Gravel Bikes - what exactly are you supposed to do with one?

[silversurfer1]

I’m a roadie normally but bought this and love it.

I can ride road and trail on the same ride and the bike is quick, no way could I keep up with this on a mountain bike.

I don’t even bother with the winter bike now just grab this and ride on or off road really comfortable and don’t worry about pot holes leaves or anything.

Great bit of kit it is

Ss

[Mark-C]

They seem to have become the weapon of choice for commuters heading for Leeds on the canal ... and the numbers have gone up with the new Uni intake.

[TheFungle]

I've just sold my Genesis Equilibrium which I've been using as a winter bike and pick up my Space Chicken tomorrow



Looking forward to reliving the mid 90s and blasting around the local paths, bridleways and lanes.

Interesting to see how it copes with a more 'traditional' road route, hopefully well as my commute is 25 miles ea. way!

[TheTardis]

I read an article in a magazine back in the 90's about going up the old dirt road.
Good memories

[benny.c]

I had a Diverge for a while and it was a great bike, really enjoyed owning it. One essential for me was that it could take mudguards up to around a 35mm tyre. I love the look of these latest gravel bikes with the really chunky tyres but will they take mudguards at that width? There’s plenty of photos of these bikes looking pristine on a dry autumn day but not many of them covered in mud. I like the idea of another gravel bike but can’t be doing with me and the bike getting caked in mud every ride over winter.

Edited by benny.c on Wednesday 23 October 08:22

[CAPP0]

deadtom said:

Is that the Pilgrims way?

I had great fun blasting along that at night on my old cyclocross bike when I lived around that way.

Edited by deadtom on Tuesday 22 October 15:13

I think the 2nd pic might be Pilgrims Way between Lenham and Charing?

Edited by CAPP0 on Wednesday 23 October 08:46

[Pothole]

silversurfer1 said:

I’m a roadie normally but bought this and love it.

I can ride road and trail on the same ride and the bike is quick, no way could I keep up with this on a mountain bike.

I don’t even bother with the winter bike now just grab this and ride on or off road really comfortable and don’t worry about pot holes leaves or anything.

Great bit of kit it is

Ss

What is it?

[wobert]

benny.c said:

I had a Diverge for a while and it was a great bike, really enjoyed owning it. One essential for me was that it could take mudguards up to around a 35mm tyre. I love the look of these latest gravel bikes with the really chunky tyres but will they take mudguards at that width? There’s plenty of photos of these bikes looking pristine on a dry autumn day but not many of them covered in mud. I like the idea of another gravel bike but can’t be doing with me and the bike getting caked in mud every ride over winter.

Edited by benny.c on Wednesday 23 October 08:22

I have a GT Grade, originally fitted with road orientated tyres, I fitted some Panaracer GravelKing SKs to go properly off road.

As I also use the bike as my winter bike I also wanted to refit full mudguards with the knobblies.

On that basis I limited myself to 32mm tyres as any larger won’t go under the guards.

Seems to be a good compromise between practicality and off-road ability.



And as to where to use a Gravel bike, Clocaenog Forest in N Wales is one possible answer

[Your Dad]

Pothole said:

silversurfer1 said:

I’m a roadie normally but bought this and love it.

I can ride road and trail on the same ride and the bike is quick, no way could I keep up with this on a mountain bike.

I don’t even bother with the winter bike now just grab this and ride on or off road really comfortable and don’t worry about pot holes leaves or anything.

Great bit of kit it is

Ss

What is it?

Rapha frame bag and Hunt wheels, my guess it's a Mason.

[sjg]

I have an older Cotic Escapade which is squarely in this mould - big clearance for larger tyres (37mm on there, space for way more), more relaxed geometry, disc brakes. I just use it as a comfy road bike that handles broken lanes and farm tracks nicely. I'm not doing club runs or racing so don't really care if it's a bit slower.

[silversurfer1]

Your Dad said:

Pothole said:

silversurfer1 said:

I’m a roadie normally but bought this and love it.

I can ride road and trail on the same ride and the bike is quick, no way could I keep up with this on a mountain bike.

I don’t even bother with the winter bike now just grab this and ride on or off road really comfortable and don’t worry about pot holes leaves or anything.

Great bit of kit it is

Ss

What is it?

Rapha frame bag and Hunt wheels, my guess it's a Mason.

Yes it’s a mason bokeh with sram force 1 I’d have liked an open up but couldn’t justify the price.

I’m loving the thing it’s real comfortable to ride

Ss

[esuuv]

I see it as just a way more practical road bike.

My proper roadie is way too valuable to actually leave anywhere - and as they get more and more bespoke / aero they become harder and harder to attach things to (lights / computers / cameras)

My gravel bike is basically the opposite - Cannondale slate on 42mm tubeless tyres (650b wheels) no front derailleur and hydraulic discs - doesn't roll as well as the roadie but goes much better than an MTB would, don't mind if it takes a knock, can bounce up down kerbs, broken tarmac, tow paths, bridle ways - and looks good dirty.

[nofuse22]

CAPP0 said:

I think the 2nd pic might be Pilgrims Way between Lenham and Charing?

Edited by CAPP0 on Wednesday 23 October 08:46

Yes - i thought i recognised it too..

Here’s a picture from just above the pilgrim’s way between Charing and Lenham on Sunday: was fabulous weather for late October...

[Tall_Paul]

nofuse22 said:

CAPP0 said:

I think the 2nd pic might be Pilgrims Way between Lenham and Charing?

Edited by CAPP0 on Wednesday 23 October 08:46

Yes - i thought i recognised it too..

Here’s a picture from just above the pilgrim’s way between Charing and Lenham on Sunday: was fabulous weather for late October...

If you're looking for other gravel routes that way I can highly recommend starting at Wye and picking up the pilgrims cycle trail to the north, then at Chartham riding the route along the Great stour into Canterbury, then heading north and picking up the crab and winkle way (why do I always say it in a German accent? Ze crab und vinkle vay! ) which takes you pretty much all the way to the coast at Whitstable.

I did it as an out and back in summer, 37 miles. I want to do a loop going from Maidstone along pilgrims way, then the above route from Wye, then finally using cycle route 1 to follow the coast back to Chatham and then finally down my local trails at bluebell hill. Should be a good 60 odd miles I think.

This was along the stour. Loads of trout in the river.

[anonymous-user]

Are there hundreds of miles of gravel roads in the UK? Nope
Can they handle a bit of light off road use, canal paths, kerb hopping, forest trails, and gravel? Yep
Would a cyclocross bike do the same? Yep
Is it an excuse to buy another bike? Yep
Does 'gravel bike' sound a bit cooler than 'cyclocross bike'? Yep

[TheFungle]

What else to do with a shiny new gravel bike but hit the dry, dusty trails that I've been told I'll be adventuring on









Absolutely loving it so far, it's surprisingly brisk on road even with the off-road biased tyres, it's a shame the recent rain has turned all the local trails into a complete mess.

[Bill]

So they're basically a hybrid with drop bars?

[anonymous-user]

Bill said:

So they're basically a hybrid with drop bars?

No, the geometry is completely different but if it helps you make the case that they’re a waste of time and we’re all idiots, then yeah, whatever, they’re just basically a hybrid with drop bars.

[Bill]

Is the geo more different than head down and arse up??

[yellowjack]

Bill said:

So they're basically a hybrid with drop bars?

Just look at the On One Space Chicken in The Fungle's post above. The dropped rear stays, the through-axle hubs, the 1x chainset up front, the tyre clearance, the hydraulic brakes. None of those things are exclusive to a gravel bike, and some of the features will make it onto a hybrid. But a gravel bike is more akin to a rigid forked hard tail MTB.

Mine, though, is pretty much a hybrid with drop bars. I'd pop a decent quality, more recent photo up but the PH photo upload thingy keeps telling me there's "no image to upload". So here's one from the web...

...firstly in it's "original" form.


...and my one, the day I collected it, showing the difference between 28c (front) and 40c (rear) tyres. I'd had to swap out the rear one as it was paper thin when I collected the bike.

My bike was "Hand Made In The USA" by Cannondale in the 1990s. It was designed from the outset with gravel roads in mind. It started life with flat bars, but was converted 'in period' to drop bars and 3x9 Shimano 105. It's nowhere near a modern "gravel adventure bike" but it shows that the concept isn't as new as the marketing types would have us believe. It's also a remarkably capable bike too, and I've raced it twice at Battle-On-The-Beach, as well as covering nearly 2,000 miles on it.

I had a thread running on it's purchase and progress as I replaced various bits... https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... ...but I'm ashamed to admit I dropped the ball on updating that thread. Using a broken leg to explain that seems a bit of a "lame excuse" though...