Gravel bike for road riding reddit. If you are riding on paved roads.
Gravel bike for road riding reddit In my region I am able to pick up a Wahoo Roam, Wahoo Bolt 2 or Garmin Edge 530 at the same price and that is pretty much my price range. Another option is to get some nice gravel or XC race shoes (most are literally just road shoes with two bolt interface instead of three and a few chunks of rubber to make them walkable) and just use SPD pedals on your road bike. First road/gravel bike! Trying to make riding fun when I can’t go mtn biking. My recommendation would be to get a standard gravel bike (no suspension) and then you can upgrade to a suspension stem in the future if you need it. Especially on a quick bike like the revolt. It also freed me up to go with a burlier gravel bike (steel, with 40s) to use for day to day gravel and bikepacking. Now people are discovering larger volume tires on gravel bikes are great for general road, city riding, and pea gravel Rex trails. I am now looking for a replacement and am looking for something that is comfortable beyond 30 miles, especially for road riding. It's perfect for a mix of surfaces - maybe a few km on the road, then a few km on some alternative route which avoids the busiest city roads If you are doing reasonable distance then I would suggest the gravel bike. The Grail has a more aggressive (road bike like) geometry than The Echo has a feature that allows you to change the geometry of the bike to be more/less favorable for road or gravel. Or check it out in the app stores Tire Pressure for Gravel Bike on Road . I also know people who are competitive in road races with gravel bikes (but road wheels). I switch back and forth between road and gravel for commuting. I do use the gravel as a commuter during the winter, and for gravel rides of course. You might want some slicker tires, but wide supple tires are great. Best tire for 80 / 20 road / gravel riding . Well this depends. Road bike on rolling terrain: 17-18 mph Road bike in the mountains on steep routes: 15 mph Gravel bike on easy rail trails or smooth hard-pack, 15 mph Gravel bike on rough/steep backroads and class4: 12 mph Mountain bike on gravel roads: 10-11 mph A gravel bike is a road bike so that distinction is silly, and gravel bikes tend to have a more relaxed geometry which will keep you more stable on aero bars. I am not anywhere near pro level but fit The new Garman power meter pedals have swappable bodies for look, SPD, and SPD-SL if you want to get new pedals. Plugged it up, kept going. Gravel or Road bike? Is riding a gravel bike (with road tyres) more stable than riding a road bike on asphalt? I'm referring to the wheelbase here. A gravel bike with 38s likely has a ton of room left and will have zero problems. There are people who do the ride with road bikes on 25c tires. I've got the same tires (28c GP5000) on my gravel bike for riding on the road and I think they are perfect. Midpen trails (monte bello, russian ridge, long ridge open space) are all great for gravel bikes and you IMO, gravel bikes are best if you ride dirt trails and road on the same ride. The biggest issue is that you’ll want to find tires that are around 30-36 wide. I bought a gravel bike, but still ended up wanting a proper road bike for the majority of my riding, so I ended up with one anyway. I have a gravel bike with 700x42mm tires; however, I ride it mostly on road. For predominantly road riding most people like 2by gearing. r/Velo A chip A close button. Maybe a few more mounts on gravel bikes for bike packing. I have both: flat pedals for my hardtail xc bike and click pedals for my gravel bike. Reply reply Road bike 100%. I am 155 lbs, 5’10. The road bike is for when I'm feeling fast/running late. For that “type” of road riding, my Stiggy is plenty fast enough for me. On rides where Im doing 10% off-road and 90% road, I can get away with a 28mm road tire but I'd definitely more comfortable with a 32 road tire. You can still ride a road bike 'casually', just get one that has a relaxed (endurance) geometry instead of the aggressive racing geometry. !remove - Removes comment or post. Personally, I have two bikes: a gravel bike which can handle road to gravel to light trail, and a full-suspension mountain bike that can handle gravel to trail to jumps/drops/big rocks. Current riding patterns if 50/50 on road vs off road. 2x gravel gearing is also more appropriate than road gearing for people who aren't racers, even for pure road riding. I ride a checkpoint on a rails to trails network which is crushed limestone that connects back to paved in certain directions. I have a TT, Road, and Gravel. Was pretty Definitely, there's a far bigger jump between a mountain bike and a gravel bike than there is between a gravel bike and a road bike. Ideally, I'm looking for places I can ride to Full Rundown of Moderator Permissions:!lock - as top level comment, will lock comments on any post. At the shop I worked at, if you had had a road bike fit previously and wanted to tweak a gravel bike to it, we'd generally avoid it as road bike positioning on a bike that's bouncing all over rocks and down trails is I've discovered the bottom bracket drop is a big concern of mine as I push my gravel bike into more technical trails, for example. Whole categories of bikes have come out of the need for a performance bike that works for normal people, for example. (🇮🇳-🏍️) Place for all Indian riders to discuss news, reviews and motorcycle trips. But there is a chance that if you get into faster group rides, a SRAM/Ekar have better range as a 1x. If I tried to ride at 30 psi on the road it would feel like such a slog. Reddit truly is a goldmine of knowledge. !unlock - in reply to any comment to lock it or to unlock the parent comment. Or check it out in the app stores TOPICS. I have a road race bike, 29er hardtail XC, and more. The Vittoria Terreno Dry is the only gravel-specific tire I've tried (I'm a newbie), but they've been great for my combination of road riding (to get to trails), hardpack gravel trails, some MTB trail / wannabe CX romps, and a fair amount of winter riding (slushy roads and packed snow). I'm an avid road rider but I'm completely new to gravel, so I'm looking for any and all recommendations for gravel riding near the city - I live in Allston/Brighton so it's pretty easy for me to get out of the city. The ride quality may not be as nice as a bike designed for a specific discipline. It was stressful. Also you can try the shoes on and see what fits best. Nowdays we are supposed to be on wide knobby tires on purpose specific bikes whenever the terrain changes. The GRX had a really crunchy sound when it was brand new compared to my 105 and Ultegra road bikes. If you’re only riding I tried riding on gravel country roads once, one road was well packed and I could manage about 60km/h before my bike was starting to squirrel around. I converted my Domane SL4 to a Gravel bike and did a 5 day 340 mile Bike tour. I find them more than satisfactory. Rides like a sporty road bike (with 28mm road tires in my wheels), but I know I can put wider ones on if I want to go on a fast gravel ride. Does anyone have experience with both types of bikes and can share their thoughts? Truth be told, I mainly ride on asphalt and My road bike can fit 28mm tires. I ride light gravel on my road bike with 25mm from time to time. I went for a Cyclocross bike for road/gravel. Think about the kinds of "gravel" you want to do and Go gravel if you’re not 100% committed to a bike that’s optimized for road riding. I'd like a fast bike, but feel like a road bike is a bit limited by max tire size. And road pedals won't work if your cleats get muddy. If you don't then lycra is what suits a serious ride, so you wear it. I used to use my road pedals, which have proven difficult in the winter, when it is wet and The GK slick is an excellent road tire and the micro file tread pattern provides more grip in the wet than a full slick road tire. 32mm works for gravel but your gonna sacrifice a lot of comfort. I have the Revolt slammed to almost match that of my Aeroad (about 2mm higher stack). For combined gravel grinding and aggressive off road shredding the best of both worlds is a slack flat bar frame with drop bars, but you really have to know your geo and pick the right frame and size to make it work. Its quite light and the geometry feels a bit more like a roadbike than a gravelbike. Skip to main content. uh, sorry, i don't think this is right. It is about 5 lbs heavier, and the tires definitely drag a little. In my case its a Stevens Vapor with GRX810 groupset. A used road bike is a decent Your budget is a bit low unfortunately. I’ve upgraded each of my bikes once. It's no gravel ride mecca as it it is MTB, but if Went to Croatia this spring, brought my gravel bike with me, lots of gravel down there, and a wide variety, from smooth, hard-pack, to "ok, should have brought the MTB". Our ride was mostly limestone gravel and For me the difference between 700 x 28 GP 5000’s on my road bike and 700 x 38 gravel king slicks on my gravel bike is around a minute over a 32 mile paved ride at about 17 to 19 mph, and honestly I’m pretty sure most of that difference is the more upright body position on the gravel bike The answer is always gravel bike. Takes 15mins. That one is hugely dependent on what your going to ride. So I As I don't have a road bike at the moment, I guess what I really ought to have is a pair of touring wheels with more spokes and a similar tire in a 40-ish mm width, and then just put some 28-32mm road slicks on my current wheels - 24 spoke DT Swiss which are pretty durable but probably not what I should use for long tours to areas without lots Hybrid vs gravel In currently marketing lingo, gravel is basically a more expensive "hybrid" with worthy upgrades. I would add that high quality wider tyres can be pretty Wanted to get a bike for longer road rides and some unpaved riding. Different use cases. Similar bike weights (gravel bike actually lighter!), 38c knobs vs 25c road, both with power meters. And maybe drop it to 60-70 on gravel. But specific to gearing - I used to ride a 53/39 with an 11-28 cassette, was quite fit, but still ended up grinding up gnarly climbs. I have a diverge sport 2021. If you do a mix of both, get a road bike that can fit gravel tires. I Get the Reddit app Scan this QR code to download the app now. Folks that ride gravel bikes on single track, more power to ya but I have a mountain bike for that. The Lauf anywhere is a good 1by option if you are really focused on the Lauf. The deal: I have a gravel bike frame. Many endurance bikes have wide ratio cassettes and the frame clearance for wider tires (35-40mm in some cases). I’ve ridden road bikes on bmx tracks and bmx bikes down downhill courses. My '87 Mongoose is my second favorite "fun" bike after the gravel bike. I recently got a gravel bike and I am trying to decide whether or not it is worth picking up another road helmet. 265 votes, 540 comments. BUT the versatility of the gravel bike was totally worth it. A handful of other modest Jeep/dirt roads like Willow Springs into Arches NP. What will matter between a road bike with 35s and a gravel bike with 38s is the remaining tire clearance. I once took it 15 miles on fat white rocks. All-road, crossover, gravel, monster-cross, road-plus, supple tires, steel frames, vintage bikes, hybrids, commuting, bike touring, bikepacking, fatbiking, single-speeds, fixies, Frankenbikes with ragbag parts and specs, etc. They are a mix of pavement and crushed limestone/gravel. Get app Get the Reddit app Log In Log in to Reddit. I’m going more into gravel now, so expect I will be riding 75% gravel/25% road. But no one has ever said it is. Or check it out in the app stores What’s the consensus on helmets to use while gravel riding? I do a lot of road riding but have always used a MTB helmet since i love that off-road element to riding. Slick versus knobbly itself makes a pretty big difference for rolling resistance. Off road: more comfort, better traction, increased confidence and speed. You only need suspension for a few well-known I will second the Spyres. Just did a road ride on my gravel bike yesterday I bought a gravel bike thinking i'd do a lot more gravel riding, but I don't. I was looking at the Trek Domane, which is more endurance. The other road I could only manage about 20-30km/h and there were several times I would hit softer patches of gravel that felt like they were sucking my bike out to the ditch. Road bikes and gravel bikes are essentially the same thing, gravel bikes just have room for wider tires. Some gravel bikes are just endurance bikes that can fit fat tires. I'd like to do the 1 bike, all road thing and plan on building up a 3T Exploro Ultra. I ride mainly canal paths/towpaths which are a mix of cobbles, dirt walking paths and hardpack gravel. Occasionally, a few km of single track. My current bike is a Genesis road bike with 25c tires which actually roll ok but are very uncomfortable. 2008 Giant OCR1 I attempted to gravelfy. Must have decent subreddit comment karma. You can find tons of gravel bikes that have endurance road geometry but clear bigger tires, which is 90% of what you need to ride on gravel. Gravel bike vs Road bike . On gravel, it is a dream. If this is going to be their only bike, OP should also look at endurance bikes with a second set of wheels/tires for their occasional gravel day. A gravel bike that doubles as a road racer for the Monday night group ride will be different than a gravel bike for camping and traversing a remote mountain pass over a long weekend. Plenty of people are running 30-32mm's now on their road bike, and decent tires in that size should be able to handle packed gravel/dirt just fine. Im in SF so i ride mostly headlands/tam, pacifica, sutro/laguna honda/ggp. Once set up properly all I have to do is occasionally adjust the cable housing ferrule. Plus, put on your road wheel/tires and its great for that too. Thank you <3 Based on most of the suggestions, I think it's best to go for a gravel bike (or an endurance bike if I can't find a good gravel bike). Never had hydraulics on a gravel or road bike have them on my Don't get a gravel bike. I was able to put 40mm tires. Pros: I live on a gravel road and I mainly ride an endurance bike. in gravel cycling (not race events), the speed is relatively slow such that low pressure bad effect is negated, you also don't need to dip your tyre in drops unlike in MTBng. acceleration towards the center of a curve is v 2 / r, f=m*a. A gravel bike with road tires is basically just as fast as an endurance road bike. A bike is a bike. Considering a gravel bike also gives you extra versatility of having 2 bikes in one, to me that's a very strong argument for most people buying My regular ride is about 50 km, 15% asphalt and cobblestones, the rest mostly compact gravel and forest roads. I'm in the East Bay and have both a hardtail (Specialized Fuse) and a gravel bike (Ibis Hakka with two wheelsets, 650b x 2. Commuting can be a minefield that a gravel bike is much better suited for than a skinny tire road bike. I ride 5 days a week. Gravel bikes are jacks of all trade kings of nothing. Evil Bikes makes the Chamois Hagar bike, which might be worth checking out. I have slick 40c tires and road bike gearing, so I basically have an endurance road bike with an even larger tire clearance. If you are riding on paved roads you don't need a gravel bike. They feel plush and comfortable on busted up pavement, and good on gravel. Curious to hear if the traditional cycling helmet has much of an advantage and I just got a giant defy advanced 3. Stick some 28/32c road tyres on and have a blast, in my experience: The Reddit of Waterloo includes news from throughout the Region of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. Not sure about the poster having issues but I've never had any with my GP5000s. Also the gravel bike opens up more routes, there's some single track between home and work and that's a great way to start a day. Basically you just ride off-road MTB trails, bought a gravel bike, and then rightly concluded that a gravel bike is not a MTB. I have a proper road bike and I recently bought a Colnago G3X gravel bike. IMO riding on road with a hard tail MTB is not as bad as many would have you think. I use them with compressionless housing. 11 votes, 17 comments. Most endurance bikes will have a compact gearing crankset anyway and can take 32c or larger tires if you really need Even better (sucks about the crash though). Or changing the gearing, because they bought a gravel bike and now ride it mainly on road. I replaced some lower end cable operated calipers with them and have been very pleased. This is a big part of why I bought a gravel bike. I sold my road and gravel bikes this past winter and picked up a "quiver killer" race gravel bike. Obviously there is variation in geometry between individual models and gravel bikes tend to generally be more relaxed but there are plenty of gravel bikes they have extremely aggressive geometry and plenty of road bikes that have extremely relaxed geometry, the defining Get the Reddit app Scan this QR code to download the app now. For reference, I own a lightweight carbon road bike, and also a steel allroad-style gravel bike with 650b x 47 gravel tires with a second wheelset with 700 x 32 tires. . I see gravel bikes as a great alternative to buying a cheaper second road bike as you can put slick tyres on, put bike packing bags on and generally not worry as much as your road bike. On trail forks basically any green and blue trails can be ridden on a gravel bike. Hi, I'm thinking about buying a Triban RC 520 Road Bike, with additional tyres (the tyres that come with the Gravel Version) from Decathalon for when I’m feeling more adventurous. Howeever, it is much more comfortable and versatile - i'd consider it an ideal first bike. Rivendells (rigid MTBs too) are kinda perfect for lots of Bay Area riding and they’re all old tech. I prefer descents on the Topstone. Shit trails/roads (mostly what I ride), dirt trails, some technical, actual gravel trails. Lower bottom brackets, longer wheelbases, relaxed head angles, longer fork rakes. They are excellent. If you want to ride rough roads and do 50-100km at a time, a gravel bike or an endurance road bike that takes 30-32mm tires at least, depending on whether you prefer faster or more off road handling. I know the geometry on gravel bikes is a bit different to account for the for aggressive positions of off road riding, so am not sure how well a gravel bike would do on longer road distances. which are the primary features that separate gravel from road bikes (in the mind of this mountain biker). Switching between gravel and road setups on a single bike is annoying. Expand user menu I am using 46/30 with 11-30 cassette and it's perfect for gravel and road riding. I have a road bike (CAAD 12) and have had my Grail 7 2X for nearly a year. Reddit iOS Reddit Android Reddit Premium About Reddit Advertise Blog Careers Press. As well as some paved roads. Hi there I've recently bought my first road bike a cannondale CAAD13, and have been riding it with flat pedals. On mine I get a 3 to 4 mph difference on road rides when I put my road wheels and 28s on vs riding my knobby-ish 42s on the road for the same route/same power. Why 700 x 45-47, because there is no down side*. I recommend saving up and getting the Grail as the second bike. They will be mounted to 26mm internal rims. Since picking up a second set of wheels my road bike has been on the trainer Grail is the same weight if not lighter, disc brakes are better, the mixed GRX800/600 groupset rides as well as the 105 5700 and I think I ride it harder given its a gravel bike. The whole craze has been a head scratcher to me. it's like road/cross bike handling with an endurance/gravel riding position. But “gravel bike” is kind of a weird, amorphous marketing term anyways. Or to put it another way: if a ride is advertised as road bikes only, you'll probably fit on a gravel bike (and probably not be the only person on one) if its intended for riders of your level of fitness. Have been riding cruisers on the road for ten years and used to own an XR200 to run around the back yard. Get the Reddit app Scan this QR code to download the app now. Occasionally I have to get off my bike and lift it over fallen trees, open a gate, etc. Without dirt, a gravel bike is a slower road bike. An “adventure” bike might not be the most efficient riding around the city but dang it’ll be comfy and well-equipped for hauling goodies. I have been off the road for several years now and have been wearing mtb specific helmets that have higher coverage around the sides and back of the helmet. Or they ride their gravel bike in a group ride and are always working harder than the other guys. It will have good rack and fender attachments too. Or check it out in the app stores For the topic I have both a road bike and a gravel bike [surly midnight special] If I’m doing pure road I much prefer the speed and efficiency of the bigger gearing and proper racing slicks. Part of the reason gravel bikes are popular is that versatility - fast road riding one day then off-road riding the next day, just by swapping the wheels. I ride about 10% gravel so my gravel bike was getting barely any ride time and it felt useless having two bikes that just took up space. So yeah, you bought the wrong bike for your riding. If you want a better aero Hard tail MTBS will be able to ride everything a gravel bike will but will just do the better surfaced and flatter stuff a bit slower. The days I would pick gravel bike over either of those is rare. I am in quite a dilemma right now as I want to buy a new bike. But it is only about 1 KPH slower on road ride. I ride the TT 90% of the time, road about 8%, and gravel about 2%. Try out the tires. One thing that can be a problem is if you have lower gearing for gravel, as you might spin out in fast road rides. Or check it out in the app stores I feel much safer and confident in the gravel bike. It's not my mid-life-crisis dream bike for road riding tho'. For what it's worth, I ride a Canyon Aeroad and a Giant Revolt. I am looking for a gps bike computer which is good for navigation. Love riding on the road! But, I would also love to ride trails around the country. I’m looking for a shoe (SPD) that is more road than mountain but has decent grip on the sole. What do people in the gravel world use to find gravel routes? I tried Strava and used the "off-road" option but most of the routes it gave me were 5-10% gravel and the rest paved on regular roads. Lots of people are intimidated by them because nobody grows up with them but you pick it up on literally the first ride. I want my bikes to be ready. I just started riding 650*48 Rene Herse Switchback Hills at 34psi (me and my bike loaded up weigh about 215) and they are the bomb, great fun on the road and a blast on gravel. There are tons of post on Reddit about people getting second road wheelsets for their gravel bikes. Some are aero road bikes with endurance bike like stack/reach that can fit wide tires. The bike I ride the most is my S road bike with a 53. When I was younger in late 80s I used to borrow my dad's steel road bike on 23c and rode the bike on sand river bank. I bought my first gravel bike in 2015 and so far have ridden the Schwalbe G One series in 30, 35 and 40mm both Speed and Allaround iterations, and the Vittoria Terreno tires, mix,wet,dry in 40 mm. Go test ride some gravel bikes before you write them off. I mostly ride a mix of road and gravel road during the week (around 200-300Km per week) and I currently own a gravel (alu) Now as I am starting to get more advance and trying to perform better I am hesitating between buying a road bike or a better gravel. Note that you can swap tyres - if you put slick road tyres on a "gravel" bike you have a bike that is basically an endurance road bike. Then doing maybe 10 percent gravel/off-road road/unpaved paths. I used to wear a road helmet for XC and road riding. I have tubeless tires that came with the bike, 25mm. 700x42c Pathfinder Pros at 45 psi with just the base aluminum wheelset I keep up with my friends on Carbon road bikes fine enough for casual rides. Open menu Open navigation Go to Reddit Home. Smart idea getting some road tires. Gravel isn't about worrying you'll be mistaken for a power ranger Gravel is about wondering if you need leather chaps to ride that trail reportedly overgrown with thorns. " Canyon Bikes is the unofficial Reddit I would say endurance road bike. She has 32mm road tires and 38mm gravel tires. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Shop around! Try different bikes! Personally, I use my gravel bike for commuting. There are plenty of gravel bikes with aggressive road geometry And you can always put thinner faster more efficient tires on a gravel bike but you cannot put a nice fat, capable, off-road tire on a road bike. Should be perfectly doable with my road bike on 30’s. Since you mentioned you're not planning on doing any underbiking (single track on a gravel bike), you can probably do well with riding your road setup on your gravel bike. 99% of people Difference between endurance and gravel bikes is usually gearing (gravel bikes typically have lower gears for climbing, but endurance bikes can be faster), and tire clearance (45-50 mm isn't unheard of on gravel bikes). they allow for a maximum of 33c tires, tend to have a top tube with a flat bottom so you can carry the bike on your shoulder, tend to be quite Get the Reddit app Scan this QR code to download the app now. Get the Reddit app Scan this QR code to download the app now This sub will likely tell you that you need a gravel bike. They will also perform better on the road than a more hardcore-oriented gravel bike. I also have a Diverge with 38mm Trigger sport, but I ride them at like 60 psi too. I enjoy road cycling, but there aren't very many bike friendly roads in my area. I do notice the handing, gearing, and weight differences between my gravel and road bikes. I initially made the post because it was all that was in stock, but then I found an 11-34 mountain bike cassette. !sticky - will sticky the post in the bottom slot. My wife (49F) is going on a 8 day, guided cycling girls trip later this year and is ready to get her first road bike in advance of the trip to get some riding experience beforehand. The gravel bike works just fine. Love my road bike a lot more for Think about the kinds of "gravel" you want to do and what sort of use you'd most likely use it for. This will not be a drop So here is another take on the Wahoo vs Garmin debate. Trailforks helps me for MTB and Strava for road routes. My arms got a harder workout than my legs. but they are very low end parts and not really expected to be Varies significantly based on what bike I’m riding and where I’m riding it. That said, some of these are within a shout: State All-road is a monster-cross geo that will truck over anything you throw at it, $849 USD. You don't need shocks (and all the extra weight of a mountain bike) to ride on NYC roads, those are for rocks and tree roots. Hybrid is mostly a cheap bike for roads and paths (definitely not for actual mountain bike trails), often with comfort features like cushy seats, suspension seatposts, very tall and often adjustable stems, etc. I love my Pathfinder 42’s tubeless on my gravel bike for road riding. What are some of the good trails/routes for gravel bikes other than the obvious C and O Canal? I ride a gravel bike but I’m 95% riding on paved roads. Indian Bikes Reddit community. I suspect very few gravel bike owners actually ride on gravel. Your first sentence is pretty telling, I’d personally say a “gravel bike” let’s you ride road to connect trails. I'm often doing 50-100 km rides on nothing worse than a rough cycle path or I like Terravail Ramparts and Gravelkings both a lot. Or check it out in the app stores The 2x gives much closer spacing and I have a MTB and a fat bike for trails so my gravel bike mostly sees fire roads and smooth trails. Or check it out in the app stores I want to do mixed road and gravel riding, so it was a good compromise and 38c will get you around on most gravel routes anyway. Since you’re going to be mostly riding road, if you get a gravel bike my main suggestion is to find something with a traditional compact double crank (50/34) at least if you’re a stronger rider. Skinny tires do poorly in sand or loose gravel. If I could do it all over again. For context, my intention would be to mostly ride trails/fire roads, but would occasionally use this bike for a ~35mi commute to work. The gravel is my winter/rain bike because it has fenders and the tires have a big foot print. When I ride a big ride (more than 3,5 hours normally, depending on where and what the route is) I carry a small backpack, in wich I put my saddle bag, 2 spare tubes (I only carry the road bike size with me on normal rides, the gravel size doesn’t fit my saddle roll), maybe extra water, food, sometimes extra clothing (or space to put clothing Get the Reddit app Scan this QR code to download the app now. Bike's intent: Anything from road riding to bikepacking. This is the cheapest route and it’s do able. I'm running the standard casing which honestly were a pain to I (50M) am an avid, albeit, newer cyclist and have a few bikes (road, gravel, and MTB). It will be more comfortable, more traction, and better float for light gravel, without giving up any meaningful amount of speed. That being said I think 38's are fine on pavement, but definitely slower than a 32 (given that both tires are similar quality/suppleness. Or check it out in the app stores I left a longer comment above about geometry / the feel of a gravel bike as a road bike. or are more mountain bike trails than gravel routes, and so put the 37mm tires back on for that, and found a few spots where I just bought a gravel bike to replace my old road bike. Sure, it’s not something I really enjoy, I go slow with 15-20km/h, I don’t ride more than 1-2 kms of it, but it’s not like it isn’t doable. Second ride out, booking it on a rough section to get a KOM, put three holes in the Tufo Speedero 40c on the rear (tubeless). Specs recommend max of 38 but my bike mechanic said there was enough clearance. I'd like to take the road bike on some of these paths this summer, but have concerns about riding such a skinny tire on the limestone/gravel portions. I want to upgrade to proper cycling shoes/pedals and am indecisive if I buy road shoes or gravel shoes like the Shimano RX801, which kind of look like road shoes from far away. IMO, gravel is a marketing gimmick to drive new bike sales. It might be a good compromise if you only have one bike but most of us are better off with a road and mountain bike. I swap her tires before the activity. Riding a light bike scared me. And 35mm+ tires provide a plush ride. “endurance” bikes. Some have slacker headtubes and/or longer top tubes meant to run with shorter stems and be more stable. My good ride buddy has an OPEN gravel bike that he runs tires that are probably 30s or so and he hammers it just like anyone else on the climbs and flats. It is personal preference, I am 6'1, ride a M gravel bike (Norco XR S1) and even being too tall according to Norco I reduced the stem length. No heavy chunder, but some single track is a possibility. Or check it out in the app stores kinda slow, you won’t be riding gravel bike on road fast, forget about fast group rides CX on the other hand, I only say this because a lot of the time I ride a gravel bike, I end up finding trails that are just a bit too much for the I ridden most of the gravel sections on my gravel bike with 38 gravel king ss and had no problems unless its sloppy muddy. Post latest news, reviews, opinions, pics, etc here. 95% of the suggestions are in this thread are 'get a gravel bike'. But for anything bigger then I wouldn’t. Multiple bikes also allow me to do maintenance (or waiting for parts I would need to ride on the tarmac for about an hour to get to the easy gravel roads. I've got 26mm gravel king slicks on it for pea gravel rail trails. Before that I was using 25c. Or check it out in the app stores I ride 25 on my road bike. My shoulders were wrecked from keeping the bike under control. unless there's a significant difference in your tire's grip on gravel between the center and edges (unlikely to be significant on a road bike), it doesn't matter whether the bike is upright and you're hanging off the side, bike is tipped and . Hi all, I am debating between getting a do it all gravel bike or a road bike. I even have decent road bike, but it mostly gathers dust as I grab the heavier gravel bike because of the comfy tires. You won't be able to descend as fast. thinking of going down to 1 set of pedals/shoes for gravel riding and road riding. Getting a used hybrid bike or gravel bike is probably the way to go. But the bike is great fun - comfortable and stable - I’ve ridden it more than the Felt this summer. I just bought my first gravel bike and I'm super excited to get riding on it. On road: irrelevant speed loss (on road is how you get to gravel, not the purpose of the ride) and "reduced" handling is just different, not a problem - if I want to rip it on road the road bike comes out. Not mountain bike trails, but just the many long trails around the country that are probably best described as dirt roads or very light gravel. I've done long road rides on my gravel bike on various trips where I was doing a combination of both. I’m currently riding my road shoes on my gravel bike and they have absolutely zero grip on the bottom. I have the carbon Grail with 2 wheelsets, one 32mm for road and a 42mm for gravel. 2 for dirt and 700c x 30m slicks for road duty). The domane would excel in that space. Driving their Don't buy into the marketing hype! I have one gravel bike, that I ride on road group rides, and also take on off road group rides. Modern gravel bikes tick a lot of those boxes, but you could also find a more road-focused frame that works too. As others have said, who cares how it looks. I have been riding for 30 years on the road and, NGL, the gravel bike does feel a tad slower than the roadie but there is not a lot in it. It’s not really a fad imo but my gravel bike has replaced my road bike, given that gravel bikes are rigid 90s mtn bikes with drop bars and mullet gearing I don’t see how much room there is for improvement in the “gravel” lane without leaning towards the road or MTB so it truly is a hybrid made for hybrid trails unlike hybrids that are It comes with some 650b wheels and 47c WTB byways. Most gravel bikes have slightly more relaxed posture than road bikes, but it's a spectrum, there are a few racy gravel bikes and relaxed road bikes &c. the bikes have very specific features. Gravel bikes are a spectrum from a go-fast road bike that fits bigger tires, to burlier ones for bike packing and borderline mountain biking. It's a Niner RLT 9 RDO. Internet Culture (Viral) Amazing want to hear but the category has narrowed to where if you son is a near pro rider he probably will want a dedicated bike for gravel and road riding. There is a huge variety of geometries in "gravel" bikes. I wouldn’t be riding very fast but would need to go 65mph on the run out there. Thanks! I’ve been a road cyclist for 10 years and now looking to get off MoCo roads and onto a gravel bike because drivers seem to be getting crazier and MoCo hasn’t really improved biking infrastructure since I’ve lived here. Road/gravel handlebars for riding into headwinds are great. Due to most road bike wheels having a lower spoke count than gravel wheels I would ride slower to avoid big rocks but they will do fine on a fire road. I find myself riding my gravel bike more on the road than my road bike, not for speed but for confort and versatility. Cant decide whether we are actually better off For shifting and pedaling, it feels basically the same. If you want some thing even wider (VGK slick maxes out at 38 mm) the Soma supple Get the Reddit app Scan this QR code to download the app now I'm looking for tires that will be good for mostly road but can handle gravel and some XC trails. Evil is a MTB brand who built a gravel bike with a MTB geometry. Has anyone successfully converted a road bike to a Get the Reddit app Scan this QR code to download the app now. Road bike gearing often lacks the low ratios that are desirable for climbing on dirt. The other talking point is the pedal style. Assumed thats how all bikes are like on sand and happily went on with it. Posts of interest to residents of Cambridge Part of it is peoples definition of gravel. Main thing will be rubber, GP5000's are your friend. It’s fine for those crushed limestone trails. Fixed or single speed riding is a ton of fun but I wouldn't have it as my only bike if I were going to do 50-100km 2x / week. View community ranking In the Top 5% of largest communities on Reddit. FWIW, I descended a local canyon near me yesterday taking turns with a fellow cyclist on a bike that appeared to be gravel oriented but with road tires on it. I’m fortunate enough to have a dedicated gravel and road bike and I ride 80/20 road vs gravel. What During the week I ride road and train so that I can go out and ride gravel on the weekends which is what I really enjoy. I also have a hard tail mountain bike. And that might be the right choice for how you will use the bike. I never liked riding with racks personally, but if you already do then it obviously works for you. When they say a gravel bike does it all, a healthy dose of road riding is 100% included in that. I was thinking of selling my race geo frame (SuperSix Evo) for a more relaxed road bike. It really depends. Personally, I recommend the soma supple Vitesse for people that want to ride a gravel bike on the road but you should definitely fit the widest tire that fits on your bike. My wife though just has a gravel bike and rides a 50/50 split. Got my first road bike a month ago absolutely love the drop bars, but hated the more aggressive position, so I installed a stem riser, raising the handlebars by 2 I'm really big into mountain biking and recently started doing road biking for training. Very anecdotal evidence from the weekend over a 38 mile ride that was about 70/30 road/gravel was that my average speed with the Pirellis was 17mph and I would have thought I would have averaged about 15mph on the Ramblers. I recently replaced my road bike with a Cervelo Áspero and have been very happy with it. Oh well. I’m 6’3” and 230lbs. Those two cover anything I might want to ride and overlap a bit in the gravel/trail area. You appear to do almost none of that. 1, one of my favorite trails is a packed gravel rail trail, and 2, when I ride road I dont want to worry about crap like this which is everywhere. Etc. My bike kink: I don't like drop bars. 5 ETT, ( I have had it professionally fitted) and all my other bikes are based around that. I'd likely want something in the "allroad" category, where with narrow tires, it's going to feel like a road bike (wheelbase isn't too long, head tube/fork isn't super slack). Couple considerations. Ended up with the gravel bike to use mainly on road with road wheels, but it is nice to have the option to tackle rougher stuff when I want. But I digress. I demo’d one of these and Modern gravel bikes ride a lot like "classic" road bikes. The checkpoint is overkill, but nice to have on certain parts. The personal in better shops will ride themselves or know what other people are buying in your very climate. Thoughts on tire pressure I should be inflating at? Share I then sold that bike had picked up an aero road bike and a dedicated gravel bike that could fit up to 43mm tires. Swapped the 36mm donnelly xplor to 32mm gp5000tl tires setup tubeless and Like another poster said, a road bike + hardtail MTB covers a lot more than a road bike + gravel bike but if you never really anticipate riding rooty, jumpy/large drops/bumps terrain and just want to take it off road on gravel, dirt, grass, etc then yes, I think it's worth it. The bigger tires have about the same rolling resistance, but they do add some aerodynamic drag along with the chunkier rims. It will be a while before I get a bunch of commutes on the Pirellis because I’m loving saving almost 10 min round trip with the road setup. I rode my gravel bike on a pavement group ride and a few weeks later my road bike. Just make sure to set the bike up in such a way that the drops are actually usable for more than a few minutes at a time. Go for slicker, man. That was mostly the chainring, which is designed to help keep the chain I have a road bike, which is excellent at being a road bike of course! But I don’t particularly enjoy riding on the road, especially down the country lanes where people are flying around the bends at 50+. Remote lockout helps a bit. I would own the same TT bike but different road and gravel bikes. Anyways, I live in MN and we have a ton of abandoned rail road right of ways that have been converted to bike trails. A gravel bike would make a great commuter. I suppose. Apparently, it’s about a 10 min process. MTB is a different story, but I'm honestly surprised Yes, it will probably work great. You could get road tires but depending on what/where you plan on riding in the future, (road vs gravel) there are some tires like Panaracer GravelKing that will work well. Agree! think gravel cycling is the suit spot for tubeless tires. I have Maxxis Velocita AR's on my gravel bike which I use mainly for road of varying quality (rural Norway) and Get the Reddit app Scan this QR code to download the app now. It's the naked frame, so I get to build everything. are all fair game here. I had three bikes (commuter, road, gravel) and it was nice to ditch the road and have two bikes only. I think a modern 1x is great for gravel, on a road bike you'll probably want more gears. My new gravel bike is actually faster rolling than my old road bike on every surface, and it’s wayyy more fun and comfortable to ride. Without road, a gravel bike is a worse mountain bike. Reddit India bikes lovers gather here. . If you rarely ride gravel, but mostly ride road, get a road bike. My road bike is more fun to ride. For everything else tho, gravel bike. Then my paranoia led me to wonder whether that would for whatever reason not fit on a shimano freewheel, simply because it’s advertised as mountain bike when I’m riding a gravel bike. I ride a gravel Modern road bikes come in all kinds of varieties, or you can do what someone else has suggested and go cyclocross or gravel (both of which are just road bikes with maybe different style of brakes and fatter tires). Some redditor will say, "someone on my club has a gravel bike, and she can shred down singletracks and drop roadies. All that being said, I find that road bikes are super fun to ride on most dirt/gravel roads and trails. true. The correct answer is a gravel bike with two wheels one 650 B wheel set with the fattest tire your bike I feel like I get too much chain slap on fast descents over rough pavement on my road bike with newer Ultegra components, so I worry a bit about how much worse that would be over actual rough stuff. My bike can keep up with a group of road bikes running 30-35kph (sprinting is a different thing, of course) I once considered getting an endurance road bike instead. cyclocross is a type of racing. The road bike may have some minimum clearance left, so a rock stuck on your tires might scratch your frame and mud or soft dirt could build up and cause issues. The La Sal loop road is all paved but an incredible ride, going up River road early AM to beat the heinous traffic. My gravel bike steel, 1x, wide bars is 2-3 mph slower on paved surfaces. , but not much. If it’s going to happen only rarely and you have some good 30mm tyres (even if slicks), you will The gravel bike (aluminum Cannondale Topstone) is slower than my carbon Felt road bike. This is less chunky that the State but will feel more like a traditional road bike. On segments I had roughly the same time on, the gravel bike took roughly 10% more watts. I would stick with with 38mm or go even bigger if your frame will allow. The truth is, you need lower tyre pressure to deal with the road surface in gravel road. View community ranking In the Top 1% of largest communities on Reddit. Poseidon makes a more "all-road" model for $699, $599 in a flat bar. Bikes are expensive, end of. I have a second wheelset for my gravel bike with 32mm GP5000s and it is fast. I much prefer the 28c so I can run a slightly lower pressure. Majority riding is on crappy city roads, covering 20 to 40 miles. Internet Culture (Viral) Amazing; Animals & Pets; Cringe & Facepalm; Funny; Im in the same boat with a gravel bike but pretty much only road ride. This is an adventure-biking sub dedicated to the vast world that exists between ultralight road racing and technical singletrack. !restore Can be used to unlock comments or restore removed posts. Your gravel bike is always going to feel slower than your road bike. The 29er is my XC/commuter/gravel road bike. Related Topics Cycling Gravel cycling Cardio Sports Amateur sport Outdoors Fitness Outdoors and Nature Fitness and Nutrition comments sorted by Best Wider bars provide more control, which people generally prefer for gravel so the bike doesn't twitch over the rough stuff. nxsfitkqtkfdglgvviwwqkotecpvqeeduxeswvbxtynnqbglrkyaszodtc