My two cents...I wanted a gravel bike because: 1. I'm on the heavy side (5'9", about 260 pounds) 2. I'm 55, and just getting back into riding...wanted something I would feel stable on and less "twitchy" 3. I liked the flexibility of putting fatter or skinnier tires on it I didn't want to spend a ton of money, but wanted something that would give me a good experience. I ended up getting the Giant Revolt 2...has Sora components, a fairly relaxed geometry, and $1,000(US). I switched out the tired and put some Specialized Pathfinder 42mm tires on it, and love how it rides. If I get in better shape and want to do a 50 miler at some point, I can put some 32mm road tires on it and I think it would do nicely. All in all, I love the bike.
Go for it Jim! I suspect you've found your right bike. I'm a 6'3" 66 year old Clydesdale 85 pounds heavier and once I'm in decent shape, I going to get a Priority 600.
@@jameslakeman344 Matt Stevens is a proper character.....Simple Simon is the stooge and needs Matt's silliness to make the presentation entertaining........alternatively Si can try falling off his new gravel bike to entertain us all. Come on Si......suffer for your art LOL
Can you make a graphic of the gravel spectrum? Like a road bike on one side, and a mountain bike on the other, with different gravel bikes in the middle where they would fit? That would be nice
frame: >top tube: >>more angled - towards MTB >>more horizontal - towards road >headtube height (relative to axles): >>higher - towards MTB >>lower - towards road >tire clearance: (aero-ness) >>wider - towards MTB >>narrower - towards road tires: (same with tire clearance) drivetrain: >1x - towards MTB >2x - towards road everything else, like brakes (mechanical or hydraulic), mounts and bosses, and other misc. componentry are just general upgrades/enhancements.
"PathLessPedaled" has a video talking about their "gravel spectrum" that is definitely worth a watch EDIT: I didn't realize someone else already beat me to it. But +1
Any time you do a buying guide, may it be for Gravel or Road or Mountain, you need to reference the "Bontrager Axiom." The Bontrager Axiom stated simply: Lightweight, Durable, Inexpensive. Pick Two.
The challenge is defining inexpensive. Up to a reasonable point, if you pay more, you get more, such as hydraulic brakes. And because you don’t need to upgrade, it’s less expensive in the long run.
About the tire clearance being limited on 2x setups: My Giant Revolt can fit up to 45 mm tires and even up to 50 mm with 650b wheels. I'd say that's more than ample tire clearance on a gravel bike.
A couple years late on this, but just wanted to give a thank you shout. Just bought a Devinci gravel bike...the smile was plastered on my face the entire ride.
I want one, but canyon still hasn't got it back in stock, the grail AL 7.0 SL. For me, it is not just a trend, it is the freedom to go where no cars are, being able to go on roads AND offroad. So the argument to go for an mtb, comes to short- I don't need to ride trails, but it is just awfull to ride through forrests and rural paths with the roadbike, and therefor a gravel bike is the perfect hybrid to combine it. And roadriding on mtb is just ..... you know what
well I have what is described by the maker as an "Endurance/adventure" bike , I ride it on roads I bob along at what I think is a reasonable pace, then dive into forest tracks no issues sand mud dirt on a pair of standard 28mm Durano DD my last set gave me 8000km without a issue, is it the best climber no, the fastest road bike no, the best off road no, but it does me and surely the point is you need a bike for what you do and in my case what I am capable of !
Are you on Shimano? I have an Ultegra 50-34 on my gravel bike and want lower gears for bike packing. I want to know if I can just swap the chainrings for smaller GRX ones?
I have a Devinci Hatchet Tiagra that came with a FSA Omega compact. I replaced it with a FSA Omega 46-30, way cheaper than GRX and I kept same BB and FD.
Andrew Backhouse no, you’ll need a new front mech. I’d suggest getting a 46 outer chainring, or a FSA crankset as mentioned by others. Or, get a long cage rear mech, and use a 11-34 or 11-36 cassette.
Andrew Backhouse No. The BCD of GRX rings (110/80 mm) is tailor made for the super compact ratio on GRX 2x cranks. You need aftermarket rings that will made to fit (Absolute Black) if you want to keep you Ultegra crank and BB. Aftermarket cranks you can buy in Europe often involve a BB replacement due to axle size/shape difference
Such good info - GCN is so good at this - but I thought it just fell at the final hurdle when encouraging people to get interested in the numbers. When you are looking at the numbers, they are just numbers. The readers are no further ahead - but they are now in an alien landscape with no map. Just needed to take one more step to say which direction indicates racier or more responsive (which you called faster), and which slacker/ more relaxed or comfortable ('slower'- but not sure this is helpful as who wants 'slower'?). Reach and stack will help you find a bike that fits (or you could just try a few out) but it would be good to learn which geometry numbers, (which range within head angle for example) put a bike where on the spectrum. That's different to saying the numbers tell the story. Unless you can read the numbers you can't read the story.
I ride a 2019 Cube Cross Race Pro. A cross bike at heart, but my gravel bike for Dutch gravel. Really love the package with a two by, full 105 and hydraulic discs. The aluminum frame is rock solid. Price wise it is dirt cheap, I bought it for €1100!
I now own a Merida Silex +6000, and I am absolutely in love with this thing. The 1x11 SRAM Force 1 gearing is perfect for my area (ˋmountainsˋ up to like 600 meters, more like big hills, but can be really steep here and there). But I can also ride on a even road to like 40 kilometers/hour speed with ease, if there is no wind. I can modify it to be more like a mtb with 50mm tires or use 35mm ones more used for tarmac. All in all a superb everyday bike.
I just bought my first gravel bike. In fact, it's my first brand new bike that I know of (maybe got one as a kid - I dunno). I opted for the Cube Nuroad Pro FE which has dynamo, mudguards and bike rack. It's perfect for my commute. And when the days get longer and drier, I can whip them all off and go 'naked'. I got the 2019 model, which has been superseded by the 2020 model (which looks like it got a paint job and not much else) and saved about £300 off the RRP in the process. For the money, I'm an extremely happy bunny who can potter around the outskirts of Peterborough (flattest city in the universe) in my spare time and commute in comfort during the week. Living the dream.
Thanks for the video. I cycled for several years cyclocross races and loved light and agile carbonbikes. Now, I love to ride long bikepacking-trips. For that, I chose a BOMBTRACK Hook EXT. A classic highend-steelframe with a fullcarbon fork and numerous possibilities to mount stuff on.
Your information was very relevant to what I intended to buy this year. I wanted a gravel bike, lower gear ratios for some hill climbing yet still do good cruising speed on paved or gravel, ability to install bike gear(panniers, racks,fenders), and comfort over long riding days. Thanks for covering the big questions I had on these bikes.
I think the tire width, still depends of the gravel type and your power output/speed, possibly also body weight. If I have enough power, that I can ride 35+km/h on gravel, then that wider tire won't make me more comfy, (because my weight isn't on saddle and bike shakes less on that speed and it's even easier to pedal.) instead it tires me faster, so I'm not able to ride so fast so long. I rather ride fast a bit longer and then bear that uncomfortableness of 30mm tire, than ride slow and work hard. I often find, that the best speed on gravel, where I ride, is somewhere over 30kmh, but over 45 is already too fast, for 30mm tire. With wider tire I can go faster too on downhill. Though I won't be able to react in time, when road gets too bad, into washboard, because on gravel it's difficult to notice potholes and road waves(washboardness) from far. The worst it shakes on speeds betwen 20km/h and30km/h. Well people who are strong probably won't feel any difference whether it's 20mm tire or90mm wide tire. It's all same. Of course between manufacturers ant tire models there are difference too. Maybe those continental tires just are so good.. But no I still prefer 30mm tire, because it's more fun. With wider tire the bike gets too stable on these slow speeds that I ride, or too good roads that I ride. It will be so boring.
Really enjoy your comparisons, I have a Holdsworth Mystique, for the summer I bought some folding slicks and put some road spd's on, made a massive change to the weight and it flys! Not concerned about spinning out on the gears as the best way to improve you average speed is on the climbs anyway! However after a few weeks I have just swapped back to mtb spds and Vittoria revolution tyres that it came with as I felt I was missing out on a few excursions off the tarmac. Feels heavier and slower but more comfortable, tyres soak up the harsh bumps in the tarmac. I think the main difference on speed is down to tyre pressure with a max of 75psi vs 100psi. Will either continue to swap around as and when or if I decided to stay with gravel set up I might invest in going tubeless as the Fulcrum race 7's are tubeless ready.
Ashton Court? PS in the UK, there's not much "gravel", but lots of tracks, paths, etc. I'd suggest that here, a more racy bike is better. Or a 'cross bike...
I have a mtb but i wanted to turn it into a gravel since i don't have enough money to buy a new bike. My mtb is pretty generic, it's a 3x7 drivetrain but all of the parts are from 2013 or older. It's frame is relatively horizontal but it's pretty heavy. The fork also rusting but it's still rideable the tyres are 35mm 26er
GCN team, you never mention Hybrid bikes. Take the Boardman MTX 8.8. One of the most popular selling Boardman bikes in their range. Is this not. Straight handled gravel bike as much as it is a hybrid. A bike designed especially for riding canal toe paths. The tires are the same as gravel bikes tires, with little studs, the rear derailleur has a clutch system, the front mini suspension forks provide dampening, and the gear ratios are similar to most gravel bikes. I use this bike for light MTB riding through woods, gravel path riding, canal toe path riding and as a pannier commuter. It''s a little heavy being in the budget price range category, but value for money, outstanding. Look forward to any comments.
Yes I understand what your saying. A modern suspension hybrid though is capable of any MTB riding I'm likely to do, and if I want to join a club ride then out comes the road bike. The hybrid offers vast versatility.
"but in the real world, i don't get too concerned about pedaling past 60kph", and how true this statement so is. the fact road bikes still get sold with 11-28's boggles my mind. i recently swapped to a 14-28 a couple months ago, and the first ride on it already had me thinking "why haven't i done this ages ago?"
@@Bungle2010 losing the 11, 12, and 13 allows for single tooth steps for most of the cassette, which adds more usable gears where you need it, at the loss of a bit of top end speed.
Last year I looked out for a new (maybe gravel) bike from August till December. Luckily the local dealers allowed me to do test rides on a lot of bikes, and if you have such an opportunity: do it! That gave me more insights in what I want and need, than any spreadsheet could give (and I had a spreadsheet). And it made one thing perfectly clear: size and geometry have a huge impact on comfort, little details matter if you feel comfortable on a bike or not. And: the material is especially important for the fork, the frame material is actually of less importance in my opinion. If you can avoid an aluminium fork: avoid it. Steel or carbon is a lot, and I mean really very much, better than aluminium as fork material. Eventually I was very close to buying a Breezer Inversion, a real steel dream bike, what a beauty in look and riding impressions, but quite expensive for my budget. I ended up with a used 2016 TREK CrossRip LTD which has an aluminium frame with carbon fork. and replaced the stem with a shorter one. And it's great. It's so much fun to ride. Long story short: it pays off to put a lot of effort in research and tests, before you actually buy. At least if you don't buy a new bike every year anyway.
Marin Gestalt 2 Tiagra - Provided me with the BEST year of riding. An absolute workhorse, awesome reliable commuter that craves the odd adventure as much as I do. Currently rolling on Schwalbe 28mm marathons (EURGh! Wish I'd not to be honest) as it is winter 'n' things... also my right tiagra shifter died quicker than expected so I now use campagnolo Veloce shifters (w/tiagra rear mech (ultegra cassette (hahaha))) and it is purring along like an absolute dream. Interestingly, I am preferring my mechanical disc brakes to my previous bikes hydraulic pulleys... I like being able to choose where my callipers rest...
Thanks to Si's best presenting efforts, I know there are different types of gravel bikes, and they are at the crossroads between tarmac and MTB. Confused? In any case, they look really nice and make really good GCN content.
Amazing video! Thanks Si. I am watching this video after buying a new gravel bike. Even after the fact it is very useful only because I bought my bike because of the front suspension. I wanted something that I could ride easy single track but preformed differently than a hardtail XC bike. My gravel bike is the best bike I have ever owned just because it suits my riding style. I also like my DH bike but that is almost a different sport altogether since I only use it for DH that has lift access. With the information you provided here I can help other people understand gravel bikes from a technical perspective, instead of just saying I love my bike!
Very good presentation. I’m off now to figure out my ideal stack and reach and then see what bikes measure up. And then figure out which ones have the other good qualities you described. I may be a while
It's like you searched my browsing history and made a video from it. I decided the yesterday that I'm going to buy a Canyon Grail CF SL in the New Year to keep my Aeroad company!
A question for Si: I see you rode the Orbea Terra in this episode, and from what I can tell, it has their “all road handlebars” that have a 12 degree flare. What do you think about those compared to traditional perpendicular handles? I’m interested in buying the Orbea as an endurance grave bike to get into 100-200 mile endurance events. (I’ve been steadily building up training to get to this and am ready to get a new bike.) I’m interested to hear how you’d spec a Terra or comparable gravel bike for that sort of riding, and why? (My budget is $4k USD)
I have been riding an endurance road bike and love it for long rides. I ride a hybrid with gravel tires when I ride gravel, but I really am in love with drop bars. With the exception of tire clearance I see very little difference between my Specialized Roubaix and a gravel bike on the light to moderate end of the gravel spectrum. If I had to buy over again, I think I would buy a gravel bike and two sets of wheels/tires. That would allow me to replace two bikes with one. I wonder about the future of endurance road bikes.
I have an endurance bike (Bianchi Infinito) and a Gravel Bike (S-Works Diverge). I also have two sets of wheels for the gravel bike. One set has 700x33 challenge gravel grinder and the other 700x40 Maxxis Ravager. In the past two years I would say the split between my Diverge and Infinito has been about 80/20 but thats because I hate riding on the road in the UK. However the difference between the Bianchi and the Specialized on the more road friendly tyres is significant when riding on the tarmac. I'm going to the Alps again in the summer and I wouldnt even consider taking the gravel bike because its not as sharp going up and less so coming down regardless of what tyres you put on it because the geometry is quite different. One thing a lot of these reviews (not just GCN) dont mention is that the bike should have some bounce at the front and at the rear to take the edge off when riding on rough terrain. Even with high volume tyres you will feel every single bump and after 30-40 miles your wrists, hands and backside can get sore. The future shock on the Specialized works really well as does the seat post. I not convinced the bar system on the Canyon bike would be much use as you have to be riding with your hands on the tops to benefit and more often than not you are either on the hoods or the drops.
Thinking to buy gravel bike, never had one before. At my country we have a lot of good gravel roads. I would mostly ride loops like long uphills from 5 to 15 km around 6 to 10 % and back. Realy love the look and simplicity of 1x draviterain. Planning to buy Canyon grail AL 7.0 bike w SRAM Rival1 front 38 and 11-42T in the back. I am solid recreational rider. Would driveterain like that be proper for uphill riding?
I still like the look of the Orbea more than the Canyon even if it does not have the great paint job they had for the previous version. Thanks Si for the overview and the information.
Roichi R You can have any paint job with any of the carbon models of the Terra through ‘MyO’. It doesn’t cost extra you just have to wait 2-4 weeks more for the bike.
Hello, the information you told is good. I have a question for you. or rather, I was curious about your opinion on a bicycle. The Carraro Gravel G20 is the bike I am currently using.
Totally agree with this. I've got sram red hydros, shimano hydros and I've just started using bb7 road s cable discs on a another bike and they are really good. On par with the hydros for road and gravel. I was really surprised at how good they after hearing all the bull shit talked about them by people who haven't even used a set!
Great video GCN, but sometimes we do have questions for gravel bike. What if you put 100 to 110 mm stem on gravelbike that designed for 70 - 80 mm stem ?
I just put a 90mm stem on my Rove LTD which came with a 70mm. Feels a bit more spacious in the cockpit and handling is calmer, but weight is also more forward (for better or worse). I have a 110 mm to try as well. I suspect it will feel nice and aero on the road, but a bit too much weight forward trail riding.
@@adanielweaver may i know what size of your kona ? I planned to bike a new gravel bike but i might want to size down cuz may current road bike is alittle big to me. Btw I'm 172 cm .
@@arifazhari7598 I ride a size 54 kona, and I'm 178cm tall. I would definitely recommend sizing down a bit for gravel because it makes it more maneuverable in sketchy terrain. I like to ride my gravel bike on single track mtb trails though. If I just rode long epics on rough roads like DK, a longer and more stable bike might be better
Welcoming this vid, wanted to get one today, but then the seller told me it was already sold (after we made an appointment for the collection a week ago)
Gravel bikes comes in different categories, some are more roadbikes, and some are more rough surface bikes. The tyres and damping makes the difference. I do have an old cyclocrossbike that is also fast on tarmac, but wanted more damping on rough gravel, so I bought a full suspension (30mm) gravelbike. Its 11,5 kg has 44mm 700 c tyres and with hardest gear 40-11 it is not as good as my old cyclocross with 48-11 for competing in roadrace. But its a lot more comfortable on the gravel forestroads. The new bike is probably somewhat slower, but buildt for comfort and better enjoyment of nature and scenery. Descending on gravel the new fullsuspension gravel bike is faster, and there the added comfort makes a big difference. Climbing on gravel its good too, but maybe a 7,5 kg bike is faster. The fullsuspension gravel bike has 42 teeth behind which is superlight with 40 teeth in front. Maybe I swop the 40 frontring for a 42 when I wear it out, because 42behind-40-front is ridicullessly light.
@@Leo-gt1bx It depends on the tyres , the track, the fitness and weight. I am 60 years and heavy, so 40-11 works for me. If i loose 20 kg, gain fitness, and goes a lot on tarmac and put on some slim 32mm tyres , then 50-11 will be better for me.
Very good video, thanks! The only thing is, STIs are already very expensive and hydraulic ones are flat double the price of mechanical ones: it's a huge stretch of the budget. I'd prioritise the clutched RD instead and go for mechanical discs if you're building a bike on a sub 3k budget: reducing chain slap will make your frame last longer. If you are buying a complete bike... It's easier to find bikes with hydraulic brakes under 2k, but there's no such thing as a free meal: corners will have been cut elsewhere.
If most of your gravel riding is off road and the bike is constantly going to be getting muddy, 1 x is far easier to clean too. If your riding is going to be mostly on road with the occasional smooth gravel path choose 2x
When I want to pretend that I am a gravel bike rider, I just swap out the 2.2" 29er tires on my hardtail and put on some 700x38c tires. You don't need dropbars to ride on gravel..or do you?
Agree. Can anybody tell me why all gravel bikes have drop bars? A flat bar seems to have lots of advantages, like easier steering, especially for rough terrain.
@@zilveruitje I wouldn't like to have drop bars on steep gravely descends, especially if road surface would be really bad. However, I can tell you that drop bars are (to me at least) much more comfortable on longer rides. Also, good luck on trying to have small frontal area using wide flat bars. Tt bars might help though. Old school narrow handlebars set very low and tt bars might be a very good setup...
Nothing you can't handle on a 40mm wide tyre? LOL - tell that to my friend with a 29+ Jones, who got us "lost" such that we ended up on a bloody BEACH. 🤣 Btw, the way I chose my bike that I have just ordered (a Norco Search XR C3) was to go round and round in circles for days, trying to find a + size all-rounder with drop-bars and with a gear range that matched my 18 year old 3x9 MTB, gradually relaxing my tyre size requirement, until I FINALLY stumbled on the Norco. (it takes pretty wide tyres at 27.5x2"). Even then, I'll have to run the unsupported GRX 2X config with the larger cassette, to get the low gears. (apparently it works, if the rider avoids cross-chaining the small ring, with the smaller cogs). I'm stoked about the Norco though - it's like a MUCH cheaper Salsa Warbird - I get a frigging carbon frame AND it has rack mounts! I can't wait.
Excellent overview of the main things to consider. I'm just starting to think about a gravel bike and this is a great place to get me thinking about what I need to learn about. Thank you!
The video says you need a 1x drivetrain to get a larger tire. Not true. I have a 2019 Felt Breed with 650B wheels and a 2x drivetrain, and I swapped out the tires for lightweight 2.2" 27.5 MTB tires without issue. Great fun to ride offroad.
Hoping you can give me some feed back. 11/14/2020: I just noticed that Canyon in the US just released a new gravel bike: Grail CF SL 8 Di2. Previously I was going to buying the Grail CF SLX 8 Di2, mainly because I wanted the Di2 setup. The Grail CF SL 8 Di2 is $3999 and the Grail CF SLX 8 Di2 is $5299. They are identical bikes except for the frame and wheels. The SLX frame total weight at 8.44 kg and SL frame at 8.88 kg. The wheels for the SLX are Reynolds ATR carbons and the wheels for the SL are DT Swiss G1800 Spline db. The weight is not really a deciding factor. But combined with the Reynolds ATR carbons, do you think it is worth the $1300 difference with the frame? From what I can tell a set of Reynolds ATR carbons are about $1300-$1500 retail and a set of DT Swiss G1800 Spline db are $500. Notice to everyone, I am novice when it comes to bike components. I think this is a no brainer but there is a part of that always think $$$ is better, but that must be that lizard part of my brain. Initially with the SLX, I was going to create a second set of wheels. Use the Reynolds ATR as road bike wheels and buy another DT Swiss G1800 Spline db as off road wheels. Matching of the same components with new tires I think it I priced it at around $1000. So that is $5299 + $1000. Now if I go with SL setup and buy a second set wheels, Reynolds ATR with same components I am looking at spending at least $1800. Now it is $3999 + $1800. Note: it is in my nature to break things, that being wheels rims. Do you think the ATR carbons are worth it with the weight difference in in the SLX frame?
Doesn't a rougher road dictate a longer wheelbase for stability? what is the essential difference between touring bikes ( longer wheelbase, wide range gears, and bigger tires) and a "gravel bike" A geezer engineer might also question the departure in frame design that requires long saddle tubes with dangerous bending moments. Isn't this a characteristic associated with the reduction of frame weight in racing machines that might be best dropped from this application. Just asking. (Herm Meilinger from my spouses Mac)
The GRX gearing is inadequate for an average rider. You will either need to hack it with a larger cassette (Wolftooth?), choose a different crankset with smaller chainrings, or move to Florida.
There are a few different types of suspension on gravel bikes. I have very rough roads in my area. Is there any benefit in using suspension and if so, which one provides the best comfort?
TUBELESS?Really surprised the mention of running tubeless wasn't brought up during the part about the tires. While not a requirement it certainly makes a LOT of sense.For myself, I just bought a barely used cyclo-cross bike and turned it into a fast race oriented gravel bike with just a few minor changes.
Buying a bike is way more than a size chart on a website and stack and reach. You really need to go try a bike and better still test ride a bike that is on your radar. Some bike shops offer a chargeable fitting service that may help narrow down what might work for you but still better to ride first.
My suggestion to everyone is to decide on a budget, look at what’s out there within that budget and then buy a Cervélo Áspero because there simply isn’t a better gravel bike.
Reginald Scot is this a Hambini reference (which I admit is pretty damming in itself) or do you have further evidence? Personally, I have owned 3 and they were all mechanically fantastic but I may have been lucky.
Very informative and it has helped me decide what size rims I'll be getting for my gravel bike build, but... is it me or is the chain on that Canyon bike filthy?... :-D
1. no videos in the end linked 2. wide tyres make a diference on my ciclocross bike that actually is intended more as a gravel bike 3. what happen to your cricket SI? if am wrong correct me but that was your 1st gravel bike after all.
