Originally Posted by
BicycleBicycle
Sure. But we're talking about what and what not to buy here as a person wanting to try out a gravel bike.
Realistically, most people are not going to find fixed mtb/gravel riding an enjoyable enough experience to warrant buying a bike or parts specialized for that purpose.
More likely than not, you will see people throwing fat tires on their urban fixies and taking it out for a weekend or something.
Are we? I honestly can't figure out what OP's asking but it seems like he/she is just putting bigger tires on an existing bike.
There's just too much going on that you can run your crank into, and you can't just hop the rear wheel and reposition your feet when you also have to lift your front wheel to clear an obstacle. I mean I guess you can bunnyhop and reposition, but really? lol (actually sounds kinda fun now that I think about it).
Whereas on the street you get a much more immersive experience riding fixed.
YMMV, but I think that most people are not going to buy a gravel bike to ride fixed offroad on anything but smooth hardpack.
Their geo is also really slack and built specifically for gravel ridnig , so I personally think that you would be sacrificing handling and responsiveness for no reason because you'll rarely use it for gravel.
Paved roads are a lot alike anywhere you go, but what constitutes gravel in one place can be a lot different from another. So what works for one might not work for another. Try it if you want, or don't. If it works for you, cool.
Lots of people enjoy the challenge in underbiking, so all of the issues associated with a fixed gear drivetrain can be part of the fun.
As far as geometry, it's been pointed out many times now that modern gravel bikes aren't really that different from road bikes of 50 years ago. When people ran fenders and slightly bigger tires, fenders, and didn't think that if they just had an aero crit race bike they'd get signed to a world tour team. Lately I've been riding a cross bike all over and I think it's just fine on the street. It's not like we're talking about a full suspension trail bike with a 66 degree head tube and 100+ mm of trail.