Does a Gravel Bike work as a Road Bike?
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- Опубликовано: 3 дек 2022
- Can a gravel bike really be two bikes in one? Gravel with chunky tyres and a road bike with slicks? It's a question I get asked all the time so I set out to find out whether it works or not using the Scott Addict Gravel with two pairs of wheels and tyres
Scott Addict Gravel review • The Fastest Gravel Bik...
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I definitely believe that the right gravel bike could be the perfect all around choice. For two years, I was riding a rondo ruut CF2 as both a gravel and road bike. Having two sets of wheels is the best way to get the most out of having one bike to do it all. At first I was swapping tires, a lot. Everything from 700 X 28 through 700 X 45 fit on my bike and I loved every minute of it.
I have since added a Tarmac SL6 to my garage and keep the gravel bike set up with 700 X 45 Pirelli cinturato gravel H, which are my favorite tires. And although the tarmac is absolutely amazing, and fast, and light… I still find myself choosing the gravel bike, because I find it more fun and comfortable.
I totally agree 👍 I don't like taking my road bike out in a PA winter so I bought a AL gravel bike to ride in the messy winter. My bike shop just happened to have a spare wheels so I snatched them up and equipped them with 32mm slicks to speed things up. I've timed my self on a 10mi/16km loop on all three bikes and the results were predictable, light weight road bike had the best time followed by gravel bike w/32mm tires but not far behind. Then 6+ mins behind that was the gravel bike with 45mm gravel tires. I'm not looking to break any PBs in the winter. I'll do anything to not ride the indoor trainer. I'll even go for a run. 😲
Wouldnt the wheels be the culprit? 6 mins on 10mi seems excessive. I switch between 28 and 38 with no noticeable difference.
+6 mins out of how many?
If you run well you will improve your climbing ability. I've run 70k miles over 30 years and now am forced to bicycle. The bikers seem slow on uphills but harder to pass on the flats or downhills. I ride a FELT Broam 60 w/ 35mm x 700 and some tread.
I bought my Litespeed Watia on purpose to be both my road and gravel bike. The key was having two wheel sets and two 11spd cassettes. Road is 38/9-39 and gravel is 38/10-42. Tyres I run 700x42 (Specialized Pathfinder Pro) for gravel and 700x32 (Corsa NEXT) for road. For the relatively flat Midwest USA in which I live, this setup is perfect. Cheers and another great video.
Great video. I got a BMC Roadmachine X. And I use that to cover my winter riding. Ideal for me as it has an ali framed, carbon fork set up, so a bit more robust and mudguards. It is a one 1x so there are bigger gaps, but I can cope with that on slower weather rides. The geometry is similar to my summer Orbea. And I have WTB tyres with smooth centre sections. The 1x is simpler and easier to clean. The Orbea lives on the Kickr for indoor winter training. So it works for me really well.
The key to a gravel bike working well as a road bike is choosing the right type of gravel bike for the job in the first place, the gravel bike market is very varied and not all gravel bikes make good road bikes. If your intentions are to use the bike a lot on the road then you should be choosing one of the faster, lighter “race” type gravel bikes with 2x gearing such as the Scott Addict David is riding here.
More hardcore off-road gravel bikes with slacker angles, wider bars, low 1x gearing and heavier weight builds do not make good road bikes. Yes it will do the job but it will not feel or handle like a road bike, as really these types of gravel bikes are much closer to a mtb.
I have been using gravel bike as road bike with road tyres for 3 years, it does work perfectly for most situations, and super versatile when swap back to gravel tyres, especially I just use shimano 105 52/36 and 11-34 setup which is pretty standard, I think, it will suit many ppl as well
but when it comes to group ride, the more relax geometry and weight penalty of gravel bike do make you harder to catch up, so in that case a road bike is more recommended
Thank you very much for a thorough and very enjoyable review of this comparison. Gave me more confidence for buying a gravel bike and set of wheels to go from gravel to road. Brilliant!
I just bought my first full carbon Giant revolt advance 3 and totally LOVE it. I’ve owned a Giant defy road bike for years along with a Giant Yukon fatty and Trance X but have to say out of all my fleet the Revolt takes the lead. Such a comfortable bike and a perfect cross over to be used on gravel and road so fast and slow when needed to be.
I’m not sponsored by Giant but I do like the fit and geometry of their bikes.
GO GIANT!!
I got a gravel bike because of all these videos online which convinced me that it could in a way be just as good as a road bike. It definitely works as a road bike in the sense that it has gears and wheels and rolls as a bike would and you will be comfortable. But in some ways it definitely is not the same as a road bike. I ride with friends with road bikes and my gravel bike just does not keep up, the gearing is made for a different purpose, the geometry is also and when you ride with road bikes you will have to work so much harder. It’s like driving a family SUV with Sports cars. I would say it only works as a road bike if you only ride by yourself or with other gravel bikes on the same ride. Otherwise it isn’t fun. I feel that this point is often missed for people just starting to get into this sport and want to join friends who ride road bikes.
its probably just you that cant keep up lol
truth
Do you have two sets of wheels with road tires, and what is your ratio at the high end. I can relate though, I had a compact on one road bike and was getting dropped on group rides on a descent bc I couldn’t spin fast enough in a 50x11 to hood a wheel.
Have you swapped to road tires? You’ll never be able to keep up with road bikes without slicks. Otherwise it’s such a marginal difference, if you can’t keep up with the same tires then it’s probably more of a fitness/technique thing
Good point.
I've had my 2020 Giant Revolt since 2019. Until recently used for road 99% of the time. Zipp 303s wheels and 28-32c tires. 2x until now, just Switched to Rival AXS XPLR 1x. Doing a lot more gravel/light trial now, running 650B 47-50c tires. Not quite as sharp in the corners on road, but plenty fast. Will be interesting to see how it does on road rides with 1x. I doubt it will hinder me much. As always great vid, gravel bikes FTW!
This is a good comparison and another great video. I have an Alchemy Ronin Ti that I regularly take on trips with two sets of wheels and swap wheels depending on the terrain the day I ride. I’ve found it to be just as fast on the road as my road bike with the caveats you called out. Snappiness is not as good and the handling is a bit different but it still gets the job done. Great video!
I was really considering getting an endurance road bike since I'm mostly doing rides on the tarmac. I'm currently riding a Salsa Warbird gravel bike with GK SS Panaracer 38mm tires. And sine I love the ride of my Warbird as it was bike fitted for me, your video has fully convinced me to just buy another wheelset with slick tires and swap them with my gravel wheelset when necessary. Far cheaper than getting a new bike! Thank you @davidarthur!
I’m a mountain biker but just recently got my first real road/gravel bike 2016 specialized diverge. I got it mainly for road bike riding and I think for me a casual rider it works perfect for road riding. I just yesterday swapped the 172.5 crankset for a familiar 165 mm. My first ride on the 165 will me later today. But you give good information. 👍
A timely video. I’ll be taking my new Merlin Malt gravel bike out this weekend. It’s a special edition that substitutes the standard GRX gears for Shimano 105 and 32 tyres. I was specifically looking for a gravel bike with a road-biased group set as I’ll be mostly on road but wanting the option to go off piste if I want to. I’m a very relaxed cyclist who likes to take photos and take in the scenery along the way, but occasionally give it a blast, so wasn’t looking for a thoroughbred racer. This video gave me a few things to look out for while I’m out and about.
Endurance road bikes need to start having this gearing. The 50 tooth is wasted on me, give me a 46 so I can use the bottom half of my cassette.
And almost everyone i know. 50:11/12 superflous IMO.
The point of taller gearings is to keep the chain as straight as possible for efficiency…not so you can regularly use the smaller cogs
@@TeslaOsirisbut there’s a difference between seldom/occasionally and never. You should still be able to to push that gear for more than 2 seconds or at 40rpm.
I love how 50/34 is the only option for shimano claris. Like exactly how many Claris riders need 50/11 more than a lower than 1:1 gear ratio?
@@TeslaOsiris I'm having this problem at the top of my cassette though. I'm cross chaining with the top end instead.
After touring and commuting on an MTB for a few years , I realized that my bike choice was way off. So, last year i sold it and bought a Cro-Mo gravel (Outleap Hardway S 2022). It has a relatively relaxed geometry which allowed me to transition comfortably from an XC bike, boasts all the mounts for touring that i could need, and now that ive put 32mm slicks on it, also works great as a commuter. Yes, the gearing is, well, tuned for gravel with 11-42 cassette and a 40t chainring, but again, for my purposes it works just fine, since I knew what I'd be using the bike for. For me, as someone who can only afford one bike and needs to ride on rough surfaces regularly, this gravel-as-a-road bike worked out just fine :)
I'm riding a 2020 Cannondale Topstone 0 Alloy. I purchased this bike the1st of april this year. The former owner rode only 200miles with it. The reason for me to purchase this bike was that i wanted a bike what i also can ride offroad. The setup is Ultegra RX. The downside on this bike is the crankset from fsa. My plan is to swap this for a shimano 105 or ultegra crankset. I also have a extra handbuild wheelset. When i purchased the bike i was 109kg, now i am about 92kg. For me the bike is really versatile and does the job for me. For road cycling i use a 11-25 cassette and for the gravel 11-34. There are some minor shifting issues with the 11-25 cassette because the rear derrailer is a long cage. Now the Topstone is hooked up with a Wahoo Kickr V5. So now i am doing alot of indoor trainings on zwift.
Just got a brand new BMC Kaius 01 Two. I have 3 sets of wheels with a set of 700 x 30 road tires, 700x33 cross and 700x40 gravel. They all work great and the bike is a dream in any of the discipline. Dream bike.
I have a specialized Diverge, and I've ridden it on tarmac and I've really enjoyed it. It's slower than my Factor 02, but riding on 42mm at 42 psi is an incredibly comfortable ride where road imperfections are gobbled up. I agree the 1x setup has a few gaps that (50-10) and if I decide to make a full conversion like your video suggests, I'd probably get a 2x
This was fascinating, thank you for doing this video. I downsized a few years ago to get rid of older bikes and decided to get the "One Bike to Rule Them All"...an Open U.P. It is by far the best frame I've ever ridden, and I've since accumulated three sets of wheels over the last three years for it. 700c w/ 38mm gravel tires, 48mm gravel tires (for aggressive off-road days), and just recently a set of carbon road wheels with 32" Continental Grand Prix 5000 TR S. For me, this setup is all I ever need for whatever riding I want to do, and the bike performs exceptionally with each of the sets. It's nice to really have a bike that can do it all. I never need anything else...except "need" sometimes has nothing to do with it. I like bikes!
@ynotyoga Can you say more about the Open UP - sounds like you are really impressed with the ride quality? Is it the Geo or compliance?
I ride the Giant TCX with 3 sets of wheels + 3 different cassets... On nice, smooth road I would prefer a little more aggressive / aero position though. On the other hand I am frequently in the drops on tarmac... When setting up the cockpit for more aero - suffering everywhere else besides tarmac, so keep it as a compromise
I’ve got a Canyon Grail CF with GRX Di2 groupset. I use that bike mainly as a year-round endurance bike here in Finland. In the summer with Zipp 303S wheels and 28-30 mm slicks, and in the other seasons shod with 40 mm gravel tires. A very fast bike but at the same time also very comfortable. That famous double-decker handlebar works really well both on the road and off road.
Did you ever consider the Endurace All Road, or do you have an opinion on that compared to the Grail? Just curious, as I am considering a year-round bike as well:)
@@tr4nnel752 Actually I’ve since switched to Endurace CF SL! 😅 Mainly because of fit and adjustablility issues. As we know, there’s no way of adjusting Grail’s cockpit.
Endurace is a very similar bike as Grail. Both very comfortable and fast, but Endurace handles somewhat snappier, as is expected when considering the steeper head angle.
@@anttibusk4401 Haha funny coincidence! Thanks for your comment, I will try to get to Koblenz Germany and try them out. I have a feeling the Endurace would be a great bike for me.
Nice video. I'm riding a Giant Revolt, and use 2 wheelsets. Easton EC70 AX with gravel tires and Vision Metron 55 SL with road tires. After riding the road setup for a while, I found no difference to my endurance road bike. Gave it to my son.
Thank you so much for this video. I have been on the fence so to speak between road or gravel bike. This video is pushing me in the right direction. Thank you much.
Riding a custom Ti frame gravel bike which doubles as my road bike. Got 2 wheelsets for the 2 uses. Only rant I can give right now would be the brake caliper adjustments I need to do every time I switch wheelsets. Great video, kudos!
buy some shims
I have the 2021 Addict Gravel 10 (in the metallic blue) with very similar specs to this 2023 one (SRAM Force 2x, 40mm carbon wheels). A few more things to consider when using it as a road bike are:
- pedals - unless you're happy to use your gravel/mtb shoes on road
- stem length - I prefer a slightly shorter 80mm one for gravel and a longer 100mm one for road. Stock came with a 110mm!
- handlebar width - stock are 44mm and flared (assume same on this 2023). You could always put a set of road handlebars on though, but potentially less stable on loose stuff
Not bragging here but I starting doing this since 2019 with my Giant Revolt 0. I put some 30mm “road tires” on the stock Giant carbon rims. I bought some wider I.D, Mercury Carbon wheels and mounted 40mm knobby tires for my gravel riding. On the road I find the bike to be very quick and stable and I’m not really a road rider. The Giant is a great gravel bike in general. I ended up replacing the stock crankset with a carbon FSA 46-30. This provides me with some great low climbing gears for my very high elevation and mountainous area. Losing some high end gears was not a sacrifice for me given the type of riding I do. I’m 67, give me a break. Always enjoy your videos David, Cheers!
I have the Salsa journeyman gravel bike, 2-bi. I love it. I have 2 sets of tires road and gravel. I will be getting another set of wheel so I done have to change ties all time. It ride just fine as a road bike, and being in the US, we have lots of wonderful gravel to explore. I can do that too. Gravel bike as a road bike, well it fits my need prefect.
BB drop is lower on a good gravel bike, for more stability when you can't lean much on loose surfaces. Putting smaller tires on lowers the pedals even further, which can be really nice feeling, just so long as you remain aware of it.
Having been a mountain biker for a decade, I wanted something more efficient for the times I rode the recreational trail. Comfort was important. I was convinced I wanted a gravel bike but once at the shop, I rode an endurance bike, and knew that if I was honest with myself, this bike would see almost all tarmac. Went for a Domane and I think it was the right choice as I still have a mountain bike for single track and fire road. I think a bike that does it all might have too many compromises and if possible, one would be better off with multiple bikes. Which is more fun anyway :)
Cube NuRoad Pro C:62 with a GRX 2x 48/31T crankset. When I want to ride over gravel I use a Mason x Hunt wheelset with an 11 - 34 cassette and Vittoria Terreno Dry 37mm tyres. When I want to ride on the road, I just put an Ican Aero 46 wheelset with an 11-32 cassette and Conti GP5000 TL 32mm tyres. It's just brilliant!
The added stability makes gravel bikes more difficult to quickly snap out of someones wheel in an sprint.
But honestly when going down fast sweeping roads. I enjoy it more. The longer wheelbase seems to help as well.
It just sticks and gives more confidence
This is the video I have been waiting for - thank you!
I run a Giant Revolt Advanced 2 in medium size. I changed the bars to Bontrager carbon and the saddle to a short nose of the same brand. The wheels are Token Konax Pro 52MM with Continental GP 5000 28MM tires. It does quite nicely.
I have used my 2022 Trek Checkpoint SL6 etap with Zipp 303S wheels and 30 mm Goodyear Eagle's. It worked ok, but the 1x gearing was not ideal as you stated David. Also the weight is around 9.5kgs. So I've purchased a secondhand Trek Domane SLR for use as my road bike using with Zipp wheels. Now keeping the gravel bike with 40mm tyres just for muddy off road wanderings. I just get confused when riding Shimano vs Sram, so I have to concentrate a little more. 😉
I’d like to see a video about which gravel bikes would work best as a dual purpose solution.
I have a 2016 Trek Crockett 9 disc that I put Bontrager R3 tires on and ride it on the road all the time. It's not really geared for it, but for my needs it works great. Been riding it as a road bike for years.
Great review, I think for most of us this works perfectly. Mind I converted an older Trek to a gravel but as you mentioned not all gravels can be turn roadies.
I ride a '22 Checkpoint SL6 1X (42 front/10x44 rear). My gravel/offroad wheel setup is the Bontrager Pro3V with either CinturatoH or CinturatoM tires (have both in 40 and 45mm). My road wheel setup is the Bontrager Pro51 TLR with 30mm PZeroRaceTLR. The road setup has not left me feeling "wanting" at all. The ONLY issue I have with the Checkpoint (and most gravel bikes) on the road, is the LOW bottom bracket height. These are NOT crit machines for sure as you can easily pedal strike if you attempt to get on the power as you egress the apex of a sharp turn. But, for all other road riding, I haven't once felt hindered by the Checkpoint. Best part is, I feel so much better after long rides thanks to the ISOSpeed decoupler and fatter tires. My Fuji Altamira, Colnago Dream, Colnago C40 and C50, Colnago Master and my Merckx Team SC simply don't feel nearly as comfortable on long rides (mostly because of the 26mm tire max width on all of them). Amazing what an extra 4mm of width actually provides and on my wheels, the PZeros actually measure out to 31.5mm thanks to the 23mm internal width.
I've been on a 3T Racemax for a couple years now. Switch between 32mm slicks, 35mm slicks and a 38mm semi-slick, more gravel oriented tire (all on Zipp 303s). I ride primarily road though as most of my solo rides are pavement, with minimal gravel to connect routes.....favourite size is 35mm slick for rough roads around my area. I also ride fairly regularly in a group, mostly all roadies. I have no problem whatsoever on the 32mm or 35mm slicks....usually riding out front. When fully offroad, my 3T with some traction on tires is more than enough for area where I live. But main point is that the bike is completely secondary. With slicks, it's my fitness that allows me to ride fast. Yes, Racemax is quite stiff and very much a fast gravel bike but any carbon, fairly high-end gravel bike is going to do just as well with slicks and a competent rider.
I use my gravel bike to commute on. I have another set of wheels with 32c road tires and it works nicely. The geometry is a little more comfortable for commuting than my road bike so that's a plus. It doesn't seem as fast but it goes plenty fast to get me to work without overexerting myself. With a 1x and 11-speed there are more than enough gears to suit my route. I like the setup so much that I'm getting a custom steel all-road bike made with similar specs which I can use as my all-arounder and may just replace my road race bikes as I don't ride that fast anymore anyway.
Agreed. Gravel + tubeless with inserts is about the best commuting set up I’ve come across. I’ve been very glad of the extra grip and stopping power in the wet when someone on the road has done something stupid.
I've started doing a 2 wheel set up this year on my 2022 Giant Revolt advanced pro 1. I love it! Works perfectly for me. I put Schwalbe Pro Ones on the stock Carbon wheels that came with the bike and put my Gravel King SKs on a set of used DT Swiss aluminum wheelset. I like the aluminum too because I was always concerned about damaging my carbon wheelset. It's not perfect for everyone but I think it's awesome and I think it would be great for a lot of people who, like me, just ride for fun and fitness. I'm about distance and confort more than speed so any speed I lose on my road tire set up is of no concern to me at all. I love it!
I’ve have been debating on doing that with the new revolt as well. I do remember when @david Arthur did the review of it and compared it to his TCR. Do you find that it’s pretty good on the road with road tires?
Bike radar even said it was their “road bike of the year”
@@bobonbikes1112 to me it handles like my previous endurance road bike it replaced, a Giant Contend (similar geo to the Defy) . It's not going to be a race bike but for just riding I love it. It's responsive and handles great to me. I have no regrets and I don't see a reason for a second road bike now
I just recently got back into cycling after 30+ years. I wanted an all a-rounder. I prefer road but felt because of the heavier traffic having a bike that is designed for light single track and packed dirt was the most practical choice. I bought a Kona Rove DL. A bit heavy but a comfortable, solid bike that handles surprisingly well. I used to ride a racing Canondale in the early nineties and that bike was just too uncomfortable and twitchy for me. My Rove DL or an “endurance” bike is a MUCH better fit for me. I’m enjoying riding again and am getting ready for a century in September.
Just got a Topstone Carbon 3, put some cheap 700c wheels with 32c road tyres on and it’s perfect for the winter months on the road. And the kingpin suspension helps with the awful Surrey roads!
Of course they do,i have my Temple set up with Hunt 4 season disc wheels with 38mm Gravelkings & i have a second set of Hunt wheels set up with 28mm Gravelkings i just change wheels depending on the ride I'm doing.Only issue is weight my bike is 11.5kg but ideal for winter training.
I stopped getting caught up on having the latest kit about 15yrs ago . I’ve raced in the UK , Europe , the US and Australia never won anything above Regional level ( on and off road ) so no expert. But I’m selling my high spec 9yr old Enigma Excel road bike and by high end carbon hardtail 29er as I’ve bought a Scott Addict gravel 10 . It’s bloody brilliant, only ridden it for 5hrs in small rides , need to tweak the position a little, but haven’t changed anything on it ( just added my XTR pedals from the 29er) My my expensive bike purchase ever , but this does it all .
My first and only bike is an 2018 Specialized Diverge Comp E5 with a mix of 105 group set and Praxis and Tektronics disc brakes. I’m very happy with it and have used it only for road cycling. I’m going to get a 2nd set of wheels/tyres for some gravel use to try that out.
Great video
I have the same bike 2020 year. Works great as both road and gravel. Specially the 105 makes it so smooth
@@andersonnascimento939 Yep, great all-rounder. You will have the hydro-brakes on yours as well, which came the year after mine, which is a good upgrade
The pathfinders rides also fine on the roads
I have a cervelo aspero with an extra set of wheels set up with 32c slicks and i’m more than happy with the versatility and ease
Thats what I'm gravitating towards with my Rondo Ruut AL2 - got some semi slick 32mm panaracerecrs as daily for fall/autumn, but Ill be swapping these for slick 28s soon because I do ride like 95% on concrete
That’s the kind of use I’m planning on with my Speedster Gravel which I’ll receive in the upcoming days. I’d love to see a comparison test between the Addict and the Speedster in the wind tunnel if you could have your hands on one 🙏🤞
I just ordered a Time ADHX for the road. Rough roads where I ride. The geometry is almost the same as my endurance bike. But, I can now fit 32 mm tires with ease.
I went for a 3t Racemax after having spent two years with a specialized diverge. Hesitated a while going for a second road bike instead. In the end the one solution gravel bike prevailed. The 3T weights around 8.2 kgs in my configuration, is pretty stiff, has a near Road-bike Geometry and is aero. Gearing is pretty flexible nowadays with a lot of different options and I am happy with a 38x10-44 gearing. The difference is marginal compared to a road bike. Biggest advantage is the space I save in my cellar. Second biggest advantage is the flexibility when on holidays. With 2 sets of wheels I can ride everything. Would need 4 bikes with my wife otherwise… For the average rider I think this is more important than saving a few minutes on your ride !
I have a Fezzari Shafer gravel and run DT Swiss and slick road tires on the road set up. It has a SRAM Apex 1x12 setup and works great on the roads here in eastern TN in the USA.
Bought a Vitus Energie Force1 model CX bike 2022, have a set of Zipp 303s for gravel, Vel 50rl for winter road use, and the stock wheels for cross! 👍
I use my steel framed Jamis Renegade Expat as a road bike. I am also able to keep up, and even surpass a good number of my fellow club riders on carbon fibre road bikes. It's all about the legs. I do have a road bike, but I find I have more versatility riding my gravel. I can decide on a whim to jump on a few gravel trails if I so chose.
Did you find good tyres that can do both, or do you have 2 wheel sets? I have Michelin Pro4 with strong puncture resistance (at least on paper) but after 2 flats on trails I'm looking for something else. Now a new bike with CX tyres but they feel so slow on the road, and I can't find any number about their rolling resistance online.
I'm riding Conti Contact plus E-bike tyres, but I'm a large (very) rider. I use e-bike tyres as they seem more durable for my weight. I also have tubes with removable valve cores and filled with tubeless sealant, so I can lower the pressure somewhat when on gravel. Not as low as with full tubeless, but my weight wont allow that anyway, even with tubeless. They have a tread pattern, but not hugely aggressive, so it really isn't a huge detriment on the road either. I live in Miami though, so the gravel riding trails are all on the levies, so just crushed gravel, nothing overly challenging.
I started riding on an old Diverge, using it purely as a road bike. Definitely heavier than a proper road bike, but I always had a blast on it.
Just recently bought a Holdsworth Gravel Frame from Planet X as I wanted a more versatile bike for winter road riding. Mudguards and larger tyres being my aim. It works really well on the road but I have noticed two things that might be of interest. I am running a 2 X setup and I have a 53 outer ring. I am planning on changing this soon but the standard chain size is literally almost just the correct length. I've always had to take a good few links out so just shows how much longer this bike is. I reckon it wouldn't be possible to run a large cassette with 2x setup unless you can get a longer chain. Also, the clearance between the chainrings and chainstays is really narrow. My chain actually got stuck in there because of a mis-shift. I'm sure not all gravel frames are the same but because of the chainstays flared out so much for huge tyres, they are ever closer to the crankset. It seems it is more designed for 1 X gears.
I ride the Cannondale SuperSix EVO SE it’s a perfect ‘ do it all’ bike with a second road set, I love it 😍
Great video and a topic that is timely. Having a gravel bike with “typical” front stem and seat post is what I am looking for, so transition to a road bike could include a sort of semi slam of the front end and a possible quick saddle change. Gotta have 2x up front also with plenty of gear options on the road. 11- 32 or even 34 means longer cage On the back. That’s my wish list.
me too
Just changed from a hard tail xc to gravel…did wonder about an endurance road, but seeing this confirms I made the right choice. The gravel is perfect for anyone used to mountain bikes and nice to see it will go just as fast as an endurance for most riders.
Has Cannondale Topstone Carbon with Force AXS 2x12 and it works great in both areas perfectly for GF and Gravel races! Enve g23 with 40mm for Gravel and stock wheels for road with 32mm - both tubeless for sure!
I put a Hunt 44-54 wheelset on my 2016 Specialized Diverge and about 99% of my riding on the road. I have some nobbly off-road tyres mounted on the old Axis wheels that originally came with the Diverge, so I can easily swap whenever I want to go off road.
Being an early model gravel bike, the 2016 Diverge doesn't have a lot of clearance, so 35+ mm tyres are too wide. But i can live with that.
I built up a concoction of eBay hybrid frame old steel cross fork old 9 speed bits and old wheels with new Panaracer 43mm Gravelkings, cost was £170 it’s totally brilliant handles as good as anything I have I’ve now done thousands of miles on and off road. As the old parts gave up I replaced with cheap new parts… still 9 speed. I wish I could show a picture it’s odd looking but certainly gets a lot of glances… my go to bike despite all my others.
I just got a Diverge w/same Derailer as Emonda Road Bike. WHAT A GREAT DECISION! Same 2x front derailer and same GRX and rear cassette. One of my BEST DECISIONS. I can bring one bike on vacation for “dual riding”!!
I went through some pretty extensive testing preparing for the San Diego Belgian Waffle this year (i've done it on my 2020 Diverge with 32's before & also the Cedar City Utah with 40's), i wanted a little bit more of a speed setup this past year so i put 28's on that bike and also a Ridley Kanzo Fast.......i even changed the Diverge from 1X to 2X....I ended up using the Ridley for the race but i used 32's. My gravel bikes just don't handle very well with road tires on them, they wander and don't seem to track very well while descending, and the Diverge with the bigger tires descends like it's on rails!!! I really enjoy fast descents so it's a deal breaker for me to run road tires on them, but someone that doesn't care as much about that part of the equation might really like that setup. That's my 2 cents, thanks for the video, as always!!
Been looking at this bike for a while, looks like exactly what I’m looking for.
Yep, got a 2021 Diverge Comp with a 2x setup before Specialized went to 1x on their gravel bikes ( and started jipp'n folks by raising the price and equip'ing the same bike with lower spec components) anyway I'm rolling on the new S-works Mondo 35's. No complaints. I'm still getting an SL7 or 8 in the near future to keep up with my fast Roadie Homiez👍🏾
I have been riding a 3T Exploro Racemax, with a 2by setup. Works like a dream on both road and gravel.
I guess the “traditional” gravel setup is moving towards an all-road class, while suspension gravel bikes are moving towards an all-gravel definition.
I own a Diverge and it is a tank, it does ride faster with size 28C tires, but it is heavy. So obviously, you have to have a bike like your Scott to be able to go between the two and only the tires can make the difference. I bought carbon wheels n panaracer sk 38 and now my bike can do it all. I just pump up my tires to 40psi for road and down to 35 for knarly gravel lots of rocks n potholes
I wanted this video for a while. You are about to make up my mind 😉
I've actually done a 3 to 1 swap with my Litespeed Watia replacing my Specialized Diverge, Bianchi Infinito CV, and Surly Long Haul Trucker w/couplers. With aero wheels and narrow tires I can still keep up on group rides and the ride is actually more comfortable than the Bianchi. It has room for wider tires than the Diverge and again I find it more comfortable than the Specialized.
Replacing the Surly involved more of a compromise on my part since it was built specifically for bikepacking and touring in Europe. With the couplers I could break the bike down into a "luggage" sized bag and fly it from the US for free and use my panniers as carry on bags. Now I'll have to use a bike bag and pay to store it while out riding. It also complicates rides where I start and end in a different country (like the Camino de Santiago). Overall it's worth it to have a lighter bike that I'll really enjoy on the climbs though. My wife has made the same move but she still swears by her Bianchi when there's anything smooth under the tires.
This video confirms what I already know. I us a Rose Backroad GRX 1x11 gravelbike with 3 different wheelsets since 3.5 years now and for me, as a purely recreational rider, it works perfect. When I ride alone I use a 27.5" wheelset with Vittoria Terreno Zero's mounted for most of my tours on road and light offroad and I like the comfort of this set up. When I expect very wet terrain I switch to a 28" wheelset with Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M. Only when I ride on road in a group I use a 28"
wheelset with 28 mm slick road tires as the 27.5" feels a bit slower at higher speeds. In my opinion this is the only bike I need, even with a 1x set up. I live in a mostly flat area and a 44 oval front ring combined with an 11-32 cassette gives more range than I need. When I go to a more hilly area I switch to an 11-46 cassette that gives a range that works perfect for climbing as well as descending. I was afraid that the bigger gaps of a 1x set up would bother me but it all works fine. It turned out that the GRX 1x derailleur didn't work too well with an 11-32 cassette but after changing the derailleur cage for a one from Garbaruk I can use every cassette from an 11-32 to an 11-51.
CX bikes always have been the crossovers. They can do gravel as well. I use my Canyon Inflite as a gravel bike (Pirelli Cinturato gravel H 40mm) or as winter commuter bike (+ fenders and Conti 4 seasons).
Yup in the old days CX bikes were regularly modified for road winter cycling with slicks and mudguards
I love riding my 1x CX bike on the road with my buddies. I ride it with 38mm tires, so comfy, and just as fast in a nice group ride. Everyone will have different opinions on gearing and whatnot, but the bike is comfy.
I've got a 3T Exploro with 2xforce axs, 2 sets of wheels; one running 32mm road tires, the other 38mm gravel.
It's my winter endurance/rain/training bike, social ride road bike, gravel bike, go-to ride for local chipseal roads.
I have raced it on the road in the Masters 123s and brought it to the fast group rides and I've even notched road PRs on it, but because of its role in my quiver I'm not using the same supple/low-resistance race tires as I run on my race bike and I think that's probably why it feels harder to hang with the fast guys on it.
For technical racing (like crits) I feel like I'd have to fight the gravel geometry a bit (and I've got a perfectly good road bike for that) and although my gearing (2x12, 33/46-10/33) is fantastic for gravel and adventure, a sprint gear taller than 46/10 might be nice for those fast field sprints
Have this Addict Gravel and wanted to go with the 2 wheelset option. Ended up just using 40mm wheels for all road / gravel rides. Unless you're racing, you can easily go along on 30km/h group rides, bike packing and all in between.
What 40mm tires do you use?
@@ArnageLM Pirelli Cinturato H.
Excellent video once again. But what about practicality? Different wheel brands? Different cassettes? Adjusting derailleurs or disc brakes with every wheel swap? Total cost associated?
I still don't know if I want to swap my gravelbike for a roadie and MTB, or get a second wheelset...
40mm Terreno Dry: very slow and sluggish on tarmac, great for dry gravel or cross/forest, slippery on MTB trails or wetter gravel. Strictly niche tyres.
Fitting more slick tyres will make trails and cross impossible.
Fitting knobblier tyres will make it painfully slow on tarmac.
The paradox of choice... lol!
Just ordered the parts to be able to setup my Topstone Carbon 5 as a gravel and road bike. Two sets of wheels. Using Sram Rival+Eagle in a mullet configuration (currently Shimano 105). Wish me luck… because I am changing everything 😅
Love this video! My gravel bike does great on roads, it's almost as quick as my road bike my only issue is that I'm running 48/31 GRX up front and I feel sometimes that I would like larger size rings for fast riding on the flats and even some small hills so for this I would never bring it to a faster group ride but for solo road riding it works great. Cheers!
So I run the same grx gearing as you. I spin out at about 45 mph, so I don’t feel I need more gearing on the flat!
@@darrellb4131 I’d never keep up on a fast group road ride with the GRX. Wouldn’t even attempt it. At 25 mph I’d be working twice as hard in my highest gear as the other guys in their lower gears and I’d be done quickly
48x11 at comfortable 85rpm gives you 47.5km/h and you need 500+ watts to go that fast. 100rpm is 56km/h, 800+ watts required on flat. Are you really averaging these kind of speeds?
@@pogoking4000 probably going downhill.
@@pogoking4000 I do club rides and notice with the smaller chain rings I’m pedaling much harder in my highest gear to keep up with others who are using bigger rings and therefore I am tiring much quicker. Fitness? Maybe but I don’t have that problem on my road bike with bigger chain rings and in fact on the road bike I’m usually hanging in the middle to the front of the pack.
I have a Diverge too (2019, Expert X1). It is my do it all bike.
I did 2000k through Europe this summer on 40mm cinturato H. Very comfortable ride.
I have now put 35mm slick Cinturato velo on it for a much faster road ride without loosing too much comfort.
For the gravel a have purchased a set of cheap 2nd hand 650b wheels with 48mm gravel tires. They are awesome for riding forest and farm land. I try to avoid singletrack stuff, but the bike will do it.
The 40mm was the perfect compromise for me, but having two sets of wheels are just so much better.
The gearing I have changed from 40t 10-42, to 34t 10-50 (Sram force 1, 11 speed with Garbaruk cassette). I need the lower gearing when climbing and 34t 10 still give me 38kph at 80rpm. (12 speed electronic Apex or mullet setup would be a nice upgrade)
I would use a smaller 32t chainring if it would fit, but my powermeter does not allow that. I dont need to pedal at +35kph. :-)
34 10 is like my granny ring
I have the Wilier Rave SLR - road version 2x Ultegra w/ GRX crank - just brilliant. I changed to the smaller chain ring of the GRX 34/31 is more practical than the Ultegra 50/36 and just fine on the road. Sold my Scott Addict RC20 road bike and Canyon Grail. Couldnt get a Scott Gravel Tuned here in NZ 😥
If I knew about gravel bikes in 2018, I would have never have bought a BMC teammachine. Which is now an expensive Zwift trainer bike. Now, it’s been my trusty Orbea Terra 2021 GRX Di2 steed that has gotten me through the pandemic. I’ve made some modifications, such as seat dropper and swapped the OM handle bar to an Zipp aero which helped minor aerodynamics during fast group rides. Overall, it’s been my workhorse and couldn’t be more happy by adding an Enve 5.6SES road wheel set.
I agree the aero press wheels and road tyres r the way to go. I have it on a gravel e bike
This year I started riding my gravel bike for the winter. The only thing I changed is the 38c knobbly tyres for 32c slicks and shoved on some mudguards. It's 1x with a 42 chainring and a 11-42 on the back. It works absolutely fine for me. The only thing is with 1x and that big range on the back is you have bigger jumps between gears. One may be too easy and the next may be a grind. Other than that though I am really happy and looking to sell my current winter road bike.
I know what you mean. I think 11 42 is way to slow for me :/
Two wheelsets on your gravel bike is the way to go IMO:
I only have one bike - a 2018 WHY R+ Titanium bike. Now back in 2018 they weren't saying "gravel" they were saying "all-road". But with today's contemporary features like thru axles, internal cable routing (not that fully concealed stuff) and room for 700c X 47mm or 27.5 x 2.1" wheels...
Yeah its what we call a gravel bike today. Today's all-road bike has that middle ground geometry that would suit a roadie wanting to do light gravel, tho gravel bikes make GREAT
road bikes, similar in feel to endurance road bikes.
I have two carbon wheelsets from Superteam: One for mostly paved rides (on a 45mm deep carbon wheelset with 32mm gravelking tires) and another carbon set 38mm deep (24 mm internal) with some 40mm knobby tires for fun in the mud and dirt. Couldn't be happier.
I do this very same thing and it works incredibly well. I even use a 2022 Scott Addict Gravel and according to my Strava I'm just as fast as my 2023 Cervelo Soloist Ultegra Di2.
I’ve got a gravel 20 and it’s not as fast as my tarmac but who knows, without more data the variables are hard to judge
It would be interesting to test the timing between the road and gravel tires for road conditions. Do you really need two types of tires or is a moderate gravel tire sufficient?
🙋🏼♂️ cervelo aspero. Sram apex. 28mm vision team alu 35mm. And chunky 42mm tundra tires. Yes, if i would change something it might be the 1x set up. However, it does a good job overall leaving some long descends aside. I may have paid the pric€ for the cycle post pandemic bubble...but I am amazed and surprised with this can do it all bike.
I ride a gravel bike everywhere. I run 35 mm tires because the road can be in poor condition.I'm an adventure style rider and I might end up on a gravel road. I also commute and it's just a nicer ride especially at night. On my road bike I separated one tire, broke 2 spokes and 3 pinch flats in 3 months riding at night. That doesn't happen on my gravel bike. I use much more of the gearing on a 46/30 chainring than a 50/34. Plus my gravel bike has much more attachment points for different things. It's just a better bike.
Great video. I just got a second set of zipp 303 s for my titanium Litespeed Cherohala. For gravel I run schwalbe G-One Allaround 40 mm and for road schwalbe pro one 30 mm. Both in tubless as required by the wheels. Works great.
The only performance gap that I see is for rides with a significant amount of climbing where a stiffer / lighter frame would benefit me. So I got a Giant Defy Advanced Pro 2 for that. And the Defy just happens to be incredibly comfortable and absorbs most road chatter to my surprise. I feel like I have it covered fir most conditions I ride these days.
Also agree on this idea of using a gravel bike a´with road bike wheels. I'm doning this when I go camping with my family. Then it's better to take a second set of wheels with me than a second bike for reasons of space. That way I can ride comfortably with the family, even off-road and sporty with the racing bike wheelset.
My current bikes include an old singlespeed steelie (not worth anything), old 26" MTB as commuter, Focus O1E 8.8 mountain bike, Planet X Pro Carbon road bike and Cube Cross Race C:62 Pro cyclocross bike. That Planet has a repaired frame and starts to crack at the dropouts, keeping it because it's not worth selling and I can have a bike to leave in my dorm. The Cube became my most versitale bike - I have three wheelsets for it and use it as a road bike (Zipp 303s), gravel bike (Roval hubs + DT Swiss rims), winter bike (Fulcrum Racing DB6 - OEM heavy wheelset) and of course a cyclocross bike (Zipps as primary wheelset, Roval/DT for the pits). I also have two cranksets with different chainring setups - 50/34 for the summer (road, gravel and partly winter setups) and 46/36 for the 'cross season (so CX setup and part-time winter setup). Here's what I think of my setups:
CX: What was this bike made for. No compromise there, this bike flies on a 'cross field.
Winter bike: Even with the heavy Fulcrums it's way nicer ride than on my previous dedicated winter bike, I can clip on SKS mudguards within a minute - huge win there.
Gravel bike: It accomodates 40mm tires comfortably, having a MTB I wouldn't run much fatter tires on any gravel bike. I feel like I'm making little compromise compared to a dedicated gravel bike. The bike is snappy and feels really fast. Maybe it's a bit less stable than some adventure bikes, but I don't care, gravel riding should be fun and deffinetly is on this bike.
Road bike: Being a cyclocross bike it was not designed with aerodynamics in mind, nor is it a lightweight bike, but for sure I can say it's stiff - actually really noticibly stiffer than my old Planet X, which was a proper roadie. With the Zipp 303s wheels it surely rides faster than the Planet X. Yet, compared to nowadays road bikes, I think it's holding me back a little bit. If I look down, the bike is just more robust and "fat".
I think you can totally use a gravel bike or CX bike as a road bike. It's a compromise, but not a huge one. Yet, probably I'll get myself a new dedicated road bike in the upcoming years. Therefore my ideal bike range would include: race MTB, race road bike, nice CX bike doubeling (or should I say trippeling, if that's word) also as a gravel bike and a winter bike, and whatever cheap bike as a city commuter.
Im planning the very same....orderd a Ribble CGR SL (2x Force etap) with 650B running centre slick gravel tyres....then will grab some 303S in the summer and swap between for what will be mainly road miles throughout the warmer months. I also have a FullSuss bike which I will use for the more gnarly stuff....but in truth...Gravl for me will make it great to hop between different terrains out on a nice long ride...might even re do the South Downs way on it at some point as well
I did this with my CGR SL that I had for about a year, it worked very well for both road and gravel, I even hold some road KOMs on it. However I didn’t get on that well with the integrated bars and none of the limited size options gave me the fit I want, which was one of the reasons I ended up selling it and moving to a gravel bike with conventional bars and seatpost etc
@@huntos83 thanks for that. Luckily the integrated bars seem to suit me. But will see what happens.
Thomas Frischknecht rode the 1996 Olympic road race with his cyclocross bike and finished with the main peloton, which included Indurain. He rode that race because Tony Rominger decided not to enter the race, so there was an extra spot for a Swiss rider.
I run a giant TCX cyclocross bike as a gravel bike ,a road bike and with 650b wheels it has a enough clearance to even be a rigid hard tail ,the geometry is more aggressive than a designated gravel bike but slightly slacker than the road equivalent TCR,it’s really versatile
I also run another set of wheels with my gravel bike, 28mm slicks & 50mm gravel. Only issue I find is that because I'm one-by I've a plenty enough low gear 42/42, but I suffer from only 42/11 at the top end. I live in a hilly area and end up pedalling like a bu99er on descents. Stable though is very good on crap road surfaces.
Nice one Dave. My fairlight secan is my 'road' bike. As well as the chunky 650b tyres I've also got some 38mm slick gravel kings that I use for my road setup. I've never ridden a 'proper' road bike so I'm curious as to how much different it actually is. I think the 1x gearing is probably the main limiting factor on the road but that's a compromise that suits me.
The introduction of 10, and now even 9 tooth cog casettes has pretty much solved that 1x limitation once and for all.
That was my big issue for a long time, since I am a gear masher like a lot of road riders and simply cannot do high enough cadence on a 38 to 44 tooth chainring to be able to get the higher end speed I want with the 1x systems. Now with the 9 and 10 tooth cogs, you get both the high and the low end just like a 2x. The very small extra friction you get with those smallest cogs compared to a 2x is not really an issue since you are not using these kinds of bikes as a time trial bike anyway.
Totally agree with Alex. I’m currently running a 10-44 Ekar cassette with a 34t chainring. I’ve only outspun it on steep descents longer than 500m, in which case I just coast and enjoy. On the flats, I can (wind conditions allowing) sprint at over 50km/h. I rarely even try to reach that speed anyway, so the gearing just WORKS for me and I suspect it would too for most amateurs.
Just swapped from a carbon road bike with SRAM Force (Holdsworth Super Professional) to a titanium gravel bike (Planet X Tempest) which i use with 25mm road tyres. It has Campagnolo Ekar groupset. Using Planet X is due to a not massive budget, with incredible value for money during sale time. Apart from my steel single speed this is my only bike.
My speed will never set the world on fire, however I am noticeably slower, though this is probably mostly due to the more upright riding position. Not a real problem for me at the moment as my needs are for more of a touring setup. My plan is to use it in 2024 for the Trans Am Bike Race.
Climbing is now as fast if not faster than on the road bike despite being about a kilo and a half heavier - not even used the granny gear as yet. Also fast descents are as stable as I’ve ever known on a bike. You can push into the downhill corners surprisingly hard.
Anyway, it does work very well. Sure it’s not for die hard roadies, but it’s just what is needed for myself.
Great videos, keep up the good work.
Didn’t talk about the more likely to pedal strike because of the combination of smaller tyres and lower bottom bracket. Also the restriction some chain stays have on chainring sizes.
I've have had a Factor LS with two sets of wheels now for around a month. It works very very well on both road and gravel, and I would definitely recommend, but there are a couple of things to consider. Swapping wheels and pedals and aligning the callipers (which you're likely to need to do) is about 10 mins so not really a problem. The slightly trickier one is that you are limited to one position on the bike - I have mine set up to be the same as my old road bike as I ride 80% road. Probably on a gravel bike ideally I'd have a slightly shorter stem and maybe the bars a bit higher so there's a slight compromise having to pick one setup. It's probably worth saying also that not all gravel frames necessarily make good road frames so if you're riding mostly road then go for a race oriented gravel frame - the LS is a good example as it's light, stiff and more or less has road endurance geometry, but there are others.
just have a pair of wheels with the same brand hubs, and you don't have align the brakes
I think the key point the he mentioned is the spectrum of gravel bikes on the market today. Some are clearly designed with a more off-road bend… I ride the Seigla, and even with 38mm slick gravel tires (GK SS) on carbon 40mm deep wheels, I get passed by road bikes on the regular. My current setup weighs 9.3kg, so it’s average. But with clearance for a 29x2.25” tire, the aero isn’t as efficient as a road rig, and w 1x gearing, I spin out going downhill. The 38mm tire looks comically small on my bike, so I doubt I’d ever ride a 30. By most measures, a dedicated road bike would be about 10% more efficient on tarmac, which would equate to 3ish km/h. I’m still torn, but I’m leaning towards getting a dedicated road bike.