Originally Posted by
Attilio
Is suspension necessary for trails or can you do it with a gravel bike if you are willing to push/carry the bike on the harder more "technical" sections? Reason I am asking is 30 years ago what constituted a "Mountain" bike lacked suspension and would now be considered a gravel or hybrid bike.
Well, only if the gravel or hybrid can take 2.2" tyres in my opinion. If not, I'd rather take the 90s MTB.
If underbiking and expecting a lot of hikeabike I make sure to put BMX flats on so I can wear trail runners. Even with walkable SPD shoes, scrambling over rocks isn't much fun.
Originally Posted by
Attilio
The suspension part is what seems to delineate a "Mountain" bike. It is really necessary? Would I be beating on my gravel bike by riding it on hiking trails?
Yeah, I'd totally ride a Journeyman on plenty of green MTB trails. Nothing is "necessary". Some bikes just help increase speed or maximize fun.
If you really like hitting the trails on it, you could investigate getting a 650b wheelset and see if you can go with wider tires. Then you could put that on for trails days, and keep the orig wheelset with skinnier tires for road/gravel days.