Gravel bike advice

Trips, adventures, bikes, equipment, etc.
PH
Posts: 13099
Joined: 21 Jan 2007, 12:31am
Location: Derby
Contact:

Re: Gravel bike advice

Post by PH »

Cycling Weekly have just published a review on the Triban, I've only glanced at it, night be of interest to the OP
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/reviews/b ... r-headunit
mattsccm
Posts: 5095
Joined: 28 Nov 2009, 9:44pm

Re: Gravel bike advice

Post by mattsccm »

I wouldn't worry about spares etc for Microshift. Just like almost all shifters and mechs you chuck them away not mend them. Aliexpress is the place to go.
If you want drop bars and are really worried about grip etc maybe something with 650b wheels would allow a more grippy tyre. Fenerally though width isn't a big deal, tread is although on gravel you don't really need tread as grip is there. Better than tarmac usually.
Anything will do. Don't get hung up on people opinions. Our club night time "gravel" ride always sees a mix of flat gravel, red MTB runs and slimy single track over roots. No matter what she rides, the 40 year old is fastest as she has talent and neck.
Nearholmer
Posts: 3898
Joined: 26 Mar 2022, 7:13am

Re: Gravel bike advice

Post by Nearholmer »

This goes off at a bit of an angle from the original question, but some of the detail of what makes a good “gravel” bike depends greatly on what the “gravel” is like where you live, given that as used in the UK at least, the term “gravel” covers a lot of sins.

If your area has lots of long forestry tracks, ex-railways, or the like with actual crushed-stone surfaces, the classic US gravel road bike is probably near-perfect, but if you have a right royal mixture of grass, earth/mud tracks, farm roads, the sort of woodland/forest path that’s made of debris and roots, sand, and the odd bit of actual gravel etc, all sorts of bikes come into play. Our club rides usually include people on 29ers, robust hybrids, CX bikes etc, and actual “gravel bikes” are in the minority. When it was dust-dry in the summer a guy came along on a drop-bar Moulton, which made me realise they actually have suspension. front and rear.

The tyres need to suit your local ground, or if that varies widely, then the bits you ride most on.

What is “best” seems to depend as much on what people individually prefer (drops or flats; suspension or not) as much as what travels easiest over the ground. If you start adding luggage for touring or bike-packing, the needs and wants seem to shift subtly again. Oh, and then there’s whether or not your rides include significant lengths of hard-paved surface to get to, from and between the loose/un-paved bits; that tends to count against 29ers.

Very broad church.
Dingdong
Posts: 966
Joined: 22 Apr 2022, 4:59pm

Re: Gravel bike advice

Post by Dingdong »

PH wrote: 7 Oct 2022, 2:07pm Cycling Weekly have just published a review on the Triban, I've only glanced at it, night be of interest to the OP
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/reviews/b ... r-headunit
I've never been a fan of the Triban, ever since it's really iterations. There always seemed to be one in my lbs being repaired to death...
User avatar
pjclinch
Posts: 5457
Joined: 29 Oct 2007, 2:32pm
Location: Dundee, Scotland
Contact:

Re: Gravel bike advice

Post by pjclinch »

slowster wrote: 5 Oct 2022, 10:32pm
stampz wrote: 5 Oct 2022, 2:49pm something I can chuck down the gravel paths and knock about with my kids without fear of sliding all other the place or damaging anything.
Given those criteria I think a gravel bike like those you have listed would not be a good choice. If you are concerned about 'fear of sliding all over the place', I think you should be looking at bikes with much wider tyres than the 35mm-40mm typically found on most gravel bikes. 50mm will give a much more sure-footed (and more comfortable) ride, and wider than that is even better. If you plan to do much riding with your kids, I would suggest a rigid MTB, preferably cheap/second hand. Relatively speaking gravel bikes have quicker steeering and require more concentration to steer and choose a line. When riding with children you don't want to have to concentrate so much on your own bike and on choosing a line. An MTB with flat bars and 2" or wider tyres will allow you pay less attention to what you are riding, and more attention to your children.
This is pretty much my exact thinking, though I'd also say a hardtail would be fine, especially if the fork locks out. There's a bigger market both new and second hand so far easier to get a bargain and for "knocking about with kids" probably actually better rather than an adequate substitute.

Pete.
Often seen riding a bike around Dundee...
mattsccm
Posts: 5095
Joined: 28 Nov 2009, 9:44pm

Re: Gravel bike advice

Post by mattsccm »

Maybe the Ops version of sliding about is different to someone elses?
My wife, who rides rarely, thinks that she is competing in some Redbull sponsored event at the same time as I am taking off a layer whilst chatting and pedalling. Familiarity is everything.
Saw a Triban yesteday in Decathlon. Casual look and it seemed quite good value. TRP cable hydro brakes and 105 kit8. £850
Post Reply