Originally Posted by
IGH_Only
I get what gravel bikes are and what their purpose is (I think). And I get that some people live in areas (and driveways) where gravel is used for paving over dirt so they ride on gravel. What I'm confused about is that there appear to be people who ride specifically on gravel for enjoyment??? Is that correct? And if so, why?
Forty years ago, I lived in a place that was a "concrete jungle" with very few easily-accessed trails, and (to my knowledge) zero gravel roads. Almost everything was a basic asphalt or concrete street, MUP or jogging/cycling path. All of the gravel and hard-packed forest roads were 80+ miles distant, and most of what trails did exist were at the far end of the county (and much more like technical MTB trails).
Then, I spent the next few decades in a spot that had 10:1 trails and gravel roads over asphalt motor roads. A cyclist's paradise, for those wanting to find the road less traveled via heading off-pavement. Lots of modestly-technical mountain biking paths, but lots of "secondary" (and forest) gravel roads, hard-packed roads, mildly-unmanaged country tracks. On such roads a "gravel" bike or somewhat-relaxed geometry rigid MTB seems to excel. Ran most of them; cycled many of them.
I agree that largely the "gravel bike" concept is a marketing thing. Such roads and trails have always been there. And there's generally always been a type of bike functionality that seems to eat such stuff up.