2 wheeler

Exactly.

Bontrager

That place smelled like meat when we overnighted there in 1999

Ghost Ryder

We called these MXers a few years back...
The term gravel grinder fits well too.
My Opus is my commuter/GG, I slap on 40-42's, & I'm good to go.
The disc fit nicely, when hydro prices drop, & the bugs are worked out, I'll make the change.
Maybe when Shimano comes out with there hydro offering this might bring prices down. I'm hoping smaller companies will offer budget friendly hydros out sooner too!

Sixty Fiver

Those mid eighties rigid all terrain bikes make wonderful off road / gravel bikes as they tick all the boxes... those slacker angles and longer wheelbases add a lot of stability on less than stellar roads.

Just built up a mid-eighties Raleigh Safari as a fixed gear and right now it is handling snow and slush and really bad roads with wanton abandon.

Frame and fork were $20.00 at the co-op and I added my own wheels, tyres, and bullmoose bars.



My custom built XC bike is worth a little bit more... it loves gravel.

Germany_chris

It entirely depends on how you perceive your bike and it's place in your life. If you're the type that likes to get kitted up and believe in the term junk miles bikes like this are not for you. If you're the type of person that hops on the bike to do stuff, explore, maybe camp a bit then these are for you. This is just the return or actual usable road bikes not pro peloton wanna be bikes, if it was a motorcycle it'd be the UJM.

Myosmith

As I understand "gravel bikes" like the Warbird, they aren't between road and cyclocross bikes but more of an evolution with genetics from a touring bike and a 29r MTB with a little CX in the mix. Trading a bit of agility for stability and allowing for beefier tires than a CX bike.

As to which style of bike is "better", which you should get first or the ever popular "If I could only have one bike . . ." it all depends on your preferences and what kind of riding you like. If a comfortable, stable, tough bike that can perform well in a wide variety of weather and road conditions is what you are looking for, the gravel bikes look like the ticket. You can always tweek wheelsets, tires, gearing, etc. to get exactly what you want.

I live in a rural area where there are lots of unpaved roads through beautiful lakes, hills, woods and farmland. I like long afternoon rides on a variety of road surfaces and in pretty much any weather condition, so a gravel bike wouldn't be a silly choice for me.

merlinextraligh

You're right, I was looking at the bb drop numbers backwards.

merlinextraligh

I'd argue for getting a gravel grinder before a true cyclocross bike. You can easily race cross on a gravel grinder such as the one in the first post. The only thing you'd give up would be a bit slower handling, and perhaps a little bit of weight, compared to a purpose built racing CX bike.

The other way around, the tire size limitation on most true cyclocross bikes makes them sub optimal for gravel racing.

I squeezed 40mm tires on my cross bike for DK, and it worked, but they barely fit, and there a couple of times I had to stop and clear out mud. And many of the people runnig 32mm tires on cross bikes suffered multiple flats.

So, unless you're very serious about cyclocross, I'd see the gravel grinder as the more flexible option.

GuitarBob

Just yesterday, I referred to mine as the BMW GS of the bicycle world.

halfspeed

The thing that can be hard to reconcile in gravel bike design is that climbing steep hills on loose surfaces is improved by shorter chainstays, but you need longer chainstays to fit a fatter rear tire. And on gravel, you will climb steep hills.

Germany_chris

You need weight on the rear tire to climb hills with sketchy surfaces. One way to do that is to use a shorter chainstay, another is to slacken the STA another is to shorten the TT or lengthen the HT a bit so the rider sits further up thus placing more weigh on the a$$

Bronze Potato

1+

Merican manufacturing = Must sell more

Mericans = I must buy more.

Rinse and repeat.

BikeBellevue

Here's my new gravel grinder.

fietsbob

Wow the youngsters discovered farm roads !

PoorInRichfield

Heck-yeah I'd take that Tomac if I could only have one bike!

I agree with the whole marketing thing... back in the day, the first "hybrids" as I remember them were basically road bikes with fatter tires, but have since morphed into something else.

Here in Wisconsin, we have a ton of "Rails-to-Trails" bike trails that are a mix of gravel and asphalt and we also have a considerable amount of roads in the north-woods that aren't paved. As such, having a fast bike with a slightly beefier tire is quite ideal.

I see way too many people riding mountain bikes as trail bikes in these parts... and until recently, I was one of them. I got tired of using my mountain bike as a "gravel bike", so I bought this Trek ION this Spring and love it! Granted, I have 3 other bikes, but the ION is light, fast, and a lot more comfortable on distance rides than my mountain bike, even though my mountain bike has shock fork (which is pretty worthless on roads and gravel trails).


2013 Trek ION by PoorInRichfield, on Flickr

So whatever they're being called these days... hybrid, CX bike, gravel bike, mutant road bike... I think they're a better fit for most cyclists in my area than what they're currently riding.

Ice41000

Just like every other fad, it comes, quckly grows, then slowly fades away, but never completely.

UnfilteredDregs

As far as will these be around or not, a fad, etc..

I'm by no means any sort of expert...now, my riding needs were particular and it kind of strikes me that the term gravel-grinder, although initially accurate may be a misnomer. Quite a bit of all purpose sensibility inherent in the design intent, no?

I looked at a lot of roadbikes and they all seemed so..."specialized," light, not much room for more than skinny tires, and seemingly more at home on well groomed tarmac...

So, in my mind being a city denizen, and knowing that the road grooming hereabouts is shady and unpredictable at best, I knew I wanted something akin to a ruggedized roadbike. Something that you could handle aggressively, I don't want to worry about being delicate with my ride when I NEED to be concentrating on traffic- a safety crapshoot at best. I knew I'd be beating up on it; crap for streets, potholes, curb-hopping, jumping obstructions, etc.., and able to go the distance in terms of comfort and speed. I knew a wider tire would factor into this equation.

I kept finding myself coming back to bikes known as gravel grinders and I went with the Warbird. I've got plenty of tire clearance, smart cable routing, a stout Ti frame, yet fairly racy/agro riding... I'm kind of lucky in this city because there are a lot of parks with some decent trails as well so on a lark I can hit those on this bike and it's a helluva lot of fun...So, in essence I feel this type is quite well adapted to my multi-faceted urban riding scenario and all the while I can't wait to get across the George W bridge and shoot up 9W which seems to be the roadie thing to do here in NYC when the weather is right.

Maybe others have a similar set of circumstances...

Bacciagalupe

Sorta.

The design intention is to "ride fast on gravel." As with cross bikes, it turns out that those features lend themselves well to a versatile bicycle. If the designer is presented with a choice between "something good for Dirty Kanza" and "something to make the bike more versatile," they will pick the former.


Yes, they're optimized for road use. However, put a pair of 28c or 25c tires on your gravel bike, and you should be fine to ride pretty much anywhere around the NYC area.

For example, I use my road bike with 25c's most of the time, including club rides (NYCC). My cross bike is set up less aggressively and with wider tires, so I use it for relaxed riding, routes with some dirt, touring, and centuries. I put over twice as many miles on my road bike than on my cross bike this year.

ThermionicScott 

Hmm, I'd expect a longer wheelbase to do a better job of keeping both wheels planted. For steep grades with loose rocks, you'd want to shift down and stay in the saddle (if possible) for best control anyway.

My gravel bike is a fixed-gear, and I usually stall out on climbs due to the 65" gear before rear-wheel traction becomes a problem.

UnfilteredDregs

I'm running 28c on mine...smoove. How is NYCC? (Tangent alert!!!)

Bacciagalupe

I like the NYCC. The rides are a little more organized than most clubs; e.g. most have limits on the number of riders, pace busting is discouraged, most rides make an effort to keep the group together. Lots of good routes, and fun things like an annual trip to the Berkshires.