Originally Posted by
Cypress
Throwing a person that is strictly a road racer into gravel racing would result in a lot of missing skin and DNF's (at least, here in Oregon).
There are also safety issues for transitioning between some paved disciplines, like if a strong TTer who only ever rides solo wants to hop straight into crits. Most people don't race anyhow, and the vast majority of gravel roads aren't problematic for paved cyclists to dabble on.
Gravel surfaces have very different characteristics than paved, but in terms of technicality, it's usually much closer to road than to modern MTB. This is very contextual, though.
It's complicated, I think.
Originally Posted by
Leinster
The multiple road styles all depend on some sort of paved surface, be it concrete, asphalt, mortared stone, or at the very least hard-compacted and graded earthen surface. Without that binding of the surface, it's not realistic to ride a bike on tyres that are less than 35mm wide in all weather conditions. Gravel bikes come into play when you venture out onto roads that don't have that binding element.
I wouldn't say
that's a characteristic that distinguishes it from road cycling, though. Having bigger tires doesn't dramatically alter pre-existing aspects of the activity. Like, if I do a spirited paved road ride on a bike that happens to have 35mm+ tires, the experience is still largely that of a spirited paved road ride, I don't need to approach it differently.
(By contrast, as an example, I'd point to the ability of most paved riding to facilitate tighter paceline formations as a more distinguishing discrepancy.)
Originally Posted by
Seattle Forrest
I bought a "gravel" bike because so many paved roads into the Cascades stop being paved. It's mostly hard packed dirt here, not actual gravel. You can ride it on 23s but much slower due to control. On 28/32s, I can ride it basically like any other road.
I'd disagree there, although it depends on how you're routing your routes. Most roads that are named and/or actually go somewhere are fine-graded hardpack roads, but there are vast networks of chunkier forest road double-track, especially in logging areas. Everyone I know who rides a lot of that stuff uses 40s or bigger, if they'll fit.
Although, the aggregate type isn't always a good predictor of the pleasantness of the surface. The smoother hardpack is quite prone to potholling in zero-gradient spots, and since those roads typically get more motorized traffic (in part because they're more likely to be open to public motorized traffic), they often have severe washboarding.