I honestly tried hard to like gravel riding and ended up just getting into MTB. Miles on end getting rattled vs a full squish and more capable machine made it an easy choice.
@@norcalchrismeister there is the fun factor. Gravel is fun some of the time but a MTB off road, in the forest or out on the trail is fun, all the time.
Best combo for majority of UK terrain is a rigid 29er MTB with 2.25 tubeless tyres. It's light, agile and will handle all but the most narly of terrain due to the big wheels and large volume tyres. It will also fly along at 20mph+ on tarmac!
horses for courses, i like my gravel bike for long days in the saddle on gravel roads and single track, i also like my xc hardtail for long days in the saddle on gravel roads and single tracks, i also like my full suss for getting a bit more shreddy. no point in opinions about whether a gravel bike is a 90's mtb ripoff or a gimmick, if you enjoy it, ride it.
Wow… so many people are “if I don’t ride it… I hate it” It’s disheartening… the number of people expressing loathing for one type of cycling… if you don’t like it… fine… you don’t have to shit on it… ride what you want, no one is making anyone buy or ride anything they don’t want to. Cyclists should embrace all cycling types since it seems everyone else (cars, pedestrians) are against us. Ride your mountain/road/hybrid/bmx/dutch/gravel/adventure/cruiser and quit bitching.
Haha the slow-motion really shows how well that carbon handlebar absorbs vibrations (not appreciably). It would be great to see a comparison video using slow motion to compare the vibrations at your arms over gravel between suspension types - Redshift stem, Lefty Oliver, Future Shock, Rudy, Fox 32, Lauf, and just plain bigger tires!
Check out The Bike Sauce's channel - he does a comparison between the future shock and Redshift stem. Odds are he will do some more comparisons in the future.
For me the flat bar gravel bike is my choice. Some what less areo, but great control and comfort. My Trek sport FX5 has a carbon frame, 1xdrivetrain , 700x40 tires, disc brakes. Very happy with the variety of riding this bike handles.
Had a Boardman CX for years, loved it so much I recently upgraded to a new OnOne Free Ranger, sold the CX and my Trek Roadie, simpler life for on and off road👍🏽
Currently living in the Philippines where all the dirt roads near me have now been covered in concrete....crap concrete...a gravel bike is a good idea if just to run wider tyres, 30-40mm without sacrificing too much speed....oh and wider gearing for those brutal 20% + climbs in the Cordillera 😫
I have an entry-level Gravel Bike. According to me, a Gravel bike is a practical road bike with wider tyres for bad roads, lower gears for steep climbing, mounting points to carry stuff during commute and very versatile compared to an outright RB.
@BikeRadar... A four inch travel swing link XC bike such as the Specialized Epic or Canyon Lux set up with Farr's Carbon Endurance MTB, Farr Carbon Aero Bolt-On V3, with a good set of carbon bar ends, gives you four hand positions, and does every thing a gravel and an XC bike can do. It's a quiver killer!
Great summary of the advantages of "gravel" bikes. I bought a gravel bike as a supplementary weekend fun ride a few years ago and now it's pretty much the only bike I ever ride; I even use it for touring. I do think the boundaries between bicycle genres does get a bit blurry at the edges, though. A gravel bike fitted with road tires serves quite well as an endurance road bike; but newer endurance road bikes have fender mounts and clearance for wider tires. Even more recently, much to my dismay, a lot of gravel bikes now have suspension built into the very frame, so now you're stuck with suspension (i.e., squishy inefficiency) whether you want it or not. Sometimes I have the irrational fear that all bike types will eventually merge into a generic, bland SUV-style ride that's OK at everything but excellent at nothing.
My road bike is basically a gravel bike with 28 mm tyres and road cassette. The comfort, stability and compliance is great for all day rides and it is fine for amateur group rides on tar. What is being done with gravel bikes is a return of common sense to bike design for the masses. Pity there is so much marketing hype.
To those that live in Utah, don't get a gravel bike. I have nothing against them, they are GREAT in some parts of the country, just not the right tool for this state. Get a road bike with decent clearance for the rare smooth dirt patch and/or an XC bike. XC bikes are still quick on the pavement, but can handle the rock gardens and boulder sized "gravel" roads we have here. Plus we have a lot of XC friendly single track... in fact the single track here is often nicer to gravel bikes than the dirt roads. Nice job on this video btw Bike radar!
Three years ago I used to say gravel made no sense, but muy girlfriend fell in love with a gravel and then we both got two gravels. Since then I had to swalow my words so I ride It more than my carbon mtb by far.
So on this new and "improved" model, not only did they remove the chainstay protector which keeps the chain from smacking into the carbon frame, but they also removed the very robust looking XDefender downtube protector which keeps your BB from getting pelted with rocks (because, you know, gravel riding). Absolutely amazing how out of touch the decision makers of this world can sometimes be. Its like the people who design stuff live permanently behind their desk and never venture out into the real world, much less use and test their own products. They added a flip chip, top tube mounts (which is a good addition), and the D shaped seatpost can now be swapped to a round seatpost if you prefer that (which I dont think you could switch on the previous model). Why did they remove the frame protection? So stupid. How about fixing the seat tube cracking issue first before you go adding a flip chip.
I will always be a die-hard roadie, but I haven't used my cyclocross bike in probably 4 or 5 years and I really don't like riding it. I've been wanting to get a gravel bike for a while, but don't have room to store one, now if I sell that cyclocross bike... 🤔😊😎.
Riding on proper gravel is a bit scary on my mountain bike with gravel tyres flat handlebars and front suspension.That racer with gravel tyres would be too sketchy for me.
I had a custom gravel bike on order and delivery kept postponing. So, my LBS recommended a MTB... an eMTB no less. The Specialized Turbo Levo. WOW, the fun factor is OFF THE CHARTS. I immediately cancelled my gravel order. This eMTB is a perfect pairing with my S Works Aethos and with a head unit slapped on, I get my power reading and still can get a great workout. Pretty much every hill can be climbed and any condition ridden be it weather or terrain. No gravel needed!
Personally. I just use a flat bar road bike and put on 35c gravel king sk… the “gravel bike” is a bit of a marketing gimmick.. some are just too mtb like
It's becoming obvious how this channel is more about promoting kit and bike than actually riding them. I understand it pays the bill and salaries but its rinse and repeat. If you think I am wrong, please can you link the last video you made about something that was very poor. Cheers
Do you complain when tv shows or sports on tv don’t have commercial breaks that say products are crap? It’s no cost to you… you are free to never watch the channel again.
they used to take their sponsored bike by on multi day trips, etc.. those vids were cool.. i really dont bother with these types of videos tbh (its paused while i read the comments)
Lazy fat tyres racing bike or used to be now instead of 52t they come with grannie rings children bike having struggled with Giant tubless rims 4 wheels and 3 different makers tyres all popping on and popping right off again when deflated, having to glue them with silicone my feeling towards Giant are not at all good, Orbed next to replace my Propel mines GT grade before the 1 x grannie rings 2 x 52 34t and the tubless rims work
I honestly tried hard to like gravel riding and ended up just getting into MTB. Miles on end getting rattled vs a full squish and more capable machine made it an easy choice.
10000%!
Yeah, I still have my gravel bike but prefer my Epic Evo. It's way more capable off road and more comfortable.
@@norcalchrismeister there is the fun factor. Gravel is fun some of the time but a MTB off road, in the forest or out on the trail is fun, all the time.
@@wss327 Absolutely!
Best combo for majority of UK terrain is a rigid 29er MTB with 2.25 tubeless tyres. It's light, agile and will handle all but the most narly of terrain due to the big wheels and large volume tyres. It will also fly along at 20mph+ on tarmac!
An exhaustive survey! And a nice clarification towards the end of the important points that still make a cyclocross bike valid! Racing! Well done!!
horses for courses, i like my gravel bike for long days in the saddle on gravel roads and single track, i also like my xc hardtail for long days in the saddle on gravel roads and single tracks, i also like my full suss for getting a bit more shreddy. no point in opinions about whether a gravel bike is a 90's mtb ripoff or a gimmick, if you enjoy it, ride it.
This is actually one of the better videos I've seen on gravel bikes. Definitely better than anything I have seen on GCN for gravel bikes.
Wow… so many people are “if I don’t ride it… I hate it” It’s disheartening… the number of people expressing loathing for one type of cycling… if you don’t like it… fine… you don’t have to shit on it… ride what you want, no one is making anyone buy or ride anything they don’t want to. Cyclists should embrace all cycling types since it seems everyone else (cars, pedestrians) are against us. Ride your mountain/road/hybrid/bmx/dutch/gravel/adventure/cruiser and quit bitching.
Always enjoy Bikeradar video’s, After getting my Grail my road bike is gathering dust the gravel bike brings out the teenager in me
Haha the slow-motion really shows how well that carbon handlebar absorbs vibrations (not appreciably). It would be great to see a comparison video using slow motion to compare the vibrations at your arms over gravel between suspension types - Redshift stem, Lefty Oliver, Future Shock, Rudy, Fox 32, Lauf, and just plain bigger tires!
Check out The Bike Sauce's channel - he does a comparison between the future shock and Redshift stem. Odds are he will do some more comparisons in the future.
For me the flat bar gravel bike is my choice. Some what less areo, but great control and comfort. My Trek sport FX5 has a carbon frame, 1xdrivetrain , 700x40 tires, disc brakes. Very happy with the variety of riding this bike handles.
Loved the pigeon down in the right corner, and the splendidly green socks of course 😋
We don't have enough gravel trails in the UK so best refer to them as adventure bikes!
We've actually got loads....look on a map - and you'll see plenty of forests.....full of gravel forestry roads....
Had a Boardman CX for years, loved it so much I recently upgraded to a new OnOne Free Ranger, sold the CX and my Trek Roadie, simpler life for on and off road👍🏽
Currently living in the Philippines where all the dirt roads near me have now been covered in concrete....crap concrete...a gravel bike is a good idea if just to run wider tyres, 30-40mm without sacrificing too much speed....oh and wider gearing for those brutal 20% + climbs in the Cordillera 😫
I have an entry-level Gravel Bike. According to me, a Gravel bike is a practical road bike with wider tyres for bad roads, lower gears for steep climbing, mounting points to carry stuff during commute and very versatile compared to an outright RB.
As long as it can fit 35 mm tyres and looks like a road bike, it will do for me.
@@Bajbajoc Telling this person what they like is literally the antithesis to the comment itself.
@BikeRadar... A four inch travel swing link XC bike such as the Specialized Epic or Canyon Lux set up with Farr's Carbon Endurance MTB, Farr Carbon Aero Bolt-On V3, with a good set of carbon bar ends, gives you four hand positions, and does every thing a gravel and an XC bike can do. It's a quiver killer!
Great summary of the advantages of "gravel" bikes. I bought a gravel bike as a supplementary weekend fun ride a few years ago and now it's pretty much the only bike I ever ride; I even use it for touring.
I do think the boundaries between bicycle genres does get a bit blurry at the edges, though. A gravel bike fitted with road tires serves quite well as an endurance road bike; but newer endurance road bikes have fender mounts and clearance for wider tires. Even more recently, much to my dismay, a lot of gravel bikes now have suspension built into the very frame, so now you're stuck with suspension (i.e., squishy inefficiency) whether you want it or not. Sometimes I have the irrational fear that all bike types will eventually merge into a generic, bland SUV-style ride that's OK at everything but excellent at nothing.
My road bike is basically a gravel bike with 28 mm tyres and road cassette. The comfort, stability and compliance is great for all day rides and it is fine for amateur group rides on tar. What is being done with gravel bikes is a return of common sense to bike design for the masses. Pity there is so much marketing hype.
I like how Bikeradar asks this question every two years or so...:)
To those that live in Utah, don't get a gravel bike. I have nothing against them, they are GREAT in some parts of the country, just not the right tool for this state. Get a road bike with decent clearance for the rare smooth dirt patch and/or an XC bike. XC bikes are still quick on the pavement, but can handle the rock gardens and boulder sized "gravel" roads we have here. Plus we have a lot of XC friendly single track... in fact the single track here is often nicer to gravel bikes than the dirt roads. Nice job on this video btw Bike radar!
Or do what I did is take a trek fx2 and make into a 1x8 and I run 700x37c tires
Thats a cracking Giant 🤣🤣 if you know you know 😂
Three years ago I used to say gravel made no sense, but muy girlfriend fell in love with a gravel and then we both got two gravels. Since then I had to swalow my words so I ride It more than my carbon mtb by far.
So on this new and "improved" model, not only did they remove the chainstay protector which keeps the chain from smacking into the carbon frame, but they also removed the very robust looking XDefender downtube protector which keeps your BB from getting pelted with rocks (because, you know, gravel riding).
Absolutely amazing how out of touch the decision makers of this world can sometimes be. Its like the people who design stuff live permanently behind their desk and never venture out into the real world, much less use and test their own products.
They added a flip chip, top tube mounts (which is a good addition), and the D shaped seatpost can now be swapped to a round seatpost if you prefer that (which I dont think you could switch on the previous model). Why did they remove the frame protection? So stupid. How about fixing the seat tube cracking issue first before you go adding a flip chip.
I will always be a die-hard roadie, but I haven't used my cyclocross bike in probably 4 or 5 years and I really don't like riding it. I've been wanting to get a gravel bike for a while, but don't have room to store one, now if I sell that cyclocross bike... 🤔😊😎.
Riding on proper gravel is a bit scary on my mountain bike with gravel tyres flat handlebars and front suspension.That racer with gravel tyres would be too sketchy for me.
I had a custom gravel bike on order and delivery kept postponing. So, my LBS recommended a MTB... an eMTB no less. The Specialized Turbo Levo. WOW, the fun factor is OFF THE CHARTS. I immediately cancelled my gravel order. This eMTB is a perfect pairing with my S Works Aethos and with a head unit slapped on, I get my power reading and still can get a great workout. Pretty much every hill can be climbed and any condition ridden be it weather or terrain. No gravel needed!
13:22 give me drop handlebars, that's pure love to me.
The Giant Revolt is a CRACKING bike! Especially around the seat tube apparently.
It’s only confusing because on bike radar I always see you guys riding trails on them. ;) and none of the places you listed were, gravel roads ;)
Personally. I just use a flat bar road bike and put on 35c gravel king sk… the “gravel bike” is a bit of a marketing gimmick.. some are just too mtb like
its a high performance hybrid meant to be taken fast.
its just a trekking bike with drop handle bars
It's a road bike with grippier tyres on it. Thats it.
No suspension? Yikes!
the best bike in the universe is a gravel bike
A 10 speed doesn't seem like a bike I'd want to ride on gravel
I think it's a bike for people who can't have 2 bikes. HT XC and endurance bike work better than one gravel bike.
Need a English accent filter. I like my review videos to be easy to understand, recorded in my own dialect.
Auchhh noooo my wee laddie - dinnae fash yersel. I'm sure it's nae bother wi closed captions oan! Love and kisses, Jack x
It's becoming obvious how this channel is more about promoting kit and bike than actually riding them. I understand it pays the bill and salaries but its rinse and repeat. If you think I am wrong, please can you link the last video you made about something that was very poor. Cheers
Do you complain when tv shows or sports on tv don’t have commercial breaks that say products are crap? It’s no cost to you… you are free to never watch the channel again.
@@skulluxe1 So you like this format? When reviews are biased and the kit goes back to the company and on to the next AMAZING UPGRADE
they used to take their sponsored bike by on multi day trips, etc.. those vids were cool.. i really dont bother with these types of videos tbh (its paused while i read the comments)
@@tbrowniscool this isn’t a review… it’s an introduction to what gravel biking is…
@@skulluxe1 No it isn't. It's a Giant Advert with how Gravel biking is the nExt bESt tREnD
: )
Lazy fat tyres racing bike or used to be now instead of 52t they come with grannie rings children bike having struggled with Giant tubless rims 4 wheels and 3 different makers tyres
all popping on and popping right off again when deflated, having to glue them with silicone my feeling towards Giant are not at all good, Orbed next to replace my Propel
mines GT grade before the 1 x grannie rings 2 x 52 34t and the tubless rims work
You've had too much coffee today.
@@Sergio_Math I couldn't be asked to read that long paragraph
Its an excuse to go slow 🥲
ELECTRIC GRAVEL BIKES AHHAHAHAHAHA worlds has gone crazy....
What is it?... just another modern day gimmick!!!
Gravel bike=👎👎
Your mom=👎👎