Gravel bikes off tarmac?

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Sweep
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Gravel bikes off tarmac?

Post by Sweep »

Got yet another mail trying to persuade me to buy a premium priced "gravel bike".
Got me wondering.
What proportion of these bikes do folk think are ridden much off tarmac/on grave/strade bianche (not a lot of those last two in britain of course)?
Or do they just give some racers/road bikers the permission they secretly crave to buy/ride a more relaxed frame, on wider tyres than their earlier devotion to 23/25mm tyres, more accommodating lower gears range? On tarmac?
Sweep
rualexander
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Re: Gravel bikes off tarmac?

Post by rualexander »

Sweep wrote: 18 Mar 2023, 6:41pm (not a lot of those last two in britain of course)?
Maybe not in England, but there's loads of 'gravel' in Scotland
rareposter
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Re: Gravel bikes off tarmac?

Post by rareposter »

There's loads of bridleways, gravel tracks (old railway lines, canal towpaths etc) near mine (and in fact over loads of the UK) plus stuff like the highly variable surfacing on the "national cycle network" which I consider more of a notional cycle notwork.

Plus all sorts of "green lanes" and "grass up the middle" type roads, tiny farm lanes - gravel bikes just open all that up and they make great winter road bikes too. Also, the state of some of the roads in the UK, I suspect that a lot of people buying road bikes would actually be better off on gravel bikes!
Nearholmer
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Re: Gravel bikes off tarmac?

Post by Nearholmer »

You’d probably have to spend a lot of time following people around to find out!

One thing I have picked up is that they are popular as medium distance commuter bikes, being nearly as quick as a pure road bike, but a bit more stable and forgiving, and having good rack-mountings etc. People also have two sets of wheels for them, with road and off-road tyres for different types of use.

But, the sort of “all surfaces” riding that rare-poster refers to has definitely exploded in popularity, even if not all the bikes sold for it get used for it - it’s a trendy type of cycling, with a big following among younger people, which it certainly wasn’t say ten years ago.
rjb
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Re: Gravel bikes off tarmac?

Post by rjb »

There's more gravel roads than cyclists realise. Bridleways, Rups, Forest tracks etc. Down on the Somerset Levels we have Drove roads, generally gravelled but with lots of ruts. There's a 5 mile stretch across West Sedgemoor which is used by a few cyclists that know it and the odd motor vehicle too. Runs from the river Parrett to Helland below North Curry. Beside North Drove Rhyne :wink:
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6835867
Last edited by rjb on 18 Mar 2023, 10:40pm, edited 2 times in total.
At the last count:- Peugeot 531 pro, Dawes Discovery Tandem, Dawes Kingpin X3, Raleigh 20 stowaway, 1965 Moulton deluxe, Falcon K2 MTB dropped bar tourer, Rudge Bi frame folder, Longstaff trike conversion on a Giant XTC 840 :D
PH
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Re: Gravel bikes off tarmac?

Post by PH »

No point getting hung up on a name, bikes don't have to be used for what it says on the label to be good bikes. I've had a few weren't - Sportive, MTB, Expedition, and some that were - Tourer, Audax.
It was interesting to read that CJ had swapped his steel Audax bike for a carbon gravel one, I doubt he was fooled by the marketing, just chose the best bike for the task. I notice quite a few of the old school CTC and Audax types have gone the same route, practical riders rather than dogmatic ones. Two major things have changed, disc brakes replacing rim brakes have removed the tyre size restrictions and better tyres in wider sizes have removed another penalty. IMO once you're sat comfortably on a bike, it's tyres that make the difference, most of the rest is marginal at best and a lot of it is froth.
peetee
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Re: Gravel bikes off tarmac?

Post by peetee »

PH has nailed it. Look at what you want to ride and buy a suitable bike.
I have two bikes that could be classed as gravel bikes. One is a 1990’s tourer converted with cantilevers and knobbly tyres, the other a modern disc brake machine. The first bike would have been the best choice to ride the local trails where I used to live, but where I am now its relatively narrow tyres struggle to deal with the rocky surface - hence ‘gravel’ bike No 2.
I’d also add that I’ve bucked the trend on both machines preferring to stick with tried and tested triple crankset gearing rather than the common single crank.
The older I get the more I’m inclined to act my shoe size, not my age.
tim-b
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Re: Gravel bikes off tarmac?

Post by tim-b »

It depends on whether I can face cleaning it. Again.
Local "gravel" is mainly muddy forest tracks and bridleways, although there are some more solid, gravelly NCN routes through the woods as well.
Currently, every ride means hosing the bike off despite having full 50mm wide mudguards (a mudflap would last until the first decent tree root). I use 47mm 650b tyres in the slop and 31mm 700c in drier conditions (same diameter, same mudguards). This is a bonus of disc brakes too
To make 30 mile ride I have to use roads, but I'm into the woods at the first opportunity and I'm happily on a double chainring for my road/off-road mix
~~~~¯\(ツ)/¯~~~~
rareposter
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Re: Gravel bikes off tarmac?

Post by rareposter »

Nearholmer wrote: 18 Mar 2023, 9:55pm it’s a trendy type of cycling, with a big following among younger people, which it certainly wasn’t say ten years ago.
What enabled gravel bikes to happen was disc brakes and tubeless tyres.
Before that you had road bikes - great for riding on smooth road, capable of things like cobbles on occasion; and you had MTB - great for proper off-road but dull, slow and cumbersome on the simple stuff (like fireroads, country lanes etc).

CX bikes of course existed but they had weedy cantilever brakes and we're really designed for an hour riding around some muddy fields. The narrow tyres, limited gearing and restricted braking was not much use for "gravel riding".

Along comes a bike with the drop bars, looks and rack mounts of a road/touring bike but the clearances, wider range gears, tubeless tyres and disc brakes from a mountain bike and you've got something that's capable of a huge range of riding in the middle ground where a road bike would get shaken to bits but a mountain bike would be slow and boring.

And that's really only happened in the last 10years or so. Arguably, tubeless tyres have only really happened for gravel riding in the last 5 years; the early attempts to make it work on narrower tyres and without proper tubeless rims weren't great.

There's certainly an element of trend to it but I'd say the main appeal is as a means of allowing "roadies" to start seeking out the much less travelled back lanes and gravel tracks away from the ever increasing traffic and a means for "MTBers" to get some basic off-road locally without loading up the car and driving to a trail centre.
(Roadies and MTBers in quotations because obviously many cyclists are both at various times, didn't want to pigeonhole people!)
Nearholmer
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Re: Gravel bikes off tarmac?

Post by Nearholmer »

I’ve been doing “gravel” since 1991, when I bought a steel frame hybrid. They were marketed as “cross country” bikes at the time, all brands had such a variant in their range for about two or three years, and I seem to have been about the only person who took that seriously. This is the animal, and you’ll see it came with 40mm tyres on 700c wheels:
A08E18DE-68BC-47D4-8BE3-91B8DF15BEC4.jpeg
That bike was good for the job up to rides of a couple of hours at a stretch, flat bars getting annoying after much longer, and the canti brakes effective, although I could only ever improve the setting from “deafening squeal” to “loud squeal”.

When I got more time for it, and could do all day rides again, in 2016, I bought a modern CX to replace it, and the transformation was pretty noticeable! Hydraulics, 1x gearing, much nippier and more manoeuvrable. I rode that on some multi-day “path tours”, but it did give one a bit of beating on stony ground, and handling went a bit iffy with even light panniers.
9F43E4DC-6640-49EB-922C-04BF45C9571C.jpeg
I honestly did not know that “gravel” existed as a genre until maybe 2019 when a neighbour bought a “gravel bike”, a very nippy carbon one (which I don’t think has ever seen mud!).

For the past couple of years I’ve been on a “gravel spec” Croix de Fer, which is slower and heavier that the CX bike, but has a wonderful inexorable feel to it - steady as a rock, just switch your legs on and it trundles away, very stable, yet still very manoeuvrable.
7D7300F3-C2BF-46AC-ACF7-55A95243F7A6.jpeg
So, I got trendy without even knowing I’d done it until afterwards!
Last edited by Nearholmer on 19 Mar 2023, 3:30pm, edited 1 time in total.
peetee
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Re: Gravel bikes off tarmac?

Post by peetee »

Nearholmer wrote: 19 Mar 2023, 8:11am
For the past couple of years I’ve been on a “gravel spec” Croix de Fer, which is slower and heavier that the CX bike, but has a wonderful inexorable feel to it - steady as a rock, just switch your legs on and it trundles away, very stable, yet still very manoeuvrable.
I have a Spa Elan and, to be honest, I’m not sure if it’s marketed as a gravel bike (actually I bought just the frame) but it looks like it fits the bill and I was also looking at a Croix De Fer as an alternative.
It feels pretty indestructible but it’s extraordinarily heavy for a modern machine. Compared to my 1989 steel MTB - they are both Reynolds steel, BTW - it’s a veritable ball and chain. The older bike is fast and exciting in a way the Spa never will be even if it has got dropped bars!
The older I get the more I’m inclined to act my shoe size, not my age.
offroader
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Re: Gravel bikes off tarmac?

Post by offroader »

I'm perhaps a bit spoiled here in Bournemouth as I can be on a 100 mile "insane gravel adventure" (Pat pending) round the New Forest or Purbeck hills 5 minutes after rolling out of there drive.
I prefer to call it a bike ride though!
Nearholmer
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Re: Gravel bikes off tarmac?

Post by Nearholmer »

The CdeF is only about 1kg heavier than the Al/C bike that preceded it, c11.5kg vs 10.5kg in naked form, but there is something different between the two: whereas the CX seemed to encourage “go as fast as your fitness permits”, which could get a bit tiring, the CdeF seems to encourage “trundling”, which works better for me these days.

I expect carbonistas would fall about laughing at the weight of either bike, especially because even on day rides I’m a bit of an habitual junk carrier. My neighbour couldn’t believe how heavy a bike I schlepp around on compared to his!
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al_yrpal
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Re: Gravel bikes off tarmac?

Post by al_yrpal »

Gravel doesnt resonate with me. In the Chilterns it meant forestry plantations and those straight boring firebreaks. The best tracks were the natural bridleways with proper mud, broken branches, slimy chalk and flint, really challenging. I have no idea what a gravel bike is but I guess my Salsa Vaya tourer would fit the bill with Schwalbe Land Cruisers fitted. My old Cannon MTB with its lefty fork could tackle anything.

Al
Reuse, recycle, thus do your bit to save the planet.... Get stuff at auctions, Dump, Charity Shops, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Car Boots. Choose an Old House, and a Banger ..... And cycle as often as you can......
Nearholmer
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Re: Gravel bikes off tarmac?

Post by Nearholmer »

I like riding off-road in the Chilterns, the eastern part of which is in day ride distance for me. A lot of variety on bridleways, various boats/green lanes, some forestry roads, plenty of up and down, etc, and the views are nice!
Last edited by Nearholmer on 19 Mar 2023, 3:15pm, edited 1 time in total.
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