the best thing about touring bikes is the geometry! having a slightly longer wheelbase, which increases stability and means your heels won't strike panniers, and a more upright comfortable riding position is wonderful.
Moreover, after you die, since you had ridden a iron mount, you'll be able to resolve the "Riddle of Steel" and Crom will not laugh at you and cast you out of Valhalla
I have a touring bike with a flat bar and 55mm tyres, so actually wider than most Gravel bikes, so I would disagree that Gravel bikes have generally wider tyres, it strongly depends on the individual bike. My frame is from aluminium while my rigid fork is steel and has a rated capacity of 180kg. With chunky tyres I have taken the bike on the first 2000km of the Great Divide mountain bike route, while in the standard setup I have gone all over Germany (mostly to work), but also the UK and France and technically Switzerland. I would categorize your Dads bike as a (beautiful) Randoneuse, rather than a general touring bike. It is just one variety of the wide array which can be touring bikes, where I would say flat bars are more common. I do agree though on the downsize of classical panniers with aerodynamics and width, on the upside is the ease of mount and carrying capacity.
Coolness is in the eye of the beholder. I think the touring bike here looks cooler than the gravel bike. I'm a sucker for steel lugged forks. I think they look so much better than the space-age looking carbon forks. I'm also a bit of a retro grouch, so I tend to favor more classic looking bikes over more modern looking bikes.
have had a Dawes Galaxy tourer for quite a few years and love it. Dont feel it’s heavy and has taken me through the Western Isles and Wester Ross/Skye and Moidart and various areas in France including over Mont Ventoux. It’s still going strong after all these years, and i think it looks pretty cool!
I was convinced my Thorn Raven Sport Tour, now 14 years old, would be my last ever bike purchase. Then a mate temped me onto gravel and I made an impulse buy of a Decathlon Second Life RC120 GRVL - for under £400. What a revelation! I love it, but for any proper biking adventure, rather than a day's ride, I'd go with the practicality of the Thorn. It will do road and light trails happily. But the RC 120 is far more fun for a shorter blast. Horses for courses, and owning two is allowed. Luckily! I enjoyed your review of the two.
It’s a good concise and quite informative summation of the pros and cons of each. I have cycled toured over 20,000 kms and bike packed around 5000 and have both a touring ( Surly) and gravel bike ( Marin ) which I use for trips less than a week or ten days. Multi week trips need a touring bike unless one plans to be sleeping extensively in motels etc.
I have a 2016 model Australian designed Vivente World Randoneur which have the drop bars and Shimano Dura-ace bar-end shifters which I love, I'm very much a traditionalist but also love the Modern offerings too. These bikes as you say are definitely great for long distance touring but they are also one of the best bikes for around town Commuting, it has full mudguards, Hydraulic Disc brakes, Shimano hub Dyno and AXA light system included, side stand, front and rear Tubus racks and best of all, Schwalbe Marathon Tyres for Puncture resistant riding. It may not be as Light and nimble as a Gravel or roadbike but it feels solid and I'm not a light bloke. My Bike with all bags taken off weighs in a 14kg so I don't think they are too heavy and are about 10kgs lighter than a E-bike. I'd like to have both though, a Gravel and Touring bike and a MTB to really go bush.
I just sold my trusty old Surly LHT and bought a new Vivente Gibb with Rohloff hub. It’s a fantastic bike, with plenty of clearance for decent off-road tyres.
I recently purchased a Jamis Renegade gravel bike. With 20 frame mounts, it can easily be used for bike packing or touring. To accommodate either gravel rides or road tours, I have two wheel sets, making this bike amazingly versatile.
A key topic not specifically addressed is comfort. I have a Bianchi steel touring bike with carbon handlebars and stem and a B17 Brooks saddle. It is easy on my body on a long ride--much easier than a stiffer gravel bike frame with a more aggressive geometry would be. Another topic missed is commuting. Because touring bikes are outfitted with all kinds of weather in mind, they make good commuter bikes--plenty of storage, fenders to keep you dry enough for work, excellent lights in case you have to work late, tires wider than racing bikes' but designed for the streets. As for looks, I think most touring bikes aren't all that flashy looking; this reduces them as priority theft targets. Flashier bikes are easier to fence. If your commuter parking space is outdoors or in an easy to access bike room, less flash is a good thing. It seems to me that gravel bikes are good for off-road touring and rec riding, which doesn't make them more versatile than the tourer/commuter bike. One caveat re: touring bikes. As much as I enjoy bikepacking, I can't seem to get away as often as I would like. My bike, now 27 years old and riding great, has 10 times as many commuting miles than it has touring miles. I'm thinking that the term should be commuter/touring bike rather than the other way.
i have a marin four corners steel frame , 2.0 gravel tyres , 1x 10 deore , alt bars. pretty much does everything i want from it. around your neck of woods. Goole canal to Rawciffe Bridge to Snaith ( bacon butty at The Kitchen!) Carlton to Burn airfield. Selby canal then trans pennine trail to Howden then back to Goole. its about 35 mile loop which i enjoy but im 58 now so enough for me! great channel.
I have numerous bicycles for the different types of riding I do. In the end, corporations want to sell us stuff. I think bikepacking gravel bikes look nice. However, I can't justify dumping a perfectly good mountain bike to buy a new gravel bike. Or getting rid of my touring bike to buy a new gravel bike. What I have works for me. I never ride to be the fastest. I love the scenery and the exercise. Do what works for you and enjoy the ride.
I use my gravel bike for bikepacking and love it due to the versatility, lighter weight and speed. Some day I'll get my hands on a touring bike when I'm ready for that cross country trip but for now, I'll stick to my gravel bike.
I use my Trek 520 touring bike for touring, commuting and gravel ridding. I got it on my cross country bicycle tour when my aluminum specialized tricross bike got a crack in the fram causing severe mechanical issues on the road. Aluminum is good for cheap light weight performance but not long term heavy touring. I have to give credit to steal frame touring bikes for their excellent longevity.
Modern touring bikes have tended to change gain gravel features eg Cinelli EasyTravel: disc brakes, comes with mudguards but up to 44 mm tyres without mudguards,
Pelago Stavanger is a quite versatile gravel bike. Especially because of its steel frame. Unloaded it is a very stable ride. Love it and hope it will last forever ❤️
Very surprised to see this name in the comments! I've just ridden a 1980's Claud Butler from Ireland to India - the entire way with a rusted out bottom bracket. Unfortunately it has now bit the dust and I'm looking to replace it
@jameshenehan9670 My wife and I bought ours in the early 2000s. They wouldn't win anything in the lightness stakes, but that just adds to their robustness eating up the miles and carrying a shitload luggage. Hellish on the hills, of course.
For a heavier rider carrying significant gear stick with steel every time. My modern steel touring bike is just 12kg with a cool sloping top bar and greater heel clearance for panniers. Normal runs 700c x 35 tyres can accommodate 650b rims and wider tyres for rougher terrains. Has plenty of lugs for flexibility, small increases in speed is not a criteria, on long trips reliability smooth and comfortable riding is key. Great also for commuting or for general fitness why get a gravel bike?
I think what comes to this Touring bike vs "bikepacking bike" (gravel) is going to lift towards bikepacking, since nowadays the equipment you can take with you is much lighter, packs much smaller than it was lets say 20-30 years ago. This trend in thru-hikers with ultralight gear shows that you can have extremely minimal setup, extremely light weight gear that is made to last for a long time. This allows bikepacking to get lighter and need for multiple bags diminishes.
I have an old 90s Giant MTB that i picked up for €50 locally. It is a tad large for me, but as mentioned in the comments below, it does have a longer wheel base and is a lot more comfortable than my 90s Kona Lava Dome MTB (which has a 17" frame compared to the 20" frame of the Giant). I am thinking of converting the Giant to a daily communter-/touring. I do not have a car, so i would like to load it with front and rear racks, it is only the frame size that is putting me off.
You are certainly a brave person to tackle a touring vs gravel comparison - and well done for the well-balanced discussion you gave. A hitch is that like gravel bikes, touring bikes have also ‘moved on’ - any hope of a comparison between up to date gravel and touring bikes that have similar features (eg wider tyres, lighter weight frames…)?
Great video, I'm currently looking for the perfect bike for me. And your video proofed me that I should go for a touring bike for 5 month tour through america
Your Dad's Bike ist a Randonneur... I use a mid 90's Rockhopper with 50 mm wide tyres as a touring bike. At the Moment I am in Corsica. Today I drove up a very rough and steep gravel road, with 20 kg of load .....
It is design and quality that matters, not the material. Also when I was a mere 60kg I snapped a steel frame. I have owned other steel, alloy and carbon bikes and they have all been excellent.
@JeremyLawrence-imajez Well aluminium is the cheaper alternative for mass produced bikes and doesnt flex like steel and fatigues far more. Many cracked frames later, I wont touch them.
Maybe don't buy cheap/poorly designed bikes then@@randelscyclevlogperthwa7342. Loads of folk ride alloy frames without issue. Alloy is not the problem, otherwise they wouldn't build say aeroplanes or wind turbines out of it. Things that undergo way more stress and flex than a mere bicycle.
@@randelscyclevlogperthwa7342 Aluminum is so bad that most brands competing on the Downhill UCI world cup and Redbull Rampage/Hardline use it on their designs lol
I do "bikepacking"&"touring" or as I say "trail touring" on my 29" hardtail Jamis Durango. It has a thule rack with sea to summit dry bags up front and a surly cro-mo steel rear rack with thule shield panniers 13l each. And 4l sea to summit watercellls straped under the panniers. I have a topeak 15l backloader seat bag on the seat and seat post. And a topeak 5l seat bag wedged between the rack and backloader. I have a salsa exp full frame bag. Topeak versa cages on the forks. A aero spider cage on the handelbars. Also a pair of water bottle cages on the forks and another versa cage on the bottom of the down tube for my 64oz growler. I had a personal trainer (ex navy seal) lift it and he said it weighs about 200lbs. fully loaded 😮.
My biggest regret was selling my Dawes Super Galaxy I used it every where and for commuting to the hospital I worked in. Great for carrying fresh wardrobe in for my on-call shifts. I’d happily have another. Even gravel bikes can be pretty much subdivided mines is a Pinarello so very much more race orientated but still easy to use for touring. Prior to having a gravel bike I was using both my carbon road bikes on gravel etc did the gear Glen Way on my Domane with road tyres😂. I still have a triple set MTB but I do like the simplicity of a 1x on my new MTB and Gravel bike and if you have the right set up they will go up anything. I think it doesn’t matter what you use to tour on I started on a Shopper bike as a teenager and I know folks who are still using Moulton etc to tour on and on rougher terrain. It’s all pretty subjective.
Yeah it’s all subjective but that’s the beauty of videos like this. Nobody fully agrees 😛 Yeah that’s the gold standard of tourers! Shame you no longer have it
Yes only sold it because I was told by GP I’d probably be unable to cycle again. Kept the new MTB and thought it would be such a shame for the Galaxy not to be used it was in mint condition to ☹️
How the bike looks is very subjective. I agree 100% with you, but many people love touring bikes and we must respect thir opinion. Main reason I'd go for a gravel is the off road capabilities. Everything else is disputable. For road bikepacking, a disc road bike with 32mm tyres is good enough. Best regards,
If I’m totally honest I must do about 80% on road and 20% off. So I bought a Kona Sutra. I love it, it’s just a pleasure to ride. Loaded with full touring gear, loaded with a few days of bikepacking gear or just naked, it just delivers a pleasant comfortable ride.
Great video, thanks! I have a Specialized Gravel bike in carbon frame and I was wondering if I could use it for bikepacking/touring. I feel a little better knowing that it IS capable.
I don't get on with gravel bikes. I use a touring bike for touring. I use a MTB for commuting and I have another MTB that I use for touring. Your dad's touring bike looks lovely.
Nice! We also trekked across the world on horses hundreds of years ago. Doesn’t mean it’s optimal! But in all seriousness, each bike is different so some touring bikes can handle off road. It’s just a general comparison
Most of the rather wonderful Roughstuff photos however seem to show them carrying bikes and fixing punctures. I've ridden a bike with [tubeless] 28mm tyres many a time on some serious challenging off road terrain and whilst I enjoy a underbiking on a day out, if touring/bikepacking, underbiking is too, slow as well as very draining and tiring.
Your dad's bike can be fitted with your gravel bike's components, fitted with the same tires, and use the gravel bike's panniers and bags and only weigh a couple of kilos more. After doing this and loading it up for a week, your dad's bike will probably have a much better ride quality regardless of surface.
For me touring bikes are best. They are robust and practical… and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The classic thin tube steel frame just looks like a bike should look. I’ve always thought gravel bikes were a marketing solution that lacked a real world problem. A good mountain bike will do everything a gravel bike will do, so the concept is redundant.
I have a Dawes Super Galaxy from the early 90’s. I wouldn’t swap it for the world it’s ultra reliable and is a great ride and yes I think it looks cool 😊
Touring bikes are made of steel which absorb vibration on the road which add good riding quality . While Gravel bikes are mostly made in alum its rigid and feel more vibrations and bumps on the road, but its lighter and faster. Stiffness can result in a harsh ride quality.
If you are not riding off road, I think lower gears continue to make touring bikes appealing. Or you swap out the crank and cassette for better climbing potential making gravel bikes are arguably more appealing.
You made a very interesting point about the width of panniers, do fork leg bags suffer the same issue? I’m trying to spec "likes" and "must haves" for a bike purchase and I had fork bolt points as a must but starting to wonder if it’s not so important.
Potentially yes! Depends on how high up the fork mounts are. In my Sonder Frontier walkthrough I have them fitted and they’re on the lower side but not had any issues yet
Shoot, my Marin 4 Corners is cool. Looks cool, rides cool. The most comfortable bike I own. Without racks and bags, most would think it’s a gravel or cyclocross bike. It’s a bit “ponderous” compared, and yet way more comfortable than my carbon road bike. With 30mm Conti 4000’s it’s a joy to lay down miles.
If you are looking for an all-terrain bike, then, yeah; you need a specialty bike for touring. But when it comes to paved roads, there is one bike that beat them all. In the 80's, ('84 thru '86) Schwinn made the Voyageur SP; a bike made of both Columbus SL & SP tubing, and a 23" bike weighed in at 24lb, or 10.8 Kilos for you Brits. This was the pinnacle of touring bikes for the day... anything else or better, in my opinion, at this weight and class would have had to be heavier or custom hand built, costing at minimum for the day, $2,000, where in '86, it cost $550; at least, that is what I paid for my Voyageur SP bike. In my opinion, the Schwinn Voyageur SP is still by far the absolute best touring bike when it comes to full functionality, original component, ride comfort & flexibility, full front & rear rack mounts and 3 water bottle cage mounts, and overall great utility and value for the day, and it still rivals others today. Every 'touring' bike that came afterwords was either on Columbus SP, Tange Chromoly or aluminum, which all made for frames that were just too stiff, heavy, and or just missed the mark. Pound per pound, the Schwinn Voyageur SP beat the competition in every aspect of design, but as snobs had it, it was a Schwinn. So, sales for a lack of true understanding of what Schwinn actually built mostly went unnoticed. And those snobs went for Trek, Bridgestone, Cannondale, and anything else where the 'brand name' was more appealing and made for higher sales. BTW - I've got three Voyageur SP's and I wouldn't trade them for anything else; well, of course, a 24" I'd trade for a 23"... all still great touring bikes with thousands of miles on them.
Or a touring MTB? I have a Genesis Longitude that can go anywhere!!! Also got a Genesis Tour de Fer which manages most places the Longitude can go until the mudguards jam up with mud!
I have an old touring bike, which I completely refitted with modern components. I think I have the best of both worlds :). Above that, it really looks very cool; I get a lot of compliments about it on the way. So, on that point I disagree with you. Another thing is, to me mudguards are a must. Period. As you explained, you don't let yourself go wet on your cycling tour. Of course, you can mount them on a gravel bike (same with carriers) - as a result it will weigh as much as a decent touring bike :). What remains is the capability of riding off-road. But I do ride gravel tracks, as long as they are not too bumpy.
To be honest I don’t see much difference in looks between the two. I am looking at gravel bikes only because I like to explore when riding and sometimes it can be off road. I can’t fit much larger tires on my three road bikes. I have two mountain bikes, but I hate riding any distance with flat bars. And yes I have tried converting a mountain bike to road use. Maybe I will try it again seeing what we have learned with the development of gravel bikes.
I've had a steel frame break as it happens. It cracked on underside of downtube about 5cm down from headtube. 😕Pretty sure rust was part of the issue there. Never been convinced by the 'you can repair steel anywhere' argument. Building and also repairing modern thin walled steel bikes is a really skilled job and if you are in the back of beyond even finding a welder will be a challenge. Carbon ironically is the material you are most likely to be able to fix yourself. After all, it's just fancy fibre glass with a much fancier price. 😁So you can carry carbon repair kits with you. We passed each other the other day as it happens Tom. On the river bike path by Meadowhall. Didn't twigg until after we'd passed, I was a bit tired at that point. Otherwise I'd have waved/said hello. I'm guessing you were coming from your folk's house whilst I was just heading back home which is just up the hill from their place. None of my various bikes [CX, HT, FS] have any kind of rack mounting, Yet I could carry more than I personally would ever need with zero problems, due to clever modern luggage designs. A mix of Tailfin, Ortlieb and Alpkit. Which I can upgrade to carry panniers, should I want to. Also modern bikepacking bikes have even more clever carrying features than an old skool tourer these days. I think a long tail hard tail bike would be my choice for an epic round the world trip. Something like an Esker Hayduke LVS. See here - ua-cam.com/video/RmhuybBsTvI/v-deo.html On and my Crud rear mudguard fits nicely under my Tailfin Aero pack.
Touring is not about going faster. Touring bikes are built to carry heavy loads, over long distances. This means they come with bearings that will last a lot longer. Touring bikes are versitile, I use mine everyday. Carbon fibre is way to delicate, and difficult to repair. Titanium too rigid and very difficult to 'weld on the road'. Long distance touring requires carrying your home, for maybe three years. Only possible with a touring bike. Touring bikes and butterfly bars are super cool. Yes, I have toured a lot. In excess of 300, 000 kms.
Seems like every time I hear about someone going to exotic places on a bike for long distance excursions, it turns out their bike is a Surly Long Haul Trucker. I just checked and they handle 700C X 45mm tires. I do not own one nor do I work for them.
Up until 2018 or so, the LHT and Disc Trucker were some of the best touring bikes around. Sadly, they’ve axed the LHT and the newer Disc Trucker doesn’t have very good quality components. I’ve taken my Disc Trucker to all sorts of exotic places, but it’s also great as a bomb-proof year-round commuter. Triple cranksets are tough to beat for range and versatility. You can slog up a mountain pass at walking pace, and scream down the other side faster than the cars. Basically, I do own one, and it’s great!
@@Spanderson99 So - It sounds like some of the stuff may wear out a bit quicker. I guess replacement parts will be around for quite a few years. Maybe, the cost of those new components has shot kinda sky high like a lot of premium bike parts and they had to compromise. If people keep praising them, I may get one some day or maybe one of these belt driven bicycles.
I think you should just work out the differences between these bikes, not decide what's best. One major point for gravel is the max tire width, but not for off-roading , for comfort ! Riding hunderts of km on normal roads is just way more comfy than with 37mm tires
Gravel bikes just look cool? I disagree, depends on the steel tourer! Steel tourers are heavier because the tubes are thicker and stiffer so when you load the thing up it doesn't feel like a noodle. The weight of the bike is negligible once you've thrown your body and bags on.
I'm with a lot of comments here, a touring bike is far from being ugly and the weight is obviously a matter of parts being put on, including the fenders which limit the tire size. If you take them off tire clearance is pretty much on par with the gravel bike. Oh and the material, steel being heavy? Who taught you that? A carbon frame is most probably lighter, an alloy frame not really. But IMHO they just don't look as good as a slick steel frame. And companies today stick to that as well, just look at Surly, very timeless classy gravel bikes made of steel
Cool. I mean… equivalent steel frames just are heavier that’s a fact… of course you could get a high end steel frame vs a blocky aluminium frame and it may be lighter but comparatively it’s not!
I’ve done quite a bit of gravel, including bits of the Highland Trail 550 on my touring bike, a 26 inch wheel Thorn. Steel is so comfortable. There have been days when I would have appreciated suspension but I disagree with your final comment about everyday use. Everyday is what I use my touring bike for. Tesco. Day rides. Training days. Then fly on the carbon Roubaix after the hard preparation work on my heavy metal Thorn.
Yeah me too. I bought a second hand touring bike for same reason. Commute to work (without it looking too flashy aka nickable) , the weekly shop, and of course Touring!
Not really now. It’s mostly marketing BS. The new meaning of ‘bikepacking’ incorporates all bike travel with overnight stopping in my opinion. It’s used interchangeably nowadays.
Not really now. It’s mostly marketing BS. The new meaning of ‘bikepacking’ incorporates all bike travel with overnight stopping in my opinion. It’s used interchangeably nowadays.
Once you load up your bike with all your kit the difference in weight between carbon and steel is meaningless because you need to think in terms of system weight ie rider, bike and gear weight added together. 1kg might represent just 1% difference. It needs to be said though that today's sophisticated steels may not be easily welded by an African village blacksmith.
Of course! Yeah that’s why I said ‘in theory’ it’s a bit of a misconception in my view. Most places can source spare parts or take delivery of new frames if the worst should happen, but there’s a notion that steel is the best because it can be repaired vs replaced
Why dont they put rack points on gravel bikes ? most models ive seen dont have them? Ive ridden my specialized 2011 cyclocross bike across europe twice in different diections and its worked out great as an aluminium touring bike with carbon forks. I ride rear panniers only and the back tyre always wears out .
No hybrid or comfort bikes? We have many more choices of bicycles than what you have listed here, and comfort is more important than speed. Ask the women and old folks before you go jumping to conclusions. Happy trails!
No fat bike or Dutch bike? No foldable bikes or full suspension e-bikes? The video is called Touring bike vs Gravel bike, not ‘Which bike type out of every possible bike type is best’
It's pretty comical that the words 'aero' and 'faster' are applied to choosing one bicycle type over another. A person upon a bicycle is about as aerodynamic as a block of flats. Add luggage, and you've got a heavier block of flats. Ffs.
Bike packing is a thing for millennials to claim for themselves, a fad a fashion by the business to sell stuff all over again. The big seat mounted bag will rock and make you unstable. Your al or carbon forks will break and won't be fixable. A touring bike will go off road and have done for years, the CTC has had a rough stuff fraternity for ages. Bike packing bags look silly and random and are hard to find stuff. Do you always remember where you have put everything? All the bike packing bag weight is high up affecting your centre of gravity, downhill in the alps with the big seat bag rocking the bends, no thanks! OK so you have no map or map pocket because you have your phone and sat nav, but they need charging! A paper map doesn't need charging. This is reinvention by cycling companies to sell stuff. Old fashioned, me? I should say so!
Ich bin mit einem Gravelbike unterwegs. ❤ Grüße aus El Rosario🇲🇽 von meiner Panamericana Bikepacking Radreise von Deadhorse Alaska nach Ushuaia Argentinien. 🚴 📸markus_bike
whaaaat? gravel bike has wider tire than touring bike? absolutely not true even touring bike in your video has sticker fatties fit fine just depends what kind of frame it is and touring bike not suitable for bad roads? come on ,what fits better,sturdy frame or carbon frame made to load couple of chocolates?
@@Cycling366 you are talking about traditional 700C bikes,those are limited because they were made for good roads anyway gravel bikes didn't have wider tyres than 35 mm till very recently but majority of touring bikes were made with 26 inch wheels,those are sturdier and wider,i use 2,35 tyre on my 26 inch touring bike so i guess you are talking more of touring/treking bikes and i am talking about Touring/expedition bikes gravel bike is in essence at the moment MTB with fancy handlebar but before was sturdier variant of race bike just another atempt of industry to upsell you something they even produced GRX 2 x group but refuse to do that on MTB because "it is not necessary" but i would say they just want compnents to fit only there so they could sell you more
@@danieleverywhere132 Gravel bikes came from a grassroots racing scene. Just like MTBIng did 30 years previously. Folk took CX bikes and then did all day races on them [on gravel roads, hence the name] and because there were no rules with about max width 33mm tyre, 37-40mm tyres were used nearly 20 years back and gravel bikes were born. That's still the optimum size range for actual gravel racing. However folk starting wanting such bikes outside of that scene because modern MTBs became too much bike for the reality of most folks off roading. These gravel bikes them got a bit fatter in the tyre department and filled the gap that 90s MTBs used to occupy for riding XC. We are now repeating the evolution of 90s MTBs. So most 'gravel' bikes are now drop barred MTBs and wouldn't do well in a gravel race. I think Salsa is one of the few companies that honestly describes such bikes as drop barred MTBs.
@@JeremyLawrence-imajez for sure boundaries are blurred nowadays one category of bike mixing with other it is very easy to make gravel bike out of cross bike personally i just abandoned all hype of new bikes and use only 26 inch in different configurations with different gears and forks with weight from 10 15 kilos only exception being 28 inch hybrid with race wheels when i want speed people always want something new i want new only if i see progress which is not there but i am old what do i know
MTBs stopped being an all round bike a long time ago. Which is why gravel bikes were developed to fit that void. Most 'gravel' bikes are now drop barred MTBs that do the same job as the all round that XC MTBs bikes of the 90s once did.
To me, the touring bike in the Video looks more like a gravel/road bike than a touring bike. Touring bikes usually come with different bar type and small suspensions in front plus dynamo lights
Yeah it’s a bit of a hybrid but I’ve never seen a standard touring bike with suspension. Dynamo lights can be fitted to any bike with a Dynamo hub so that’s not exclusive to touring bikes either IMO.
Let me know which bike you'd have in the comments :)
the best thing about touring bikes is the geometry! having a slightly longer wheelbase, which increases stability and means your heels won't strike panniers, and a more upright comfortable riding position is wonderful.
Yeah exactly, designed for comfort not speed, but that’s cool too.
Moreover, after you die, since you had ridden a iron mount, you'll be able to resolve the "Riddle of Steel" and Crom will not laugh at you and cast you out of Valhalla
I have a touring bike with a flat bar and 55mm tyres, so actually wider than most Gravel bikes, so I would disagree that Gravel bikes have generally wider tyres, it strongly depends on the individual bike. My frame is from aluminium while my rigid fork is steel and has a rated capacity of 180kg. With chunky tyres I have taken the bike on the first 2000km of the Great Divide mountain bike route, while in the standard setup I have gone all over Germany (mostly to work), but also the UK and France and technically Switzerland.
I would categorize your Dads bike as a (beautiful) Randoneuse, rather than a general touring bike. It is just one variety of the wide array which can be touring bikes, where I would say flat bars are more common.
I do agree though on the downsize of classical panniers with aerodynamics and width, on the upside is the ease of mount and carrying capacity.
Yes I would agree. Each bike is different but as a general rule, I’d say Touring bikes don’t fit tyres as wide as gravel bikes. Your bike sounds cool!
Coolness is in the eye of the beholder. I think the touring bike here looks cooler than the gravel bike. I'm a sucker for steel lugged forks. I think they look so much better than the space-age looking carbon forks. I'm also a bit of a retro grouch, so I tend to favor more classic looking bikes over more modern looking bikes.
Definitely on board with statement, steel frames are timeless IMHO
Indeed!
have had a Dawes Galaxy tourer for quite a few years and love it. Dont feel it’s heavy and has taken me through the Western Isles and Wester Ross/Skye and Moidart and various areas in France including over Mont Ventoux. It’s still going strong after all these years, and i think it looks pretty cool!
Yeah I must admit Scotland roads are suited to a touring bike!
My brother has exactly the same bike and I believe he'd agree completely with you. It's also anice-looking bike, I must say.
Every incarnation of the Dawes Galaxy never fails to turn my head. Beautiful bike.
I was convinced my Thorn Raven Sport Tour, now 14 years old, would be my last ever bike purchase. Then a mate temped me onto gravel and I made an impulse buy of a Decathlon Second Life RC120 GRVL - for under £400. What a revelation! I love it, but for any proper biking adventure, rather than a day's ride, I'd go with the practicality of the Thorn. It will do road and light trails happily. But the RC 120 is far more fun for a shorter blast. Horses for courses, and owning two is allowed. Luckily! I enjoyed your review of the two.
Nice! The decathlon bikes are great value so sounds ace!
It’s a good concise and quite informative summation of the pros and cons of each. I have cycled toured over 20,000 kms and bike packed around 5000 and have both a touring ( Surly) and gravel bike ( Marin ) which I use for trips less than a week or ten days. Multi week trips need a touring bike unless one plans to be sleeping extensively in motels etc.
Cheers
Excuse me, your dad's touring bike is super cool looking!
It looks pretty good that’s true
I have a 2016 model Australian designed Vivente World Randoneur which have the drop bars and Shimano Dura-ace bar-end shifters which I love, I'm very much a traditionalist but also love the Modern offerings too. These bikes as you say are definitely great for long distance touring but they are also one of the best bikes for around town Commuting, it has full mudguards, Hydraulic Disc brakes, Shimano hub Dyno and AXA light system included, side stand, front and rear Tubus racks and best of all, Schwalbe Marathon Tyres for Puncture resistant riding. It may not be as Light and nimble as a Gravel or roadbike but it feels solid and I'm not a light bloke. My Bike with all bags taken off weighs in a 14kg so I don't think they are too heavy and are about 10kgs lighter than a E-bike. I'd like to have both though, a Gravel and Touring bike and a MTB to really go bush.
Sounds great! I like a tank of a bike
I just sold my trusty old Surly LHT and bought a new Vivente Gibb with Rohloff hub. It’s a fantastic bike, with plenty of clearance for decent off-road tyres.
I recently purchased a Jamis Renegade gravel bike. With 20 frame mounts, it can easily be used for bike packing or touring. To accommodate either gravel rides or road tours, I have two wheel sets, making this bike amazingly versatile.
Sounds cool
A key topic not specifically addressed is comfort. I have a Bianchi steel touring bike with carbon handlebars and stem and a B17 Brooks saddle. It is easy on my body on a long ride--much easier than a stiffer gravel bike frame with a more aggressive geometry would be. Another topic missed is commuting. Because touring bikes are outfitted with all kinds of weather in mind, they make good commuter bikes--plenty of storage, fenders to keep you dry enough for work, excellent lights in case you have to work late, tires wider than racing bikes' but designed for the streets. As for looks, I think most touring bikes aren't all that flashy looking; this reduces them as priority theft targets. Flashier bikes are easier to fence. If your commuter parking space is outdoors or in an easy to access bike room, less flash is a good thing. It seems to me that gravel bikes are good for off-road touring and rec riding, which doesn't make them more versatile than the tourer/commuter bike. One caveat re: touring bikes. As much as I enjoy bikepacking, I can't seem to get away as often as I would like. My bike, now 27 years old and riding great, has 10 times as many commuting miles than it has touring miles. I'm thinking that the term should be commuter/touring bike rather than the other way.
Nice! Yeah comfort is so subjective it’s hard to give sweeping statements for all viewers
i have a marin four corners steel frame , 2.0 gravel tyres , 1x 10 deore , alt bars. pretty much does everything i want from it. around your neck of woods. Goole canal to Rawciffe Bridge to Snaith ( bacon butty at The Kitchen!) Carlton to Burn airfield. Selby canal then trans pennine trail to Howden then back to Goole. its about 35 mile loop which i enjoy but im 58 now so enough for me! great channel.
Sounds ideal for that sort of riding!
I have both. I'm not a strong neither fast cyclist, so i feel good with my heavy goofy Salsa Marrakesh (and 1990 Trek 520).
That’s the ideal scenario! Have both then you don’t need to compromise :)
My Gravel Bike has fixed paniers at the back (and fenders/lights/dynamo hub) plus mounting points for a low rider front panier set.
Nice!
I have numerous bicycles for the different types of riding I do. In the end, corporations want to sell us stuff. I think bikepacking gravel bikes look nice. However, I can't justify dumping a perfectly good mountain bike to buy a new gravel bike. Or getting rid of my touring bike to buy a new gravel bike. What I have works for me. I never ride to be the fastest. I love the scenery and the exercise. Do what works for you and enjoy the ride.
Indeed! No point changing what works for you
I use my gravel bike for bikepacking and love it due to the versatility, lighter weight and speed. Some day I'll get my hands on a touring bike when I'm ready for that cross country trip but for now, I'll stick to my gravel bike.
Yeah same here! Nothing against touring bikes but gravel works well for me currently
I use my Trek 520 touring bike for touring, commuting and gravel ridding. I got it on my cross country bicycle tour when my aluminum specialized tricross bike got a crack in the fram causing severe mechanical issues on the road. Aluminum is good for cheap light weight performance but not long term heavy touring. I have to give credit to steal frame touring bikes for their excellent longevity.
Nice! Good bike
Modern touring bikes have tended to change gain gravel features eg Cinelli EasyTravel: disc brakes, comes with mudguards but up to 44 mm tyres without mudguards,
Cool
My bike is an Idworx All Rohler. 5,5 cm tires. It takes me everwhere, offroad, gravel, tarmac.
Sounds like a tank 💥
Pelago Stavanger is a quite versatile gravel bike. Especially because of its steel frame. Unloaded it is a very stable ride. Love it and hope it will last forever ❤️
Sounds cool 😎
Titanium Salsa Fargo answers both the problem of weight and off-road durability but its wide tire clearance causes some chainring size limitations
Yeah, in reality there’s always a trade-off. The only other option would be to get a pinion gearbox but then we’re talking big moolah
Own a gravel bike but i actually like the look of touring bikes... Surly and the Genesis Tour de Fer being my favourite.. Great comparison by the way.
Nice! Yeah I’ve got to admit the Surlys do look cool if I had to get a touring bike!
check out the Diamant Villiger (=
@@JudgeDeadMJ no
@@marcclish :(
Gearing and strength means it's my Claude Butler tourer every time for camping trips here in Scotland.
Nice! I mean don’t get me wrong, I love all bikes so you do what works for you :)
Very surprised to see this name in the comments!
I've just ridden a 1980's Claud Butler from Ireland to India - the entire way with a rusted out bottom bracket. Unfortunately it has now bit the dust and I'm looking to replace it
@jameshenehan9670 My wife and I bought ours in the early 2000s. They wouldn't win anything in the lightness stakes, but that just adds to their robustness eating up the miles and carrying a shitload luggage. Hellish on the hills, of course.
For a heavier rider carrying significant gear stick with steel every time. My modern steel touring bike is just 12kg with a cool sloping top bar and greater heel clearance for panniers. Normal runs 700c x 35 tyres can accommodate 650b rims and wider tyres for rougher terrains. Has plenty of lugs for flexibility, small increases in speed is not a criteria, on long trips reliability smooth and comfortable riding is key.
Great also for commuting or for general fitness why get a gravel bike?
Whatever works for you! 👍
I think what comes to this Touring bike vs "bikepacking bike" (gravel) is going to lift towards bikepacking, since nowadays the equipment you can take with you is much lighter, packs much smaller than it was lets say 20-30 years ago. This trend in thru-hikers with ultralight gear shows that you can have extremely minimal setup, extremely light weight gear that is made to last for a long time.
This allows bikepacking to get lighter and need for multiple bags diminishes.
Sure
I've been useing a kona sutra with 2.25 tyres on it a 3by 9 gear set up and it will take everything i give it.
Sounds like a beast!
I have an old 90s Giant MTB that i picked up for €50 locally. It is a tad large for me, but as mentioned in the comments below, it does have a longer wheel base and is a lot more comfortable than my 90s Kona Lava Dome MTB (which has a 17" frame compared to the 20" frame of the Giant). I am thinking of converting the Giant to a daily communter-/touring. I do not have a car, so i would like to load it with front and rear racks, it is only the frame size that is putting me off.
That’s cool! 90s MTB builds are really popular at the moment so could be made to work!
You are certainly a brave person to tackle a touring vs gravel comparison - and well done for the well-balanced discussion you gave. A hitch is that like gravel bikes, touring bikes have also ‘moved on’ - any hope of a comparison between up to date gravel and touring bikes that have similar features (eg wider tyres, lighter weight frames…)?
Cheers Phil! Yeah it’s always controversial but hopefully it’s informative for some people haha. Yeah sounds like a good idea
Great video, I'm currently looking for the perfect bike for me. And your video proofed me that I should go for a touring bike for 5 month tour through america
Thanks! Awesome, that sounds like the best bet for that length of time
Your Dad's Bike ist a Randonneur...
I use a mid 90's Rockhopper with 50 mm wide tyres as a touring bike.
At the Moment I am in Corsica. Today I drove up a very rough and steep gravel road, with 20 kg of load .....
👏
If you,re over 90kgs, get a tourer for all your rides. They're made to take the weight, aluminium is rubbish in my experience.
Yeah if you’re heavy, steel is always a good option
It is design and quality that matters, not the material. Also when I was a mere 60kg I snapped a steel frame.
I have owned other steel, alloy and carbon bikes and they have all been excellent.
@JeremyLawrence-imajez Well aluminium is the cheaper alternative for mass produced bikes and doesnt flex like steel and fatigues far more. Many cracked frames later, I wont touch them.
Maybe don't buy cheap/poorly designed bikes then@@randelscyclevlogperthwa7342. Loads of folk ride alloy frames without issue.
Alloy is not the problem, otherwise they wouldn't build say aeroplanes or wind turbines out of it. Things that undergo way more stress and flex than a mere bicycle.
@@randelscyclevlogperthwa7342 Aluminum is so bad that most brands competing on the Downhill UCI world cup and Redbull Rampage/Hardline use it on their designs lol
I do "bikepacking"&"touring" or as I say "trail touring" on my 29" hardtail Jamis Durango. It has a thule rack with sea to summit dry bags up front and a surly cro-mo steel rear rack with thule shield panniers 13l each. And 4l sea to summit watercellls straped under the panniers. I have a topeak 15l backloader seat bag on the seat and seat post. And a topeak 5l seat bag wedged between the rack and backloader. I have a salsa exp full frame bag. Topeak versa cages on the forks. A aero spider cage on the handelbars. Also a pair of water bottle cages on the forks and another versa cage on the bottom of the down tube for my 64oz growler. I had a personal trainer (ex navy seal) lift it and he said it weighs about 200lbs. fully loaded 😮.
Sounds like a nice setup!
I'll take a touring bike every day, and yes, touring is on the roads, not off-road, by definition.
You do you!
My biggest regret was selling my Dawes Super Galaxy I used it every where and for commuting to the hospital I worked in. Great for carrying fresh wardrobe in for my on-call shifts. I’d happily have another. Even gravel bikes can be pretty much subdivided mines is a Pinarello so very much more race orientated but still easy to use for touring. Prior to having a gravel bike I was using both my carbon road bikes on gravel etc did the gear Glen Way on my Domane with road tyres😂. I still have a triple set MTB but I do like the simplicity of a 1x on my new MTB and Gravel bike and if you have the right set up they will go up anything. I think it doesn’t matter what you use to tour on I started on a Shopper bike as a teenager and I know folks who are still using Moulton etc to tour on and on rougher terrain.
It’s all pretty subjective.
Yeah it’s all subjective but that’s the beauty of videos like this. Nobody fully agrees 😛 Yeah that’s the gold standard of tourers! Shame you no longer have it
Yes only sold it because I was told by GP I’d probably be unable to cycle again. Kept the new MTB and thought it would be such a shame for the Galaxy not to be used it was in mint condition to ☹️
How the bike looks is very subjective. I agree 100% with you, but many people love touring bikes and we must respect thir opinion. Main reason I'd go for a gravel is the off road capabilities. Everything else is disputable. For road bikepacking, a disc road bike with 32mm tyres is good enough.
Best regards,
Yes indeed, the whole video is slightly subjective but that’s because bikes divide opinions haha. Thanks for watching
If I’m totally honest I must do about 80% on road and 20% off. So I bought a Kona Sutra. I love it, it’s just a pleasure to ride. Loaded with full touring gear, loaded with a few days of bikepacking gear or just naked, it just delivers a pleasant comfortable ride.
Yeah a good few people have commented saying they like the Sutra. Not ridden one myself but worth checking out!
But get the old One with 73mm bottom bracket. Much more Tire clearance
Great video, thanks! I have a Specialized Gravel bike in carbon frame and I was wondering if I could use it for bikepacking/touring. I feel a little better knowing that it IS capable.
Absolutely. Just check the recommended weight limit for the components and you’ll be golden
I don't get on with gravel bikes.
I use a touring bike for touring. I use a MTB for commuting and I have another MTB that I use for touring.
Your dad's touring bike looks lovely.
Fair dos. Each to their own.
You say a touring bike isn't capable off road, but the Rough Stuff fellowship crossed Iceland in the 50's on them. Maybe kids are softer today...
Nice! We also trekked across the world on horses hundreds of years ago. Doesn’t mean it’s optimal! But in all seriousness, each bike is different so some touring bikes can handle off road. It’s just a general comparison
@@Cycling366 True, I'd like both 😁
Most of the rather wonderful Roughstuff photos however seem to show them carrying bikes and fixing punctures.
I've ridden a bike with [tubeless] 28mm tyres many a time on some serious challenging off road terrain and whilst I enjoy a underbiking on a day out, if touring/bikepacking, underbiking is too, slow as well as very draining and tiring.
Your dad's bike can be fitted with your gravel bike's components, fitted with the same tires, and use the gravel bike's panniers and bags and only weigh a couple of kilos more. After doing this and loading it up for a week, your dad's bike will probably have a much better ride quality regardless of surface.
Perhaps, but I don’t think the ride quality is any better personally
For me touring bikes are best. They are robust and practical… and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The classic thin tube steel frame just looks like a bike should look. I’ve always thought gravel bikes were a marketing solution that lacked a real world problem. A good mountain bike will do everything a gravel bike will do, so the concept is redundant.
Fair enough. A good MTB isn’t great on the road though so can’t completely agree with you.
I have a Dawes Super Galaxy from the early 90’s. I wouldn’t swap it for the world it’s ultra reliable and is a great ride and yes I think it looks cool 😊
Nice!
Touring bikes are made of steel which absorb vibration on the road which add good riding quality . While Gravel bikes are mostly made in alum its rigid and feel more vibrations and bumps on the road, but its lighter and faster. Stiffness can result in a harsh ride quality.
Indeed
If you are not riding off road, I think lower gears continue to make touring bikes appealing. Or you swap out the crank and cassette for better climbing potential making gravel bikes are arguably more appealing.
Good points
You made a very interesting point about the width of panniers, do fork leg bags suffer the same issue? I’m trying to spec "likes" and "must haves" for a bike purchase and I had fork bolt points as a must but starting to wonder if it’s not so important.
Potentially yes! Depends on how high up the fork mounts are. In my Sonder Frontier walkthrough I have them fitted and they’re on the lower side but not had any issues yet
Shoot, my Marin 4 Corners is cool. Looks cool, rides cool. The most comfortable bike I own. Without racks and bags, most would think it’s a gravel or cyclocross bike. It’s a bit “ponderous” compared, and yet way more comfortable than my carbon road bike. With 30mm Conti 4000’s it’s a joy to lay down miles.
Sounds cool!
If you are looking for an all-terrain bike, then, yeah; you need a specialty bike for touring. But when it comes to paved roads, there is one bike that beat them all. In the 80's, ('84 thru '86) Schwinn made the Voyageur SP; a bike made of both Columbus SL & SP tubing, and a 23" bike weighed in at 24lb, or 10.8 Kilos for you Brits. This was the pinnacle of touring bikes for the day... anything else or better, in my opinion, at this weight and class would have had to be heavier or custom hand built, costing at minimum for the day, $2,000, where in '86, it cost $550; at least, that is what I paid for my Voyageur SP bike. In my opinion, the Schwinn Voyageur SP is still by far the absolute best touring bike when it comes to full functionality, original component, ride comfort & flexibility, full front & rear rack mounts and 3 water bottle cage mounts, and overall great utility and value for the day, and it still rivals others today. Every 'touring' bike that came afterwords was either on Columbus SP, Tange Chromoly or aluminum, which all made for frames that were just too stiff, heavy, and or just missed the mark. Pound per pound, the Schwinn Voyageur SP beat the competition in every aspect of design, but as snobs had it, it was a Schwinn. So, sales for a lack of true understanding of what Schwinn actually built mostly went unnoticed. And those snobs went for Trek, Bridgestone, Cannondale, and anything else where the 'brand name' was more appealing and made for higher sales. BTW - I've got three Voyageur SP's and I wouldn't trade them for anything else; well, of course, a 24" I'd trade for a 23"... all still great touring bikes with thousands of miles on them.
Sounds great
Or a touring MTB? I have a Genesis Longitude that can go anywhere!!! Also got a Genesis Tour de Fer which manages most places the Longitude can go until the mudguards jam up with mud!
Didn’t know there was a touring MTB in honesty haha. Sounds cool
@@Cycling366A Scottish company called Shand does one as well.
I get more compliments on my 2016 Salsa Marrakesh than I have on all my other bikes combined.
Cool 😎
I am on my second Marrakesh, bought the first one too large so I down sized, and agree. People love seeing them loaded or unloaded.
I thought the trend was to blur the lines by offering all kinds of mounting points on gravel bikes
It definitely is getting that way
Can a gravel bike be fitted with triple chain ring group set?
Depends on the model, but sure it’s probably possible
My 1984 Claud Butler Dalesman is COOL and admired everywhere i go. Unique now in a world of identikit clone bikes.
Cool 😎
Aero while you have a big pack mounted to your handlebars and panniers at the back. Good luck with that.
Well… the rider position does make the biggest difference so you’ll still likely notice it going from upright to dropped down.
I have an old touring bike, which I completely refitted with modern components. I think I have the best of both worlds :). Above that, it really looks very cool; I get a lot of compliments about it on the way. So, on that point I disagree with you.
Another thing is, to me mudguards are a must. Period. As you explained, you don't let yourself go wet on your cycling tour. Of course, you can mount them on a gravel bike (same with carriers) - as a result it will weigh as much as a decent touring bike :).
What remains is the capability of riding off-road. But I do ride gravel tracks, as long as they are not too bumpy.
Sounds cool
To be honest I don’t see much difference in looks between the two. I am looking at gravel bikes only because I like to explore when riding and sometimes it can be off road. I can’t fit much larger tires on my three road bikes. I have two mountain bikes, but I hate riding any distance with flat bars. And yes I have tried converting a mountain bike to road use. Maybe I will try it again seeing what we have learned with the development of gravel bikes.
Cool 👌
I've had a steel frame break as it happens. It cracked on underside of downtube about 5cm down from headtube. 😕Pretty sure rust was part of the issue there.
Never been convinced by the 'you can repair steel anywhere' argument. Building and also repairing modern thin walled steel bikes is a really skilled job and if you are in the back of beyond even finding a welder will be a challenge.
Carbon ironically is the material you are most likely to be able to fix yourself. After all, it's just fancy fibre glass with a much fancier price. 😁So you can carry carbon repair kits with you.
We passed each other the other day as it happens Tom. On the river bike path by Meadowhall. Didn't twigg until after we'd passed, I was a bit tired at that point. Otherwise I'd have waved/said hello. I'm guessing you were coming from your folk's house whilst I was just heading back home which is just up the hill from their place.
None of my various bikes [CX, HT, FS] have any kind of rack mounting, Yet I could carry more than I personally would ever need with zero problems, due to clever modern luggage designs. A mix of Tailfin, Ortlieb and Alpkit. Which I can upgrade to carry panniers, should I want to. Also modern bikepacking bikes have even more clever carrying features than an old skool tourer these days. I think a long tail hard tail bike would be my choice for an epic round the world trip. Something like an Esker Hayduke LVS.
See here - ua-cam.com/video/RmhuybBsTvI/v-deo.html
On and my Crud rear mudguard fits nicely under my Tailfin Aero pack.
Very good points!
Just a comment..you CAN fit wider tyres in the Surly Disc Trucker . Fatties Fit Fine..says so on the forks 😂
Haha yes you’re right!
Touring bikes are super cool! Give me a Thorn Mercury with flat bars, rohloff, toe clips and in the best colour-green! 😁
👌
Depends how long you are going for. Long trip touring bike every time
Of course. And terrain
Touring is not about going faster.
Touring bikes are built to carry heavy loads, over long distances. This means they come with bearings that will last a lot longer.
Touring bikes are versitile, I use mine everyday.
Carbon fibre is way to delicate, and difficult to repair. Titanium too rigid and very difficult to 'weld on the road'.
Long distance touring requires carrying your home, for maybe three years. Only possible with a touring bike.
Touring bikes and butterfly bars are super cool.
Yes, I have toured a lot. In excess of 300, 000 kms.
Cool
Totally disagree, some touring bikes look very cool (including your dads)
Yeah I agree. ‘Some’ touring bikes look cool and the Surly’s are great. Others look awful but that’s my opinion 😛
I get told every day how cool my touring bike looks. The first word is always "WOW!".
Great video, thanks for sharing 👌
Thanks for watching!
Which brompton bike belongs to?
Neither really; they’re more of a commuter / light touring bike
Marin Four corners...the do it all bike 👍
Yeah had a lot of people mention that
Seems like every time I hear about someone going to exotic places on a bike for long distance excursions, it turns out their bike is a Surly Long Haul Trucker. I just checked and they handle 700C X 45mm tires. I do not own one nor do I work for them.
Up until 2018 or so, the LHT and Disc Trucker were some of the best touring bikes around. Sadly, they’ve axed the LHT and the newer Disc Trucker doesn’t have very good quality components. I’ve taken my Disc Trucker to all sorts of exotic places, but it’s also great as a bomb-proof year-round commuter. Triple cranksets are tough to beat for range and versatility. You can slog up a mountain pass at walking pace, and scream down the other side faster than the cars. Basically, I do own one, and it’s great!
@@Spanderson99 So - It sounds like some of the stuff may wear out a bit quicker. I guess replacement parts will be around for quite a few years. Maybe, the cost of those new components has shot kinda sky high like a lot of premium bike parts and they had to compromise. If people keep praising them, I may get one some day or maybe one of these belt driven bicycles.
Yeah Surlys are different really. Slightly more of a hybrid between gravel bikes and touring bikes but they’re cool!
I think you should just work out the differences between these bikes, not decide what's best.
One major point for gravel is the max tire width, but not for off-roading , for comfort ! Riding hunderts of km on normal roads is just way more comfy than with 37mm tires
That’s what I did!
I think the touring bike looks very nice
👍
Great video
Thanks
Thank you 🙏
You’re welcome 😊
Gravel bikes just look cool? I disagree, depends on the steel tourer! Steel tourers are heavier because the tubes are thicker and stiffer so when you load the thing up it doesn't feel like a noodle. The weight of the bike is negligible once you've thrown your body and bags on.
Fair dos
Luggage and terrain will tilt the scale. 😌
Indeed
I'm with a lot of comments here, a touring bike is far from being ugly and the weight is obviously a matter of parts being put on, including the fenders which limit the tire size. If you take them off tire clearance is pretty much on par with the gravel bike. Oh and the material, steel being heavy? Who taught you that? A carbon frame is most probably lighter, an alloy frame not really. But IMHO they just don't look as good as a slick steel frame. And companies today stick to that as well, just look at Surly, very timeless classy gravel bikes made of steel
Cool. I mean… equivalent steel frames just are heavier that’s a fact… of course you could get a high end steel frame vs a blocky aluminium frame and it may be lighter but comparatively it’s not!
riding 120k in that posture on a gravel bike would be a nightmare
Maybe for you! I’ve done tens of rides of considerably more mileage than that on this bike and it’s been very comfortable
Thank you.
No worries!
I’ve done quite a bit of gravel, including bits of the Highland Trail 550 on my touring bike, a 26 inch wheel Thorn. Steel is so comfortable. There have been days when I would have appreciated suspension but I disagree with your final comment about everyday use. Everyday is what I use my touring bike for. Tesco. Day rides. Training days. Then fly on the carbon Roubaix after the hard preparation work on my heavy metal Thorn.
Yeah me too. I bought a second hand touring bike for same reason. Commute to work (without it looking too flashy aka nickable) , the weekly shop, and of course Touring!
Fair enough! Each to their own :)
Luxury
lol i want to see you on the gravel bike on a "boggy terrain"
Not much different than an XC MTB on body terrain
Touring bikes👍
Lovely ☺️
Touring bike looks cooler than the gravel bike.
😮
i thought bikepacking and biketouring are 2 different disciplines?
Not really now. It’s mostly marketing BS. The new meaning of ‘bikepacking’ incorporates all bike travel with overnight stopping in my opinion. It’s used interchangeably nowadays.
Not really now. It’s mostly marketing BS. The new meaning of ‘bikepacking’ incorporates all bike travel with overnight stopping in my opinion. It’s used interchangeably nowadays.
Gravel this 👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾🦨
Makes perfect sense
Once you load up your bike with all your kit the difference in weight between carbon and steel is meaningless because you need to think in terms of system weight ie rider, bike and gear weight added together. 1kg might represent just 1% difference. It needs to be said though that today's sophisticated steels may not be easily welded by an African village blacksmith.
Of course! Yeah that’s why I said ‘in theory’ it’s a bit of a misconception in my view. Most places can source spare parts or take delivery of new frames if the worst should happen, but there’s a notion that steel is the best because it can be repaired vs replaced
Touring, obviously.
Obviously
Why dont they put rack points on gravel bikes ? most models ive seen dont have them? Ive ridden my specialized 2011 cyclocross bike across europe twice in different diections and its worked out great as an aluminium touring bike with carbon forks. I ride rear panniers only and the back tyre always wears out .
Aesthetics I’m guessing!
No hybrid or comfort bikes? We have many more choices of bicycles than what you have listed here, and comfort is more important than speed. Ask the women and old folks before you go jumping to conclusions. Happy trails!
No fat bike or Dutch bike? No foldable bikes or full suspension e-bikes? The video is called Touring bike vs Gravel bike, not ‘Which bike type out of every possible bike type is best’
1x gearing is crap.
None of these bikes in the video have 1x gearing…
Looking at bike theft, maybe it is a good idea not to have a bike that looks "cool"
Yeah maybe. But if you’re careful and you’re using it for camping in the wilderness, I’d say the risk is negligible!
It's pretty comical that the words 'aero' and 'faster' are applied to choosing one bicycle type over another.
A person upon a bicycle is about as aerodynamic as a block of flats. Add luggage, and you've got a heavier block of flats. Ffs.
Fo sho
Bike packing is a thing for millennials to claim for themselves, a fad a fashion by the business to sell stuff all over again. The big seat mounted bag will rock and make you unstable. Your al or carbon forks will break and won't be fixable. A touring bike will go off road and have done for years, the CTC has had a rough stuff fraternity for ages. Bike packing bags look silly and random and are hard to find stuff. Do you always remember where you have put everything?
All the bike packing bag weight is high up affecting your centre of gravity, downhill in the alps with the big seat bag rocking the bends, no thanks!
OK so you have no map or map pocket because you have your phone and sat nav, but they need charging! A paper map doesn't need charging.
This is reinvention by cycling companies to sell stuff. Old fashioned, me? I should say so!
Ok… I really don’t care what you call it. Just get out on your bike and enjoy yourself
Ich bin mit einem Gravelbike unterwegs. ❤
Grüße aus El Rosario🇲🇽 von meiner Panamericana Bikepacking Radreise von Deadhorse Alaska nach Ushuaia Argentinien. 🚴
📸markus_bike
Good luck
whaaaat?
gravel bike has wider tire than touring bike?
absolutely not true
even touring bike in your video has sticker fatties fit fine
just depends what kind of frame it is
and touring bike not suitable for bad roads?
come on ,what fits better,sturdy frame or carbon frame made to load couple of chocolates?
The Surly is an outlier. Most traditional touring bikes as standard will not have bigger tyre clearance than a gravel bike
The Surly is an outlier. Most traditional touring bikes as standard will not have bigger tyre clearance than a gravel bike
@@Cycling366 you are talking about traditional 700C bikes,those are limited because they were made for good roads anyway
gravel bikes didn't have wider tyres than 35 mm till very recently
but majority of touring bikes were made with 26 inch wheels,those are sturdier and wider,i use 2,35 tyre on my 26 inch touring bike
so i guess you are talking more of touring/treking bikes and i am talking about Touring/expedition bikes
gravel bike is in essence at the moment MTB with fancy handlebar but before was sturdier variant of race bike just another atempt of industry to upsell you something
they even produced GRX 2 x group but refuse to do that on MTB because "it is not necessary" but i would say they just want compnents to fit only there so they could sell you more
@@danieleverywhere132 Gravel bikes came from a grassroots racing scene. Just like MTBIng did 30 years previously. Folk took CX bikes and then did all day races on them [on gravel roads, hence the name] and because there were no rules with about max width 33mm tyre, 37-40mm tyres were used nearly 20 years back and gravel bikes were born. That's still the optimum size range for actual gravel racing.
However folk starting wanting such bikes outside of that scene because modern MTBs became too much bike for the reality of most folks off roading. These gravel bikes them got a bit fatter in the tyre department and filled the gap that 90s MTBs used to occupy for riding XC. We are now repeating the evolution of 90s MTBs. So most 'gravel' bikes are now drop barred MTBs and wouldn't do well in a gravel race. I think Salsa is one of the few companies that honestly describes such bikes as drop barred MTBs.
@@JeremyLawrence-imajez for sure boundaries are blurred nowadays one category of bike mixing with other
it is very easy to make gravel bike out of cross bike
personally i just abandoned all hype of new bikes and use only 26 inch in different configurations with different gears and forks with weight from 10 15 kilos only exception being 28 inch hybrid with race wheels when i want speed
people always want something new i want new only if i see progress which is not there
but i am old what do i know
mountain bike is the all around bike...gravel bike is just a fad....LOL
That’s for another video 😂
MTBs stopped being an all round bike a long time ago. Which is why gravel bikes were developed to fit that void.
Most 'gravel' bikes are now drop barred MTBs that do the same job as the all round that XC MTBs bikes of the 90s once did.
Gravel bikes > MTB
I hate to break it to you, but most 'Gravel' bikes are MTBs now @@Aus10c.
To me, the touring bike in the Video looks more like a gravel/road bike than a touring bike. Touring bikes usually come with different bar type and small suspensions in front plus dynamo lights
Yeah it’s a bit of a hybrid but I’ve never seen a standard touring bike with suspension. Dynamo lights can be fitted to any bike with a Dynamo hub so that’s not exclusive to touring bikes either IMO.