Gravel

Matthewfalle

Alejandrosdog wrote:

Matthewfalle wrote:

rwoofer wrote:

Loads of "gravel" riding in Surrey and a proper gravel bike is much faster than any other bike. Mine is a Fairlight Secan with 57mm XC race tyres.

Did a 83km gravel ride last weekend and the CX bikes just couldn't keep up off road and where no faster on road.

why couldn't they keep up out of interest?
#intrigued

they werent slammed.

you mean people ride bikes that aren't slammed? no wonder they got burnt off.

#obvs,innit
#slammed

zest28

isotonik wrote:

Gravel bikes were born and are popular in the U.S where there's plenty of gravel. tbh I think theres no real place for them here n the UK,

Gravel bike can't keep up with road bikes and are limited off road so they\re a bit of a jack of all trades master of none.

Cyclocross bikes arethe way to go off road

First of all, gravel bikes are faster and more capable bikes then cyclocross bikes off road as they can fit bigger tyres.

And a gravel bike with road tyres is just as fast as a road bike except for aero bikes, TT and triathlon bikes.

zest28

Kajjal wrote:

isotonik wrote:

Gravel bikes were born and are popular in the U.S where there's plenty of gravel. tbh I think theres no real place for them here n the UK,

Gravel bike can't keep up with road bikes and are limited off road so they\re a bit of a jack of all trades master of none.

Cyclocross bikes arethe way to go off road

Why is a cx bike better than a gravel bike ?

A CX bike is worse then a gravel bike.

The only reason to buy a CX bike is if you race in UCI CX races.

zest28

Aberdeen_lune wrote:

My understanding is that a gravel bike is slacker than a CX bike I.e. a longer wheelbase. So not so flickable round tight bends more suited to long days in the saddle than a 40 minute twisty lap cxer requires. Also wider tyre clearance CXers were traditionally 33mm or so. Gravel gets you up into the 40s or even 50mm tyres.

So basically it’s a road bike with big tyre clearance. To me it’s just another option for the cyclist. Ideally you could have a road race bike, a gravel bike and an XC bike. Just pick the one for the route your taking that day. Oh and a pub bike that no one would nick. What’s not to like it’s all more choice for the consumer.

Not really. A gravel bike is a highly customizable bike, not just only the ability to fit mountain bike tyres. It has mounting options for fenders, 4 bottle cages, top tube bags like a triathlon bike, bags on the fork or even go full city bike style.

Basically a gravel bike = road bike + adventure bike + endurance bike + more extreme CX bike (as you can fit bigger tyres) + city bike (as you can literally make it look like a city bike with all the mounting options you have).

Alejandrosdog

Zest28 wrote:

isotonik wrote:

Gravel bikes were born and are popular in the U.S where there's plenty of gravel. tbh I think theres no real place for them here n the UK,

Gravel bike can't keep up with road bikes and are limited off road so they\re a bit of a jack of all trades master of none.

Cyclocross bikes arethe way to go off road

First of all, gravel bikes are faster and more capable bikes then cyclocross bikes off road as they can fit bigger tyres.

And a gravel bike with road tyres is just as fast as a road bike except for aero bikes, TT and triathlon bikes.

With the above two sentences you’ve demonstrated you haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about. You’ve also shown yourself as the ideal marketing target; gullible and accepting.

Before you accuse me of being harsh or unfair or keyboard warrior just read what you’ve written.

joe_totale-2

Zest28 wrote:

And a gravel bike with road tyres is just as fast as a road bike except for aero bikes, TT and triathlon bikes.

If that's the case then why aren't the pros riding gravel bikes, especially for races like Paris Roubaix or Strada Bianche?

Alejandro Valverde would love the double decker handlebar of the Canyon Grail! :roll:

Fact is, a gravel bikes are just modern touring bikes, good over a variety of surfaces with a steady ride.

zest28

Joe Totale wrote:

Zest28 wrote:

And a gravel bike with road tyres is just as fast as a road bike except for aero bikes, TT and triathlon bikes.

If that's the case then why aren't the pros riding gravel bikes, especially for races like Paris Roubaix or Strada Bianche?

Alejandro Valverde would love the double decker handlebar of the Canyon Grail! :roll:

Fact is, a gravel bikes are just modern touring bikes, good over a variety of surfaces with a steady ride.

Gravel bikes are not UCI legal bikes and are not allowed to be used in road races and CX races.

Triathlon bikes are also faster than TT bikes but they are not used in time trails for the same reason, they are not UCI legal bikes.

I honestly see very little differences between the 5.8 kg light weight bike I had and my gravel bike on Strava woth the same set of wheels(only in climbing it was faster). Only my aero bike beats it consistently with big margins.

zest28

Alejandrosdog wrote:

Zest28 wrote:

isotonik wrote:

Gravel bikes were born and are popular in the U.S where there's plenty of gravel. tbh I think theres no real place for them here n the UK,

Gravel bike can't keep up with road bikes and are limited off road so they\re a bit of a jack of all trades master of none.

Cyclocross bikes arethe way to go off road

First of all, gravel bikes are faster and more capable bikes then cyclocross bikes off road as they can fit bigger tyres.

And a gravel bike with road tyres is just as fast as a road bike except for aero bikes, TT and triathlon bikes.

With the above two sentences you’ve demonstrated you haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about. You’ve also shown yourself as the ideal marketing target; gullible and accepting.

Before you accuse me of being harsh or unfair or keyboard warrior just read what you’ve written.

Good luck fitting 700 x 40mm+ tyres on CX bike.

Gravel bikes can even fit mountain bike tyres on it which you also cannot do on a CX bike.

That is how gravel bikes are far more capable off road bikes as UCI rules restrict CX bikes.

Do you even own a gravel bike?

imposter2.0

Zest28 wrote:

Gravel bikes are not UCI legal bikes and are not allowed to be used in road races and CX races.

Can you explain why gravel bikes would not be uci legal?

veronese68

Zest28 wrote:

Good luck fitting 700 x 40mm+ tyres on CX bike.

Been there done that. Rode the London to Brighton off road on a CX bike with 41mm Surly Knards on it. I don't think gravel bikes had been invented at the time, it was a whole 3 years ago.
As far as I can see there is a fair amount of cross over between what's labelled as a gravel bike and a CX bike. Gravel bikes are generally a bit slacker, have more mounts and can take fatter tyres. If I was going to buy my bike again I'd buy the same thing, if it was still made. I don't need tyres any fatter than that as I have an MTB. I can fit mudguards and a rack if I want to. It's more aggressive than a gravel bike and that suits my purposes fine. To say a gravel bike is better than a CX bike is plainly cobblers, it may be more versatile but that isn't what everybody wants. I should add I've only ever done one CX race and I probably wouldn't have been any slower on a gravel bike, the bike wasn't the issue.

joe_totale-2

Imposter wrote:

Zest28 wrote:

Gravel bikes are not UCI legal bikes and are not allowed to be used in road races and CX races.

Can you explain why gravel bikes would not be uci legal?

Absolutely, there's not a single UCI rule they would break. The manufacturers aren't fussed about the UCI approving their gravel bikes as they know they wouldn't make good road race bikes. Also the main gravel races like Dirty Kanza aren't run by the UCI.

Matthewfalle

Imposter wrote:

Zest28 wrote:

Gravel bikes are not UCI legal bikes and are not allowed to be used in road races and CX races.

Can you explain why gravel bikes would not be uci legal?

can also please explain, for the exception of me and PokerFace, how this would affect anyone on this forum?

Alejandrosdog

Zest28 wrote:

Alejandrosdog wrote:

Zest28 wrote:

isotonik wrote:

Gravel bikes were born and are popular in the U.S where there's plenty of gravel. tbh I think theres no real place for them here n the UK,

Gravel bike can't keep up with road bikes and are limited off road so they\re a bit of a jack of all trades master of none.

Cyclocross bikes arethe way to go off road

First of all, gravel bikes are faster and more capable bikes then cyclocross bikes off road as they can fit bigger tyres.

And a gravel bike with road tyres is just as fast as a road bike except for aero bikes, TT and triathlon bikes.

With the above two sentences you’ve demonstrated you haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about. You’ve also shown yourself as the ideal marketing target; gullible and accepting.

Before you accuse me of being harsh or unfair or keyboard warrior just read what you’ve written.

Good luck fitting 700 x 40mm+ tyres on CX bike.

Gravel bikes can even fit mountain bike tyres on it which you also cannot do on a CX bike.

That is how gravel bikes are far more capable off road bikes as UCI rules restrict CX bikes.

Do you even own a gravel bike?

bigger tyres capacity doesnt automatically equate to more capable or faster.

no i dont own a gravel bike. what youve described is a utility bike used the world over. I have a 25 year old rigid mountain bike with mounts for all that and at one time or another its done everything. I even put clip on bars on it and did some TT's at one point.

Matthewfalle

Basically aren't they a Ridgeback Storm with drop bars and a huge price increase?

https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/bikes ... rm-review/

#ridgebackstorm

Alejandrosdog

Matthewfalle wrote:

Basically aren't they a Ridgeback Storm with drop bars and a huge price increase?

https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/bikes ... rm-review/

#ridgebackstorm

Yes, one thats been disabled by fixing the front mech so theres only one chainring.

#believethehype

Matthewfalle

but the guy at the shop said it was a new & ground breaking cycling format and that bloke above said gravel bikes wete the only bikes that could go where they go and everything else would cause you to DIE

#confused
#DEATH

Alejandrosdog

Matthewfalle wrote:

but the guy at the shop said it was a new & ground breaking cycling format and that bloke above said gravel bikes wete the only bikes that could go where they go and everything else would cause you to DIE

#confused
#DEATH

No you only crash and die if you’re not wearing a helmet or if you’re not using tubeless. It’s the lower pressure 10% faster too.

#neverrideoffroadwitjoutagravelbike
#discssavelives
#gravelisthesecondcoming

Matthewfalle

aaah - its all clear now. grazie.

so gravel bikes are the new disc? sorted

#bonification

vinnymarsden

I’m fast approaching 60 and I remember being a 10-12yr old kid with my mates and “stripping “ down our racers and putting cow horn handlebars and bigger tyres on and going “tracking”!
I think a guy called Gary Fisher did the same in the USA and called it an MTB and became famous!

OnTheRopes

Nothing new here apart from the hype

Alejandrosdog

OnTheRopes wrote:

Nothing new here apart from the hype

Really great photos, thank you

keef66

Do you know where the first one was taken? Something about it reminds me of climbing up Back Tor from Edale.
On foot I hasten to add, impeded only by my two young boys. Fair play to the stout limbed lads and lasses hauling loaded steel tandems up there, wherever it is!

rwoofer

Matthewfalle wrote:

rwoofer wrote:

Loads of "gravel" riding in Surrey and a proper gravel bike is much faster than any other bike. Mine is a Fairlight Secan with 57mm XC race tyres.

Did a 83km gravel ride last weekend and the CX bikes just couldn't keep up off road and where no faster on road.

why couldn't they keep up out of interest?
#intrigued

Their narrow tyres meant they had to take the technical, tough terrain much slower. Also uphill they were just struggling with grip whereas I could keep the power down. 57mm vs 33mm is a big difference in comfort which makes an even bigger difference as the length of the ride increases.

PhilipPirrip

Are those photos from the Rough Stuff Fellowship?

joe_totale-2

rwoofer wrote:

Matthewfalle wrote:

rwoofer wrote:

Loads of "gravel" riding in Surrey and a proper gravel bike is much faster than any other bike. Mine is a Fairlight Secan with 57mm XC race tyres.

Did a 83km gravel ride last weekend and the CX bikes just couldn't keep up off road and where no faster on road.

why couldn't they keep up out of interest?
#intrigued

Their narrow tyres meant they had to take the technical, tough terrain much slower. Also uphill they were just struggling with grip whereas I could keep the power down. 57mm vs 33mm is a big difference in comfort which makes an even bigger difference as the length of the ride increases.

Genuine question as it's not something i know a lot about. Given the technical, tough nature of the terrain which benefited wide tyres, would a mountain bike have been even faster?

PhilipPirrip

PhilipPirrip wrote:

Are those photos from the Rough Stuff Fellowship?

Answering my own question as I see the first one is;

https://www.instagram.com/rsfarchive/

rwoofer

Joe Totale wrote:

rwoofer wrote:

Matthewfalle wrote:

rwoofer wrote:

Loads of "gravel" riding in Surrey and a proper gravel bike is much faster than any other bike. Mine is a Fairlight Secan with 57mm XC race tyres.

Did a 83km gravel ride last weekend and the CX bikes just couldn't keep up off road and where no faster on road.

why couldn't they keep up out of interest?
#intrigued

Their narrow tyres meant they had to take the technical, tough terrain much slower. Also uphill they were just struggling with grip whereas I could keep the power down. 57mm vs 33mm is a big difference in comfort which makes an even bigger difference as the length of the ride increases.

Genuine question as it's not something i know a lot about. Given the technical, tough nature of the terrain which benefited wide tyres, would a mountain bike have been even faster?

Likely on the downhills, but they would lose out uphill.

I don't think gravel bikes are anything particularly new when looking at individual features and are closest to old style XC MTBs (such as my '93 Specialized Stumpjumper M2). They just bring a lot of features that exist in a range of bikes into one. That makes them both faster and more comfortable than my aforementioned MTB, unless you get to proper trail s with jumps and drop-offs.

I prefer the term adventure or all-road, but that is not as catchy as gravel and does not embrace the combination of geometry, lightness, gearing and comfort that I feel "gravel" bikes are defined by.

keef66

PhilipPirrip wrote:

PhilipPirrip wrote:

Are those photos from the Rough Stuff Fellowship?

Answering my own question as I see the first one is;

https://www.instagram.com/rsfarchive/

So it's Southern Ireland, not the Peak District!

Alejandrosdog

when i see people espousing gravel and talking about cat this that or the other climbs, measuring rides in km i see newb who knows nothing.

OnTheRopes

PhilipPirrip wrote:

Are those photos from the Rough Stuff Fellowship?

Yes