Should I Buy A Gravel Bike Or An XC Bike? | Cross Country Vs Gravel
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- čas přidán 10. 05. 2024
- With the lines between gravel and XC bikes becoming more & more blurred, the question of what's the difference often gets asked! Anna is here to answer these questions for you as she delves deep into the differences between the two, some of the perks of both and what to look out for when speccing up your next bike!
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The problem with videos like this is that they treat 'gravel bikes' as a single entity but there is massive variation across the segment from effectively road bikes with increased tire clearance to 1x only 'drop bar mountain bikes' and everything in between.
In this video Anna talks about geometry. The Alma has a 68* head angle whilst the Orbea Terra gravel bike is 71*, but my Sonder Camino is 69*. Anna's Grizl ranges from 69* to 72.5* depending on frame size, so that must make a big difference on handling even in the same model...
Well said.
To their credit, GCN have gone into detail on this.
I guess you have expensive gravel bike
@@Tobi-Uri7 I paid less than $500 for my Sonder Camino aluminium frame with carbon fork.
Love my XC hardtail, it takes me great places very easily for basically pennies... I use it nowadays with a large frame bag or my trusty old camelback that fit sarnies and like 4l of water when I want to ride some of the local moors and levels and bridleways and get the "peaceful nature" vibe over the usual techy cliffs/jumps/drop lines mud-bashing-malarkey. It's pretty old (with a bunch of good hacks'n'bodges though), yet still super efficient, comfortable and very fast and nimble over longer distances for longer days riding.
Easier to have a little fun on and hop around and jump smaller-medium stuff and drops still compared to a cyclocross/gravel bike, it can handle getting off the beaten track better is what I'm getting at. I will always love the nature and fitness aspect of XC riding and also feels really,really nice going back on any even slightly more aggressive bike after... XC would be my choice all day long. An XC bike (hardtail or full sus) has a lot more "headroom" for improving off road skills if you have not already done stuff like cyclocross before or something too (I'm fully aware a gravel bike can still do all those things to an extent but still not as easily/without great levels of control and confidence already there).
And now I have the sudden urge to go do a 6-7 hour marathon over the hills and levels as I haven't in a hot minute... Thanks :)
XC is just really a hard tail? 🤔
@@kalijasin 100 millimeter travel or less generally..) Although that used to be early downhill spec..)/*
Bought a gravel bike to use as a commuter then during lockdown ended up using it loads on the road just to get some miles in. After lock down I bought it some knobbly tyres and used it a bit more off road. After doing this a few times I soon realised what I actually wanted was a hardtail. Bought one at the start of this year and love it! Still use the gravel bike for commuting now as well. 👍🏻
Why don't you use the hardtail for commuting? I'm also thinking about buying a do it all bike, and for me it's very important which ine is fast and comfortable for commuting
@@laszlovarga_ If I only had one bike it would be a hardtail but I’m fortunate enough to be able own more than one bike. The hard tail is great but if I commuted on it I would have to put some skinny tyres on it as 2.5 knobblies don’t roll that well on tarmac and hard gravel. The gravel bike however is perfect for this.
@TheLawwillboy thanks for the reply, mate.
I was thinking about a hardtail with a 2.2 wide tires with relatively smooth surface with bigger knobs on the sides
@@laszlovarga_That would also work!
That Canyon gravel looks really nice
Having just bought a gravel bike to use at work, in a small Australian country town, where the roads are pretty ordinary, and not great for a roadie (28mm tyres), the gravel bike is excellent.
My observation is that Gravel bikes make, excellent gravel bikes (you'd hope so), good road bikes (it really can fly on the road) and a mediocre MTB. It's certainly sketchy when the gravel roads get rutted and iffy. The gravel bike, has a much more comfortable, road style bars, and is much faster on gravel roads than my XC Mtb.
The three bikes really are horses for courses with different strengths and weaknesses.
Great video.
Yeah but they are really not great road bikes.
I have a fs Cannondale scalpel hi mod with a lockout on the road it handles brilliantly and on trails well it's an xc bike so just rips.
Gravel bikes make no sense to me. Oh well
@@toshman696969 My Giant Fathom 29'r is ok..ish on the road, my new Merida gravel bike is almost as good as my roadie on the road. Probably faster on some of the really crappy roads around here.
The Fathom is dull and boring on fire roads, and the gravel bike is pretty fun.
What's to make sense of?
@@toshman696969 A gravel bike is a more comfortable road bike, for those of us who don't ride at max speed all the time, and a more comfortable XC bike, for those of us who suffer wrist pain from the straight bars. It makes perfect sense.
@@KimonFrousios It may not be trendy, but that's why I love bar ends! It gives you that hands-in-the-hoods feel.
Just put Bull horns on your mtb and you have the same comfortable riding position
What a great presenter, subject matter spot on as well 👍
Aww, thank you. - Anna :)
Electricity bill is getting higher (even more next year) so I thought to swap from sitting at the computer to sitting on bike. :D After some research, I was deciding between cross and gravel bike (aversion to MTB), prefering gravel bike more as it's supposed to be more comfortable... but first to come, first to buy (due to shortage of bikes). Last time I rode a (touring) bike, was like, five years ago. I have no experience with suspension at all so that was not a point I had to be sold on, fine with rigid fork. In the end, it was (aluminium) gravel that came to me first. So...
Yesterday had my first ride on gravel. First impressions - fast on road, fast on gravel, bumpy no thanks to the rigid fork (heard carbon fork is a bit more comfortable?), harder to control on corners (if I remember right from the memories, flat bar touring bike was fairly easy to turn) but mind you, while I know there's techniques on better turning control, I am newbie on drop bars. To add to drop bars, I was nervous during some holds that brakes were so far away (again, first drop bars ride experience). On another hand happy with the wider selection of holds than flat bar, making it less boring "holding the handlebar" for me. Confusing to know which gear ratio I have at the moment without checking down on cassettes (moreso when I have 2x10 and it's better to avoid cross-chain). Hopefully that will come by with experience after more rides in the future - this one thing I really miss from flat bars where you often have a plastic thing with gear numbers on shifters.
After yesterday's first ride mixing 24 km of clean/broken gravel and roads, just had to buy fingerless gloves and cycling shorts (the latter optional, of course bum hurt gets better after few rides).
But overall, really satisfied with my Rock Machine Gravelride 500 and can't wait for more rides... after the bum hurt subsides. :)
Great video that hit all the key points of distinction I was looking for advice on.. yep, still love the hard tail feel, speed over rough roads with weight is always soo much easier and relaxing with a little extra tire and slack up front! Xc for this guy
Glad I could help! - Anna :)
I just love my old (3x9) XC bike.. It's a tank! (as in undestructible.. well as in heavy as well I suppose) It works fine on the road (with proper tires) and won't fail me when I run into some single track.
one of the best videos on this subject. very helpful for me to decide betwenn the two ! thank you
Brilliant video very informative👌 thanks
I still use a 26x1.95 tires on my diamond back mtn bike and I do mostly gravel trail dirt trails and rocky forest roads. I grew up in the lake of the Ozarks some very rough and hilly terrain in Missouri. very good forest roads and single track all well worth the time to explore the area. To me a bike is a bike I don't care what the differences are if I can get to where i wanna go.
Initially, I also had the same perspective for years. However, after trying different bikes, I realized that I was mistaken.
Try Mavic medusa 26x1.8 great tyres 💯🙏🇬🇧
meanwhile : me with my trail bike that i use everywhere, on road, on bike park, on gravel and everything in between
Get an Enduro bike...
If you ride it on gravel then BEHOLD you have a gravel bike too.
@@topheavy7616 spoiler alert : i have experience riding my trail bike on gravel
How many miles though?
@@SugmaDLigmaNutz nah, not so great for long pedaling trips 🤣
Best comparison I’ve seen on the subject matter ~ 👌 . Ive put together a mix of your bikes . Sworks hardtail frame , drop bars and fox 32 c gravel fork . Mullet axs group set and gravel wheel set ….with dropper post
Great review, thanks very much for sharing 👍👍👍
Great presentation and explanation! Forwarding this to educate others.
XC bikes are a darn sight cheaper than same spec gravel bikes. Probably the most important difference for many of us bike loving mortals!!
Great video, thanks for sharing.
Great blog comparison, Thanks 👍👍👍😊😊😊
I have an trusty old steel road bike that I've converted to Gravel and a fine old steel MTB that I've also converted to an (extreme) Gravel bike. Tons of fun!
great work creating new content, covering new but common themes and questions.
Thanks!
Not to be overly negative, but the 'Gravel vs' argument is a bit long in the tooth now and hardly new content. Its a bit like SUV vs Estate or Full Frame vs APC, it doesn't really matter and the argument is only kept alive by review teams and them folks that stalk the forums. The best bike is the one that you have with you.
2:23 ish. She really nails it here, I must say. On my gravel bike.... Roots are really its/my Achilles heel. Thus highly trafficked single track in deciduous forest isn't always the best choice on my gravel bike. Conversely it shines on fire roads. Even rocky ones.. as roots are typically pulled out when the road is built. And trees get cut back once or twice a year on the shoulder of a fire road.
This is the video I needed. Nails every question I had and didn't know I had. Looks like I want an XC bike for the streets of inner city Japan ;)
I ride a 140/130 with a lockout and stiff suspension. @11kgs and Scott’s Twin-Lock, it’s hard to compete with this configuration for gravel, XC, and DC. Not to mention 70% of the North American Blue-Black trails with the suspension fully enabled and a bit of spacers in the fork for my weight. It’s an older rig, but the segment has returned and my rig never stopped being Genius! 🤘🏼
just curious is a blue-black trail red?
@@brenmtb in NA, the red rating signifies high level of skill required with potentially lethal consequences. So RED typically mean pro level in Canada and the US, step above DBBL Black essentially. In the EU it mean something completely different.
I use my gravel bike on a single track and gravel road combination, and it’s very capable on both, but when you transition from the single track to the gravel it feels like you’ve got a turbo on it. It feels faster and more agile on gravel than it does on tarmac
Excellent vid, given me a lot to consider
Glad we could help!
I ride my gravel bike and CX bike a lot doing gravel sections, singletrack and bridleways around here (Peterborough UK) but I also ride my MTB's doing similar stuff as well....I like to rotate all my bikes and keep them all running and used.....
Some sections around here, I would definitely use my 29er or full suss as a gravel bike would definitely struggle (even with a Redshift stem), but riding stuff on inappropriate bikes is good fun though.
I started off in 1992/93 on rigid 26ers, so the gravel bike is pretty similar but so much quicker on the not so rough terrain.....and the techniques I learned all those years ago still work on drop bar bikes.....Remember John Tomac ???
I've gone 1x on my gravel and CX bikes anyway after they were 2x, and the 1x gearing for me isn't too much of a problem in my regular flat countryside (apart from the odd 10% ramp here and there).
Drop bar bikes are really good fun off-road if you run wide tyres....I've got 43c on my gravel bike and 38c (measure 40c) on my CX bike......If you do take the plunge then go tubeless as it's a no brainer and get the widest bars you feel comfy with...
Good video as per usual.
I have a 2010 SC tallboy that is excellent for gravel and xc. carbon frame, had it since new, and weighs 25 lbs. thing climbs like a goat and the pedal efficiency is amazing. it all depends on the weight and pedal efficiency if it will be good for both gravel and xc. just needs two sets of rims for gravel and xc tires. my other bike is an Enduro bike that I use for everything else. works for me!
Gravel bikes to me are perfekt for bike packing but besides that I'd always pick the xc bike. With the right parts it's lots more versatile and fun to ride I think.
Gravel bikes are beautiful… and that’s their best (some may say “only”) feature!
There are lots of gravel roads where I live and some really good mountain biking too. I find that an XC mountain bike is not fast and efficient enough for gravel roads and not capable enough for the bike park or Trail riding. So I have a gravel bike and a trail bike. Works for me.
same boat here, the gravel bike covers the entire road to light xc, where the trails does the rest
I bought a road bike for days when I couldn't get on/to the trails, and I completely regret not choosing a gravel bike instead. Being limited to only extremely narrow wheels and tires forces me to avoid interesting alternative routes. Might have to sell the road bike to justify getting a gravel bike, but I wouldn't consider an XC bike for the same use.
Ride both. I do. Different horses Different courses. I ride road rarely. Most times on gravel bikes for exploring new areas. Best scenery and real America is on unpaved roads in Michigan
You can also put skinny road wheels on gravel bike if you need to ride it on road
XC bikes are definitely the best option for an all around bike if you can only afford one bike. They are very capable off road. Can do some downhilling. Are lightweight if you get an aluminum or carbon model. Can do everything a “gravel bike” (which is just a vintage mountain bike being marketed as “new”) can since you can lock out the front fork for bike packing. I don’t understand why anyone would fall for the “gravel bike” gimmick when there’s way better modern bikes that aren’t rebranded as something “new” like gravel bikes are. To each their own.
Great video! 🎥
Ride the bike you need for the terrain etc 😎
I have a Trek Hilo time trial bike, Lemond Reno road bike frame with the components including carbon fiber fork from my Lemond Buenos Aires road bike frame, a Gary Fisher Mamba mountain bike project I'm working on and a 2012 Masi Alare aluminum frame road bike I bought recently and waiting for slow freaking UPS to deliver it today.
Gravel bikes are perfect for crappy city roads and if you demand speed with little to no obstacles.
XC is more versatile but with the sacrifice of a slower bike.
In UCI Gravel World Series Philippine leg, they actually allowed XC bikes, some even qualified for the championship. So maybe even in the eyes of the pros they're interchangeable. Just don't use gravel bikes on XC trails or single track for your own good. Only Blake does that.
I can only afford the one bike...my 1x11 GT hardtail. I ride a 60/40 split of road/bike paths compared to off road single tracks/trails and have thought a gravel bike may make the on road days faster.
Except... I have wheels with on road and off road tyres, so can switch between them quickly and I also lock the front shock out when on road. I'm looking into some SQlabs 'innerbarends' that fit inwards of the grips to offer some more hand positions when riding on road. I think a gravel bike would be more aero, but I also think my bike will be ok with these handgrip options.
I have a set of those inner bar ends. They are definitely worth it.
Seconded. Inner bar ends gave my hardtail the only thing I missed from my gravel bike.
Will definitely go for XC as I prefer suspension plus not into gravel category yet, and for fun. Have two bike's one planning on selling it in California.
Change the flat bar to an alt/comfy bar and the XC will be a better all around than the gravel bike.
if only the hydraulic brakes on the gravel bikes didn.t cost an arm and a leg. I was going to get drop bars for my trek but all most had a heart attack seeing what it took to get my brakes and shifters set up for that bar type.
That's just what I did. Slapped some Jones bars on my xc. So comfy on longer rides. Best of both worlds imo 👌
not really
In 2020 I had a quiver of bikes including a gravel bike and a 27.5 nukeproof scout, I found myself riding the gravel bike more as it was lighter faster and made trails more challenging and ultimately more fun. I sold the nukeproof and got some nice 650b gravel wheels with 2.1" tyres. All was good for a while but I eventually got bored of gravel. I recently sold my gravel bike, and I have replaced it with a Stanton sherpa set up xc style (although probably more down country if you want to pigeon hole). So for me a gravel bike was fun but a mountain bike is a much better all rounder. Most mtbers who buy gravel bikes will lose interest after one season and will come crawling back to the big tyres.
my words ^^
Mountain bikes SUCK if your pounding out a 100K ride.
As the video says, it’s horses for courses (although many bridle ways in the Peak District will kill horses 😂).
@@dave_clarke Depends on WHERE your bike packing. I will rack up both by "gravel" or my XC depending on where I'm going and how FAR (not how long). Also will swap tires for task as I'm still not tubeless. "would only consider" and choice in the same sentence, sounds like your the one limiting yourself. :)
Same. Probably depends where you live. I have single track at my door step, I was doing XC on the gravel bike until I realised XC trails are actually more fun on an XC bike…
I have a XC mtb and a full sus, I always look at the gravel bike, but I still can't bring myself to getting one. It just wouldn't feel natural to lean over the entire time and don't even get me started with the gearing.
Such a grey area to differentiate between, so well done Anna.
Thanks! - Anna :)
You say about having more of your weight on the front of the gravel bike for grip but I've found that means there's much less chance of saving a front slide. I've got a gravel and XC hardtail, and keep the gravel bike setup with 32c slicks and mudguards for winter and commuting.
Yep, 60% 32c Slicks, but switch to 650B or 700 40 gravel for the other 40% Depends on the trip.
Weighting the front is more about preventing a slide, rather than saving it. A non-weighted front end can wash out out more easily as the front of the bike is left to its own devices, where's if you weight the outside and push the tyre into the terrain for grip, it should maintain traction better. Obviously not all corners or tyres or terrain surfaces are the same though, and brake-control is needed too, but it's a generalisation. I hope this helps. - Anna :)
@@gmbntech Yeah maybe it's how I'm riding the gravel bike or the tires. I find on the xc bike if the front starts sliding I instinctively adjust my body position and stay upright but the gravel bike I ended up crashing before I knew what happened. A friend dislocated his shoulder and broke a collar bone on his gravel bike, and at Grinduro this weekend has crashed again onto his other shoulder. Just comes a point when better off putting up with a bit of drag and weight to enjoy the off-road more safely.
Rigid steel 29er for me. Big tyres make it suprisingly capable off road, and running XC tyres, it's OK on the road (I don't really care about speed these days anyway). I have a Genesis Croix de Fer as well, but have barely ridden it since I got the rigid 29er. IF you are going to ride loads of road and super smooth paths with the occasional bit of rougher stuff, gravel bike is probably your best choice. If the emphasis is on off road, then a proper fat tyre bike is best imo.
Hi there
I did notice that your front caliper on the xc orbea bike looks like your caliper adapter it is out side down that means it is not your pads are in full contact to your disc brakes when you apply your brakes 😉
My friends XC bike has geo similar in the front to my gravel bike at 70* hta. Her xc bike is from 2012 and my gravel bike is from 2019. I have 29x2.2 xc tires front and rear(max) she she has 2.4 front and 2.3(max) rear. Very similar there. Chainstay is similar too but her reach is 15mm longer in same size frames. I will say this again but there has been gravel bikes since at least around 2015 that can take 100mm fork, again the Salsa Fargo.
i ride gravel roads all the time in the colorado rockies area. here, the gravel roads are often rough, cobbled, washboard, choppy. i ride a steel frame bike with a carbon fork, suspension stem, 45 mm tires, and a compliant seat post. and, its tolerable. but, i often wish that i was riding a light weight hard tail with an air suspension fork, instead. it has so much more compliance
Tks Anna , always a pleasure to hear your great experience on both bike's.Good lesson to know 🙂 🕶 road/ hills rough woods 🪵 with those big stones jumping at ù when riding bikê 🚲 it's really a "much of muchness" on cycling if u understand how a bike can perform. 🌲🍃🍂
Still luv the 🎬 movies.
Đ💚
I've got an On-One Inbred -steel frame, old KonaP2 steel forks 26" Dt Swiss x1800 wheels with either knobblies or Marathon Plus Tour (1.75"/45mm).... The forks are ace, dead springy and discovered that a 650b with 2.6" Nobby Nic fits in with plenty to spare (and on Tuesday I'm doing the Tour of the Cairngorms loop with a lad from work (he's a laugh, right into the serious "ultralight" stuff like sleeping on bubblewrap ffs!) so will see how it goes, we both live on the route so out the door and on it!)
There's no issues with toes overlapping/clipping, should make it far less twitchy.... the bike with the wee Marathons is twitchy enough on really rough tracks with 740mm bars, I'd hate to do any stuff on drop bars, plus replacing a knackered STI is just a total hassle if you crash and trash it
I'm on an On-One bootzipper rigid 29er. Old school rigid steel MTB with modern features like clearance for 2.3s (at least), wide tubeless rims, hydraulic disc brakes, bosses for fork bags for touring and boost thru axle. It's one of my favourite ever bikes to ride and has basically retired my Genesis Croix de Fer. Rigid MTB for the win for me, although my rides skew off road rather than on.
My problem with the xc bike hardtail which I've had for 30 plus years and some comments on here. Yup a light hardtail very multipurpose but what 3-4 K to buy a hardtail that you can find to get to around 23pds, gravel bike you can get that and lighter for 2k. But yet here I am still struggling with the choice as I haven't done a drop bar since being a teenager.
Great video Anna
I believe I ride a mullet: gravel bike fitted with xc gearing (36T eagle chainring and 9-46 (511%) cassette) and the 2.1 barzo (like the xc in the video) and it is 9.25kg. So that burr even more the lines 😜
Because your hands are below the head tube and forward you just put different bars on it and move the seat and put a dropper it’s all relative
Looking to change from a specialized, to a canyon, slightly off topic, but how good or how much would you recommend them please, love the videos Anna, but for this one, I think gravel bike a for the Niche market or riders.👌🏽🏴
It would be nice to have both, but a drop bar mtb is the build i chose..1 bike, all roads...the only bike i have, and it just goes c",)
The XC bike, in particular if you fit a dropper post, will allow you to develop many skills. Descending, bunny hopping, jumping, pivoting etc... Developing skill is fun and can be done anywhere. It can act as a gravel bike with mostly no penalty and even as a decent road bike with slicks and a bit more pressure. That said a gravel bike with road tire will be a better road bike for sure and if you don't compete at a high level will be a perfectly fine ride.
I'd set one caveat : see what people around you ride. Riding with friends is more fun. If most people here ride gravel then get a gravel and enjoy the social aspect.
What if someone doesn’t like other humans, and what if someone likes only skinny road bikes?
Commutingdistance and where you go should be considered. I prefer MTB playing around on tiny tracks in my neighbourhood, but when going on asphalt and gravelroads for long distances I prefer the gravelbike.The forest where Anna made this video looks like MTB-enviroment too me.
I own a Rocky Mountain oxygen race from 1997, with 26x2.1" tires, small handlebars and a 3x8 drive. It feels similar to my current 1x11 gravelbike...
There's so many variations that I've never seen kind of bike I own mentioned in any video. I guess it's called "trekking" bike - flat bars, around 40mm tires,75mm front suspension, 3x10 trekking shimano T8000 groupset.
Sound's like an early naughties HARDTAIL MTB
I think gravel bikes make more sense for bikepacking and/or touring. If you are not a racer and just need an off-road bike, an XC bike with two sets of wheels/tyres (2.4" & 40-45mm) makes more sense. You can always lock/harden the suspension when on gravel roads.
Fantastic comparison.
I have a 27.5 fs downcountry, a 29er xc hardtail and a 29er gravel bike. I almost never ride it off the rollers it as it's so limiting compared to the other two bikes.
I have converted rail to trails around me. The XC just gobble the miles like the gravel.
@@bindingcurve I would think that's the optimal use case. I unfortunately don't live near many dirt roads. That said I really do like the bike, it's lighter, and more nimble than my other bikes. Plus I built the wheels and picked out every component myself, I wish I had it when I commuted and lived near the country.
Gravel Bike is a roadbike for gravel roads. Gravel Bike is not a very new invention as drop bar Gravel Bikes with 650b wheels and one by drivetrains were very popular already in the 1980s in Nordic countries. As many roads that the bikes were ridden were gravel, they were Gravel Bikes and designed specifically as drop bar Gravel Bikes. For example in Finland Tunturi made the Tunturi Retki 6. A one by drop bar Gravel Bike with 650b wheels, talk about reinventing the wheel, go around come around 😀
Thank you for putting what you know re gravel bike here!
Lots'a love, cheers, & Mabuhay, from tropical Philippines! #KeepBiking
I've ridden road bikes on gravel over 50 yrs. Modern ones accommodate wide tires. Big difference on bad roads. Any ride that makes one smile is 👍
Where i Ride Theres No Gravel Bikes 😎
Gravel bikes should be used for mainly road purposes and smooth fireroads, drop bars grant not enough control of the bike in serious offroad conditions, transmission is limited too, having only a 40 chairing on the front doesn't help on nasty off-road climbs unless you don't mount a mtb cassette and not all groupset allow to do that (shimano doesn't) so... for strictly gravel purposes these kinds of bikes have sense, for off-road biking a mtb is still the right choice. (Imho).
When I first got into gravel I tried using my 29er mtb hardtail. I put skinny tires on it and thought I was golden. I was not. This next bit is massively important, your moutain bike DOES NOT have the gears needed to spin on the asphalt, or most gravel roads. You will struggle to maintain 17-18mph. Whereas a gravel bike is made to ride on pavement. This is the most 'forgotten' part about gravel bikes, you really do spend a huge amount of time on asphalt. You need road bike gearing to ride roads, paved or not.
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AND second most important, brakes. If you live where your decents are long and rough, doing that on hoods is painful. Road/hood brakes are NOT meant to feather you down rough singletrack, or rough fire roads. Your wrists are at the wrong angle, and the brakes are 'too close together' (there is a reason mtb handlebars are so wide).
That is why there is the hybrid 🚲
Sorry, you lost me one the first point. I absolutely love riding out of the saddle on my Canyon Grizl, on tarmac, gravel and single tracks... Standing with your hands in the hoods is just such a good feeling compared to out of the saddle riding on a 40mm stem, 500mm bars mountain bike...
500mm? That was narrow 35 years ago.😅
I have a 29er. 2x10 with a 10/46 mountain xc bike best of all worlds
@MESSAGE ME ON TELEGRAM @GMBN1 great cheers I’m from the shire Neil old riding area longmynd Eastridge Stiperstones 👌 . I have a enduro MTB and an Ebike as well . I must be one of the few that think Ebike not the answer to all riding . My rides with mates are around 12 /15 miles twice a week so I take the full suspension or Hardtail the e bike is for big days out or a blast with mates that have them .👌
I just use my regular mtb on everything. This cuts down on different tubes sizes, etc that I have to buy. Plus road bike handle bars are not much fun going offroad. I'm not Jon Tomac.
I am in no way an expect, but was told when selling bikes in a local shop years back whilst at college and working only part time, its all about top tube stand over height. MTB are typically lower to allow manoverabilty on trickier single track when standing on the pedals. Where as a gravel bike is designed for longer miles and with a higher top tube height which the old school bike designers would suggest prevents "knee cross-over" for longer periods of pedalling, a straighter leg stroke is less impacting on knees. Unsure if this still stands as a theory as most road bikes seem to have lower top tubes these days. Gravel roads are really common in the US, Canada and some parts of Europe (no doubt other parts of the world, but i haven't visited them), they are are well maintained and people can cover roadie type distances on them, I would probably take one over a mtb for a 50-70 ride on a non-paved road (these are road, not fire tracks). I friend has a Gravel bike to commute to work on as its more robust than a road bike considering the state of the UK roads.
Can anyone say from experience which of the two is the more comfortable for a days adventure riding fire roads, gravel roads and easy single track? Thanks
I just don't see the point of a gravel bike, but to each his/her own. Gimme a good XC hardtail anyday over one. But I prefer my full susp bike for maximum comfort and capability. If I was up to me, less gravel, more MTB! Though bike packing is kinda interesting, I wouldn't ever do it. I kinda did that on a motorcycle a few years ago (Adventure Touring) and got tired of sleeping on the ground.
Which average bikes are we talking? I feel like the sliding scale is a bit out as most regular road bikes are at the 9kg mark, gravel at 10kg and xc is about 12kg for a low end hardtail 😅 15kg is around the realm of an average 140mm squishy bike!
I’ll say that gravel bikes are great for people who want to combine road and trails in one ride. For example, Los Angeles has great trails that have little to no parking nearby the trailhead. Riding a mountain bike on roads is terrible. Riding a road race bike on a dirt trail can be dangerous. So I can see the application.
21 pound full suspension xc . Done
Why choose between the two? Buy both! I have a GRIZL and an Orbea OIZ. One does not replace the other and I love them both. Great video 👍🏾
Assuming you can afford both.
I’d try one whenever I get the chance
Thanks for this. Lots of comments already, so I guess it’s an interesting question. I bought a gravel bike a few months ago to ride in the Peak District. I used to ride road bikes years ago so the drop bars made sense to me and I wanted the freedom to go bridle ways etc. I had never heard of an XC bike at the time and while I love my gravel bike I do wonder now whether an XC may have been a wiser choice, because it seems many bridle ways in the Peak District are rock fields (I am sure a horse would die on them!). The first few times I met such a path on the gravel bike was tricky but I have got better at handling them. It’s just I wonder whether such terrain will always be hard on a gravel bike.
I have and ride both. Either is a good choice. Test ride them. My steel frames have a lovely ride and go wherever pointed. Cross or gravel. Cross is my travel bike. Fits in the car easy. All are good🙂👍
gearing is what limits xc bikes imho as a perfect all around bike ... unless you have a lot of climbs it runs out of gears and you spin out ... riding flat open trails or fire roads the gravel makes more sense ... would still love an xc bike with a 40 or 42 up front but new bikes come with a 30 or 32 with a max 34 or 36 ring ....such is the way it works now ..you need a different bike for everything
Indeed. That is why I kept with my 26" with a 42. big enough to get a decent speed going and as it's pretty flat around here big long climbs or extreme terrain doesn't really exist in the neighbourhood. A lot switched to Gravel and it kinda makes sense. I just like the position and ability to take a bit rougher when needed.
The small 30 or 32 front is far from ideal as I prefer to ride from home to the trails and on the road it just doesn't ride nice as the rpm becomes too high.
I don’t agree with average weights off either XC or Gravel bikes. It’s even hard to find a XC fully that weights in at 15kg, so an hardtail is much leighter. From around 9kg up to maybe 11kg for a cheaper bike.
Yeah, exactly.
Yes
Brilliant piece Anna. Love to see more Gravel on GMBN. Getting to build my own steel gravel bike next year and this really helped, thanks
Great presentation. Great presenter.
Thanks, Mick! Anna smashed this video!
I have a really oddly specific question for these two bikes as I currently have a gravel bike (sort of) and am Enduro. Gravel bike kills my back, so I've considered for my commuting (road/gravel mix) getting a bike similar to the Canyon Lux (low travel xc) and completely gearing the thing to road travel. I'd love to know how fast each of these are geared to do very similar work because my gravel bike is very noticeably more efficient than my enduro so im curious if I fitted thinner faster rolling tyres to the XC how much faster would it be on road/gravel? Doddy did a great explanation on mtb commuting, id love to see it taken another step using an XC geared to it
"Gravel bike kills my back" 90% bet your not fitted to it. There is a much higher range of what you can get away with XC than a road frame.
@@bindingcurve Sort of, but this probably isn't what you are thinking (e.g. pain/stiffness from riding) I am on the edge of spinal disc surgery due to injuries that predate cycling. It's more about dampening the impact as I've already addressed my riding posture with stack/bar height, but you are right it made a huge difference when I did that. At the moment I'm doing everything I can to avoid surgery so buying an entire bike just for that rear suspension is something I'll do if it's meaningfully more efficient for commuting than my Enduro. It's just a lot of dollars to drop and find out it's just as slow and taxing to ride 😅
@@skartimusprime4779 My dad and brother have messed up their backs. My dad did his first time when I was 13 when he slipped with a steam radiator. I have always been super careful. Funny part is I grew up with a very early Burly tandem (with clipless peddles) and me and my brother never managed to kill ourselves on it. My family was always into biking, so I was dealing with fit for 40+ years now.
@@bindingcurve Yeah it was a depressing realisation i needed a smaller frame. Raised stack, shorter stem and riser bars have got me out of the woods but it isn't a perfect fit. Thanks for the advice though, reinforces the changes I've made to my current bike.
I played with the position of the saddle and now my back doesn’t cramp up on a road bike. There’s a thud buster seat post that can help with bumps for you.
13kg for a gravelbike? Maybe with a steelframe. Even most GRX400 gravelbikes clock in at less than 11kg. My own gravelbike is roughly 9.2kg
How long before gravel goes front suspension? I'm guessing, yesterday? 😅
Yeah there are a couple of suspended gravel rigs out there! Check out Niner bikes
- A gravel bike is a road bike with wider tyres so comes mostly with drop bars
- A MTB with a rigid fork does much the same thing, but with MTB components and flat bars.
- (Hydro) disc brakes, and low gears are normal with MTB components, still new ideas for road bikes.
- Drop bars are expensive and complex. Arguably better for aerodyamics, but less good for control.
- Suspension has a large weight penalty, and less important for gravel roads.
- 1x drivetrains have limited range. That 10-51 510% example is at the limit of what is possible. The present fashion
- 3x drivetains can easily give 600% range. Low gears are important for easy climbing.
- wide tyres roll better at the expense of greater weight.
Strange as it may seem, rigid fork bikes with MTB components can be hard to find. They would much rather sell you a more expensive 'gravel' bike.
How can something without suspension be designed for sitting down while riding off road? My bollocks completely disagree with that notion.
Haha! Not that I have that problem, but I'm guessing you probably ride terrain that suits an XC bike better. - Anna :)
Weight was a bit strange... 13kg for Gravel and 15kg for XC? Are they made of steel?
My Aluminium Gravelbike weights 9.5kg
My Carbon XC Hardtail weights 9.2kg
i thought the brake levers of the gravel bike look stressful to the hand
Steel & titanium are also often used on gravel bikes because of their natural compliance offering a more comfortable ride quality. Great video, would love to see more gravel & bikepacking content please.
Frame deflection cannot be felt after tyre and seatpost deflection. Frame material is irrelevant, any difference is only in the mind.
@@kidShibuya While tyre and seatpost are also a factor in ride comfort, frame material is far from irrelevant. The british cycling website has a great section with the pro's & con's of each bike frame material, maybe have a read sometime :)
8:54 lol what? My Canyon Grail CF is 7.4KG. Where is the extra 6KG coming from?
Gravel bike can accommodate larger chainrings. That being said, i'd rather ride XC. I have no reason to use a drop bar.
Yes it is.
yes
easy isn't it ... if you want to munch miles with speed and on the road, but don't want to turn around when there is a nice patch of forest or some countrylanes inbetween fields on your way get you away from trafic but might just turn into a dirtroad at some point... Gravel is the way to go... also for fast commuting with some compfort and the ability to take the shortcut through the Park or Forest.
if you'd like to go down any kind of singletrack that you might consider steep, and your fokus is on having fun in the woods, rather than zipping along the occasional country road down in the drops, go for XC
Gravel is for all out speed potential and ducking down in the Wind
XC for still beeing fast on technical terrain, where on the gravel you might still get along, but have to slow down conciderably
that said there are two rather flat and easy downhilltrails and some steep fireroad climbs in my local woods, where i have my KOMs on my Gravel, rather than my Hardtail or Trailbike... when your gearing dictates that you have to stand on your pedals you will be faster uphill or walk ;) ... downhill well, if its mostly flat earthy trails with some roots ... speed of gravel is probably as fast as XC (Gravel just rolls with you on high alert, XC you might have to push for that speed, but you can compfortably)
my first bike was a fully rigid mtb baack in like 04 isn't that what gravel biking is?
Had a Pinarello GRS, had some fun on it. Moved to the UK, and then the muddy winter came, instant regret. Gravels bikes are not only limited by the rider’s skill, but also the bike’s limited comfort and descent ability. After I sold that fancy gravel bike, I bought a carbon XC bike, and that was fun for a while until I discovered a lot of big jumps and drops which I just don’t trust my XC bike to handle. So now I ride a Commencal Meta TR like everyone else. Alloy full-sus trail bikes are heavy, but I’m not going Strava hunting anymore. Every ride is an adventure now because I can go wherever.
You got the weight numbers completely wrong, I suppose en error happened while converting to metric system? Anyways road bikes are around 7-8 kg nowadays, gravel is around 8-9 and xc bikes are 9-12 depending on if you have a rear shock or not.
I know what a gravel bike is and riding trails similar to single track is not what what drop bar bikes were meant for. Those bikes are meant for roads and fire roads that cars, trucks, etc. could also use. So my choice would be an XC bike because you could use it like a gravel bike comfortably. That said I still wouldn't buy either type of bike right now. They all are too expensive.
In regards to 700c and 29 wheels can you use 700c gravel wheels in a moutain bike ?
It depends from the width of the rims
@@litenantjv nope, it's the width of the hubs. 700c wheels and 29er wheels are as near to the same diameter as to make zero difference, and a 700c won't have rims that are too wide for an MTB. I have a 29er wheel up front on my gravel.
@@71CMM nonsense , if you have a 20mm rim you can fit a a gravel tire on the other hand if you have a 30 rim absolutely not. Hubs dosen’t play a role on this matter