road or gravel for 100 miler

goldynew

Hi so im new ish the cycling but gone and registered for the London 100 and unsure on what bike to get i have a hybrid at the moment. Wads all set to get a road bike but someone said i should look into gravel bikes aswell any one got any advice??

slowbike

Whatever you think you'll be doing on it longer term.

I wouldn't buy a bike for 1 event - not unless money is no object.

Apart from the aeroness of the frame - the core differences between gravel and road are geometry (gravel will be more upright) and the tyres.

It's easy to put some slicks on ...

So if you're more likely to want to ride rough then get a gravel bike - if all you're after is road riding - then get a road bike.

Oh - and N+1 - you'll soon need another anyway

keef66

hardly worth buying a bike just to do one event. If you're comfortable on the hybrid do it on that.

On the other hand if you were planning a new bike purchase anyway then a road bike would be best suited to the ride you mention. A gravel bike would have lower gearing, but it would also be heavier and have fatter, possibly slower tyres for on-road riding.

Depends on what else you'll use it for I guess

cougie

Just registered ? There's no guarantee that you'll get in.

Both types of bike will get you round but it's all road so I'd probably go with that.
Gravel bikes might not have road gearing or the best tyres for the road.

goldynew

cougie wrote:

Just registered ? There's no guarantee that you'll get in.

Both types of bike will get you round but it's all road so I'd probably go with that.
Gravel bikes might not have road gearing or the best tyres for the road.

Im doing it through a charity so guaranteed a place through them. Ok so road seems to be the best option here thanks

goldynew

keef66 wrote:

hardly worth buying a bike just to do one event. If you're comfortable on the hybrid do it on that.

On the other hand if you were planning a new bike purchase anyway then a road bike would be best suited to the ride you mention. A gravel bike would have lower gearing, but it would also be heavier and have fatter, possibly slower tyres for on-road riding.

Depends on what else you'll use it for I guess

Yeah wanting a new bike any way was just unsure what to get, thanks

joey54321

I'd go for the gravel bike personally. A gravel bike still makes a great road bike, where as a road bike will never offer the versatility of a gravel bike.

I quite like riding off road, bridleways, etc... though which would influence my purchase. If you are sure you wouldn't like to explore a bit and will be doing 100% road riding both training for and after this event then yup, a road bike.

DeVlaeminck

Unless you know you want to ride on tracks I'd get a road bike - I have a gravel bike and I still ride it mainly on the road just because there are far more roads than gravel paths - there's a fairly small number of tracks that it's actually fun to ride a gravel bike on before a mountain bike wouldn't be more fun.

Vino'sGhost

Until 2 years ago gravel bikes didn’t exist. That’s because no one needed one. Now some people believe they’re essential.

Fair enough it’s your money, but there’s more than a little whiff of trend in gravel. Like cycling generally. The industry creates solutions to problems that don’t exist it’s called marketing but more attractive and acceptable word is “innovation”

joey54321

Vino'sGhost wrote:

Until 2 years ago gravel bikes didn’t exist. That’s because no one needed one. Now some people believe they’re essential.

Fair enough it’s your money, but there’s more than a little whiff of trend in gravel. Like cycling generally. The industry creates solutions to problems that don’t exist it’s called marketing but more attractive and acceptable word is “innovation”

Maybe they wanted one but couldn't buy one? Or used a cyclocross bike which, tbh, is almost as versatile.

A friend of mine had disc brakes on a road bike ~15 years ago, they were amazing at stopping as I found out on a trip to the Alps and had to take real care to start braking before him on turns. I wanted a disc equipped road bike since then but the only option was a heavy, touring style utility bike (which is what his was) rather than a race bike.

keef66

Vino'sGhost wrote:

Until 2 years ago gravel bikes didn’t exist. That’s because no one needed one. Now some people believe they’re essential.

Fair enough it’s your money, but there’s more than a little whiff of trend in gravel. Like cycling generally. The industry creates solutions to problems that don’t exist it’s called marketing but more attractive and acceptable word is “innovation”

I know what you mean about gravel being a trend; the bikes make sense in many parts of the world and the US in particular, but we don't actually have very much gravel type riding in the UK. I think some of the innovation is good though.

When I returned to road cycling over a decade ago I wanted a light, racy bike, but one which would take full mudguards and wider tyres.
Most of what was available was either race bikes with clearance for 23mm tyres, cyclocross bikes with the wrong gearing and rubbish cantilever brakes, or heavy old steel tourers, also with cantilevers.

In the end I went for a Kinesis Tk which was then called a winter trainer, so light, racy, and built for full mudguards with long drop brakes. Still only takes a 25mm tyre though.

If I was shopping for the same kind of bike today I'd probably add disc brakes and still be spoilt for choice. You just have to ignore the gravel / sportive / endurance labels and concentrate on the spec

haydenm

Vino'sGhost wrote:

Until 2 years ago gravel bikes didn’t exist. That’s because no one needed one. Now some people believe they’re essential.

Fair enough it’s your money, but there’s more than a little whiff of trend in gravel. Like cycling generally. The industry creates solutions to problems that don’t exist it’s called marketing but more attractive and acceptable word is “innovation”

Not sure I know anyone who says they are essential, but then I don't read many bike mags. I think the gravel niche is a trend but the bikes have a use in the real world. I wouldn't really want to ride my nice road bike off road, or on road much at the moment, so my 'gravel' bike (CdF) is just a tourer/winter bike with lots of clearance. I use it for touring, long distance stuff, commuting, lots of off road, some mtb stuff, night rides and winter training. It's basically just a more rugged bike for everything. If I could only have one bike I'd go for an Orbea Terra with 2 wheelsets

That said, I do have access to hundreds of km of gravel roads, and sh1te quality public roads too...

For the OP I'd probably recommend an endurance geo road bike that could hopefully take wider tyres if you wanted a bit more versatility

roger_merriman

Vino'sGhost wrote:

Until 2 years ago gravel bikes didn’t exist. That’s because no one needed one. Now some people believe they’re essential.

Fair enough it’s your money, but there’s more than a little whiff of trend in gravel. Like cycling generally. The industry creates solutions to problems that don’t exist it’s called marketing but more attractive and acceptable word is “innovation”

While it is true that gravel bikes are definitely *in* and there isn’t that much between a CX and a Gravel bike, you can notice it.

Gravel bikes in many ways is harking back to a do it all bike, that can go on a bridle way/light MTB trails on Saturday and the Club run on Sunday.

Road bikes had become rather narrow use things so this is a welcome step back. Personally I love having a bike so versatile.

w00dster

Trek Domane SL Disc owner here, use mine for lots of road and gravel rides. Takes up to 35mm slick tyres or 33mm knobbly tyres. Pretty sure other tyres will also fit wider tyres and be fine for gravel rides.
If I was only to have the one bike though I'd be looking at the Rondo Ruut, Rival with Hydraulic brakes. Has the variable fork so enables different geometries, but over £2k so quite a lot of cash for a first bike.

Tyresome

If you’re happy with the hybrid then use that. If you want a capable bike with which to do the Ride London 100 I’d personally recommend either this

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-rc-5 ... 54421.html

Or this

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-540- ... 77756.html

They are both superb VFM bikes, with a great spec and a lifetime warranty on frame and forks, and don’t cost as much as the bigger brand bikes, which are often lower spec as well.

thegreatdivide

Vino'sGhost wrote:

Until 2 years ago gravel bikes didn’t exist. That’s because no one needed one. Now some people believe they’re essential.

Fair enough it’s your money, but there’s more than a little whiff of trend in gravel. Like cycling generally. The industry creates solutions to problems that don’t exist it’s called marketing but more attractive and acceptable word is “innovation”

This.

Tyresome

The key differences between ‘gravel’ bikes and ‘road’ bikes are tyre clearances, brakes, and frame geometry choice. Gravel bikes have clearances designed to give you the choice of much wider tyres than typical on a road bike. Gravel bikes nearly all come equipped with disc brakes, and the frame geometry is nearly always ‘Sportive’ rather than ‘aggressive race’ the bottom bracket height from the deck is nearly always greater than typically found on a dedicated road bike too. You can choose a frame geometry that is more, or less race orientated far more readily with a road bike, as there tends to be more choice available with this genre. Gravel bikes are pretty much Cyclocross bikes, but without the typically more aggressive geometry, and without some of the quirks typically found on a CX bike, which makes them better suited to the sport of CX ( supplementary brake levers on the bars, to give one example). I can see why many manufacturers decided to include ‘gravel bikes’ in their line ups, but I agree that it smacks of marketeering.

Frankiemann93

Surely a road bike is the smarter option, in the long term .Will get much more use out of it.

Tyresome

Frankiemann93 wrote:

Surely a road bike is the smarter option, in the long term .Will get much more use out of it.

Quite right.

mrfpb

HaydenM wrote:

Vino'sGhost wrote:

Until 2 years ago gravel bikes didn’t exist. That’s because no one needed one. Now some people believe they’re essential.

Fair enough it’s your money, but there’s more than a little whiff of trend in gravel. Like cycling generally. The industry creates solutions to problems that don’t exist it’s called marketing but more attractive and acceptable word is “innovation”

Not sure I know anyone who says they are essential, but then I don't read many bike mags. I think the gravel niche is a trend but the bikes have a use in the real world. I wouldn't really want to ride my nice road bike off road, or on road much at the moment, so my 'gravel' bike (CdF) is just a tourer/winter bike with lots of clearance. I use it for touring, long distance stuff, commuting, lots of off road, some mtb stuff, night rides and winter training. It's basically just a more rugged bike for everything. If I could only have one bike I'd go for an Orbea Terra with 2 wheelsets

That said, I do have access to hundreds of km of gravel roads, and sh1te quality public roads too...

For the OP I'd probably recommend an endurance geo road bike that could hopefully take wider tyres if you wanted a bit more versatility

I actually bought my Genesis CdF when I got a place on RLS100 a few years ago. It was called a cross or CX bike as no one had come up with the "gravel" label. Basically it's stronger and heavier than a road bike and can take 35mm tyres, but works great on the road with 25 or 28mm. I use it for the commute and have a choice of road or canal path routes.

Alejandrosdog

If the op has a hybrid at the moment, he doesn’t need another called gravel. It’s the UK not Kansas