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

[dr_gn]

I only had a mountain bike until last year, but fancied a road bike so I could set off from home for a quick ride without packing the car up and driving somewhere. Having listened to advice about how uncomfortable a true road bike is on the roads around here, I got a Boardman ADV 8.9 on cycle to work. Turns out it’s perfect for me - fairly light, Shimano discs, sensible tyres, very comfortable on roads, plus I can do the 16 mile Ladybower loop (half road/half track) in comfort without lugging a suspension frame around on the road bits.

Couldn’t care less what it’s designated as, or whether it’s marketing bullst - it’s a great bike for road and ‘intermediate’ bridleways. And it only cost £600. There’s also an new electric version out this year (ADV 8.9e) which would make a perfect commuter bike.

[Evanivitch]

dr_gn said:

I only had a mountain bike until last year, but fancied a road bike so I could set off from home for a quick ride without packing the car up and driving somewhere. Having listened to advice about how uncomfortable a true road bike is on the roads around here, I got a Boardman ADV 8.9 on cycle to work. Turns out it’s perfect for me - fairly light, Shimano discs, sensible tyres, very comfortable on roads, plus I can do the 16 mile Ladybower loop (half road/half track) in comfort without lugging a suspension frame around on the road bits.

Couldn’t care less what it’s designated as, or whether it’s marketing bullst - it’s a great bike for road and ‘intermediate’ bridleways. And it only cost £600. There’s also an new electric version out this year (ADV 8.9e) which would make a perfect commuter bike.

If you got an 8.9 for only £600 then I've been robbed! Sure it isn't an 8.8? (Cable disks being obvious difference)

[Bill]

Thanks for the sensible replies to my tongue in cheek post.

I'm lucky to live in the Purbecks so my Whyte 901 is ideal as I do minimal road, but I've been thinking about a gravel bike for some longer distances. However I also have an old 26" Scott XC MTB gathering dust so I'm thinking of hybridising/adventurising that to see how I go. The geo looks very similar to the US gravel bike posted above, albeit with a suspension fork.

I'm looking at a fat bike too so I can get out in the winter gloop.

[yellowjack]

Bill said:

Thanks for the sensible replies to my tongue in cheek post.

I'm lucky to live in the Purbecks so my Whyte 901 is ideal as I do minimal road, but I've been thinking about a gravel bike for some longer distances. However I also have an old 26" Scott XC MTB gathering dust so I'm thinking of hybridising/adventurising that to see how I go. The geo looks very similar to the US gravel bike posted above, albeit with a suspension fork.

I'm looking at a fat bike too so I can get out in the winter gloop.

Purbecks? Ooh. The ferry is back now, and a local MTBer tells me that on-road parking is free on the Sandbanks peninsula. At £1 each way, I'm on my way over for an explore. It'll save a 26-odd mile drive (or cycle) around Poole Harbour, which has put me off over the summer while the ferry was AWOL. But a gravel bike would be ideal to get around the Harbour, especially the unsealed surfaces on the paths through Upton.

I think a gravel bike is ideal around here, with the Castleman Trail, New Forest cycleways, Moors Valley, Verwood Forest, and oodles of Byways and Bridleways. And that's before I've even been to Wareham Forest and down by Clouds Hill (Bovington). I'm assuming that a gravel bike will be enough to cope with the bulk of the off-road routes in the Purbecks too, but stand to be corrected if local knowledge knows better.

[Fluffsri]

yellowjack said:

Bill said:

Thanks for the sensible replies to my tongue in cheek post.

I'm lucky to live in the Purbecks so my Whyte 901 is ideal as I do minimal road, but I've been thinking about a gravel bike for some longer distances. However I also have an old 26" Scott XC MTB gathering dust so I'm thinking of hybridising/adventurising that to see how I go. The geo looks very similar to the US gravel bike posted above, albeit with a suspension fork.

I'm looking at a fat bike too so I can get out in the winter gloop.

Purbecks? Ooh. The ferry is back now, and a local MTBer tells me that on-road parking is free on the Sandbanks peninsula. At £1 each way, I'm on my way over for an explore. It'll save a 26-odd mile drive (or cycle) around Poole Harbour, which has put me off over the summer while the ferry was AWOL. But a gravel bike would be ideal to get around the Harbour, especially the unsealed surfaces on the paths through Upton.

I think a gravel bike is ideal around here, with the Castleman Trail, New Forest cycleways, Moors Valley, Verwood Forest, and oodles of Byways and Bridleways. And that's before I've even been to Wareham Forest and down by Clouds Hill (Bovington). I'm assuming that a gravel bike will be enough to cope with the bulk of the off-road routes in the Purbecks too, but stand to be corrected if local knowledge knows better.

Ridden lots of the areas you have mentioned. Purbecks loop is a favourite, always park up above Kimmeridge in an old quarry as its free. All the trails are great on a crossbike/gravelbike, the descent into Ulwell is a bit hairy though :O . Few years ago even rode around on my single speed hardtail, not fun .

Another nice little ride on the crosser is the Ox drove form Shaftesbury to Salisbury racecourse, there are also lots of bridleways around Shaftesbury/North Dorset/Wilts border and even out to Salisbury plain. I do miss riding down there for the long days out.

Yellow, I've been meaning to ride the canal to London on the crosser for years but never got around to it. Managed to get to Woking and back and thats it.

Edited by Fluffsri on Friday 1st November 11:09

[yellowjack]

Fluffsri said:

...Yellow, I've been meaning to ride the canal to London on the crosser for years but never got around to it. Managed to get to Woking and back and thats it.

I've got mixed feelings about the Basingstoke Canal/Wey Navigation/Thames Path route to London. On the one hand it's great, traffic free, almost completely flat, plenty of canalside pubs, etc. The downsides are that sections of it can be quite ugly. Woking, the Wey/BC junction (under an M25 elevated section). And as you get closer to London the path gets a lot busier, and in London itself too much private waterfront through Chelsea sends you away from the river and the views. It can also be confusing to find the Thames path from the Wey as that, too, heads away from the water for a while. But on the whole, it's a far better, more enjoyable ride than trying to get to London on the roads. I've done it a few times as far as Kew/Hampton Court, and once in all the way to Tower Bridge and back. As an out-of-towner it's a real wonder to be riding around passing the big London landmarks by bicycle, kinda "touristy" but not "touristy" if that makes sense. I took my own sandwiches and ate them on the green opposite the Tower Of london, next to the Mayor's office, and as always left too late in the morning so was riding back in the dark.

Another alternative, if London doesn't really fire you up, is to head up the BC through Woking to the junction with the Wey Navigation, then take a right at the footbridge, and follow the Wey to Guildford. Go through Guildford past the Yvonne Arnaud theatre, and not far around a right-handed bend in the river is a cut-through to the North Downs Way. Or you can take the Christmas Pie trail back toward Farnham/Aldershot and get back on the Basingstoke Canal path at the aquaduct over the A331 Blackwater Valley Road, or continue on the Blackwater Valley Path as far as North Camp or even Frimley. Again, it can be a little confusing finding the BVP from the Christmas Pie trail, but there are short road sections you can use to join things up. Great in the summer, but the Wey path and the NDW are not fun in wet weather, and in places they can get close to unrideable on a bike.

[Fluffsri]

yellowjack said:

Fluffsri said:

...Yellow, I've been meaning to ride the canal to London on the crosser for years but never got around to it. Managed to get to Woking and back and thats it.

I've got mixed feelings about the Basingstoke Canal/Wey Navigation/Thames Path route to London. On the one hand it's great, traffic free, almost completely flat, plenty of canalside pubs, etc. The downsides are that sections of it can be quite ugly. Woking, the Wey/BC junction (under an M25 elevated section). And as you get closer to London the path gets a lot busier, and in London itself too much private waterfront through Chelsea sends you away from the river and the views. It can also be confusing to find the Thames path from the Wey as that, too, heads away from the water for a while. But on the whole, it's a far better, more enjoyable ride than trying to get to London on the roads. I've done it a few times as far as Kew/Hampton Court, and once in all the way to Tower Bridge and back. As an out-of-towner it's a real wonder to be riding around passing the big London landmarks by bicycle, kinda "touristy" but not "touristy" if that makes sense. I took my own sandwiches and ate them on the green opposite the Tower Of london, next to the Mayor's office, and as always left too late in the morning so was riding back in the dark.

Another alternative, if London doesn't really fire you up, is to head up the BC through Woking to the junction with the Wey Navigation, then take a right at the footbridge, and follow the Wey to Guildford. Go through Guildford past the Yvonne Arnaud theatre, and not far around a right-handed bend in the river is a cut-through to the North Downs Way. Or you can take the Christmas Pie trail back toward Farnham/Aldershot and get back on the Basingstoke Canal path at the aquaduct over the A331 Blackwater Valley Road, or continue on the Blackwater Valley Path as far as North Camp or even Frimley. Again, it can be a little confusing finding the BVP from the Christmas Pie trail, but there are short road sections you can use to join things up. Great in the summer, but the Wey path and the NDW are not fun in wet weather, and in places they can get close to unrideable on a bike.

BC?

[yellowjack]

Fluffsri said:

BC?

Sorry! Basingstoke Canal tow path...

[wobert]

My GT Grade in its “natural” environment

[yellowjack]

wobert said:

My GT Grade in its “natural” environment

I soooo wanted a Grade when they were introduced. Now I think there are other 'gravel' bikes I'd prefer, but they are nice bikes.

[wobert]

yellowjack said:

wobert said:

My GT Grade in its “natural” environment

I soooo wanted a Grade when they were introduced. Now I think there are other 'gravel' bikes I'd prefer, but they are nice bikes.

Mine was a bargain, bought s/h for £275.

The freehub was knackered as was the BB.

I replaced both, added TRP HyRds and a set of SKS mudguards. The original TRP Spyres were sold for £50.

I’ve since added a pair of Panaracer GravelKing SKs (32mm) for forays off-road.

The AlexRims wheels are a touch heavy, thinking if putting a pair of Fulcrum 5DBs on to remove a kilo of rotating weight, other than that it’s all good.

It owes me £350 and is an ideal winter bike too.

If I had my time again I’d go for a Canyon Grail in SRAM 1x aluminium.

[millen]

PedalCover have a recent note on gravel https://pedalcover.co.uk/ten-reasons-to-switch-to-...
Not sure I get the logic in "What’s more, the consistent bumping and vibration, while at first uncomfortable, will do you the world of good in the long run." All I'd expect is a sore butt and wrists!

Btw, the guy I stayed at in Portugal is having a titanium gravel bike built, having crossed Morocco on his road bike. So he's a convert.

[HughG]

I've got a Trek Checkpoint, which other than 1 shakedown on local bridleways has so far only served as commuter and bad weather bike.
40mm tyres are very comfy and I don't have any issues pushing it along as 26-28km/h on club rides or commuting 50km into/out of London.

I'm not too bothered by lack of offroading, it was bought as commuter/winter bike/light tourer and generally a bike that can do everything. It would have done better around Bewl the other week than my MTB which is still on Continental Travel Contact mostly slick tyres.

The current steed (albeit now sporting full guards, rack, different stem, no bell etc.)



And my first foray into drop bar MTB/gravel bikes, since departed.

Edited by HughG on Friday 1st November 17:36

Edited by HughG on Friday 1st November 18:03

[Bill]

yellowjack said:

I think a gravel bike is ideal around here, with the Castleman Trail, New Forest cycleways, Moors Valley, Verwood Forest, and oodles of Byways and Bridleways. And that's before I've even been to Wareham Forest and down by Clouds Hill (Bovington). I'm assuming that a gravel bike will be enough to cope with the bulk of the off-road routes in the Purbecks too, but stand to be corrected if local knowledge knows better.

I'd probably head west first, so Wareham forest, Bovington, Lulworth etc. There's loads locally that is gravel bike friendly but I tend to seek out the bits that aren't, so there's loads of steep, rocky, stepped or sandy bits too. Given that I don't need to go on much road or gravel to get to them I'd stick with the MTB for now.

I'm away at the moment but will post up a build/rejig thread about my old XC MTB.

[jesusbuiltmycar]

Bill said:

Thanks for the sensible replies to my tongue in cheek post.

I'm lucky to live in the Purbecks so my Whyte 901 is ideal as I do minimal road, but I've been thinking about a gravel bike for some longer distances. However I also have an old 26" Scott XC MTB gathering dust so I'm thinking of hybridising/adventurising that to see how I go. The geo looks very similar to the US gravel bike posted above, albeit with a suspension fork.

I'm looking at a fat bike too so I can get out in the winter gloop.

The Purbecks is a fantastic place to ride! I am so glad the ferry is now back in service!

[Bill]

I'm not!

[Fluffsri]

millen said:

PedalCover have a recent note on gravel https://pedalcover.co.uk/ten-reasons-to-switch-to-...
Not sure I get the logic in "What’s more, the consistent bumping and vibration, while at first uncomfortable, will do you the world of good in the long run." All I'd expect is a sore butt and wrists!

Btw, the guy I stayed at in Portugal is having a titanium gravel bike built, having crossed Morocco on his road bike. So he's a convert.

Me and a mate did the South Downs Way in a day on cross bikes. All was good except for my forearms and triceps, by the end, every single bump.was agony lol.

[DelicaL400]

Evanivitch said:

If you got an 8.9 for only £600 then I've been robbed! Sure it isn't an 8.8? (Cable disks being obvious difference)

Possibly bought under C2W when Halfords had one of their "give us a rusty kid's scooter and we'll knock 20% off a £1,000 bike" offers on? That's what I did to get a ADV 8.9 for around £600 🙂

I like mine, I've ridden MTBs for years, wanted something faster on the roads whilst still being tough enough for my commute which involves a few miles of gravel track.

[GSE]

dr_gn said:

I only had a mountain bike until last year, but fancied a road bike so I could set off from home for a quick ride without packing the car up and driving somewhere. Having listened to advice about how uncomfortable a true road bike is on the roads around here, I got a Boardman ADV 8.9 on cycle to work. Turns out it’s perfect for me - fairly light, Shimano discs, sensible tyres, very comfortable on roads, plus I can do the 16 mile Ladybower loop (half road/half track) in comfort without lugging a suspension frame around on the road bits.

Couldn’t care less what it’s designated as, or whether it’s marketing bullst - it’s a great bike for road and ‘intermediate’ bridleways. And it only cost £600. There’s also an new electric version out this year (ADV 8.9e) which would make a perfect commuter bike.

Same here. For the last three years I've been using a MHT8.9 mountain bike for commuting, 10-15 miles each way, mainly tracks and forest path. With winter approaching its getting too muddy, so I bought the ADV 8.9e and extended my route by road on some parts to avoid the muddy bis, The ADV has worked out perfect for my commute, and I can still use some of the muddy bits for some fun now and again! For my circumstances it's a perfect balance between a mountain bike and a normal road bike, which I'm intending to buy in the spring.

[anonymous-user]

I was tempted to buy a gravel bike. But in reality it offers little extra compared to my hybrid!