Originally Posted by
rsbob
I remember when cross bikes first came out and the sentiment was a bike which couldn’t do road or off road well, but was good enough.
A fairly large part of the shift in sentiment has come from people realizing that a more versatile road bike doesn't need to make as dramatic compromises in road performance as they thought. Historically, road drivetrains have typically been built excessively high and/or narrow for most people using them. And tire width does not, in and of itself, hurt performance as much as people usually guess.
Is it for people who want to ride off road but not commit to single track, so single track lite?
It's hard to give a single universal answer. In any given area where gravel bikes are popular, if you look at what people are using them for, you'll probably find reasons that people like them.
Over here it's mostly because of the networks of gravel roads sprawled throughout the foothills. There are steep sustained gradients demanding low gears, and surfaces are often rough, but it usually doesn't get technical enough to really demand a mountain bike. And if you're doing mixed-surface rides that also incorporate paved riding in the shallower hills or flat valleys, it's very attractive to avoid the MTB. Put another way, there's lots of good road riding that I wouldn't want to take a skinny-tired road bike on.
