I will refrain from commenting on all of this, but I can say that using a proper bike for the terrain is a joy. I also know that some people become obsessed about technology versus the joy of riding - an equally important concern.

I hear local stories of people riding on 28mm slicks through simple singletrack trails and I cant help but think that would stink vs having 35mm 'g-g-g-gravel' tires with some cush and some tread. I rode on wet, muddy grass with good gravel tires on Saturday, and was sliding all over the place. It was fun, but better tires wouldve had me digging right into the terrain and 28mm slicks wouldve had me walking (or crashing), without a doubt.

Case in point, that trail looks like serious fun on a bike with some treaded tires and a lower TT. It looks dodgy the way they are riding it.

yeah, i did not have to read very far until i thought rene was making a case for himself to be one of the first nominees for “Gravel Hall of Fame” or whatever….

That seems unlikely, considering that he passed away nearly half a century ago.

.

LOL.


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While I think a "Hall of Fame" is an ancient, and utterly irrelevant concept, inducting Jan Heine into the GHOF makes total sense.

G-Ted, Chris Skogen, and Jim Cummins belong there as well. Although I suppose Cummins isn't eligible, being unpersoned a couple years ago.

Who's the guy who used to organize Battenkill? He did some good gravel service too running that event for so long.

Gotta say Jan’s take on mountain bike history, and the Repack/Crested Butte era is mostly wrong and at best extremely incomplete, which makes me doubt some of the other “facts” he presents.

Sometimes he makes great tires, though I swore off the Extralight Koolaid years ago.

Sandy Whittlesey, the catalyst and creator of the Deerfield Dirt Road Ride, would be a good candidate for induction into a Gravel HOF. D2R2 first began in 2005, and this predates most other gravel/dirt events that I am aware of.

Perfect!:beer:

Erm...see current tri bike thread.

And many here would be surprised at his choice of equipment for his personal bikes! He also was a BMB (1200km Randonne) rider.
I was helping Sandy check out his route sheets (by moto) prior to the first event in 2005. It has been enjoyable watching the growth of this event over the last 17 years! :banana:

It took him 46:03 minutes for BMB. He must have been on Jan's prototype tires. I would be interested in his equipment choice. Probably solo, lights out fast.

I don't at all believe "the forum" shares a single opinion, nor have I ever stated or implied such - quite the contrary in fact. My response was to the article, the 5 posts in this thread that argue gravel bikes are "just [needless] marketing" and the same from numerous other threads.

Mountain bikes exist
Mountain biking exists
Many people ride mountain bikes for bike touring for numerous reasons. Most of those people would describe the activity they are doing in those moments is bike touring (vs mountain biking). Nobody goes and writes a semmingly endless numer of blogs posts and threads claiming touring has existed for decades and that mountain bikes are just marketing and all the other sillyness associated with "gravel"

can't it just be I'm going to ride a fun bike with a lot of pretty significant evolutions? And that someone bought said bike 'cause it's fun! (not because they are an idiot slave to the marketers)

Continuing my thoughts on D2R2, it surprises me that Bicycle Quarterly has not offered a feature on Sandy, or the event. It was a seminal moment in the evolution of the current trend and proliferation of gravel events, and by extension, the interest in gravel specific bicycles.

Another great event for a feature is the Mount Washington hillclimb. This event falls squarely in the crosshairs of the French hillclimb events of the classic era that Jan has written about.

Maybe these events are not of interest to Jan because they are on the east coast?