I Took My Gravel Bike on a Mountain Bike Trail 

Get an xc bike, if your not set on gravel and you can have multiple bikes, it’s best to have two bikes that fit perfectly in their discipline, you can always use both on gravel, depending on how rowdy it is.

It’s okay to not like gravel! I love the road because it’s easier to get into a meditative state without having to focus on where I’m going

For myself the act of "gravel cycling" isn't necessarily as enjoyable as cruising up or down smooth tarmac. However I find working my ass off to reach new vistas or POI's infinitely more rewarding than the monotony of watching my Strava data increase by decimals as I repeatedly train the same routes, day in and day out. If I was in your position and had multiple bikes, I would lean into your gravel bike as a method of adventure. Outfit it with the widest, knobbiest tires you can (maybe even 650b) and use it when you want to break up the daily grind of training. Don't worry to much about the route, just find some POI's and go.

Technical XC trails are never going to be fun on a gravel bike. You have to match your bike to your terrain. Had you been on faster fire roads and smooth gravel, I am sure you would have really enjoyed it. Here in Sweden, what I really love about the gravel is that you get pretty much the same workout as on tarmac (albeit, shorter periods of consistent effort and more punchy climbs) but the tracks take you into the middle of nowhere and you have virtually no traffic to contend with.

Dear Mitch, as a seasoned cyclist allow me to be your mentor. I’ve been riding road, Mtn and gravel bikes for 30 plus years. You will need variety in your cycling or you will get bored (or maybe that’s just me). I love the fact that I can pick one of three bikes on any given day to suit my mood and more importantly the weather. Ie windy days suck on a road bike but usually not a big deal on an mtb. In any case variety is the spice of life. Hone your skills on the gravel bike and you will grow to love it. PS: I have some tips to make the gravel bike better. 1) Max out your tire width to what the frame allows which is not much on BMC’s. 2) Reduce your tire pressure so your tires have some serious give. This will go a long way to reduce the shock in your hands. Your tires are your suspension. I run 50mm tires at 12-15 psi with an insert. They offer great traction and some reasonable suspension. 3) Get a smaller chain ring. It’s still too big. Get as small a chain ring as you can get on the spider. That will allow you to climb crazy steep stuff all day. I love steep climbs too and believe me it works for repeated climbs. Yes you will lose some top end but if that’s a problem get a double chain ring crank. They offer a broader range. Once you’ve got the ideal set up focus on your skills to keep you motivated. Ride stuff that’s challenging and undoable and then practice until you’ve mastered it then move on to the next challenge. You could use those challenges for future content!

i never knew how The Pros Closet business worked. that’s amazing you can swap in and out. great video

I feel like the best way to cover yourself for mostly any type of ride you want to do in LA (or SoCal in general tbh) is to have a cyclocross bike with two wheelsets; one for road and one for gravel rides, and then a full suspension xc mountain bike for any of the actual trails you want to ride. Two frames, three wheelsets, limitless riding!

I experimented with various underbiking options on those exact trails. It was fun the first few times but was beating me up. I went back to full suspension. Yes, I ride the pavement. My thinking was better to be suboptimal on the pavement but have a great time on the dirt, rather than other way around. Also multiple motorists have tried to murder me in Pasadena, so they win - I'll stay mostly on the dirt

It's definitely dependent on where you live. I'm out here in SF, so its super easy to go out for a road ride that turns into a hero gravel ride in Marin.

I started road biking in 2015, fell in love with it, due to personal reasons I quit it around 2019. Past november I got an alu hardtail and last month I traded it for a carbon full suspension. I'm falling in love with cycling again, new routes, new places, new tech and new challanges. Go for a 120/120 full sus, you gonna love it!!

I got my gravel bike this spring and my road riding went wayyyy down. From 6 days a week peak season to 2/3 with the rest being gravel. And now that winter has hit, I'm so glad I have the gravel bike. If it was only my road bike I couldn't ride at all in winter

I get it, in San Diego a vast majority of the gravel is singletrack and the skill set needed to stay safe and somewhat comfortable is pretty high. But you have the Santa Monica mountains, I’m jealous, that’s many many miles of views and no cars. One thing you might consider is playing with tires (the usual obsession with gravel riders). I found my happy place at 38, some folks I know ride 42-50+mm tires. Gravel is a bad compromise, and that’s why I love it.

I went for a hardtail mtb, with clip on aero bars for the road. I am pondering keeping the bike but swapping to a gravel bar instead of the flat/aero combo, Chris Hall runs a similar setup and it looks very versatile.

You're in a special case being able to borrow / short term bikes more readily. But for most people, I think a gravel bike is a great member of the stable. It CAN be the 'one to rule them all'. But usually you can't keep up with the high speed crowd on the road. And it can't do (well) the really rough stuff vs a mountain bike (as you noted). But if you're game for more than one bike, one of them should be a gravel bike. For roadies like yourself, it is the one you take when you want to explore and the surface (paved or otherwise) might be crap. (and for the less 'leg endowed' it's the one to take for steep hills). For MTB riders (are they watching this channel?) it's the faster ride. N+1 baby!

Just takes minute to think about how excited you'd be opening a bike box with a nice light hill climbing road bike in it. Now imagine that you are u boxing a big heavy clunky gravel bike. You know what excites you. You know what inspires you to get up early and get on the saddle. Do it. Get the one you know you'll enjoy the most.

Buy a trek supercaliber gen 1 or any gen 2 slr model

I have a gravel and road bike I ride most right now and it's because out by me we have a ton of unpaved rail trails that are perfect for a gravel bike. The one near me goes 60 miles and quite fun to just hop on and go as far as you'd like with no traffic.

Short answer: do a gravel event. Long explanation follows: I got back to cycling recently by buying a gravel bike, but being located in a large city, I gravitated towards road cycling due to being crunched on time and the ease of training on dedicated infrastructure (typically, 1.5-2h structured workouts via TrainerRoad). 6+ months in and I began itching for an outlet to test my newfound fitness and the one day gravel events here in Poland that are marketed as "single-day ultra" felt like the perfect fit -- 200-300km rides on mixed terrain in epic locations that you would never get to visit on a road bike and 3000-5000m of elevation gain. It's relatively safe since you get a GPS tracker and ride solo rather than in a bunch, properly long to make the effort of traveling to the event worth it, but at the same time short enough that you don’t have to resort to bikepacking and the typical ultra shenanigans of cutting on sleep, etc. Admittedly, it's a bit of a niche, but the ongoing gravel boom afforded me 20+ events around the country to try out, train for and get excited about and I am already circling events in Czechia and Spain, having done a 260 km event last September in the Slovenian Alps.

as a south pas resident I do this loop about every week or two... brown mtn truck trail and most of the trails off sunset ridge are for sure xc mtb territory, but I still love being underbiked on my gravel rig. For the road to trail terrain we have in LA a gravel bike is the right call. If you don't enjoy maintained gravel fireroads like Mt Lukens, Verdugos, or dirt mulholland then perfectly cool to find another discipline :)

Living in Switzerland, i asked myself the exact same questions till i went on a gravel event called Gravelman Jura (120km, up on the road, down on Mountain bike paths similar to the one in your video). It was a challenging event for me because i dont have the technical skills. But still i enjoyed it a lot because I was way underbiked for the terrain. And for me, this is what made it amazing. My advice is keep it for a few other rides, max out your tires width, get your tire pressure right and look for more grippy tires (I have 45mm pirelli cinturato M in front, H in back). Underbiked gravel riding can be fun, even if it's ok not to like it.

i would go for a climb bike or, if your up for it, a more touring oriented bike. obviously your bmc can do the job for most, but a good touring bike would allow you to do much longer adventure. great video btw.

I would trade it in for a lightweight hardtail mountain bike because they are pretty good at climbs but can be used on harsher gravel aswell. And you can still put the gravelking tire or other fast gravel tires or fast mtb tires on it to still have a blast in velocity. A lightweight hard tail is also less expensive than a fully one.

In LA I'd probably do road + XC bikes. Out here in Colorado, it's gravel all day baby. Get away from the cars and into some really cool country.

Try this experiment - look at the “all road” bikes like Jan Heine advocates, especially with light-ish steel forks with curved blades. I replaced mine with the typical modern bike, and really wish I hadn’t. It would have been perfect for the rides you are showing.

I think you should get a better gravel bike. Not that the BMC is bad, but it didn’t fit you very well. What if the answer is lightweight gravel? Get a Specialized Crux. What if you need a more capable bike? Get a 3T Exploro Ultra. Suspension I hear you say? Cannondale Topstone. The BMC urs is, unfortunately, a bit mismatched. Very slack head angle which makes it feel dead, some suspension but it’s really almost nothing, racy and chill in the worst places.

I feel like you would love something like a Ripley, mountain biking is just so much fun you have to give it a go.

All the new road bikes that are coming out with large tire clearance could be a good do it all road bike for you.

Thats cool that TPC has an option to trade in. I have an expensive bike collecting dust so i might just try that

this was helpul, I live in the area and was tempted to try the El Prieto with a gravel bike, but I think I'll hold off until I get a mountain bike.

I feel like real “gravel” is hard to come by in LA and most stuff is ends up being a bit more technical than I’m really up for. I’d love riding around on chill dirt road I think mostly anything “chill” here has already been paved and developed. I’ve been on a similar cycling identity journey with mtb and gravel and finding in reflection the most enjoyment I get cycling tends to be on road so leaning into that. BTW awesome channel dude I just found you searching with DI2 install videos. Cya out there sometime. ✌️

I have the URS one, same color scheme and Equipment. I bought a second gravel bike the Trek Checkpoint ALR5 driftless edition which is more road oriented. Lucky for me I also have an road bike and an Hardtail so I don`t have to decide.

If you have the financial flexibility, trade the Gravel for an XC bike and learn to mountain bike safely. It will open up a whole new exciting world of technical climbs and incredible descents.

If you still have it - keep it. I have 2 roadrunners, 1 gravel plus 1 MTB (hardtail, more control than the full suspension ones) - suits me fine for really any situation & condition

Imho, gravel is best at long distance gravel group exploration kind of rides. I miss those a lot since not much of it happening in Thailand where at 10AM you have 40deg in the sun… I would keep it and do more of those. Roadbike for training and quicker group rides, gravel for adventure.

I had a lightweight road bike and bought a gravel bike, I got pb's on Strava with my gravel bike, I sold my road bike and my gravel bike is my all rounder, Vitus Substance V2 GRX 2 by ... Now with 650b wtb wheels with pirelli cinturato M 650b X 50mm tyres ... Perfect in all events 😁👍

I heard you hint at the Dirty Dozen which is the through Pittsburgh’s 13 steepest streets. If heard you correctly, have fun! I say it’s okay to stick to one type of riding and bike because you have to do what makes you happiest. Would a MTB have made this experience more enjoyable and comfortable, maybe but is that the style of biking you want to do. Clearly riding gravel or mtb has its benefits in that can improve your bike handling skills and on the bike strength. If those will help you achieve your goals then ride all the bikes!

Mitch! Great vid. El Prieto and Lower Gabrielino are awesome on a MTB. A nice XC hardtail would be my choice. I would have taken that Gravel bike on a true fire road like in the Verdugo Hills or up Monrovia’s Lower Clamshell. Great views.

I would try mountain biking a couple times over the course of a few months and see what you think.

I have this question myself, and like you I challenge myself to try this gravel and recognize I'm a roadie. I'm glad to have the bike, a 3T Exploro that I as well got from Pro's Closet, but that is on the money, that question, and it's been almost a year on my end as well. Appreciating you take!

Yeah, that was definitely mountain bike terrain. Still fun on a gravel bike.

definitely an XC mountain bike. Get one of the new ones like an Orbea Oiz that has a 120/120 suspension

The best part of gravel for me is being in remote, low to no traffic areas but you still get to maintain more speed than mountain biking. It doesn't take as much mental or physical effort as mountain biking so it's a great middle ground between road and mtb. It's fun to get the contrast with pavement to link up with other gravel roads in a single ride. It really depends on what you have in your area. I also enjoy taking the gravel bike on trail once and a while. The ridiculousness of it is part of the entertainment. For mountain biking I'm normally on a 160mm travel enduro bike that I race with. The gravel bike makes tame trails into engauging and even exciting trails. Compared to the enduro bike that will smash through anything with ease. The road bike is great. The light and snappy handling is satisfying but I find myself using it less and less now. The gravel and mountain bikes cover most of my riding. The road bike has become a very specialized tool for absolute peak performance oriented rides on pavement only.

I think you should do what's best for your happiness and content. Nothing wrong with preferring road riding...I don't but I still watch your videos.

Do all gravel bikes have the drop bars ? And what's the difference between a gravel and an MTB

If I where you I'd get an endurance bike with up to 35mm tyre clearance. Put on some Vittoria Terreno Zero and you'll be all set for the road and it won't fail you on your up to 10% gravel detours if it ain't wet. ✌️

get an xc bike it's so much fun and you can still go fast!!

Looking to get an allroad bike like time adhx and put 32mm tires on it that can handle 50/50 light gravel and tarmac

Go MTB! Good video, Mitch!

Gravel has its merits as it’s fantastic when you want to mix it up in a single ride or just want one bike! Problem is they’re hopeless as a road bike and a xc full squish runs rings around them off road.

What your gravel bike needs is. Suspension.

Looking forward to the new xc bike day video lol

a MTB is a must have for any serious biker, you are serious right

I really like gravel. In europe the issue is that most paths are MTB specific and u are always underbiking. Or its a perfect gravel forest path that you are not allowed to ride a bike on. I guess if you’re not racing, get a roadbike that can fit 38mm tires (should be enough) and a MTB. Then u can do both, you can also try some “gravel” biking on the roadbike then.

The massive cassette is a plus, but I’d trade it in and keep playing around with new/different bikes!

Mitch- Follow on all platforms…also a 🌭dog owner.. Bro….. don’t give up on gravel yet. The exploration, the adventure the lack of cars… I feel like you’re giving up on a TONNNNNNN of cool trails and routes in the are you live if you stick to the roads around LA… Sure a MTB XC would be cool to watch as you & your skills advance but as I live in Illinois my gravel bike has been the most used in the quiverz that bike has lead to some of my most memorable and challenging rides. Ps- being under biked is a blessing. It will push your ability to manage the bike, line choice and body position. I bet it would translate to road as well.

【I used to Ridiculed Gravel Bike as Inferior to Hardtail mtb】 Now, I'm 😓 sweating profusely cycling on a (slow 1x 30T) drive train that can't go very fast + huge 29" × 2.4" wide tires that Drains my power. Now I'm bitching & moaning "I wish I bought a Gravel Bike with 2X cranks." I admit I was WRONG about Gravel Bike. 🙏 make a video on yr Ideal Tire Width 35mm? 40mm? 45mm?

Hybrid bike 700 with thick gravel tires

Any fire road on the nearby Verdugo mountains, or MT Lowe vía Chaney, or MT Wilson Toll Road would've been good graves route. El Prieto is a no no for Gravel.

i would get the mountain bike... theres a substantial difference between a MTB and a road bike versus gravel and road

XC hardtail with drop bars

What pressure are you running on those tires for the chunky stuff? I think you'd probably have a bit more fun on *that* bike if you aired down for those bits that caused you so much vibration. (Also really supple tires help, RH are quite nice.)

i feel like a gravel bike would be good but maybe you just didn't get a good one. it seems more race oriented and maybe a relaxed endurance bike that focuses more on going longer like a santa cruz or surly bike would be better. ones that focus on comfort and taking the chunder like dustin klein's bikes. a stigmata would be perfect i think

Keep the gravel bike! Enter a gravel race and it'll change your mind. Come to Vermont and ride our glorious dirt roads. Get a second set of wheels to put some skinny tires on....the best of both worlds. Also, I don't think the BMC can take bigger tires. My Grizl can take 50mm and it's awesome.

On those trails if you wanna have fun you need to have some form of suspension on a mountain bike of any kind. Gravel bikes are for traveling with 75% road Not really in a hurry, light trails to get you to the next road. Gravel racers are on hard pack.. that arm shaking vibration.. aint nobody doing that and having fun. Gravel is supposed to be about the exploration. You should ride with BKXC or Singletrack Sampler and see if you're having fun. New content idea.

Two choices - just keep doing what you're already good at or make the decision to deliberately suck at something (because you're naturally not a particularly good off-road bike handler). You've got more to gain from doing the latter but adults suck at sucking at things (where as kids are great at sucking at things and subsequently learn more/grow more). It's either play it safe, stick in your lane or learn to suck and be a more complete cyclist.

right there with you, gravel just doesn’t do anything for me, no real reason why, just doesn’t tickle me

Cotic cascade for that and more besides, but still rides like a grrrravel bike

My 2 cents: A gravel bike is a road bike for dirt roads. I love my gravel bike because that is 80% of my riding. I prefer riding on tarmac, but it's not safe where I live. So much of the gravel marketing is directed at the kind of of riding I saw in this video, but riding a gravel bike (a road bike with wide tires) is not ideal in that scenario. Mountain bike is better for trails.

Nothing wrong with being a roadie! I've tried gravel and mountain biking. It just isn't for me.

With bumpy and technical "gravel" rides get a nice light weight XC bike. With what I see in this video and with what I heard it seems XC bike would be best and you wouldn't be competing over what your favorite road bike is either, especially since you still love your BMC. Don't let your BMC feel left out on a nice ride on the road because your fat shaming it due to it not being as light as a pure climbing machine.

If you got space for it keep it Mitch! Humans can be very whimsical and we can later regret it .

A good carbon full sus XC bike (~120mm) will be much more suitable for this kind of adventures. I did that transition myself and never looked back. It *is* possible to have fun in the mountains and not return home completely beaten up.

I like road biking because I can do it straight out of my front door. I’d need to drive 30min to the start of a gravel trail that’s worth it.

Have you considered a TT bike? Just picked up my first, fast and can use for long endurance

Gravel sucks. It gets you away from cars, but it pretty much ends there. I way WAY prefer road. You can still get up into the mountains and see beauty on a road bike. But to each their own.

I can handle any trail street or road on my Gravel Bike I just ride slow I am never in a hurry

I totally get it. I see so many people doing gravel rides....and in the Phoenix metro area, there just aren't many? At least not that I want to drive to. I'd rather have a mountain bike and be over-biked on a gravel trail.

I think gravel is the most social riding...because there's usually no traffic and you can chat while you ride. I think it really depends what the roads/terrain are like near where you live...and how that aligns with the type of riding you enjoy. There are several types of gravel riding in Northern Virginia (NoVA)/West Virginia. NoVA gravel is a lot of great undulating, fairly smooth roads that often lead to breweries 🍺😎. Then there's some more technical/demanding routes and some that are more like going hiking but riding a bike. I would never get rid of my gravel bike(s) now...because I don't want to be restricted to only being able to ride one surface...especially when ride friends are heading out for a gravel ride...and I didn't have the right rig. I get that it's not for everyone...and, sometimes, I even question why I'm doing it! But there's a definite attraction to having the ability to do it when the right opportunity avails itself.

XC hardtail maybe?

HI mitch, i'm very new to the world of road biking and the sorts, I was wondering if there are any tips you could give to me or anyone else reading this comment. The only things ive managed was learning some thing from my dad who used to ride and be apart of a team. I'm not sure how to sprint well or ride well for that matter. I would appreciate any little drop of help from anyone and you. Thank you

Swap for a mtb and go do the same trails. If you still don't enjoy it then road is what you like.

Maybe get another endurance bike bit one that’s more dirt capable (room for wider tires), and has more-gravel-like geometry. You and Zack over at Gravel Bike California have renewed my love for biking. Especially in Los Angeles. I do like 80/20 road/gravel, but I have to say, it’s so much fun to find these hidden gem gravel shortcuts/alternate routes throughout the city. It feels like I’ve unlocked some secret passageway. Franklin Canyon, old Mulholland Hwy near the Hollywood Reservoir, to name a few.

Get full XC bike.

Its ok to not like gravel much. Its fun, but it never really caught on with me either. I like road for convenience, and CX during the season. Gravel was always "meh" for me personally. But I understand the appeal of it.

Trade in for climbing road bike or fixed gear climb bike 😉

mountain bike 👍🏻 you’ll either love it or trade it back in

imo the main appeal of gravel is the quality of competition at races since it’s the new “pinnacle” of bike racing in the US. It’s not as fun as MTB and not as fast as road, so if you aren’t trying to be competitive I don’t see the appeal.

Can you please tell me where this is ? I am desperate,for new trails in this area !! Thank you

What’s the deal with kilos kilograms what happened to pounds and ounces are we not in the United States?

I got a Road Bike and a Mountain Bike. Gravel Bikes only make sense if you only have room for one bike. If you can have two get a proper one for each scenario 😀

You can ride a gravel bike in the Angeles and Santa Monica Mtns but it ain’t gonna be fun when you go downhill. Speaking from experience.

Light climbing bike 👍

N+1

get a mountain bike. to be honest your bmc is already good enough. if you really want a lightweight bike build a rim brake winspace for climbing

Does the pros closet works in Europe?

Trust your intuition. You know what you like and want

SO, I hear you. I ride a gravel bike (specialized crux) as my 1 bike to rule them all because I don't want to own 2 expensive bikes. So for that, it's been great. It allows me to ride 90% on pavement comfortably (and pretty quickly) and spend 10% on (legitimate) fire roads like cherry canyon and similar stuff in Altadena. I have 0 interest in riding SoCal single track on it, maybe in other flatter states, but not here.Too rutted out, too steep, too dangerous, and far too technical in most scenarios to not have suspension, at least in the fork. Additionally, descending ANY trail on a gravel bike is not fun, I said it. The up is great and you can get to some breathe taking views, but the down is terrible. I'm sure people will point to my skill, but not sure I agree. It's chattery, bouncy, and the geo just isn't slack enough for SoCal trails. By the time I make it to be bottom, my forearms and shoulders are so fatigued that I question why I even bother. In the end, I want the flexibility and enjoy truly mellow gravel rides. I also do not ride on major roads in LA and stick to my pasadena bubble for safety, but I know that's not everyones luxury. All to say, I think you should get rid of your gravel bike because you have the ability of having multiple bikes and gravel doesn't have to be your thing. There is a lot of hype around gravel riding which adds to the FOMO.

Get an mtb! I sold my gravel bike last year because I realized that I just didn't like to ride off road on a drop bar bike. Just so much more enjoyable on a good mtb.

get an xc-mtb this time they ride so good these days. and after that you do another conclusion.

Come to LA he says hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha