A bit more zing could be added to your route by following the Osprey singletrack trail. This is a fast flowing blue graded route which is fine on a hardtail so should be OK on a gravel bike. The Osprey diverges from your route above the Castle and rejoins it after about 3 miles. After the initial climb much of the Osprey is downhill through magnificent forest glades of great variety. We finished off by riding round Kielder Water, best done on a quiet day.
I agree about E bikes I have recently bought a Haibike trekker e-bike and I am 68 years old and found it was getting more difficult to ride my old hybrid up gradients. I would not be riding now without my ebike
You definitely had the right bike for you, nice gravel loop there. If you love your bike and get a kick out of riding it every time then that's what it's all about, right? 😊
I actually think an E-gravel bike is the optimal point we'll get to soon. Something you can ride for 30k on your own power on roads without it feeling a drag (which a standard MTB does, an Ebike certainly does), to get to your hills/gravel etc. Turn the assistance on, and it help you around your ride (say 50-60k) but being a bit lighter than MTB and gravel/cross setup rather than MTB, thinner tyres (say 40mm), no need for suspension etc. You wouldn't need a MTB to ride those Kielder Forest roads, same for likes of Dunkeld area, Aberfoyle etc. But currently as far as I know if you want the e assistance then you have to buy a MTB ebike. Imagine a little engine in your arcadex that you can turn on after half the ride...
I agree - my Arcadex actually has housing for a motor as I think Bianchi have plans to create an e-bike version at some point (that's why it looks so wierd and boxy at the cranks). There are e-gravel bikes about at the moment and are becoming more mainstream by the month it seems.
Agree with the comment that e-bikes allow riders of different fitness levels to ride together. I do 250 rides a year on a light XC MTB and my wife rides her E-MTB, mainly in ECO mode and we ride together. I would say that you CAN get just as much of a workout on an e-bike…it’s just that you don’t HAVE to. You can always back off and boost up the power when you want it. If I was starting the sport today, I’d have one of each.
I have 3 ebikes and multiple non-ebikes and I love them all. Living in an area that it’s 17 degree slope just to get out of our area to go and ride and not being young the ebikes make it so we get out and enjoy our rides. I love my Bianchi e-allroad gravel bike that is the best of all worlds for gravel and road and after I added the kinekt seat post and stem it makes riding gravel tons of fun so adding them it added a little weight but it being an ebike it’s a no brainer. My Trek Allant 8S commuter bike that weighs over 60lbs is awesome for quick trips to town and it’s very stable on the road at speed because of the weight and with the Bosch motor it keeps me moving quickly to town and leaving my car at home. The full carbon Trek eCaliber mountain bike is just fun, lightweight and great fun on single tracks and it makes me work but gives me just enough assist to make climbing easier and the day lots of fun. Love your videos and I love that ebikes get friends out together again and no matter how old they are and in what shape they are you can all get out and enjoy !!!
@@getstrongby4038 on the ecaliber has a 250 watt battery and you can personalize how much power assist you want in each power mode, so with the first two modes I have it setup to give me 40 and 60 percent boost but if I use the 3rd power mode I ask it for 100% power assist which I only use if I’m really needing help up a big hill. The ecal weights just over 30 lbs vs the Allant which weights over 60 lbs so it takes way less assist to move you and the bike. With the Bosch motor on the Allant since it has a larger 625 watt battery you have more powerful motor but you need that to push that heavier bike. It’s fun the difference in both bikes and what it takes to move them, I get a nice workout on the ecal and can really get it moving since it’s weights less plus you can pedal more often with no power on vs when you pedal the Allant with power off moving a 60 lbs bike that weights double is a job to move with power off. I have actually though ridden the Allant 73 miles without the power on a days ride as a challenge to myself and it’s doable but it was a chore.
@@reusserfarm1 thanks I appreciate that response I have been thinking about a rail 7 just as an all purpose machine really, for some reason inwas under thr assumption the e caliber was a lesser assist but I really like the concept of it and it sounds great by your description
@@getstrongby4038 I thought the same and honestly I was a little worried that I would not be able to keep up with my husband who has the Allant 8 and on our my first ride on it taking on our daily climb I had no trouble keeping up with him. The weight difference vs power assist is amazing the difference. The same goes with my Bianchi gravel bike which has a hub drive assist, the bike is so much lighter I can keep up with him on any kind of ride we are on.
Once you go ebike, that’s it - you’re not coming back, I use my gravel bike at Kielder, even the MTB trails on the other side of the main road are doable. But I do also have a 29HT for general riding and a more enduro 29FS for the steeps.
I own an Ebike, but I also own 2 gravel bikes and two road bikes. One thing I never forget, or take for granted is how far an ebike will take you into the wilderness. If you don't have the fitness to pedal it out without power if the need arose, you're in serious difficulty.
Think e-MTB have there a place and it would mostly be for mountains, you don't need that amount of suspension travel for normal gravel. If weight wasn't such an issue I could see it as a good contingency in a normal e-bike but I would want unassisted pedal function
Yeah I agree - you wouldn't take a full sus' mountain bike out on forest fire roads for sure as your weekly ride. I think "normal gravel" is a tricky concept in Scotland - as once you stray off the forest fire roads it can become more traditional mountain bike terrain pretty quickly. So perhaps the distinction between when a mountain bike or gravel bike is more appropriate is harder to define in that case. I think with e-bikes these days you can completely disengage the motor and ride unassisted at any point - save that lovely battery power for the times when your legs are most in need. But, to be honest - I was never in doubt about my bike - I just have to make click-bait titles and themes for videos to appease the UA-cam Gods!
A bit more zing could be added to your route by following the Osprey singletrack trail. This is a fast flowing blue graded route which is fine on a hardtail so should be OK on a gravel bike. The Osprey diverges from your route above the Castle and rejoins it after about 3 miles. After the initial climb much of the Osprey is downhill through magnificent forest glades of great variety. We finished off by riding round Kielder Water, best done on a quiet day.
Good tip. I do want to cycle around Kielder Water but am concerned it's a super busy path so haven't tried it yet.
I agree about E bikes I have recently bought a Haibike trekker e-bike and I am 68 years old and found it was getting more difficult to ride my old hybrid up gradients. I would not be riding now without my ebike
You definitely had the right bike for you, nice gravel loop there. If you love your bike and get a kick out of riding it every time then that's what it's all about, right? 😊
I actually think an E-gravel bike is the optimal point we'll get to soon. Something you can ride for 30k on your own power on roads without it feeling a drag (which a standard MTB does, an Ebike certainly does), to get to your hills/gravel etc. Turn the assistance on, and it help you around your ride (say 50-60k) but being a bit lighter than MTB and gravel/cross setup rather than MTB, thinner tyres (say 40mm), no need for suspension etc.
You wouldn't need a MTB to ride those Kielder Forest roads, same for likes of Dunkeld area, Aberfoyle etc. But currently as far as I know if you want the e assistance then you have to buy a MTB ebike.
Imagine a little engine in your arcadex that you can turn on after half the ride...
I agree - my Arcadex actually has housing for a motor as I think Bianchi have plans to create an e-bike version at some point (that's why it looks so wierd and boxy at the cranks). There are e-gravel bikes about at the moment and are becoming more mainstream by the month it seems.
Agree with the comment that e-bikes allow riders of different fitness levels to ride together. I do 250 rides a year on a light XC MTB and my wife rides her E-MTB, mainly in ECO mode and we ride together. I would say that you CAN get just as much of a workout on an e-bike…it’s just that you don’t HAVE to. You can always back off and boost up the power when you want it. If I was starting the sport today, I’d have one of each.
I have 3 ebikes and multiple non-ebikes and I love them all. Living in an area that it’s 17 degree slope just to get out of our area to go and ride and not being young the ebikes make it so we get out and enjoy our rides. I love my Bianchi e-allroad gravel bike that is the best of all worlds for gravel and road and after I added the kinekt seat post and stem it makes riding gravel tons of fun so adding them it added a little weight but it being an ebike it’s a no brainer. My Trek Allant 8S commuter bike that weighs over 60lbs is awesome for quick trips to town and it’s very stable on the road at speed because of the weight and with the Bosch motor it keeps me moving quickly to town and leaving my car at home. The full carbon Trek eCaliber mountain bike is just fun, lightweight and great fun on single tracks and it makes me work but gives me just enough assist to make climbing easier and the day lots of fun. Love your videos and I love that ebikes get friends out together again and no matter how old they are and in what shape they are you can all get out and enjoy !!!
That's a nice collection of bikes!
Is the assist weaker on the e caliber?
@@getstrongby4038 on the ecaliber has a 250 watt battery and you can personalize how much power assist you want in each power mode, so with the first two modes I have it setup to give me 40 and 60 percent boost but if I use the 3rd power mode I ask it for 100% power assist which I only use if I’m really needing help up a big hill. The ecal weights just over 30 lbs vs the Allant which weights over 60 lbs so it takes way less assist to move you and the bike. With the Bosch motor on the Allant since it has a larger 625 watt battery you have more powerful motor but you need that to push that heavier bike. It’s fun the difference in both bikes and what it takes to move them, I get a nice workout on the ecal and can really get it moving since it’s weights less plus you can pedal more often with no power on vs when you pedal the Allant with power off moving a 60 lbs bike that weights double is a job to move with power off. I have actually though ridden the Allant 73 miles without the power on a days ride as a challenge to myself and it’s doable but it was a chore.
@@reusserfarm1 thanks I appreciate that response
I have been thinking about a rail 7 just as an all purpose machine really, for some reason inwas under thr assumption the e caliber was a lesser assist but I really like the concept of it and it sounds great by your description
@@getstrongby4038 I thought the same and honestly I was a little worried that I would not be able to keep up with my husband who has the Allant 8 and on our my first ride on it taking on our daily climb I had no trouble keeping up with him. The weight difference vs power assist is amazing the difference. The same goes with my Bianchi gravel bike which has a hub drive assist, the bike is so much lighter I can keep up with him on any kind of ride we are on.
Nice car ❤
Once you go ebike, that’s it - you’re not coming back,
I use my gravel bike at Kielder, even the MTB trails on the other side of the main road are doable. But I do also have a 29HT for general riding and a more enduro 29FS for the steeps.
I own an Ebike, but I also own 2 gravel bikes and two road bikes. One thing I never forget, or take for granted is how far an ebike will take you into the wilderness. If you don't have the fitness to pedal it out without power if the need arose, you're in serious difficulty.
That's a great point indeed!
Conversely though if you're riding 120km, isn't the ebike battery going to have long packed in by then?
Think e-MTB have there a place and it would mostly be for mountains, you don't need that amount of suspension travel for normal gravel.
If weight wasn't such an issue I could see it as a good contingency in a normal e-bike but I would want unassisted pedal function
Yeah I agree - you wouldn't take a full sus' mountain bike out on forest fire roads for sure as your weekly ride. I think "normal gravel" is a tricky concept in Scotland - as once you stray off the forest fire roads it can become more traditional mountain bike terrain pretty quickly. So perhaps the distinction between when a mountain bike or gravel bike is more appropriate is harder to define in that case.
I think with e-bikes these days you can completely disengage the motor and ride unassisted at any point - save that lovely battery power for the times when your legs are most in need.
But, to be honest - I was never in doubt about my bike - I just have to make click-bait titles and themes for videos to appease the UA-cam Gods!