Thoughts On Gravel Bike VS Older MTB W/Drop Bar
I look at some of the new gravel bikes and really like the look. The features sound great and like they suit my needs pretty well for a variety of uses including some road touring, gravel touring, trail riding, and so on. With different tires for different uses they look really versatile. I always kind of liked drop bars even for some fairly technical off road riding. I now and then am them am tempted to consider one or the other model.
Here is the rub... I look at my 1990 rigid Cannondal MTB and wonder if the gravel bike really offers that much more. I have a secont set of wheels that I built up to have different tires for different trail conditions or to have quick wheel changes at races. It is currently set up with drop bars and 7 speed brifters. It is pretty light and I like the handling. It probably handles better on the trail and not bad on the road compared to a gravel bike. There are a variety of choices of ways to fit baggage on it and it will easily carry pretty much any load I want to carry. It will take a regular racks, little canti mounted racks, bikepacking style bags, or handlebag and seat bag.
I am really picky about evey ounce when it comes to my gear, but am less fussy about bike weight. So the weight is acceptable.
I rode it for on/off road mixed surface touring and was surprised how little I minded the knobbie tires on the asphalt portions (lots of low small knobs, 26" x 2.1" kenda slant six) and something slicker would be even more suitable on the road and probably still okay for a lot of gravel.
The gravel bike would have a few pluses. I like disc brakes. I'd like tubeless. It would be 11 speed. It would probably be lighter. It would be able to run a variety of wheel sizes .
The old Cannondale is a fun ride. I enjoy talking to all the old timers who want to chat me up about it. And, it is nice to keep my wallet closed. On the other hand shiny new toys are nice. I think maybe I'll have to put some miles on the old Cannondale around home to see how I feel about it.
Note I don't think of this as trying to turn an old mountain bike into a "touring bike". I don't like traditional touring bikes much. I don't even have one anymore.