pay all that much attention to my heart rate because it would take all the fun out of it and its hard to control HR when youre riding up a hill. Gravel biking got me significantly faster on the MTB last season which is my main riding sport and I wouldn't have put in the same work on a road bike because its just more enjoyable to be on a fatter tire, more stable bike I don't have to worry about as much on (road conditions, traffic, routes). Could I ride a mtb or road bike and do that? Sure. Would I? Probably not.

I rode road to gravel path to smooth single track to road and back home on single track last night from my house, stayed in Z1 HR for most if not all of it and had a great time passing MTBs downhill. I wouldn't have done it on a road or mountain bike because it would have been boring on a XC MTB and unsafe to do on a road bike. I also don't own a road bike. Nobody needs a gravel bike, but if I were buying a bike I could ride on the road I would definitely pick another one since there are very few drawbacks outside of racing.

[smartyiak]

I hear ya, it’s tough to stay in Zone 2. That’s why I got an emtb, the acoustic only comes out on my Zone 3-5 days.

You play guitar? There's a thread for that.

It's called a "bike."

[LHutz Esq]

More like this is nothing new and the bikes that were built years ago for this type of riding are just as good as the “new” gravel bikes. The bike that I ride the most I bought new in ‘99. There’s nothing a new “gravel” bike can do better. It’s marketing for a stale bike market. It grows the sport though, right?


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But they aren't as good, not by a long shot.

I 'memba my Ritchey p21 circa 1990. Rode that thing everywhere. Then these punks started putting suspension on mountain bikes and created this DH bullshit! Then those fuckers toned it down and made fucken "enduro bikes" and trail bikes and on and on.

I rode down hills on that hardtailed, ridged forked, cantilever braked beauty I didn't need no suspension! Rode trails and raced xc on that baby as well! GETOFFMAHLAWN!

Better geometry, better brakes, better shifting, better selection of tires - new gravel bikes are just better than old road bikes. Some of them, you could probably swap out the wheels and they would be better on tarmac as well.

What do I know - I "gravel" on my 10 y/o kona jake.

Still a lot more fun on most of the roads/trails I currently ride it on than my road bike would be - not to mention the wheel budget would def expand if I was riding the road bike everywhere.

Exploring backroads on a bike is just fun and it is probably, like everything, more fun on a nice bike designed and kitted out for the purpose.

[GoSlowGoFar]

You play guitar? There's a thread for that.

It's called a "bike."

I do but only electric guitar. Kind of ironic that I prefer an acoustic bike though, eh?

[smartyiak]

I do but only electric guitar. Kind of ironic that I prefer an acoustic bike though, eh?

[Kevo]

Awesome photos. You've got a pretty nice backyard.

Thanks. It's a great place to explore on a bike.

I fell asleep scrolling through you pictures.

lol. Like I said, it might be have enough adrenaline for some people and that's ok

[North]

Goal this summer is to try out this "gravel riding" trend but on a 4 stroke dirtbike instead. Same, but different. It will surely escalate from dirt road cruises between burger joints to humping a heavy/loud/smelly machine up and down heinous backcountry singletrack, but for now I'm telling myself it's for touring between far flung pastry shops - that's what gravel is about AFAIK.

[joetron]

More like this is nothing new and the bikes that were built years ago for this type of riding are just as good as the “new” gravel bikes. The bike that I ride the most I bought new in ‘99. There’s nothing a new “gravel” bike can do better. It’s marketing for a stale bike market. It grows the sport though, right?


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This is nonsense. Improvements in frame materials, geometry, gearing/shifting, disc brakes and tubeless wheels/tires make modern gravel bikes vastly better than a 1999 touring bike.


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[climberevan]

Goal this summer is to try out this "gravel riding" trend but on a 4 stroke dirtbike instead. Same, but different. It will surely escalate from dirt road cruises between burger joints to humping a heavy/loud/smelly machine up and down heinous backcountry singletrack, but for now I'm telling myself it's for touring between far flung pastry shops - that's what gravel is about AFAIK.

As a moto guy too, I'm struck by how many of the same kinds of trends/arguments cross over. Dirtbikers / MTB guys think that dual sport/gravel is boring. Dualsport/gravel guys think riding on the road is dangerous and/or boring. Road riders think that the other disiplines are too slow. Motos proliferate, though not quite as badly as bicycles.

To whit, we have 12 bicycles but only 6 motorcycles.

I find myself on ridiculous mountain bike terrain on my gravel bike, even on rides when I plan to stick to mellow dirt roads. The same happens on my 600cc dual sport.

2 wheelers are fun!

[Supermoon]

Yeah if you can’t have fun on a two wheeled vehicle you’re doing it wrong. I will admit that even though I like gravel riding a lot I don’t get ADV motorcycles. Huge fully loaded bikes going into technical terrain is such a pain in the ass. Give me a lighter, quicker bike any day.

Same reason I like my gravel bike more than my hard tail for easy single track I guess.

[climberevan]

Yeah if you can’t have fun on a two wheeled vehicle you’re doing it wrong. I will admit that even though I like gravel riding a lot I don’t get ADV motorcycles. Huge fully loaded bikes going into technical terrain is such a pain in the ass. Give me a lighter, quicker bike any day.

Same reason I like my gravel bike more than my hard tail for easy single track I guess.

ADV bikes are the fat bikes of the moto world. Old guys like them and they are trendy, but they kind of suck for everything except crushing big miles on pavement.

Lots of people try out the big adv bike thing and switch to something lighter. I went through a BMW phase but am much happier on my Husky that weighs literally half as much.

[Jax]

I'm in Kevo's boat. Avoid cars, go long distances on roads less traveled, see beautiful places.

It's like cross country running for us aging folk who can't run like that anymore. But I sure as hell can spend 6-8 hours comfortably on my gravel bike. I like the endurance/adventure aspect, similar to long-distance running, it allows me to challenge myself physically and mentally. I love it when the mind starts to get loopy at mile 70 or 80 with 20+ miles to go. When I am out there on those dirty roads, all I am doing is being in the moment and everything gets stripped down to simplicity, chipping away mile after mile, not thinking about a damned thing except stroking those pedals and eating along as I go.

For me, it's a major release for the brain. I feel no stress, no pressure, all my worries just kinda fade away when I'm logging miles. There's a huge positive mental health aspect to it that gets overlooked, IMO. It's not technically challenging, but you can make it out to be as hard as you want.

Plus it's way more comfortable than a road bike and I can still ride pavement & singletrack on it. Spandex not required, tattoos encouraged.

[ZomblibulaX]

To whit, we have 12 bicycles but only 6 motorcycles.

So you're saying your bicycle budget is 4x greater than your moto budget?

I bought a steel cross bike when I was driving truck for a living because it fit in the cab and you can typically find a dirt road anywhere you can park a tractor/trailer. Put 35s on it and it's a gravel bike. I don't love it, but it's better than not riding, and it keeps me from developing diabetes and heart disease like everyone else on the road. But when I'm home, it collects dust. Sometimes you get to do cool things on it, sometimes you just grind, still beats going to the gym IMO.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

This is nonsense. Improvements in frame materials, geometry, gearing/shifting, disc brakes and tubeless wheels/tires make modern gravel bikes vastly better than a 1999 touring bike.


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That’s all subjective. It’s just an opinion. I don’t find a more modern bike does anything “better” for mixed road surfaces and mellow single track. I have tubed Schwalbe G One Ultrabite in 700x50, steel framed, long wheel base, low bb, fairly relaxed geometry, with cantilever brakes. I’ve tried more modern “gravel” bikes and they don’t do anything better IMO. I own bikes with hydro discs, they’re different not better unless you’re on steep, rough technical trails. There’s nothing new in the geometry department, most people think this because they tried to make a cyclocross bike work for this type of riding in the past. Better shifting is subjective too, I have modern shifters and bar end friction, neither one is “better”.


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[fastfred]

I feel like I am reading a thred on MTBR

ding ding ding

its a thrad not a thred cause this is all about rad

[hick]

I get the allure of the dirt road riding, but explain curly bars on these bikes. I don’t understand the uncomfortable body position and awkward braking from the drops. My compressed discs plead with me to never put myself in that body position. Is it just a trend to differentiate itself from MTBs, a road holdover, or is their an actual purpose? Educate me.


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[climberevan]

Drop bars are not an uncomfortable position for all. Many of us find the hand position options nice for mixing it up, especially on longer rides.

Braking in the drops is not even a little awkward--in fact it's the preferred position for steeper downhills. I'm sorry about your back situation, but maybe you just haven't really tried a well fitted drop bar bike. Those of us with a road background find the drop bar position to be a happy place. If I'm riding dirt roads for hours and hours, flat bars are torture for me.

There's also the issue of putting down a lot of power. Low bars are actually better for that--look at XC racer bars. If the torso is too upright it's actually harder to go hard.

Re: advancements over the years. I agree gravel bike geometry isn't too different from 90s MTB geometry, but they are better in every other way. Yes, we all had lots of fun on cantilever brakes, but claiming that discs are not a huge improvement is ridiculous. Modern carbon frames and wheels are stronger and far lighter, etc.

If you have tried GRX Di2 and think that friction shifters are just as good, wow.

I don't get the hate for gravel bikes. It seems like it's often just an attempt to be curmudgeonly-er than thou.

Bikes are fun; more bikes offer even more opportunities for fun!

[Supermoon]

Bikes are fun

This part seems to get lost a lot

[kathleenturneroverdrive]

I get the allure of the dirt road riding, but explain curly bars on these bikes. I don’t understand the uncomfortable body position and awkward braking from the drops. My compressed discs plead with me to never put myself in that body position. Is it just a trend to differentiate itself from MTBs, a road holdover, or is their an actual purpose? Educate me.

A gravel bike is just a road bike that accepts fatter tires (with other modern stuff that makes them better than a steel touring bike from 1999, LOL). So drop bars make sense for all the same reasons that people ride drop bars on road bikes.

Braking from the drops is no problem in normal gravel terrain, just like a road bike. But as descents get steeper/faster/chunkier, most people move their hands down into the drops. This allows single-finger braking low on the lever for more power/leverage than the drops. Neither position should be uncomfortable nor painful. If back problems make that impossible, a few brands make flat-bar gravel bikes these days.

Seeing you're over the hill from me in Livingston and that maybe you're wondering about the versatility of these bikes: they turn rides you wouldn't do on a mountain or road bike into a super fun day. Like riding Willow Creek/Jackson Creek Loop Trailhead/the Frontage Road back to town. Of course, rides like these aren't everyone's jam, which is cool too.