Originally Posted by
mstateglfr
Its a real thing and not just some category created by marketing, despite what some will inevitably claim.
Gravel riding was around before the explosion in popularity so it clearly isnt just a forced segment of cycling.
Drop bar bikes with wide tire clearance, quality components, and quality tires = the type of bike many people have wanted for years.
As for your bike- ride it wherever you want. Flat bar bikes can roll on dirt and gravel too.
This is mostly correct, but I would add that cyclocross bikes are already equipped for gravel riding and have been around for years. The main difference between CX and gravel bikes seems to be the geometry: CX bikes are designed for riding for 1-1.5 hours at a time and include some compromises of comfort, while gravel bikes are designed to be ridden for much longer and prioritize comfort. Hence, most CX bikes have a more aggressive geometry, and most gravel bikes share the hybrid bikes' prioritization of rider comfort.
IME, it seems there is a spectrum of bikes from full-suspension MTB to road racing bikes, where CX and gravel bikes exist somewhere in between the two endpoints. If you ask the GCN boys, they recently pointed out that gravel bikes are essentially the same as the suspension-free mountain bikes from a couple decades ago, but with drop bars added.
Oddly enough, touring bikes share a lot of features that gravel bikes have, so maybe the gravel bike is just a new spin on some pre-existing products.