TimothyH

TheoMcD

That's what I call it when I ride my road wheels

CAT7RDR

Pavement Pounder describes my last road bike ride.
Front tire pinch flat on a sharp curve and bam!
Pounded the pavement with my left hip and shoulder.

One month later and I am riding my 29er so I do not repeat being a pavement pounder

krakhaus 

Seriously. I grew up in South Dakota, on a gravel road about 2 miles from the nearest pavement. Every time I hear "gravel bike" I cringe a little.

thehammerdog

I use my bike for both..just switch out wheels..

road wheel set with 28's

gravel wheel set..

Inusuit

I cringe a little when I'm passed by 70 mph semi trucks on the half mile of U.S. 85 I must ride to reach places like this. 34 miles yesterday, 18 on gravel or (barely) two track.





Believe it or not, the image below is a designated county road. Road and Bridge Department is behind in maintenance work.

krakhaus 

I'm from Belle Fourche. My crappy gravel road was just off of US 85

Inusuit

I'm about 9 miles north and east of Cheyenne. Admittedly, some gravel roads are worse than others. I have hit some washboards on a fast downhill hard enough to blow both bottles out of the cages. The more gravel on the surface, the harder it is to ride. Fortunately, my favorite routes have mostly smooth sections so I can pick a decent line.

Ironfish653

So, a rigid XC bike with fat slicks? Well done, Columbus.

Hiro11

"Gravel grinder" is such a Fred-tastic term to use. Sort of like calling a cyclist a "biker".

Oh, I'm sorry...was this already discussed?

mstateglfr 

Timmy was nauseatingly elitist in many ways, but his comment about how nobody who actually rides gravel calls it 'gravel grinding' really isnt far off. Sure its easy to find examples that disprove the 'nobody' part of the comment, but the point is that it seems to be a relatively rarely used term when gravel riding discussed in print, podcast, or in person. This is based on the media I consume and who I discuss riding with, so obviously it may be different elsewhere. In Ohio there may be an overwhelmingly high amount of nerds who think 'gravel grinding' is a cool term and so it is constantly used in print and speech, but I doubt it.

friday1970

Aren't 650b bikes the same thing?

Milton Keynes

I thought pounding the pavement was what those joggers do.

seypat

Blacktop Buster?

kahn

Is there really much difference between South Dakota and Palm Springs?

Hiro11

"Gravel bikes are just cross bikes"... except for geometry, riding position, riding characteristics, tire clearance, gearing and sometimes brakes.

"Gravel bikes are just 90s mountain bikes"... except for wheel size, geometry, ride position, ride characteristics, gearing, brakes and handlebar setup.

"Any bike can be a gravel bike"... except most road bikes aren't quite robust enough (yes, there are exceptions, thus the word "most") for long days with rocks pinging off your downtube and don't have quite enough tire clearance for 45s, most hardtails (especially modern ones, but yes there are exceptions thus the word "most") are not really designed for long miles sitting down with multiple hand positions, cross bikes are often (ditto, except I used the word "often" here) just a bit too racy and have handling that's often just a bit too twitchy for hours on real gravel. If only someone would make a bike suited exactly to riding long gravel roads... like brands build bikes suited exactly for time trials, downhill mountain biking, climbing the Alps in the Tour, fully-loaded touring, BMX racing, cycloball, etc.

Overall, I don't get why so many people find gravel bikes objectionable. They're just more practical and more versatile road bikes. They're suited to their intended purpose. Also, "gravel" is a spectrum from slow riding on rough singletrack to racing on smooth, groomed roads and paths. It's great to have a similar spectrum of options readily available so buyers can get exactly what they want for their local conditions.

ShannonM

Not tryin' to poke you with a stick... this popped into my head when I read your post, and I had to use it. I don't actually disagree with you.

(But, also, Greg's totally right.)

--Shannon