I never stopped, just had some form of flatbar good for non pavement in the past. A drop bar with wider tires and more "relaxed" (AKA gravelbike) has opened up the possibility of also having a decent on road experience and offroad experience in the same ride. Sure you can go off road with 28c but not all gravel or offroad is the same. Possible but are you actually enjoying that experience and can you do it all day? Flip side, a fat bike can be used on the road too but.
Road riding as most people use it is a workout or training session while getting from point A to B. It is an autopilot experience with a thought bubble around yourself that revolves around the training aspect and what is immediately ahead. Different goals and road is good for that but I doubt the actual location or where you are riding itself is the purpose or the highlight other than a change in scenery. I relate it to a less boring version of an indoor trainer. A group dynamic or competitive, fun, or charity ride etc is different but I ride mostly solo anyway. If you remove or do not have a real training goal part of a road ride, you are just riding on a boring road. Gravel, fire road, trail is a better riding experience for me and why I ride as much as I do. I'll ALWAYS seek out the path less traveled when it's there. One of my routine rides is a circle about 50 miles paved and 50 miles trail. I would do 100 gravel/trail but I need the 25 road before and after to get to the 50 mile trail section. You can extend the workout and training experience to a gravel road or trail too and benefit but a lot of people are not doing it for that as the primary reason.
Originally Posted by
Hondo Gravel
Light traffic and I can hear a vehicle from a ways off so I know of it’s approach.
Less cars might relate to a reduced chance but does hearing someone approaching really make a difference? Can you hear their approach line if they are on the other side of the road or directly behind you or they are drifting towards you? When I myself am moving 15+ I certainly can't tell the difference. Other than piece of mind thinking you could hear it and actually do something about it is what people need to think they are still in control. I ride on rural roads and try to guess where a car is and I'd have better luck flipping a coin. I've yet to hear that story someone heard it from behind and was able to pull off into the weeds to avoid. I did it in my car one time but the guy behind me was actively skidding.