Originally Posted by
Koyote
oof. You really should not opine on things that you so clearly do not understand.
So why on your recent race did you not see any mountain bikes nor gravel bike conversions. Why did you say “…[that’s]
why you don't see many (or any) people on MTBs or converted hybrids in gravel races, where the most dedicated gravel riders are deliberately choosing the best bikes for the terrain…” Seems per pressure puts a cap on those people want to ride MTBs and hybrids…converted or otherwise.
Originally Posted by
Atlas Shrugged
The premise of this thread was ridiculous from the start and the resulting squabbling is a result. There are countless analogies which could apply but in reality the best Gravel Bike is a current gravel bike not some cobbled together attempt.
Why is this premise of this thread ridiculous? Maybe someone doesn’t have the $1200 to try gravel biking but they have an old (or new) hybrid. Or they have a mountain bike. The premise of the thread is good. The yahoos coming in to tell anyone that they are stupid to try and convert a bike to gravel is where all the squabbling is coming from.
Perhaps the question should be what would be the best compromised solution to creating a gravel bike from a legacy design. But even then the question is flawed based on what type of gravel bike we are attempting to recreate. Endurance gravel race bike, Adventure bike, one day race bike, casual path bike, each has particular characteristics which may approximate a legacy bike or not. But in every case the compromises are substantial and to a vast majority not worth the effort.
Now your premise is flawed. People have been riding gravel since the invention of the bike, mostly out of necessity.
The Twenty-Fifth Infantry Bicycle Corp wasn’t the first example of riding gravel. People, myself included, have ridden hundreds of miles on dirt and gravel roads in on sitting and didn’t need the latest and greatest race bike to do so. My Cannondale touring bikes (I have two) are fully capable of keeping up with the people I ride with even though they are equipped with…the HORROR!!!…cantilever brakes. My Dean hardtail and my YBB softtail are equally capable. And all of them have been pressed into service for commuting and touring as well. I’ve even ridden gravel on a skinny tired road bike.
Converting a bike is a way to get a taste of what riding gravel is like. If someone whats to do that, who are you (or who am I) to tell them that they can’t do it?