prj71

Too many people driving and texting. It's nice to get off road away from all of that.

pdlamb

I get the idea of poor streets (the mayor cost me a rim last month!) and the preponderance of gravel roads in some locations.

I do wonder, though. Is there a benefit to "gravel" over "touring" bikes, as long as they can both take 35-42 tires?

And how close/how much riding would it take to make adding a gravel bike to your stable worthwhile? It doesn't really make much sense to me to ride roads for an hour for 15 minutes on gravel.

Kapusta

Well there is a lot of overlap between bikes called “gravel” and “touring”, but in general, a touring bike is designed to carry loads. So not only would the frames tend be stiffer and heavier but the handling will also be taking lods into account. Also, wheels should probaly be built stronger. Also, what make a good touring tire vs performance gravel tire are not the same thing, even if the size is the same.

Inusuit

I'm fortunate to have miles of gravel country roads within half a mile of my house. I ride my 1989 Rock Combo with 26 x 1.75 Schwalbe Land Cruiser tires. I can enjoy the countryside without worrying about traffic. Riding smooth MUPs with skinny tires has its own appeal of course, but I prefer dirt.

CAT7RDR

Just when you thought it was sage to buy a gravel bike then the Adventure and Monster Cross bikes come along.
I am glad marketing is not part of the equation.

Kapusta

I never understood peoples’ aversion to things having more useful and nuanced descriptors.

Fwiw, “Monstercross” was a term years before “gravel” was.

Flip Flop Rider

no cars

Steve B.

My lugged steel Miyata tourer is extraordinarily stiff, almost uncomfortably so (when un-loaded with touring gear), the fork is massive and stiff as ****. I've put gravel tires on this and done a lot of dirt trail and gravel riding on the tourer. The touring bike weighs 26 lbs as opposed to my aluminum Topstone gravel, which is 22-1/2 lbs with gravel tires. Big difference in feel.

shoota 

I can unequivocally say that is not the case here. Heck we barely have any single track. You gotta remember, bike riding is IMMENSELY influenced by where you live. What works for someone living in the heart of a major city is likely to be very very different than what works for someone living in the country in the Midwest, versus again someone living at elevation in the mountains.
Here in Oklahoma there are endless miles of fantastic gravel roads to ride but even in my relatively bigger city (pop. 45,000) there are just a handful of true road routes. If road is all we rode we'd be missing out on the vast majority of the riding we could be doing, and places we could be exploring.

locolobo13 

As a kid in the 60s & 70s we rode where ever we could on whatever we had. I had a converted single speed english racer. Others had stingrays, paperboy "specials", there was a 6 ft tall custom that I could never ride. In 70 I bought my first "road" bike, a Schwinn Varsity. I loved that bike.

We rode those bikes on pavement, allies, gravel and especially in the local quarry pit when the adults weren't around. Most major roads didn't have sidewalks. Let alone bike lanes. Usually they had a gravel shoulder.

Are you riding for the feeling of smoothly dropping miles? Exploring the 'hood, desert, forest, etc? Or just plain transportation? Figure it out and do your thing.

rydabent

I grew up on a farm years ago. I had to ride gravel roads to school. I got my fill of gravel back then. But hey if gravel trips your trigger have at it.

RayHenry

I live in a city built on muskeg. "Smooth as glass" lasts about as long as it takes for them to pull down the barricades. Asphalt roads start coming apart and turn to gravel anyway. Cracks develop across roads wide enough for small children to become lost in them for weeks at a time. Concrete becomes a network of heaves and cracks, turning a simple ride into a cycling slalom. Maneuvering around craters and canyons developing in roads places you directly in the crosshairs of motorists out to rid the world of the scourge of 2-wheeled targets.

All that aside, there is some nice riding to be be had on gravel paths and roads. Much easier to ride that rare stretch of nice pavement on a gravel bike than it is to ride a road bike on broken pavement or even hard pack gravel....

tcs

I've ridden for 30+ years with cats who complained about chip seal. Now they're all about 'gravel'.

One odd thing. The townships round about here in Parts Unknown have been on a multi-decade crusade to pave the little roads 'for the farmers'. It's created an amazing network of quiet, scenic paved county lanes. So in response, riders are loading up and driving an hour and a half to get to 'gravel'.

RayHenry

How about "3 feet. It's a bike, I need it"!

Rolla

Why is versatility so hard to understand?

I'm grateful that I don't have to limit my cycling to paved roads. There's a whole world out there beyond the tarmac.

CAT7RDR

I think where you live and practicality are also useful to consider.
I have a "gravel" bike. It is called a 29er. Works great on gravel which is really just clay and sand where I live.
​​​​​​​
Some of us have to justify where the buck stops, priorities and space available. Sure it would be nice to have a stable of bikes for each situation but that is not my current reality.

ClydeClydeson

This is why:
A bike should create riding opportunities, not specifically limit them. With few exceptions, road bikes up to the early/mid 2000s were completely impractical toys - a max tire width of 25mm, as was common, is completely useless for gravel, and as you pointed out, not great on imperfect pavement. A gravel bike is just a road bike with better brakes and room for reasonably wide tires, which means you can ride pretty much anywhere. A full suspension MTB is capable more because of the 2.2" wide tires than because of suspension - 99% of the routes I rode on my rigid MTB in the 80s and 90s I can ride on my gravel bike (although a bit faster), and 100% of the trails I can ride on my FS mountain bike I can ride on my old rigid mountain bike (although a bit slower)

The other thing about gravel bikes is that they are just a tire change away from being as fast as a dedicated road bike. A spare set of wheels means you essentially have two bikes if you are willing to flip some QR levers open.

PeteHski

My take (as both a long term roadie and mountain biker) is that gravel biking has become popular primarily with roadies looking to escape ever increasing traffic, but who really prefer road bikes and road biking to mountain bikes. So really a new take on road biking away from traffic. I'm not sure there are many mountain bikers taking up gravel bikes in the same way, but that's just my guess. If I was living somewhere with plenty of fire-roads and unfriendly road traffic then I would seriously consider swapping my road bike for a gravel bike. But luckily our local roads are pretty bike friendly and I also have access to some decent technical mountain bike singletrack. So I don't have much use for a gravel bike at this point. But I can definitely see the point for the right environment.

rosefarts

Why can’t we have both?

Of course I love a silky smooth road. Also love complaining about bad roads and chip seal. And 50 miles of washboards and dust is also a great day out.

I see no conflict here.

zandoval 

Well if that's the case then having a Road and Mountain bike are it. But, I would recommend getting a second set of wheels for your Mountain bike. Now ya got three bikes for sure...

The fascination with Gravel bikes around central Texas is that you no longer have to bypass routes that are too rough for your road bike. I guess its the idea of having a Road Bike that can go off road a little rather than a Mountain bike that can go on the road. Did I get that right? Or, is it the other way around?

Rolla

I know several mountain bikers who look at gravel riding as a godsend -- a way to experience the fun of off-road riding without having to commit to the rigors and challenges of technical singletrack. Some of them are older, some are women, and some are just tired of driving their bikes and gear to a trailhead.

mstateglfr 

A lot of responses are centered around the dangers of paved road riding. Personally I am not afraid on the roads, but my road riding either consists of side roads, 2 lane 2 way, or rural 1 lane 2 way roads. Of the 3, only the last could be kinda dangerous. I actually enjoy the 2 lane 2 way roads because I ride in the right lane and traffic can easily move around me without being inconvenienced.

With that said, all my solo riding are gravel rides. Truthfully they are a mix of pavement and gravel since I ride to/from the gravel. So depending on route and distance, my rides are 60-70% gravel and 30-40% paved.
As a result, my gravel bike is pretty much just an endurance road bike that can handle wide tires. The geometry is very similar to endurance road bike geometry, but it rolls on 43mm tires.
Gravel roads are still just roads and my state has over 70,000mi of gravel roads. They are everywhere, so why not use em?

Gravel riding is a quieter environment, I like riding on new roads or to new towns that I otherwise wouldnt see when riding, I like the solitude, and gravel roads often just arent some awful experience in comfort. Part of the fun is having to constantly evaluate what is coming up and picking the best line. It isnt as technical as MTB, but its faster. It isnt as fast as road, but its more dynamic.

DMC707 

And as a counterpoint -- just 75 or so miles south, where im at in Norman --- there's so little local gravel that , although ive thought seriously about a gravel bike -- theres not much justification for me .

Although, id love one of Dwaynes beautiful Scissortail gravel builds as a "just because im worth it " addition to the fleet

pdlamb

At the risk of oversimplification, there seem to be a few classes of reasons:

1. Rider is afraid of traffic on roads.
2. Poor quality pavement on local roads.
3. Plentiful gravel roads near rider.
4. Lower traffic volume on gravel roads.

Almost nobody wants a gravel bike because it's hot and they want a new bike that's "in," so obviously marketing isn't driving the demand for gravel bikes.

mstateglfr 

This sort of response gets me to both laugh and roll my eyes at the same time. It is both jaded and uninformed.

- Gravel riding wasnt created by bike marketing groups. It was not pure marketing at all. Small groups of cyclists were doing something fun and challenging(mostly endurance gravel races), it got popular, and bike brands saw there was demand. Those brands didnt create the demand.

- Bikes being ridden on gravel have been around for a long time. Yes touring bikes from back in the day could be used, but that isnt what I am referencing. Early 90s hybrids were an early example since some tires were also made in 700c with knobs. CX bikes filled the void for some time too. My first gravel frame was a Univega '90s hybrid frame that I converted to drop bars. My second gravel frame was a Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross that the owner designed in the late '00s(before the evil bike marketers supposedly started the fad).

- Early 2000s gravel races were filled with people riding all sorts of stuff- drivetrains were cobbled together between road and mtb since it was still 9sp or lower. I mention this because bike brands didnt create the demand for alt drivetrains, it already existed and the brands designed options that were more integrated and purpose built.

- What is really funny is that after claiming gravel is created by bike marketers, you then state they are practical. So its pure marketing, except for the fact that its actually practical. Huh?


The incorrect narrative that marketers created gravel will never go away because there are far too many skeptical and jaded people in cycling(I am one). But it is still worth actually pointing out reality when the narrative pops up.