Originally Posted by
mstateglfr
How is the gravel bike used?
1x is great if a gravel bike is rolling thru mud frequently, ridden on singletrack a lot, and is subjected to overall worse riding conditions.
2x is great if a gravel bike is used as a road bike for gravel roads and sees occasional softer/wet road surfaces as well as occasional mud/debris.
If I were entering 15 endurance gravel races a year from February thru November, where surface conditions will vary greatly, then I could see myself at least considering 1x since I would likely encounter poor roads in many of the races.
As it is, I ride because I enjoy riding so I stick to decent weather. I dont go down a muddy torn up 2mi long Level B road because I dont need to. Ill wait until that thing is dry to ride it another time. So for my recreational gravel riding and 2-3 races each year, 2x is perfect. Its just a road bike that works better on unpaved surfaces.
^^^This is the correct answer. 1x is great for some things. 2x is great for other things.
Also whoever just said "all gravel bikes are 1x" now is proof that you can say just anything you want on the internet regardless of facts. I was just recently bike shopping and almost every gravel bike from every major and not-so-major manufacturer comes in both 1x and 2x.
I strongly considered getting 1x because it's one less thing to fuss with but for the type of riding I do (long days in the midwest with short punchy climbs) I didn't want to lose either the top or bottom end so I ordered 2x.