Eric F 

Bondo FTW.

tomato coupe

I don't paper mâché over my empty shallow life, I use Spackle. Only losers use paper mâché.

big john

shelbyfv

Neither boutique nor credible....

Camilo

Nah. I rode a cyclocross bike for many years for rough roads and gravel because "gravel bikes" weren't a thing on the market. They were the most readily available bike where I live that could handle 35mm tires. It worked fine but it's not as nearly well suited for this stuff as my current bike that was actually designed for that. Cyclocross bikes are designed for racing (quick handling) on rough trails (high bb) and carrying on the shoulder (little slope to TT). I, and most "gravel bikers" don't need this design, and my gravel bike is not designed for that way.

For my very petite wife, I could never find a cyclocross bike that she was comfortable on, mainly because with their high BB and fairly horizonal TTs. I could never find a cross bike in the smallest sizes that didn't cause serious "interference" when she straddled it suddenly. Many new gravel bike designs eliminate this problem with lower BBs and/or more sloping TTs. Some retain cyclocross-like geometry, some do not. It's great.

You're right by using the word "many". Many are similar to road bikes except for tire clearance. But "many" are not. Yes tire clearance is a major factor. But angles and BB drop can vary quite a bit.

When we were using modified cyclocross bikes (Jamis Nova Pro, Cannondale CAADX) as our all around bikes for traveling around the US west in the travel trailer, we both had two sets of 700c wheels, one with 35-37mm tires, one with 23-25 mm tires. These were totally versatile. I never felt limited for the "real" road rides I did (enthusiastic riding with friends, no racing) as well as gravel rails-trails, mild single track, etc. As an aside, we did tend to just leave the 35mm tires on since they are pretty reasonable on all surfaces. They weren't seriously lugged tires (I.e. Donnelly MSO) I do sincerely believe that for many riders, a gravel bike with two sets of wheels is the only bike they need. I do like my full-on road bikes (3 of them) and strongly believe in N+1, but not so much that I would weep if someone made me keep only the gravel bike with two sets of wheels.

With 650B X 51mm tires, it's just about as capable as my old full rigid MTB too.

livedarklions

Maybe he got lost on the way to the Bitter Angry Impudent Vile Forums.

Camilo

Or like the poor guy who ended up in Abuse when he was looking for Argument

genejockey 

Must have thought this was Abuse.

genejockey 

GMTA, or something.

Jeff Neese

Our road conditions change all the time. When they first scrape/groom the roads it's just pure, loose gravel. We usually don't even ride these roads when that happens, just because it's not fun. After a day or two of being packed down by cars, it smooths out (hard pack) and if there is still loose gravel, I'll ride the biggest tires. After they've been driven on for a while longer it can get packed pretty smooth and the smaller tires work just fine. If it rains though, there will be potholes, ruts, and washboarding which means going back to the bigger tires. In order of size, I ride:

1. Maxxis Ikon 57-559 (26x2.20), currently on my 1993 Trek 930 rigid MTB, with flat bars.
2. Continental Contact 47-559 (26x1.75), currently on my 1989 Trek 970 rigid MTB, with Albatross bars.
3. Schwalbe Little Big Ben 40-622 (700x38c), currently on my 1992 Trek 750, with drop bars. The 750 was the same exact frame as the Trek 520 touring bike. A Trek 520 would make an excellent gravel bike also, and for a while Trek sold a 520 "Grando" that they marketed specifically for gravel riding. Touring bikes in general make good gravel bikes.
4. My wife's Rockhopper (another rigid steel MTB) is rolling on Kenda Small Block 8 (26x2.10).

I'm not necessarily recommending these as the "best" gravel tires, I'm just answering your question about what we ride. They all work well for these dirt roads but I may try something else when these wear out. I do particularly like the Maxxis Ikons for loose gravel, and the Little Big Ben is a very nice tire also but it looks like it's been discontinued.

Yes, all our bikes have comfort in mind, first and foremost - we're both old. They're all lugged steel frames, and all of them have a long wheelbase and fairly relaxed geometry compared to a lot of bikes today. I may not be very fast anymore, but I can always stay on my bike as long as I want to. (True for my road bikes too.)

How these bikes compare to today's bikes is of course a matter of opinion. I could buy just about anything out there, but when I look at the new ones I just don't see anything that would be better for the riding we do. You may reach a different conclusion, or you may simply not want to build or modify a bike. There are a lot of cool "off-the-shelf" gravel/adventure/all-terrain bikes being sold today. Keep in mind that you can have more than one wheelset for the same bike.

Camilo

Thanks for the "G". Not sure if applies to me, someone who has knowledge of Monty Python videos at his fingertips.

Jeff Neese

In the case of Trek, the section isn't "dedicated" to gravel bikes - it's many of the same bikes listed under other categories. A Trek Domane, for example, can be found under "Performance Road", "Endurance Road", and "Gravel" bike sections. The Checkpoint also appears under Performance Road and Gravel bike sections. I didn't look at Specialized or Cannondale, etc. but I suspect there is a lot of the same going on with all of them, basically recycling and repackaging existing bikes with bigger tires and calling it a gravel bike.

If someone bought a Domane last year because they wanted a performance road bike, and they went in this year because they now want a "gravel" bike, will the salesman advise them to just buy another set of wheels? Or will they try to sell them a whole new bike?

indyfabz

Yeah. Recycled photo. Let’s see “proof of life.”

PeteHski

By "many of the same bikes" listed under multiple categories you mean literally just the Domane and Checkpoint. Basically their two most versatile bikes with obvious category overlap.

The fact that they list the Domane in 3 different categories implies that you may only need 1 bike for all of them. But they don't sell the Domane in a gravel specific build. The tyres and gearing it comes with are more road focused. Likewise with the Checkpoint, they don't actually sell it in a road specific build. So you would expect an honest salesman to advise someone to buy a second wheel set if they wanted to use either of these bikes 50/50 on/off road and only wanted a single bike. A keen hobby cyclist might well buy both a Checkpoint and a Domane or one of the more race focused road bikes. I mean you appear to have at least 3 different bikes yourself.

"Domane is for cyclists who ride mostly on pavement but want the ability to grind gravel on occasion."
"Checkpoint is made for gravel aficionados who mainly ride off-pavement and want tons of capability."

Seems fair enough to me. No obvious BS there.

Jughed

I'm a businessman that rides a cyclo-cross bike on gravel while wearing road bike gear. Not a hipster, but I do sport a full santa style beard.

PeteHski

Comparing geometry of a 1990s Trek 520 against a current Trek Checkpoint, the wheelbase is almost identical, but the Checkpoint has an inch longer effective top tube. Head angles are within a degree and they both have the same trail. The main geometry difference I see is that the Checkpoint has an inch lower BB, which is a better match for the higher volume gravel tyres. BB height is one of the key things that differentiates road and gravel specific bike geometry on modern bikes too.

Maelochs

And no one responded with the "I'm a Lumberjack" skit?


Mr. @beng1 ... you speak eloquently and believably of your quest for spiritual growth .... and you need it. You are full of bitterness and anger and misdirected aggression.

I am no better. I know what it is like to try to grow .... hard work and endless failures, which hopefully lead to realizations and growth.

I try to look at my posts now and ask myself, "Is this in line with my best understanding of the best way for me to live? Is this post a fair representative of the path I claim to be trying to a walk?"

I still post bonehead sarcastic nonsense, but a lot less.

Maelochs

As far as buying advice .... join or visit local Gravel-Grinder Facebook groups and ask what people ride and where and how they ride (assuming you want info for the sake of finding the best gravel bike for your own uses.) On sites I visit, people ride everything from slack-geometry rigids or slack road bikes with front shocks to sort-of road bikes with sort-of wide tires, to the most popular being semi-slack bikes with 38-47 mm tires, from what I see.

Most ride descriptions call for pretty fair distances (50-75 miles, five+ hours) and some list mild single-track while others are just gravel access roads. Some have a lot of hills, some fewer .... route descriptions and ride reports are plentiful and detailed, with lots of video, so you can see which bikes do how well on different surfaces/degrees of difficulty. As with most FB groups, if you are sincere everyone will be really friendly and help you narrow down your choices.

If you are just looking to tear down a category of bikes and riders, or "win" a thread on the internet .... go to Walmart and get a better life. But if you really want the "just-right" gravel bike for your preferred style of riding, you will get tons of help from people who learned by doing.

livedarklions

Whatever else anyone may think of you, you are certainly the champion of incomprehensible mixed metaphors.

terrymorse 

A hybrid is just a low performance road bike with flat bars.

A mountain bike is just a lower performance hybrid with fat knobby tires.

(As long as we're making silly comparisons.)

ofajen

A bicycle is just a unicycle with an extra wheel.

Actually a unicycle is just running with an unnecessary wheel in the way.

Otto

MNebiker

Fascinating to watch: I've been away from the forum during the winter, but it is comforting to notice that things stay the same!

rydabent tosses out the troll bait and you jump on it! 400+ posts. Congratulations rydabent! Well done.

Now if some of you posters are interested, I have a bridge in California for sale at a special discount.

Eric F 

If you actually read the thread, there has also been some good discussion about gravel bikes by people actually familiar with the bikes, variations within the sub-set, features that are common, and other types of bikes that serve their riders for similar types of riding.

livedarklions

rydabent 's troll threads generally end up proving exactly the opposite from what he intends. Most people actually do know why they like what they like and are happy to talk about it. I know next to nothing about gravel bikes, but I like reading about why people appreciate them, plus they take some damn nice pictures. If anyone is being a sucker here, it's the guys who thought they were going to look good by knocking people for buying gravel bikes. Invariably, they've been systematically embarrassed.
​​​​​

big john

I agree with this. Plus, when rydabent starts a thread, he doesn't participate in it. Or if he does it's just an occasional post which confirms he was trolling, as in this thread where he pretends to ask about gravel bikes and then reveals he already knows they are a gimmick. Or, in the anti-speed thread he condemns the "holy grail" of speed but then pops in to say recumbents are faster than upright bikes and are, in fact, so fast they had to be banned from racing.