Have we come full circle with road bikes yet?
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Have we come full circle with road bikes yet?
Looks like early tour de France had gravel bikes!
I saw this picture and chuckled.
I saw this picture and chuckled.
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many more pics, but here's a couple
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Yup, some of the TDF routes were unpaved.
Apples oranges and whatnot.
Apples oranges and whatnot.
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It's always about the road towards specialization. It is now happening in the gravel bike world. Today we have gravel race bikes, and gravel adventure bikes.
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Back in the day when Schwinn ruled my world, I had relaxed geometry, plenty of clearance and 32mm tires (1 & 1/4). 40 years later I have relaxed geometry, plenty of clearance and 32mm tires. Of course the ride experience is totally different. For example, my brakes work, there is no chrome on my wheels, and I don't have a cast iron crank set.
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Back in the day when Schwinn ruled my world, I had relaxed geometry, plenty of clearance and 32mm tires (1 & 1/4). 40 years later I have relaxed geometry, plenty of clearance and 32mm tires. Of course the ride experience is totally different. For example, my brakes work, there is no chrome on my wheels, and I don't have a cast iron crank set.
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I think most people still refer to all of this collectively as "Mountain Biking", but there's a huge spectrum of terrain and riding types. Some of it works for racing and some of it doesn't.
Gravel will probably do the same. It's not hard to imagine that gravel racing will get separated out into different types. On one end there will be speed events that look basically like UCI road races with team support and minimalist setups - on the opposite end will be more of an adventure style race, where riders may tackle more challenging terrain, have to dismount and carry bikes, fully self support, etc. Of course there will always be recreational "gravel riding" that runs the entire spectrum between road and MTB.
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Sure...they may have been able to ride that gravel with road bikes, but nobody said it was fun, enjoyable or comfortable. The wider tire gravel bikes we have today make for a more stable and comfortable bike to ride.
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Yes, there is specialization, but also popular are the so-called "all-rounders", which can tackle most anything you encounter. For folks who ride a variety of terrain and don't wish to store and maintain multiple bicycles they make a lot of sense.
And yes, they have their limitations, but you know that going in.
And yes, they have their limitations, but you know that going in.
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It's worth noting that only 1 out of 5 riders in that last shot is even trying to ride. Their bikes were poorly suited for the task. The fact that they were able to suffer their way up and over these climbs on vastly inferior equipment is a testament to their determination and skill.
Put any of those guys on a modern carbon gravel bike with 40mm tubeless tires, disc brakes and wide range gearing and they would've obliterated the competition on those roads.
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Or fast.
It's worth noting that only 1 out of 5 riders in that last shot is even trying to ride. Their bikes were poorly suited for the task. The fact that they were able to suffer their way up and over these climbs on vastly inferior equipment is a testament to their determination and skill.
Put any of those guys on a modern carbon gravel bike with 40mm tubeless tires, disc brakes and wide range gearing and they would've obliterated the competition on those roads.
It's worth noting that only 1 out of 5 riders in that last shot is even trying to ride. Their bikes were poorly suited for the task. The fact that they were able to suffer their way up and over these climbs on vastly inferior equipment is a testament to their determination and skill.
Put any of those guys on a modern carbon gravel bike with 40mm tubeless tires, disc brakes and wide range gearing and they would've obliterated the competition on those roads.
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Yes, there is specialization, but also popular are the so-called "all-rounders", which can tackle most anything you encounter. For folks who ride a variety of terrain and don't wish to store and maintain multiple bicycles they make a lot of sense.
And yes, they have their limitations, but you know that going in.
And yes, they have their limitations, but you know that going in.
This happened a while ago in MTB. In the 90's when MTB racing was evolving, the market was mostly focused on variations of XC race bikes. DH racing was a very specific niche and the bikes designed for that were worthless for going uphill. I remember when lift-access MTB terrain first became a thing in the 90's and riding XC style bikes on some pretty crazy stuff. Today we still have high-end race-specific XC and DH bikes, but most of the consumer market is somewhere in the middle - Trail/Enduro/All Mountain bikes that are good for tackling a wide variety of terrain and riding styles, but you won't see these types of bikes at a UCI race.
I think gravel is (and will continue) to follow a similar path as MTB. I don't think gravel race bikes will really be all that popular of a consumer choice in the years to come.
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