Until very recently, gravel was something you shovelled onto the driveway. Now though – in case you’ve been burying your head in a pile of it recently – it’s a kind of riding. One that blurs the lines between XC mountain biking, cyclo-cross, and road riding. To their proponents (and they now include once mtb-only stalwarts like Evil and most recently, YT Industries) gravel bikes deliver the kind of speed-over-the-ground thrills of a road bike, but on natural terrain and flowy singletrack. To their detractors, they are road bikes out of their element and the best way to spoil a good mountain bike ride.
So who has it right? Time for mbr to step in and deliver a verdict on gravel riding… totally unbiased, of course. You can completely disregard the fact that we’re a mountain bike magazine.
GRAVEL'S HIGH GROUND
Let’s get serious for a moment though, and consider whether there actually could be some advantages to riding gravel bikes on certain trails. We often hear how mountain bikes are so good now they dumb down trails that were once difficult or exciting. Could gravel bikes fill that space, delivering an even faster and more thrilling ride than the best XC bikes, covering more ground and with less effort?
Bike companies are smart too, it’s not a coincidence that gravel bikes now have lots of the components that make mountain bikes great. Suspension, disc brakes, squidgy tyres. We’ll get to that next, but we wouldn’t be surprised if the gap between the two disciplines was smaller than we first thought.
Denne historien er fra Summer 2023-utgaven av Mountain Bike Rider.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra Summer 2023-utgaven av Mountain Bike Rider.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Best places to ride with your kids
Five top venues to keep the nippers entertained this summer
CANNONDALE MOTERRA NEO CARBON 2
It’s got more suspension tunes than a Hitchcock movie, but will this Moterra thrill us or chill us?
100% GLENDALE GLASSES
When it comes to eyewear, having a large lens not only offers a lot more protection from trail splatter, it puts the frames further out from your field of view, allowing you to focus on the terrain in front of you. The Glendale is absolutely vast, and actually has a lens size akin to a full downhill goggle, so you literally can’t see the top or sides of the frame.
DMR STAGE 2 MTB RAIL SADDLE
DMR's new Stage 2 MTB Rail is one of those new/old products. The shape and construction are identical to the existing Oi Oi saddle, but the company has wrapped it in a new skin and added some harder-wearing reinforcement to the edges. It's also toned down the lairy graphics; this saddle only comes in plain black.
STRAIGHT TORQUING - GUY KESTEVEN
Has tech taken the hard work and fun out of mountain biking, or should we embrace evolution and roll with it?
STORM FORCE
Manon Carpenter may have retired from downhill competition, but her new role as a trail advocate is achieving results far beyond the race track
SWEAT AND SLATE
We ride 140 miles through Snowdonia on Cycling UK's newest and gnarliest long-distance trail
HEAD SPACE
New guidance reveals how to spot concussion, and how best to treat it
LATE SUMMER LOVIN'
Classic UK holiday hotspots that really shine when the crowds have gone
HOT STUFF
WHAT WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THIS MONTH