Unscientific Evidence that Gravel Bikes Are As Fast As Road Bikes
 

Until recently, my only bike for the past two years has been a Specialized Diverge gravel bike with 700x38c tires. I mostly ride solo on pavement and have a frequent route that is 15.5 miles. I don't have a good measure of my speed except that I'll look at the clock in my bedroom as I leave to get my bike out of the garage and go ride, and then look again when I'm back in my bedroom after my ride. The fastest I can remember doing this is 58 minutes and the slowest is 64 minutes. I'm usually around 61-63 minutes.

I recently bought a Cervelo Caledonia road bike with 700x30c tires that feels a bit lighter than my Diverge. I've only put about 160 miles on it so far and have ridden that 15.5 mile ride four times, with elapsed times between 60 and 62 minutes. It should be faster than the Diverge, and based on these rides probably is by a minute or two, which amounts to about 10 seconds a mile. There's not that much difference in the speed of these two bikes, based on only a few rides on the new one.

I don't doubt that if we were racing these bikes in precisely timed rides, the Caledonia would be faster. But for people (like me) who are going out for exercise, trying to push it a bit but not precisely measuring performance, my experience suggests that the gravel bike is just about as fast as th road bike. Plus, I do take the Diverge off-road from time to time and it's nice to have a bike that is versatile enough to do that.

It's nice to have a second bike, but if you only have one, a gravel bike seems like a good option. You don't give up much on the road, and get a more versatile bike when you want it.

I agree with this.

As for the rest, well, you did promise that it was unscientific...

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...76076d4541.png
Why have just one!

Maybe 20 years ago while climbing in Indian Creek, before it became a wasteland of trustfunders in Sprinter vans, we stopped in Monticello to get some brews.

We got back to camp with some Polygamy Porter to go with whatever camping version of thanksgiving dinner we had invented.

It was terrible. Like undrinkable motor oil and rancid inner tubes or something. I’m probably not an alcoholic but I know beer and this was bad. Much like polygamy itself I imagine, seems like a great idea at first but is going to leave you disappointed.

or broken / broke

Yes, I wanted to post a provocative title, but my point is that if you're riding for enjoyment, or for fitness, your riding experience will be much the same on a gravel bike as a road bike, and unless you're keeping careful track of your time and speed, you won't really notice much of a difference there either.

Agreed, again. I don't understand the obsession with uber-fast and expensive bikes for recreational riders who don't race.

I think most Porsche owners rarely speed. I bet they’re still enjoying the drive.

This is my road bike. A little dated and a bit heavier than modern with all that Columbus tubing. Still, it’s comfortable and fast, descends like it’s glued on the road, and it just feels like I’ve got the entire pro peloton chasing me, and I’m gaining time. It’s not that fast. Certainly neither am I. But damn, it’s so fun to ride. It’s not about turning another loop a little bit faster.


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And here’s my gravel bike. Only 2 lbs heavier and so much more capable. Those Maxxis Ramblers are basically slicks. I can mix it up with anyone on this bike. If I put a double on it, it would probably be a better road bike than my road bike. But it’s not the same. Roads are boring on it. I want a dirt road, some unexplored miles, a friggin mountain. It would be a shame to reign it in, just because it can handle it.


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And while I’m posting pictures. Here is my slowest drop bar bike. A true beauty, a super bike of its day and a pleasure to ride. It hammers the triceps more than the legs. The shellacked cotton tape isn’t that forgiving. It’s pounds heavier. It’s way too high geared and Uniglide Dura Ace in reasonable gears didn’t exist 35 years ago and doesn’t now. It is actually quantifiably slower. I’m smiling so big on it that it’s never been a problem.


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Really digging the matching Silca pump

Yeah, it's not a night and day difference. Cruising on flat ground I noticed a roughly 2km/hr difference between my gravel and road bike at the same power, which is noticeable, and which is almost certainly due to a difference between wider gravel tires and shallow wheels and road tires with deep wheels (the aero tubing on the road bike probably contributes slightly, too). Trying out the difference on a climb there really wasn't really much to it, surprisingly - a couple of seconds over a 6 minute climb at the same power, which is basically down to the weight difference. Set up the gravel bike to put me in a similar position as the road bike, the bars are about 12mm higher and 2-3mm shorter, same width (36cm... I know), though, so they're directly comparable.

If I carry a spare aero wheelset with road tires, it's almost as good as having another road bike. That's exactly my plan on vacations, only space for 4 bikes on the rack, so I can't carry more than one, but I can always cram a spare wheelset in the van.

It's nice to have both, of course, but yeah, I'm totally digging the gravel bike.

At 15 mph they are the same.
At 20 plus less so
At 26 mph not the same.

Your mph may differ slightly.

I ride weekly with fixed, road and gravel bike riders. Honestly, the bike is the least important difference in the group ride. There are insanely fast and strong hill climbers riding fixed and slow as molasses road cyclists with carbon everything. In fact my whole notion of fitness has gone out the door. Some riders just have an insane amount of glycogen stored in their body and don't even look athletic whatsoever. One of the fastest and strongest guys in the group routinely rides a cheap single speed with loose chain, worn out tires and scratched up steel frame. The motor is everything.

The local U-18 CX champ does the River Ride (local Saturday morning world championships) on his CX bike with road tires. He needs to spin a bit quicker on the flats due to lower gearing, but it doesn't seem to be a problem for him. As the saying goes "It's not about the bike."

It's totally pointless to compare different people. While most everyone could improve the engine with more training, some people are just blessed with unusual aptitude for athletic performance, and some have below average potential, and that's just not something you can do anything about. You can change the bike to suit what you are doing, however.

​​​The bike matters in relation to your performance, whether your physical performance is. The same guy who is fast on a poorly maintained single speed would be yet faster and more capable on a good bike.

When we had some local TTs, I was surprised to be overtaken by a guy in a flappy jersey on a totally nonaero, shallow wheel road bike which looked straight out of the late 90ties, with cruddy mid range tires. Strong engine. On the other hand, first place was taken by a pro triathlete with a fully tricked out tri bike. If this guy was on a TT bike with proper kit, probably he would have been in the first three.

Fast is not a word I associate with, if I can do 15 mph over 30 miles then I'm killing it. I have a Diverge and a road bike and for me there is no difference in speed. Road bike is 4-5 lbs. lighter and climbs a bit better on roads. Diverge does downhills way better and once up to speed is equal on the flats. I have a speedometer on each bike so this is somewhat verifiable. I ride the Diverge 80% of the time.

No offense, but how can you not understand this? The vast majority of bike marketing across multiple disciplines is centered around performance and speed being directly related to cycling enjoyment. Road bikes are the ultimate expression of this, but nearly every segment of bikes are marketed at being better because they are light, fast, quick, agile, etc.

These are commuter/city/fitness bike descriptions, not race bikes:

Specialized: "The Sirrus provides road bike geometry with flat bar handling so you can ride fast on longer rides, but also be stable and quick in town. The 24-speed drivetrain with wide gearing allows top speed with hill climbing capabilities, too."

Trek FX: "This anywhere, anytime fitness bike is fast, agile, and fun whether you’re crushing a morning workout or cruising to the market."

Giant: "Roll through the city with speed and style on one of our men’s city commuter bikes. Whether you’re beating the traffic in urban environments or taking the long route for fitness and fun, these men’s city bikes put some adventure into your daily routine."

Cannondale Quick (the name says it all): "A swift, sporty bike that’s perfect for getting a workout, city cruising or just getting out and feeling good."

Canyon: "Light, agile, fast. With road bike speed and flat handlebar control, the Roadlite is your choice for high-tempo workouts and effortless excursions into nature."

Also lets be honest here... fast bikes are cool. Even if I'm not fast enough to fully take advantage of the go-fast stuff, it's still awesome and is an aspect I love about bikes.
I also think sports cars are kind of cool, and have little interest in racing them.

All that said, I do a lot of road riding on a CX bike (with road tires) and I can keep up with the group rides just fine.

The slower you go, the faster the gravel bike gets.

And it's getting late earlier.

Faster is funner.

I think what you are also finding out is that most people ride at a certain speed. If you are used to riding at 16-17 MPH, you will continue to ride at 16-17 MPG. Bike won't change that much - unless you get an e-bike!

THIS ^ bears repeating.

@ 15mph there is no difference between this

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...264845ddb9.jpg


and this

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2feddbfa7d.jpg

Let the pace heat up to 18-26 mph or add climbing and there's a WORLD of difference.

Speed isn’t even a factor when I’m choosing which bike to ride. It’s entirely about the terrain. I only choose a road bike if I’m going to be 100% on pavement. So I never choose a road bike.

I guess I'm not very susceptible to marketing...?

Nice beer, and 2 bikes are always better than one, no?

Even at 15 mph there's a difference... the varsity is much prettier. Of course, it was my first "real" bike so I may be biased.

Like the matching color pump!

I used to commute to work about 14 miles each way on my road bike. After I bought a mountain bike, I set it up with road tires just for the commute. I timed myself over multiple days and was surprised to find that while it was a little slower, the difference was much less than I expected.

Later, I bought a heavy fat tire touring bike (similar to a gravel bike) and started using that to commute. Again I timed myself over many trips and could not find a significant difference between a touring bike and a dedicated road bike.

I have a gravel bike now (Specialized Diverge). I plan to use it for touring. I pump the tires up to 60 psi for the road. I haven't timed it to get empirical data, but it does feel like it might be just the tiniest bit slower. A lot of that feeling is probably subjective since my riding position is different and the gravel bike is a little heavier.

Back to the point... if I could only have 1 bike, it would be a gravel bike because I think they're the "do-it-all" bikes and close enough to the speed of a dedicated road bike that most cyclists would never notice the difference.

A little bit of rant to follow:

I also happen to think that the whole concept of gravel bikes are mostly an invention of bike manufacturers to create demand for a niche product. Other than for competitive gravel cyclists, road bikes could be designed to fit 35c wheels (which many now are) and we could basically be turning our road bikes into gravel bikes just by swapping tires.