Please help me understand gravel riding?
#51
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 648
Bikes: Canyon, Bowman & Colnago
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 132 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 39 Times
in
20 Posts
What would be really great, for someone like me, is if someone could invent a bike that started out as a road bike so I could ride to the gravel road. When I got to the gravel road I could then push a button and the whole bike would magically transform into a gravel bike. Geometry, components and all. Of course, this amazing bike would also be self cleaning and lubricating and would automatically adjust itself to accommodate any BB standard.
Likes For mrblue:
#52
Advanced Slacker
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 6,210
Bikes: Soma Fog Cutter, Surly Wednesday, Canfielld Tilt
Mentioned: 26 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2762 Post(s)
Liked 2,537 Times
in
1,433 Posts
What would be really great, for someone like me, is if someone could invent a bike that started out as a road bike so I could ride to the gravel road. When I got to the gravel road I could then push a button and the whole bike would magically transform into a gravel bike. Geometry, components and all.
Its called a Gravel Bike
Last edited by Kapusta; 09-13-20 at 02:11 PM.
Likes For Kapusta:
#53
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Great White North
Posts: 926
Bikes: I have a few
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 340 Post(s)
Liked 210 Times
in
104 Posts
What would be really great, for someone like me, is if someone could invent a bike that started out as a road bike so I could ride to the gravel road. When I got to the gravel road I could then push a button and the whole bike would magically transform into a gravel bike. Geometry, components and all. Of course, this amazing bike would also be self cleaning and lubricating and would automatically adjust itself to accommodate any BB standard.
This is my gravel bike which is also a road bike. Usually leave my house on a ride on pavement and if I find gravel roads along the way than I don't need to turn around. It may be 50 years old but so am I, but sadly the bike is not self cleaning.
Likes For daviddavieboy:
#54
aka Tom Reingold
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Posts: 40,506
Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem
Mentioned: 511 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7351 Post(s)
Liked 2,477 Times
in
1,439 Posts
Here in upstate New York, gravel roads are even more peaceful than paved roads. They are in very scenic areas, and you scarcely see anyone. It's not more dangerous than road riding at all. Going downhill, just slow down a bit, and don't compare speeds with paved road riding. On gravel roads, we discover scenic beauty we didn't know is there.
__________________
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
Likes For noglider:
#55
With a mighty wind
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 2,595
Mentioned: 13 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1088 Post(s)
Liked 862 Times
in
490 Posts
I kind of understand the OP.
It's slower and kinda boring, in a lot of places.
Flat roads that go for miles without changing much doesn't sound fun. It's not fun on pavement and it's not fun going even slower to get somewhere interesting.
I think that's the Midwest farmland in general. I'd never be able to live there. If I had to be there for some reason, I'd probably quit riding. I mean, what's the point?
I have gravel, road, and mountain bikes. I point them what feels nearly straight up and suffer, then fly down at whatever speed my nerves allow. On a good ride, this happens a lot. I see deer, turkeys, mountain lions (twice), a lynx (once), elk, moose, hawks, hummingbirds. I stop at bodies of water and watch the fish swim. I chat with hunters in their camps.
I'm not terribly slow but not fast enough to be competitive in any discipline. I have fun. I suffer. A gravel bike is a big part of that.
In Kanza country, unless made interesting from a big group or massive tailwind, why?
It's slower and kinda boring, in a lot of places.
Flat roads that go for miles without changing much doesn't sound fun. It's not fun on pavement and it's not fun going even slower to get somewhere interesting.
I think that's the Midwest farmland in general. I'd never be able to live there. If I had to be there for some reason, I'd probably quit riding. I mean, what's the point?
I have gravel, road, and mountain bikes. I point them what feels nearly straight up and suffer, then fly down at whatever speed my nerves allow. On a good ride, this happens a lot. I see deer, turkeys, mountain lions (twice), a lynx (once), elk, moose, hawks, hummingbirds. I stop at bodies of water and watch the fish swim. I chat with hunters in their camps.
I'm not terribly slow but not fast enough to be competitive in any discipline. I have fun. I suffer. A gravel bike is a big part of that.
In Kanza country, unless made interesting from a big group or massive tailwind, why?
#56
Full Member
Flat roads that go for miles without changing much doesn't sound fun. It's not fun on pavement and it's not fun going even slower to get somewhere interesting.
I think that's the Midwest farmland in general. I'd never be able to live there. If I had to be there for some reason, I'd probably quit riding. I mean, what's the point?
I think that's the Midwest farmland in general. I'd never be able to live there. If I had to be there for some reason, I'd probably quit riding. I mean, what's the point?
Also true that if you've been down one mile of gravel road with corn growing on both sides, and through one small town, you've pretty much seen 75% of what you're going to see. You could say the same thing about mountains too though; anywhere can be boring, or beautiful, depending on your perspective. I guess to me, it's about adapting to what's available, and enjoying it. I think I would struggle a lot in a city like LA as a cyclist, but I'm sure after awhile I'd figure out something, and adapt to that.
Likes For zen_:
#57
Advanced Slacker
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 6,210
Bikes: Soma Fog Cutter, Surly Wednesday, Canfielld Tilt
Mentioned: 26 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2762 Post(s)
Liked 2,537 Times
in
1,433 Posts
I understand why people may think riding on gravel is more dangerous than pavement. Especially if their gravel experience was on pavement-specific road bikes.
But I think it is in fact generally safer, for the same reasons I think mountain biking is safer: fewer cars and lower speeds (of both the cars and the bikes) Of course, a gravel road with heavy traffic would really suck, but I have seldom encountered that.
But I think it is in fact generally safer, for the same reasons I think mountain biking is safer: fewer cars and lower speeds (of both the cars and the bikes) Of course, a gravel road with heavy traffic would really suck, but I have seldom encountered that.
Likes For Kapusta:
#58
Member
I'm an ignoramus on this topic and am still wrapping my head around the differences in the categories of bikes. I grew up with BMX bikes, road bikes, and maybe mountain bikes. I'm riding a Giant hybrid. How does a gravel bike compare to a fitness bike or an endurance bike? They all seem to be road bike-ish but have a more upright position. I suppose the gravel would have the knobbiest/fattest tires of the bunch. What else is different?
#59
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 3,893
Mentioned: 20 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1062 Post(s)
Liked 665 Times
in
421 Posts
To the OP: Keep riding and learning. As you gain more exposure to cycling and cyclists, I'm betting you'll arrive at a couple of generalizations:
1. A lot of cyclists are doing things that other cyclists think are pointless, boring, and so forth.
2. Relatively few bikes are used exclusively for what they are "supposed" to be used for, according to their marketing category.
A lot of folks choose a bike based on their own bodies and expected riding conditions, rather than the regulations for a specific event category. I have no hope of participating in a race. We're all in search of the bike that's perfectly comfortable, versatile, fast, reliable, and so forth. And that looks good, of course. That such a bike doesn't exist guarantees endless debate. "Gravel bikes" simply add to the variety of bikes and configurations to choose from.
1. A lot of cyclists are doing things that other cyclists think are pointless, boring, and so forth.
2. Relatively few bikes are used exclusively for what they are "supposed" to be used for, according to their marketing category.
A lot of folks choose a bike based on their own bodies and expected riding conditions, rather than the regulations for a specific event category. I have no hope of participating in a race. We're all in search of the bike that's perfectly comfortable, versatile, fast, reliable, and so forth. And that looks good, of course. That such a bike doesn't exist guarantees endless debate. "Gravel bikes" simply add to the variety of bikes and configurations to choose from.
Likes For Gresp15C:
#60
Banned
This one you just keep on going past the end of the paved road not fast, just riding.. (continental travel contact tires made for this)..
Last edited by fietsbob; 09-14-20 at 05:02 PM.
Likes For fietsbob:
#61
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2019
Location: Iowa
Posts: 682
Bikes: 2021 Salsa Fargo 1x12, 2019 Jamis Renegade Exploit 1x11. Motobacne NX Fat Tire
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 198 Post(s)
Liked 332 Times
in
170 Posts
A gravel bike has also been a bit of a Goldilocks bike for me:
Road bike- too uncomfortable (position, vibration). Skinny tires I can’t take off-road. I’m not trying to be Lance Armstrong.
Mountain bike- too sluggish on roads, flat bars too restricting, don’t need suspension (Compex, weight, maintenance) for most my riding. I rarely ride technical single track.
Gravel Bike- Just right for 90%+ of my riding.
Your mileage may vary. Obviously there are grey areas between each of these categories that might be a sweet spot for someone.
Road bike- too uncomfortable (position, vibration). Skinny tires I can’t take off-road. I’m not trying to be Lance Armstrong.
Mountain bike- too sluggish on roads, flat bars too restricting, don’t need suspension (Compex, weight, maintenance) for most my riding. I rarely ride technical single track.
Gravel Bike- Just right for 90%+ of my riding.
Your mileage may vary. Obviously there are grey areas between each of these categories that might be a sweet spot for someone.
#62
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Far beyond the pale horizon.
Posts: 14,278
Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4260 Post(s)
Liked 1,364 Times
in
945 Posts
First off, even if it has been around for a while, what makes you think I have been following biking for a while. Before 2 months my last experience on a bike apart from a couple of random short lived rides, was an an early teen riding my BMX bike in the 1980s so I don't understand a lot of cycling lingo and what not.
I appreciated everyone's response, especially those who posted pictures. What I had in mind was a different thing altogether.
I appreciated everyone's response, especially those who posted pictures. What I had in mind was a different thing altogether.
So, you have very little experience and knowledge and you thought that "what you had in mind" about was the only possibility?
#63
With a mighty wind
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 2,595
Mentioned: 13 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1088 Post(s)
Liked 862 Times
in
490 Posts
A gravel bike has also been a bit of a Goldilocks bike for me:
Road bike- too uncomfortable (position, vibration). Skinny tires I can’t take off-road. I’m not trying to be Lance Armstrong.
Mountain bike- too sluggish on roads, flat bars too restricting, don’t need suspension (Compex, weight, maintenance) for most my riding. I rarely ride technical single track.
Gravel Bike- Just right for 90%+ of my riding.
Your mileage may vary. Obviously there are grey areas between each of these categories that might be a sweet spot for someone.
Road bike- too uncomfortable (position, vibration). Skinny tires I can’t take off-road. I’m not trying to be Lance Armstrong.
Mountain bike- too sluggish on roads, flat bars too restricting, don’t need suspension (Compex, weight, maintenance) for most my riding. I rarely ride technical single track.
Gravel Bike- Just right for 90%+ of my riding.
Your mileage may vary. Obviously there are grey areas between each of these categories that might be a sweet spot for someone.
I have a modern mountain bike ideally suited for long xx, like IMBA Epic trails for example. It'll handle a dirt road or paved if I must.
I have a near immaculate 1985/6 custom thingy. Very pure classic road bike. It would fit 28s but just isn't off road in any sense of the word. It's the shiniest, shaven, and race cut jersey of the bunch.
I have a gravel bike with 40mm tires. And a spare wheelset with 30mm slicks. This thing goes on my 8 hour days, trailer rides with the kids, the mechanic to pick up my car, it has commuted but I work 50miles from home now, and is always the bike that I know is ready to roll.
I certainly enjoy having all 4.
I'm shopping for a unicycle if anyone else s selling.
#64
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 3,843
Bikes: Trek Domane SL6 Gen 3, Soma Fog Cutter, Focus Mares AL, Detroit Bikes Sparrow FG, Volae Team, Nimbus MUni
Mentioned: 11 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 896 Post(s)
Liked 2,065 Times
in
1,081 Posts
#65
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 786
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 338 Post(s)
Liked 408 Times
in
252 Posts
Road bikes, as they are, are pretty much perfect for road riding of all sorts.
#66
Advanced Slacker
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 6,210
Bikes: Soma Fog Cutter, Surly Wednesday, Canfielld Tilt
Mentioned: 26 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2762 Post(s)
Liked 2,537 Times
in
1,433 Posts
Likes For Kapusta:
#67
Senior Member
You should take a look at these photos and compare those bikes to modern road racing bikes.
https://us.ritcheylogic.com/us_en/bl...ibute-to-jobst
A modern road racing bike would suck on this road. If the wheels survived:
https://youtu.be/jIpCnNsPS0E
https://us.ritcheylogic.com/us_en/bl...ibute-to-jobst
A modern road racing bike would suck on this road. If the wheels survived:
https://youtu.be/jIpCnNsPS0E
#68
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 5,954
Bikes: Colnago, Van Dessel, Factor, Cervelo, Ritchey
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3956 Post(s)
Liked 7,307 Times
in
2,949 Posts
It's difficult to believe there were no unpaved roads within a 20,000 square mile area, given that's almost as large as the state of West Virginia.
#69
Senior Member
Thread Starter
I'm not at all sure what you're getting at or what your question really is but I've spent a fair amount of time looking at gravel bikes and researching it some. Maybe to you all this stuff is second hand. It's very confusing for me. There are plenty of topics I can discuss with a good level understanding (probably a wider range than most people alive because of my insatiable curiosity). Cycling is not remotely one them.
#70
FLIR Kitten to 0.05C
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Lincoln, Nebraska
Posts: 5,331
Bikes: Roadie: Seven Axiom Race Ti w/Chorus 11s. CX/Adventure: Carver Gravel Grinder w/ Di2
Mentioned: 30 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2349 Post(s)
Liked 406 Times
in
254 Posts
"road bikes used to be more like gravel bikes" - yes, before WW2 when most roads in Europe weren't covered in asphalt. The road bike has been what it is, except in steel, without STIs for a long time, with skinnier tires than now and much taller gearing than now, for seventy-odd years now. If you take the modern road racing bike, it's better adapted to dirt and gravel roads than a road bike from the, say, 60-ties was.
Road bikes, as they are, are pretty much perfect for road riding of all sorts.
Road bikes, as they are, are pretty much perfect for road riding of all sorts.
A road bike is not even going to make it out of a church driveway or parking lot here. In my entire state, unless you're a master's level racer, you're probably going to want 38mm bare minimum tires. Regulation CX tires can work, but you need the skills to hold your line in anhydrous soup--as tires that narrow will sink through the dumped pea-gravel aggregate.
That isn't a trail. That is a road. And that road is in better condition than just about all dirt/gravel roads in my entire county.
Likes For Marcus_Ti:
#71
Senior Member
I'm not at all sure what you're getting at or what your question really is but I've spent a fair amount of time looking at gravel bikes and researching it some. Maybe to you all this stuff is second hand. It's very confusing for me. There are plenty of topics I can discuss with a good level understanding (probably a wider range than most people alive because of my insatiable curiosity). Cycling is not remotely one them.
Likes For Mulberry20:
#72
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Yeah, it's not likely that I would buy a gravel bike based on what I know. Especially in light of the fact that I don't know if I could be comfortable on drop bars. But Priority had recently released a nice looking gravel bike which piqued my curiosity on the topic.
#73
Senior Member
That's not a trail, it's a road. And while it's sometimes hard to get a sense for how gnarly something is without riding it, and while things look a little different up here in Washington, to my eyes that doesn't look much out of the ordinary for narrow low-maintenance west-coast gravel roads. And almost everybody I know with gravel bikes rides that kind of stuff very frequently.
#74
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 3,893
Mentioned: 20 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1062 Post(s)
Liked 665 Times
in
421 Posts
Local legend has it that the roads need to be paved for the milk trucks.
#75
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 3,893
Mentioned: 20 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1062 Post(s)
Liked 665 Times
in
421 Posts
Drops versus upright is probably the most difficult decision to make if you don't already have a preference. The reason is that switching from one to the other can be expensive and isn't always satisfactory due to frame geometries. If you have a chance to borrow a drop bar bike that fits you, and ride it for a few hundred miles, you'll get a feel for whether you like drop bars.
Likes For Gresp15C: