What’s a gravel bike, how’s it different, and why a gravel bike

[Clancy]

And, to take this in a slightly different direction.....

In the 90's, the bike industry was on the ropes when the advent of the mountain bike along with associated innovations and improvements gave the industry a life line. Plus brought in an entirely different segment of riders, clothing, equipment, etc., into cycling.

Lance (apologies for bringing his name up) brought in a resurgence of interest and participation in road cycling along with the advent of what might be termed the "modern safety bicycle" with carbon fiber becoming dominant along with increased technological advances not seen before. (Road segment was arguably dormant during the 70's-90's compared to the explosion of advancements during the early 2000's onward)

Now we have gravel bikes. It's not too far fetched that this will develop into a segment of cycling as big and unique to its own as to what happened to mountain biking in the 90's and onward.

And meanwhile it's giving a much needed lifeline to the industry during a fairly severe downturn in the market- not unlike what happened in the 90's.

I think I've had too much coffee. Enough philosophical nonsense.

[BumbleBeeDave]

Just a good observation. I think there's a good sized segment of the market that is . . .

--put off at riding busy roads because of traffic, distracted drivers, etc.

--put off at the gonzo aspect of MTB and the technical riding challenges.

Both of these demographic groups would be interested in solving some valid objections that prevent people from entering the serious cycling world. These bikes will do pretty much everything that needs to be done for the average practical recreational or avid cyclist.

BBD

[joosttx]

The first gravel bike I had with intentions of riding on dirt roads was and IF Ti Club Racer with canti brakes- a relaxed geo road bike which could fit 33mm tires. My old Bilenky had to same geo as my Vanilla, an early SpeedVagen road bike, which could fit 33mm tires and use Paul's racer medium brakes. Now I have a disc bike brake with geo similar to my Vanilla and Club Racer. This bike can fit 38mm tires. I am pretty satisfied with this. I have ridden the single tracks of Mt Tam on 28's for about a year and a half. You can ride gravel on skinny tires especially if the gravel is more like

The other thing that is important to me is gearing. I always run compact cranks of the gravel bikes but progressed from 28 to 32 to 34 tooth cassette. Where I ride there are plenty of hills and steep ones plus plenty of road to ride. Having a wide gear range works very well for me.

Gravel means a lot of things to a lot of people. The gravel roads in New England are far different than here in Norcal.

[Geekonbike]

My "Gravel" Bike setup is;

For Rougher Roads (Northern Virginia Dirt Roads, Light Singletrack) - Gunnar Crosshairs with Mini Vs steel fork HED Belgium + Wheels and 46x36 & 11x32 Gearing. Compass 32c Tires

For Smoothish Gravel (Minnesota Roads and Crushed Gravel) and Less than Stellar Pavement - Regular Steel Road Bike with clearance for 28-30s. 50x34 11x32

I've found that when it comes to gravel bikes simple is always better. I'm a bit of a retro grouch but the specialization of gravel bikes with thru axles, discs and really large tires (bigger than my Mountain Bike from the 90's ) is really distracting. From what I've seen riding with others it is better to have similar equipment....I've loaned out many a tube to riding buddies.

I should also say that I'm not a big guy so I don't tend to be real hard on equipment so Braking has never been a concern for me and Neither has pinch flatting so super big volume tires not needed

[Kontact]

Since this thread I've been looking at what different makers think a gravel bike is, and really it is just fatter tires, longish stays and possibly some sort strongers break.

Growing up all the rails to trails paths were gravel. We road our "sport touring" 27 inch wheel road bikes on them with no consideration that a different kind of bike would be more comfortable or safer.


I think, but could be wrong, that there are two forces at work here:
A reaction to overly stiff road bikes that can't accept larger than a 23c tire, and the enjoyment many people have in being the members of exclusive club.

The old Lemond brand philosophy of all day comfort and some decent tire clearance pretty much does what gravel bikers need, and that sort of road race bike never actually went away. Many road bikes today have longer stays than the average in the '90s (405 to 415 now), and dual pivot brakes are really powerful stoppers now.

So I would be interested in how poorly served a gravel biker would be if they just built up something like an entry level Lynskey sport road frame with 28c tires. I'm having a hard time imagining the issues they'd encounter compared to a specialty gravel bike. I don't say that to knock the dedicated gravel bike, but just to say that the price of entry to the gravel world might just be a pair of tires and some Swissstops.

[fignon's barber]

When you think about it, if you're not actually racing crits/circuits/rr , a gravel bike is the one to own.

[Kontact]

Originally Posted by fignon's barber

When you think about it, if you're not actually racing crits/circuits/rr , a gravel bike is the one to own.

Even if you are racing, what is a bike with slightly longer stays going to do that will prevent your win?

[tv_vt]

My gravel-dirt road-travel bike is a Hampsten ti Strada Bianca with couplers. Has a Seven mid-reach 5e fork with TRP RG957 caliper brakes. Not huge clearance as far as tires go, but a 700x32 clears easily, and some 35s do too.

Great do-it-all bike.

Would be curious to hear about the best dirt road clincher tires @ 700x28-700x32 size range.

[tv_vt]

Originally Posted by Kontact

...the price of entry to the gravel world might just be a pair of tires and some Swissstops.

I would agree with that. Larger tires and you're good to go. (Not sure what the reference to brake pads is referring to.)

[BikeNY]

Originally Posted by Kontact

Since this thread I've been looking at what different makers think a gravel bike is, and really it is just fatter tires, longish stays and possibly some sort strongers break.

Growing up all the rails to trails paths were gravel. We road our "sport touring" 27 inch wheel road bikes on them with no consideration that a different kind of bike would be more comfortable or safer.


I think, but could be wrong, that there are two forces at work here:
A reaction to overly stiff road bikes that can't accept larger than a 23c tire, and the enjoyment many people have in being the members of exclusive club.

The old Lemond brand philosophy of all day comfort and some decent tire clearance pretty much does what gravel bikers need, and that sort of road race bike never actually went away. Many road bikes today have longer stays than the average in the '90s (405 to 415 now), and dual pivot brakes are really powerful stoppers now.

So I would be interested in how poorly served a gravel biker would be if they just built up something like an entry level Lynskey sport road frame with 28c tires. I'm having a hard time imagining the issues they'd encounter compared to a specialty gravel bike. I don't say that to knock the dedicated gravel bike, but just to say that the price of entry to the gravel world might just be a pair of tires and some Swissstops.

It all depends what your definition of 'gravel' is! If you are just riding perfectly graded dirt roads, than your assessment is correct. If, like myself, and I think many others as well, your definition is much broader, wider tires and better brakes are really nice to have. I'm talking rutted dirt doubletracks and such. For me, bigger tires just make long days on the bike so much more comfortable and pleasant. I may give up a bit of speed on the pavement, but I'm OK with that.

[Kontact]

Originally Posted by BikeNY

It all depends what your definition of 'gravel' is! If you are just riding perfectly graded dirt roads, than your assessment is correct. If, like myself, and I think many others as well, your definition is much broader, wider tires and better brakes are really nice to have. I'm talking rutted dirt doubletracks and such. For me, bigger tires just make long days on the bike so much more comfortable and pleasant. I may give up a bit of speed on the pavement, but I'm OK with that.

I think it comes down to the size tires we're talking about. Anywhere you can ride a minimal tread 28c tire, you can probably get away with a modern road rim brake. If such a tire does not offer enough traction, you are in the cross world.

I'd actually be interested in what the relative grip to rim braking power of different kinds of brakes. I wouldn't be surprised if cantis actually don't do anything more than a double pivot brake does. A lot of brake selection has to do with tire or much clearance.

I've taken 23c tires on singletrack. There is no obvious point when a standard road bike suddenly becomes uncontrollable. Look at the cobbles the pros have always ridden.

[mbrtool]

I bought an Ellis Strada a few years ago that has clearance for Nokian 52mm tires...I bought it to ride in the winter. He measured my Ottrott to nail down the dimensions...so it's pretty close to a road bike. Dave put Vittoria 32mm's when I picked it up that July so I could ride it right away. The bike is a joy to ride both on pavement, D2R2 and snow. As Weisan posted on the definition of a gravel bike..this is mine.

Ray

[BikeNY]

Originally Posted by Kontact

I think it comes down to the size tires we're talking about. Anywhere you can ride a minimal tread 28c tire, you can probably get away with a modern road rim brake. If such a tire does not offer enough traction, you are in the cross world.

I'd actually be interested in what the relative grip to rim braking power of different kinds of brakes. I wouldn't be surprised if cantis actually don't do anything more than a double pivot brake does. A lot of brake selection has to do with tire or much clearance.

I've taken 23c tires on singletrack. There is no obvious point when a standard road bike suddenly becomes uncontrollable. Look at the cobbles the pros have always ridden.

I don't run wider tires for more traction, I ride them because they are way better at smoothing out rutted rocky 'roads'. I'm talking 42mm to 48mm wide tires here.

Sure, you can ride 23mm tires on singletrack, at least some very tame singletrack, but it will be much more fun and much safer on wider tires.

Same reason why the pros are now riding those cobbles on 28mm or even wider tires now, instead of on the 23mm tires they used to use.

[Kontact]

Originally Posted by BikeNY

I don't run wider tires for more traction, I ride them because they are way better at smoothing out rutted rocky 'roads'. I'm talking 42mm to 48mm wide tires here.

Sure, you can ride 23mm tires on singletrack, at least some very tame singletrack, but it will be much more fun and much safer on wider tires.

Same reason why the pros are now riding those cobbles on 28mm or even wider tires now, instead of on the 23mm tires they used to use.

I'm not saying to use 23c tires, I'm saying that a 150 pound rider only needs 75 psi in 28c tires, so how low a pressure do you want to run? Are you riding long distances at 30 psi?

[BikeNY]

Originally Posted by Kontact

I'm not saying to use 23c tires, I'm saying that a 150 pound rider only needs 75 psi in 28c tires, so how low a pressure do you want to run? Are you riding long distances at 30 psi?

I want to run much lower than 75 psi. When I was running 42mm tires I was running between 40 and 50 psi. I only have a couple of rides on my new 48mm tires, but I'll certainly be going under 40. And yes, riding long distances sometimes. I did a 90 mile ride a few weeks ago at 14psi! Oh wait, that was on 3" wide tires!