Originally Posted by bnewberry

ThermonicScott, I was hoping someone would mention the early Tours. You did even better with the photo! Great illustration of the how capable bikes were/are, and how tough those riders were. The geometry then was slacker and tires were wider. The term “gravel bike” is in part marketing to a perceived niche. I think there is good reason this is the case. Road bikes evolved in a time when pavement was the norm for riding and so narrower tires and frames were adjusted accordingly. These will not accommodate wide tires and as Gugie correctly pointed out, tires have improved a lot. Increasingly more riders are looking to get away from traffic.

Here in rural Southern Michigan we don’t have a lot of gravel, but we do have a lot of dirt roads connecting to paved roads with a few sections on the dirt with loose rock and gravel. I ride old Treks with 32’s quite happily on them. My wife, who likes new bikes (Carbon) has decided she needs some wider tires for her old aluminum Raleigh (or another new bike) so we can do more dirt road rides as part of her triathlon training. There are fewer paved roads that feel safe here. Unlike Indiana just south of here our roads typically have very little paved shoulder. Like everywhere, the number of distracted drivers seems to keep increasing. It is rare to be driving and not see a large proportion of drivers looking at phones and the number of vehicles we follow that do the weave, mostly between the lines is high. We frequently see cars and trucks weave onto the shoulder. There are also aggressive drivers that cross the centerline when coming towards you to threaten and some we suspect try ti see how close they can get when they pass going the same direction. A couple riders we know have been clipped or hit.