mr,grumpy 

What they are touting as the new big trend: Flatbar Gravel Bikes. Didn't those used to be Hybrids a couple of years ago, and super un-cool?

tFUnK

Converted the Trek XO2 to 1x flatbar.
In concept yes but in execution there's a noticable difference. This is my converted flatbar gravel bike (ok technically CX bike) and to the untrained eye it's just like a hybrid bike from the 90s-00s but the key differences are lighter weight, sportier geometry, wider tire clearance, and just an overall more performance-oriented build.

mstateglfr 

Yes
No
Maybe

Geometry may be the same. It may be different.
Drivetrain style may be the same. It may be different.


I didn't realize 'they' are touting flatbar gravel bikes as the new big trend. Who is 'they'?

msu2001la

I'll never understand why some people think pointing out similarities between "hybrid bikes" and "gravel bikes" is some kind of insult.

tyrion

Flat bar gravel bikes are hybrids for cool kids.

Eric F 

Who is "they"?

tyrion

Haha! I was looking at some "flat bar gravel bikes" here:

https://www.cyclingabout.com/best-fl...el-bikes-2021/

and found this:

ARider2

A flat bar gravel bike sure looks like a hybrid to me. There seems to be a lot more gravel bikes than gravel trails around here.

LesterOfPuppets

Hybrids basically cover everything from comfort bikes to flatbar road bikes, so yeah, i'd call flatbar gravel bike a hybrid of sorts. The word hybrid got too big of a spectrum to really describe a bike a long time ago, so better to nail down the type with a better descriptor than hybrid.

Same with the term "mountain bike," there are now several subgenres.

Russ Roth

I'd say that something like the trek 7.5, 7.6, or 7.7 which were performance hybrids were probably no different, maybe a top end c-dale quick or other performance hybrid variations from other brands. Otherwise, no. I've got a trek 7100, could I take it anywhere I take a gravel bike? Sure. Would I? No. It really isn't designed with a sporty geometry and all the component upgrades in the world won't stop it from being a laid back, relaxed, fun bike to meander down the bike path with. Its why when they first came out the trek 7500 and 7.5fx had the same components for the most part, with bontrager select paired spoke wheels and a mix of deore and tiagra, but the 7.5 was the noticeably quicker and better handling of the two, geometry was probably equivalent to a modern all road or gravel bike.

mstateglfr 

Similarly, there seem to be a lot more mountain bikes than single track trails around here.

What is your point?

BMC_Kid 

Here’s my gravel/city bike, 2008 BMC CX01 Cross Machine. It’s gone everywhere with me from Iraq to Afghanistan, through a tour of Europe. It’s here with me in Bahrain and now is my city/gravel bike, more sand than gravel.






And here’s a photo taken on Bagram in 2014.



And here’s the BMC that it replaced while in Baghdad on VBC.

prj71

I'll never understand why some people think gravel bikes are hybrid bikes.

bikemig 

I plan on rebuilding my 1993 Trek 750 as a gravel bike and it was marketed as a hybrid. It has a relatively high end frame (lugged chrome moly). This is how the bike came to me (drop bars and thumbies) when I found it plus the catalog page for the bike.

Eric F 

Aren't they, though? The "hybrid" concept is a blend of MTB and road bike, making a bike that is suitable for a wide range of surfaces. A gravel bike is a slightly different blend of the same ingredients.

Schweinhund

So what would a specialized vita be?
2010 Vita Sport

Schweinhund

Define gravel bike, To say I was confused would be an understatement.

Eric F 

Gravel bikes aren't just one thing. They exist on a spectrum (same with road bikes or MTBs), but typically have some common features - 700c wheels with medium-width knobby tires, drop handlebars, wide-range gearing, frame with more relaxed geometry than a road race bike. That said, there are endless variations to suit how people prefer to ride.

This is my gravel bike...


My bike is optimized for the way I like to ride. I have made an effort to make it reasonably light, roll fairly efficiently, but yet be capable on dirt roads and moderate singletrack, with gearing that suits my needs for climbing steep grades and adequate speed on pavement. It's easily my most versatile bike, and inspires me to do route combinations that I wouldn't do on any of my other bikes. The frame features an extra set of bottle mounts on the underside of the downtube, but doesn't have fork or top tube bosses that are found on a lot of current frames. For me, those things aren't necessary.

Schweinhund

So my recently flipped Masi CXSS could be considered a gravel bike then?

Eric F 

CX bikes tend to have more aggressive geometry than is common with gravel bikes, and some have more limited tire clearance, but some of the gravel bikes built for high-speed racing are pretty aggressive. SS is pretty rare among gravel riders, but those folks are out there, too. So, in answer to your question...maybe.

msu2001la

Exactly this. Any bike design that combines elements of traditional road bikes and traditional mountain bikes is a hybrid.

Gravel bikes are definitely a hybrid design. Anyone arguing otherwise is being silly.

The rest of this conversation is about marketing and perception.

msu2001la

As someone who does a fair amount of CX racing, I can definitively say that CX bikes make pretty good gravel bikes, and gravel bikes make pretty good CX bikes, and there are a lot of people out there doing both with the same bike. Very few people are buying traditional high bottom bracket CX bikes these days - the differences mostly come down to gearing (1x narrow range is generally preferred for CX, 1x wide range or 2x is more preferred for gravel) and tires (most people are still racing CX on 33-35mm tires even though most local races allow any width).

So yeah, a "recently flipped Masi CXSS" could be used as a gravel bike, assuming 1 gear is enough to get the job done.

prj71

Hybrid bikes have more upright geometry than mountain bikes or gravel bikes. Can you take a hybrid bike and put wider tires on it and ride on gravel. Sure.

But in the realm of what defines a gravel bike is that it's a road bike that accepts wider tires and will have a wider handlebar. The drop handlebar and geometry means you can achieve good speeds on the road (hybrid bike with more upright position = more wind resistance) and with wider tires, lower gearing and stable handling (thanks to wider handlebar) you can also head off-road with a little more confidence.

My gal rides a Specialized Sirrus on gravel rides which is a hybrid bike that has 700 x 38 tires. When it comes time to ride pavement to connect to the next gravel section her speed on the pavement suffers due to the upright position and different gearing.

Eric F 

In the range of bicycles, with road bikes at one end, and MTBs at the other, hybrids are somewhere in the middle, including features of both. Same with gravel bikes.

tFUnK

This is true. If we're just talking about the definition of the word hybrid then gravel bikes fall well within that definition. The point of contention lies in the fact that the word hybrid has been established as its own category, associated with easy recreational riding by weekend warriors or casual city commuters. I have no problem accepting that modern gravel bikes are a more accurately-described breed of "hybrid" bikes, but the gravel bikes I ride have little in common with what the industry has traditionally marketed as "hybrid bikes".