You definitely want your gravel bike to be highly road-capable. Thus, having a comfortable riding position is more important than if you are purely on pavement, where your body doesn’t have to act as much as a shock absorber.īecause you might want to quickly pop-up on your handlebars if you hit some loose gravel (shifting your weight back), and it can be nice to use the “drops” when on a long gravel stretch, we usually suggest a less-aggressive gravel bike posture than we would in a road bike or especially a time-trial bike. Second, you will find that gravel makes your bike - and your body - vibrate. First, you might settle in to a stretch of long, hard-packed gravel, but then need to alternate to a position that compensates for loose gravel or even dirt for a short stretch. Comfortable Riding PositionĪ couple things happen when you are riding on gravel. Gravel bikes are meant for long distances of riding on gravel surfaces, so while you want a little more agility and preparedness for the unpredictable loose gravel or hilly trail turn, you don’t need to be “down in the drops” like you would be on the open paved road.Ī good rule of thumb is that your gravel bike setup should have you about 1 inch higher than the road bike setup, when you are on the bullhorns or down in the drops. You want your handlebars to be just a bit higher than you would have them on a road bike, and not as aggressive as you might have them on a cyclocross bike. Relaxed Posture (slightly higher handlebars) To give yourself the best odds of a good gravel bike, get disc brakes. It is really hard to retrofit disc brakes on a bike, so I suggest not attempting it. Some gravel bikes can accommodate up to 50mm, due to the combination of frame design and disc brakes. Most newer gravel bikes call for tire widths of 35mm to 50mm, and the typical caliper-style brake struggles with anything more than 30mm, unless you are a Houdini-like bike mechanic. Disc brakes are important because you will probably want to be able to experiment with a number of wider tires on the bike. Why disc brakes? It’s not so much about the actual brakes, as it is about the wheel clearance that they provide. But this article is attempting to guide you to that ideal gravel bike, and we would say every time that you want disc brakes. Can you ride a gravel bikes with non-disc brakes? Sure. You will want disc brakes on your gravel bike, and for many older bikes this might be the limiting factor. Disc Brakes Riding on gravel can open up countless routes that might not have been accessible with a road bike. Still, there are some things we like to see in any gravel bike, and that we see in the 3 bikes we recommend below. If you can only have one bike, a gravel bike might be the right call for many people (but then again, how many of our readers really only have one bike!) What to Look for in a Gravel Bikeįinding a good gravel bike isn’t terribly hard, and sometimes the line between a road bike and a gravel bike is a fine one. Unlike fat bikes or mountain bikes, they also perform very well on pavement, making gravel bikes a true multi-surface option. ![]() While not ideal, a gravel bike can tackle some flowing singletrack if needed. Gravel bikes are popular for everything from gravel roads to limestone trails. But unlike mountain biking, you can still have the faster gearing and ride position that lets you really get some speed on the right surface. For many, that means opening up new route options. Gravel cycling allows you to access routes that were previously inaccessible, or at least not ideal, for a road bike. Even before the COVID year when everyone suddenly rediscovered their outdoor passions, gravel bikes and biking were exploding. Of all cycling categories (road, mountain, time trial, etc), one of the only that has been showing strong year-over-year growth is gravel biking. ![]() If you are not yet into gravel biking, there is a good chance that you soon will be.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |