Sedgemop 

Man, Iowa is a gravel paradise. My partner is from Conrad, IA and we ride over there a good bit. Enough that I'm considering organizing the Black Dirt 100 or something like that. A fun organized ride through the corn fields and hog farms. Probably with some Maid-Rite stops.

Chuck Naill

I suspect that gravel bikes evolved as did mountain bikes. The first ones were just people using what they had available and progressed from there.

mstateglfr 

You said gravel bikes look like 80s Rockhoppers to you so I put up a pic of an 80s Rockhopper and highlighted how I find them to be fundamentally different in appearance and design.

I agree that gravel bikes have evolved and agree mountain bikes have evolved. I am unsure why that is a response to my post that disagrees with your comment about gravel bikes looking like 80s Rockhoppers.

mstateglfr 

I know a couple people from Conrad- haha, I get the black dirt reference.

Sedgemop 

Yeah, they're proud of their dirt over there. More importantly, do you make stops at Maid-Rites? My partner has a t-shirt from there and people comment about it every time.

USAZorro

None whatsoever.

I had a bike ready for Cino last year, but there was no way I could make it.




This works if I'm in the mood.



If the roads are REALLY bad... this one doesn't handle "intuitively", as it has MTB geometry, but it is fun riding on marshmallows.

Andy_K 

Really? My experience is just the opposite. Maybe there's more than trail coming into play, but I find that on my low-trail (modified) Motobecane Grand Jubilé and can hit pretty big rocks and the bike keeps going straight without me even thinking about it.

Andy_K 

I only skimmed the responses here, so this has probably been covered, but I think if you're comparing to modern bikes marketed as gravel bikes you need to make a distinction between a proper gravel bike and a bike that's suitable for riding on gravel. As many others have said, any bike with wide enough tires is fine on gravel. A modern gravel bike, however, is actually designed for it. Things like disc brakes, thru axles, and gravel-specific geometry definitely make a difference. They're marginal differences, to be sure, but if you're really serious about gravel riding/racing you might care. Personally, I find that modern CX/gravel bikes are also pretty good road bikes with the right tires. But I feel like I'm beating a dead horse here and probably preaching to the angry mob outside the church, because an awful lot of vintage bikes are great on gravel.

Getting back on topic, the things I want in a bike for a gravel ride are (in this order): (1) paint that I'm not worried about scratching, (2) room for at least 28mm tires and preferably 32 or more, (3) low gearing, (4) comfortable and stable geometry, and (distantly 5) the ability to haul cargo because gravel rides are rarely in well-populated areas with lots of options for mid-ride provisions. I have a modern CX bike that I'll often choose for purely gravel rides, but within the vintage section of my stable I find the bikes below to be good for gravel.

1975 Motobecane Grand Jubilé with liberal Gugificazione



This bike may or may not fall within the large budget that @capnjonny referenced in the original post. My marriage councilor advises me not to be specific on this point. The bike has 650Bx38 tires (with room for 42). The fork has been re-raked for low trail. The handlebar bag holds more than I usually need.

1969 Raleigh Competition with minimal Gugificazione



The frame of this bike is mostly unmodified (just a few braze-ons added), and the components are mostly Eroica-ready. I rode it at Eroica California last year with platform pedals. It's pictured here with 27x1-1/4" tires, but I think 700x38 would fit. This bike is super comfortable and very stable. The handlebar bag for this one is smaller, but still sufficient for a long self-supported ride.

1982 Specialized Sequoia



This is pushing the tire width limits at 700x30 with fenders, but I find the inherent comfort of the bike generally makes up for that. I tend to choose this bike for road rides with some gravel rather than mostly gravel rides.

1989 Cannondale ST400 (with a 3x10 drivetrain upgrade)

[

Answering @cyccommute's call for aluminum, this bike does well. I rode this bike on the C&O Canal Towpath last week and found that the bike was much more up to the task than I was. It's seen here with 700x38 Challenge Gravel Grinder tires, though the measure closer to 36. I didn't make it to the worst parts of the trail, but between D.C. and Big Slackwater it was great. I have family in Cumberland, where the towpath meets the Great Allegheny Passage, and I left this bike there as my zero bike dedicated to riding those two trails. I just might need to add a saddle-mounted bottle carrier for a fourth and fifth water bottle to handle the towpath now that the Parks Service has deemed to well water non-potable.

Calsun

The Specialized gravel e-bikes come from the factory with a dropper post installed. My Scott hardtail bike did not have a dropper seat post but I paid $400 to add a PNW one to it. A lot more options for ones riding position on rough ground with the seat lowered.

I made no mention as to a mean of median tire size when mentioning 38mm tires. It is rather what is commonly put on bike manufacturers' gravel bikes. Wider tires mean slower going and more effort required from the rider and fewer options in tread profiles for little or no gain in real world traction.

DanseMacabre

For comparison, this one fails utterly at gravel biking. Low trail, short stem and 34cm handlebar.



French Motobecane Cyclotouriste M.T.H.C pre-1957

iab

Any excuse to post pinky.

Chuck Naill

The Rock Hopper would suffice. That was the point. Not everyone needs a task specific bike. And most don't want or need five bikes.

ehcoplex 

Pinky is gorgeous, and that crankset is elegance personified! The brifters don’t do it for me (each to their own!), and that gearing wouldn’t do it on the gravel (hills) where I am, but…. What a beaut.

Sedgemop 

Looks like the Des Plaines River Trail. You on your way to WI?

mosinglespeeder

To the OP, this past year I asked much the same question, wanting a gravel/all arounder bike, why should I give 4-6k$$ when i may be able to repurpose an old bike? I did my homework, and found a 1983 trek 400 was nearly within a mm of the same geometry as the latest trek domane...silly, but nearly to the mm. Only difference was it came w/27 in wheels, which I switched out to the 700c which actually gave me more tire room, I crimped my rear drop outs and now have room for 42mm tires. I only changed out the brakes to the tektro long reach and moved from 6 spd to 8 spd as I put a new sachs success RD on, bought a used sram 32-12 cassette, and kept DT levers and the 52/42 crankset. Running 35mm conti terra speed tires, she came up to be just at 20.5 lbs and recently rode her across Katy trail in MO as I was able to add the rear panniers and packed her down.

I don't worry a bit about steel
I don't worry a bit about the paint, its got a couple scratches already, and I touched them up
It fits very nicely for me
My disc brakes are a whopping 622mm....funny funny ha ha
narrow 39mm bars from 1983
the RD cable was actually routed in the rear chainstay...novel
I did cheat on the wheels, as you can see and I will pay my pentance later
all for a few hundred all put together

I don't regret a thing, and simply advise to think about every single part
there are many ways you can do it with whats out there for less than 6k$$

Paul Waque 

Last year I purchased a modern endurance bike that would accept 35 mm tires. These are the advantages It had for me over my drop bar mountain bike with 3x7 gearing and my Raleigh Competition:
1. Tubeless rims allowed for lower pressures and a better ride.
2. Docs brakes were more reliable in wet and muddy conditions.
3. Quick gear changes and lots of range in the cassette.
​​​​​4. N+1
5. It was used and cheaper than upgrading existing bikes to a similar level.

​​​

mstateglfr 

cyccommute 

The Inquisition would like a word with you.

mstateglfr 

Yes, you named a gravel bike that comes oem with a dropper. I didn't say they don't exist, I said they are extremely uncommon. And if you look at the % of gravel bikes offered that have dropper, or if you look at the sales between gravel bikes asa. Whole and gravel bikes with dropper, I am confident anyone without an agenda would agree that new gravel bikes with an oem dropper are uncommon.
For every 1 bike that comes oem with a dropper, you have probably 15 that use a rigid seatpost.

As for tire width, yes I agree that 38 seems to be a pretty standard width for oem gravel tires. Thst doesn't mean much, since it's also pretty standard for oem tires to be slow/stiff/heavy.
Totally disagree on the claim that wider tires are slower. Also totally disagree that wider tires mean fewer tread options. Quality 43mm tires can roll fast than a lot of oem tires that are narrower(38 or 40mm).

This Bontrager gravel tire is spec'd on even $5000 Checkpoint bikes and it is a dog. It is slow, it has poor puncture resistance, and it isn't light. https://www.bicyclerollingresistance...gr1-team-issue
Specialized uses this tire on some Diverge models up to $5000 and it is 42mm, not light, and not terrible for rolling resistance. The 38mm was tested. https://www.bicyclerollingresistance...hfinder-pro-38

Meanwhile, a 43mm Panaracer GK SS tire is lighter than both of those stock models and rolls faster. It also rolls faster than the typical WTB Riddler Comp 37, or similar, that comes on a lot of bikes.
A Continental Terra Speed 45mm tire rolls faster than any 38mm tire I can think of that has been spec'd on gravel bikes under $5000 in the last few years.

More tire volume combined with a quality fast rolling tire = more comfort and faster speed.

mstateglfr 

You bought that bike, added new tires, new brakes, and those carbon wheels...all for a few hundred?
I need to learn to buy like you.

SkinGriz

When I was a teenager I thought she was amazing.

zandoval 

My Peu P6 can no longer be called a Gravel Bike like it used to. Now days Gravel Bikes are more like our old 80's Mountain bikes. Mine is rather a "Ravel Bike". It handles light gravel, torn up asphalt, and shallow dirt. The Kenda 184 tires are very comfortable. The long cage derailleur handles my 34T bailout gear on my freewheel and the compact crank at 42/30 is a good match. The stem shifters are a plus as with my stem and bull horn handle bars. Its a good set up for an old Frankenized Peugeot Carbolite P-6.



Frankin Peugeot Carbolite P6

What is a Ravel Bike? "Ravel Bike" - A New Bike Class?

SurferRosa

No, "in"!

Breadfan

Nice bike and nice set up!

ehcoplex 

My '87 Trek 400 (pictured earlier in the thread) has gone from something I picked up simply because it was very cheap & local and I didn't really think I'd keep, to the bike I now ride most often. It's not the lightest, or the coolest, or the fanciest, and my PX-10 and Holdsworth are both more 'fun' to ride, but it's really comfortable and will handle about anything. If I'm going on a particularly long ride, or carrying stuff, or my neck/shoulder/whatever hurts and I'm not sure I even want to ride, I grab the Trek. Of course, the seat-post, handlebars, cranks, headset and bb are now the only original components. I'd like to 'upgrade' to a full-Reynolds Trek frame of the same geometry, but that's really more vanity and fixin' something that ain't broke...