I thought a gravel bike was for gravel

burnthesheep

I've found a used gravel CX bike. It's essentially got a compact 6700 setup, cantilever brakes, carbon fork.

I'm in the US and near me is a large forested park with both miles and miles of hilly gravel roads and also some mtb trails.

I keep getting advised get a hardtail 29er from someone I'd consider has good advice.

I'd use this for gravel rides and to try CX. I can't see using a mtb in CX is the thing.

Here's the link:
https://raleigh.craigslist.org/bik/d/cy ... 46753.html

cooldad

And your question is?

burnthesheep

Well, what benefit is a 29er over a CX/gravel bike on gravel with a few tight turns and a little tougher terrain?

I've been thru there on a road bike on 23mm tires. It worked, but unpleasant. I can't see something passable by a road bike having that much advantage with a 29er other than comfort.

It's just a dirt road with some spots with packed pea gravel and some normal sized gravel otherwise. Some hills long and steep enough to get into the 34-28 or 34-26 on the road bike.

beanstalk

burnthesheep wrote:

Well, what benefit is a 29er over a CX/gravel bike on gravel with a few tight turns and a little tougher terrain?

Borrow a 29er from a friend and see for yourself.

burnthesheep

A 27.5 isn't a 29er but I rented one on vacation in Costa Rica on some gnarly stuff. Carbon, lockout, 1x, all the stuff you'd want. Just not that last 1.5 inch. It was awesome. I just feel like the 29er is a bowie knife for the task of a steak knife for what I want to do.

I don't feel like buying a "compromised" 29er to use on basic gravel instead.

I don't see using something like that on a CX course either.

Sounds like I've made up my mind. Off to see a man about a dog.

maddog 2

depends what you mean by a 29er mtb.

My 'gravel bike' (pretty horrid term but we'll go with it) is a rigid carbon 29er, running 1x11, 2.1 tubeless thunderburts, sub 9kg. It's lighter than many CXers, with much better offroad talents (better geo, wider bars and tyres, tougher). It's not as fast on road as the CXers, admittedly, but not by much and who cares anyway - it's the offroad bits that are the best bits.

Like all bikes, CXers are a compromise. They usually have shortish wheelbases so are twitchier on faster offroad stuff compared to a proper mtb, they have skinnier tyres so, again, aren't very good on rockier descents, and you need loads of psi to stop punctures, so are skittish, uncomfortable and lack grip compared to a 2.1 mtb tyre. They have lower front ends, so are more of a handful on steeper terrain. And they have curly bars FFS, which are daft on anything other than the road, or a field, or a towpath.

You pay your money...

haydenm

I have a friend who uses his 29er mtb for cx with a spare set of tyres (not sure if that is legal in other cx races or not though). For what you describe a gravel/cx bike would be fine but it depends if you want to branch out into more exciting off road stuff, in which case a 29er might be more versatile. I have been using my gravel bike for forest roads recently, and my 27.5 xc mtb for similar stuff but when I know I'll want to ride awkward connecting cut throughs and things.

burnthesheep wrote:

It worked, but unpleasant. I can't see something passable by a road bike having that much advantage with a 29er other than comfort.

I could get my xc mtb round an enduro race but it would be uncomfortable, and a hell of a lot slower. My thoughts on the difference between the xc bike and the gravel bike on similar rides so far is that I'm slower up but much much faster down even on smoother stuff on the xc bike, and it allows me more versatility in routes as the gravel bike is dreadful on anything that's not hard packed, but that is specific to your local hills really

w00dster

I ride road, CX, gravel and MTB (inc XC).
I do long distance gravel rides, last one being about 50 miles (for a road ride that's not long distance, but trust me off-road in the wet muddy UK Autumn that's a fair distance).
I have a "gravel" bike that takes very wide tyres, got 45mm on at the moment. I use this for weekend bikepacking, this includes some light forest trails. For more serious bikepacking rides where the terrain is going to be more exciting I use a rigid semi fat mountain bike.
For non "epic" rides and just wanting a bit of fun off-road (including gravel) then I always reach for a mountain bike, either my hardtail 29er or the semi-fat bike. The only downside to the hardtail is the lack of hand positions for longer rides.

My conclusion - for me, being mid forty's, I much prefer the comfort of the hardtail. The hardtail is also quicker on the majority of the loops I do, maybe the CX bike or gravel bike in the dry could keep up, but anything technical (especially rocky) then I want the hardtail. I personally have more fun on the mtb than gravel bike, but then I'm getting old and falling off hurts more than it used to!

lakesluddite

burnthesheep wrote:

A 27.5 isn't a 29er but I rented one on vacation in Costa Rica on some gnarly stuff. Carbon, lockout, 1x, all the stuff you'd want. Just not that last 1.5 inch. It was awesome. I just feel like the 29er is a bowie knife for the task of a steak knife for what I want to do.

I don't feel like buying a "compromised" 29er to use on basic gravel instead.

I don't see using something like that on a CX course either.

Sounds like I've made up my mind. Off to see a man about a dog.

Glad we could help!

I can't see any reason why you would need an MTB for the riding you suggest, as long as the CX bike in question takes the relevant tyres, you'll be fine. And well done finding a Raleigh bike in Raleigh, very apt.

PS - in the UK 'going to see a man about a dog' is a euphemism usually used for going to the toilet! Unless that's actually what you meant, and if so...too much information!

haydenm

w00dster wrote:

I have a "gravel" bike that takes very wide tyres, got 45mm on at the moment. I use this for weekend bikepacking, this includes some light forest trails.

I should have said, my 'gravel' bike is my Genesis steel touring bike with 32mm semi cx type tyres which really isn't far from a road bike really. Infact I rode the entire NC500 with those tyres. A proper wide tyred off road drop barred bike definitely sounds tempting, but I still think I'd get a 29er ht first if I had the cash but N+1 is a gradual thing