How Much Slower Is A Gravel Bike?
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- Опубликовано: 28 сен 2024
- Is the gravel bike truly the one bike that can do it all? They’re amazing, no doubt! But even still, the big question everyone wants answered is: how much slower is a gravel bike compared to a road bike? And importantly, will you be able to keep up with your mates on road bikes?
000:00 How much slower are gravel bikes?
00:32 Test Breakdown: Orbea Terra VS Orbea Orca Road
01:33 Gravel bike: 3 runs on each setup at 150w, 300w & 400w
02:58 Differences between these bikes
05:00 Road bike test!
05:56 The Final Test: Do tyres make the biggest difference?
07:56 What’s more important than speed?
08:57 What cycling is really about…
11:22 Results & Why
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How much do feel, agility and aesthetics matter to you? 🚲❤️ What bike and option would you go for? Give us your thoughts in the comments! 👇
The results are closer than I expected (2 kmh =1.2 mph slower). In my case I still want my 2016 Rim Brake pseudo-aero Podium Equipe with 60mm Carbon wheels plus my 2022 Grizl Al6. For my wife's Grizl I just ordered some Elite G35 to shave off almost 2 lbs and set her up with 32mm tires instead of 45mm. As of now she only rides with me and our kids OR when we are at a campground. It just so happened that now I will happen to have a second DT Swiss Gravel Ln wheelset for a different tire setup
If you buy a tractor.. you don't usually put Ferrari tires on it 😁
For me, weight is probably the most important factor..
@@Jari1973 Well, wouldn't a fat bike or MTB be a tractor in this case? 😁
To me, most drop bar bikes look the same unless you line them up side by side. Even then, one road bike will differ subtly in it's geometry and shape to another. And it's the same for gravel bikes. This is shallow I know, but aesthetically I go by what frame colours are available.
Really, people should ask themselves what kind of bike will get them out cycling most often.
I have an Orbea Terra with a set of gravel wheels and a set of road wheels. It does a pretty good job as a road bike - but think of it more like a bike with a comfortable 'all road' geometry than lower stretched out race geometry. Depends on the kind of ride you want to do. If I was doing a 100 mile ride over the course of a day, I might feel less beaten up at the end of the ride on the Terra with the 29mm road tires than I would my old aluminum race bike with 23mm road tires. I also think the Shimano GRX brake/shifter handles are more comfortable than the smaller Dura Ace versions on my TI Serotta. I also have to say whatever Orbea is speccing for their bar tape it's by far the most comfortable for long distance rides - comparable to my favorite Cinelli cork tape. One thought is with gravel tires you might get more cushioning over long distances despite the slightly slower speed. So are you doing a long distance journey or a shorter one? Are you racing or are you just riding? I did manage to get my best time in Strava on a particular segment with the gravel bike so makes you think.
Last sportive I did, I finished with a guy who was riding a gravel bike with thicker tyres than my 32’s. The guy was an absolute machine and it was a blast. It doesn’t matter what you’re riding as long as you’re having fun!
What sort of tires and wheels did he have on though? If he had road orientated tires like GP5000s instead of gravel tires the it could have made all the difference.
For alot of people, 2kph is going to be irrelevant. Outside of racing and people riding with clubs. The ability to go down a gravel or mud track is probobly more important.
For an example, if i were ever to attempt a cycle commute, that would take in 10% gravel/mud track. If i want to ride around my local park, that's about 30% mud track. For either of those, i can't use a bike with road tires. But, i can use a gravel bike for, even though it's still majority smooth riding. And, most people arn't going to have more than 1 bike. So, riding a gravel bike, with gravel tires is going to be a great all round choice for many people, and having that with road tires will get a few others close enough. In terms of a single jack of all trades bike, a gravel bike is a great choice.
I doubt that very much… if you include ALL humans who cycle, also those who go shopping with a Holland bike or bringing their children to the kindergarten with bikes - of course you are right. But amongst all of my mates who ride their bike as their hobby I know not one single person for whom speed doesn’t matter - and then 2 kph is huge, it’s the equivalent of years of training!
@@fiddleronthebike Your mates are taking too seriously then......Ever heard of party pace?? Probably not....
@@Andy_ATB too seriously? Who is defining this? We all enjoy riding and have much fun with it. When you love riding slow - fine, do it and chose whatever bike you want. But don’t make that a rule for other cyclists
@Andy_ATB 2 kph is the difference between keeping with the group and being dropped and riding the route solo. It's a big deal.
I have way more fun going fast than I do going slow. You do you, but don't judge for other people
Most people I know don’t spec their gravel bikes as gravel bikes, they use the tyre clearance to fit mudguards and wide road tyres.
Your “chill intensity” is pretty close to my FTP!
I have been riding my "gravel" bike primary as a road bike, with 38cm handlebars and 32mm GP5000, It is the best road bike I have ever own :).
How does the 38mm handlebars feel? And what bike do you use? I've got a gravel commuter with aero bars but have been thinking of getting rid of the bars and using a smaller bar instead.
Would love to hear your opinion
I would love to see the reverse Test: how much slower is a Road Bike on Gravel compared to a Gravel Bike.
Yes for real! I suspect this frame would not allow those tires but probably a different road bike frame would. Or maybe there's another way to test that but it would be interesting for sure!
@nerdexproject I more thought about a standard Road Bike with like 30mm Tires. I see too many People still think that a 40mm Tire is a gravel Tire (for me more like allroad). Do like a Road Bike on 30s vs a Gravel bike with 45s minimum (better like 50s seeing that Keegan Swenson is riding 2.2s or even 2.4s in the front)
Well, road bike is faster even on gravel - thats why many pros raced and won gravel races on road bikes. Sad for gravel bike sales 😁
if you talking about speed, in a lot of gravel races its not gravel bikes that win, rather its endurance/all road ones, heck even a full on race bike wins it.
@@paveltomsik2610 That wasn't proper Gravel......
I just got into cycling this year. Have a gravel bike. Scott speedster gravel 20. I had gravel tyres on it for the first couple of months. Averaging about 19kph. Now i have new road tyres and averaging about 22-23kph. I also done leisure rides with both and got dropped and dropped people with both set ups. My theory is if i get a full road bike in the future all my gravel bike ridinh will have made me stronger and faster
Maybe you are going faster now because you are fitter? (especially if you only started cycling this year)
@@Prisma591 definitely a bit of both. I cycled the same route and the new tyres are faster based on the kph. But for fitness I'd say there is no difference to which set up. Just takes slightly longer or you have to put in slightly more effort
12:55 - this is exactly what I did. Gravel bikes come in a wide range of flavours - some are mountain bikes in drop-bar disguise, some are much closer to a road bike in geometry. I chose one of the latter, put on a road groupset, and *very* supple 40mm slicks. Kept the handlebar width reasonable and the position as close to my road bike as possible.
The result is an all-road bike that is not measurably slower than my previous road bike (at least that is what strava tells me), but that does not confine me to well-maintained tarmac. As long as the surface is somewhat firm (a bit of mud is ok, deep mud isn't), I can ride it. The small country road with smooth tarmac turns to rough tarmac and finally to gravel? No need to turn around, you just keep going! Your route lead you onto a major road with fast an aggressive car traffic - but there's a forest path running parallel? Why bother riding with traffic?
The wider tyres give you so many more options.
I'm pretty sure that at some point the aerodynamic disadvantage of the bigger tyres would impose a speed penalty. But I'm not fast enough for that to be noticeable. If I look at individual strava segments, then the speeds are virtually the same. But on longer rides (>100km), the "gravel" bike even tends to be a bit faster - probably because the wide, plush tyres reduce vibration and thus fatigue. For normal people, comfort and performance go together.
If pros win gravel events on endurance bikes with wide tyres, I guess buying an endurance bike with two sets of wheels/tyres is the answer.
Thanks for that. When I swap between my TCR-SL and Revolt the agility/lightness of the TCR is always apparent - but the option of dropping the tyres down a bit and tapping through the bush or gravel on the way home is always appealing.
I ride a TCR and Revolt, I also ride the Terra and the speed difference between the Terra and Revolt is nearly the same as the difference between the TCR and Revolt. If you get a chance pick one up and I promise you will not regret it. I love my Revolt, don't get me wrong but that Terra is amazing.
I was expecting you’d actually put the results on-screen, oh well
Yeah, interesting test and went to the trouble of doing 3 replicates. Where's the table of results?
@@joomzb perhaps GCN could post the resultas a table in the comments?
Cutbacks.
When a sponsored videoe from Orbea shows that you dont need to buy a new bike, start talking about "the feeling". By the way: im owning both a Terra and a Orca :)
Never that much of an issue for me because I ride solo all the time in terms of being able to keep up with anybody, I have a cube gravel bike that I ride primarily on the road the reason being I prefer the more comfortable geometry and broader tyres to a road bike. What annoys me more is that if I wanted to join a local cycling club and believe me I have tried they all expect me to either ride at their speed and/or change my wheels (because they're all roadies) neither of which I'm prepared to do for I'm not super slow but I'm not super fast either and I just don't get the obsession with speed when that's not what it's about for me, I do occasionally like to go a bit faster but I can manage that with the bike I have which I love.
Aesthetics over everything. Excellence comes from elegance…
When I first got my gravel bike I put on slick tyres and road it solely on the road. This was by far a slower ride than when I changed to wider tyres with tread. The reason - I kept getting punctures. Gotta love English roads with all the rubbish on them
I'm so slow that I would need slow friends in order to keep up. Therefore a gravel bike isn't a problem. (If you get overtaken by me on my heavy commuting bike, you should be very embarrassed. Vicious but true.)
Precisely the situation I'm in. (I'm considering a gravel bike as a do-it-all, purely to save space at home)
@@gregsullivan7408 It's very good and reliable. And a do-it-all, indeed! I love mine, and trust it.
So you are saying that the gravel bike is only 0.5km/hr slower when using the road wheels instead of the gravel wheels. In the past I have ridden my road bike in a 110km event. The following year I rode the gravel bike with the road wheels on it and averaged the same speed for the event
So the real test then, is how much quicker is a gravel bike, on gravel.... Please 😁👍
if you're concerned about pure speed, maybe using a gravel bike on the road isn't the best option. but using a road bike on gravel terrains would also be a suboptimal option - get the right tool for the job at hand. just ride and have a good time.
Gravel gearing should at least be a 50/34t
Which bikes what? I've got lost!
Squeezing a dry sponge...
Let's see 25c Clinchers & Inner Tubes @ 100 PSI VS Any Size Tubeless Tyres valve & sealant you like.
25c Clinchers with Tubes at 100psi will win, only Tubular tyres will come close.
that would only work if you have silky smooth tarmac… and tubulars today indeed are significantly slower - sadly. I made comparison tests more than 20 years ago and tubulars were faster than any clincher; I repeated the test again about 10 ago (when the Conti GP4000 II was a common tire) and there was no significant difference (but I found tubulars to give me a better road feeling). I repeated the tests with GP5000TT (with latex tubes) some time ago - and now the clinchers were way faster! Unfortunately they didn’t further development the tubulars since many years and so they are no longer comparable in performance…🙁 I still use them on Alpine rides with fast descends because they are way safer, but only then
So where does the "All-Road" bike (e.g. marketed Ribble) bike fit. Is it still too comprised to be the one bike to rule them all?
Yeah I have an AR bike (not the ribble). I think they’re a really good sweet spot between both.
Results??????
Did I miss it or was gravel tyre size not mentioned? Appears 45mm?
this is a feel's video, number do not matter at GCN
Just another silly 'make any video up' to get channel sponsors on screen , which is fair enough.
Si, I saw on a recent video that you're doing your gravel racing on Colnago G4X. That seems like more of a "race oriented" gravel bike. How do you think the Colnago would compare in this test?
I've got an orca 2024, have put GP5000s on 32 back 28 front and bigger chain rings. Commuting daily and leisure riding at the weekends all in Englands most potholed county. . This Orca 2024 is my everything bike. Its perfect (it's a road bike) and cost £2.2k with tyres and bigger chainrings. Would go off-road with a change of tyres and wheels.
I did a similar experiment with the Specialized Creo 2 (yes it is electric, get over it) on a 5 mile loop. Did a first loop with bike out the box with 47mm tyres. The second loop, I changed wheels, tyres, cassette and remover the dropped which dropped 2kg off the bike. The second loop was over a minute quicker and I could feel the difference for sure
I appreciate your mentioning the 'feel' on a road bike depending on the wheelbase. My 'go-to' bike on a climb is my 32 yr old C4 with a wheelbase of only 96 cm. All my other bikes with a longer base feel slower, even when they weigh slightly less. Especially on very steep climbs the difference is obvious, to me at least.
My gravel bike is indeed 1 or 2 km slower than my road bike. It doesn't really matter to me, it's just something I've noticed over the past year. But I feel safe and comfortable on my gravel bike, more confident. The road bike is lighter and I'd say skittish.
I have a pair of BBB Aero bars on my gravel bike mainly because there are really conformable
I stay right in the middle: I ride an endurance/all-road bike and have two wheelsets. I run wheel sets with 32mm road tires and 33mm knobbies. The feel of the bike doesn’t change noticeably but the capability does. At least for myself, I’ve found a sweet spot. It also helps that I’m not racing so 1 or 2 kilometers or even miles per hour don’t matter much. I’d be keen to see the same test done with a road bike vs a gravel race bike like the Checkmate. I wonder if that bike is any slower on the road than a dedicated road bike.
At last a test comparing them with the same wheels/tyres on. Nicely done. Dare say you'd feel as much difference between a lot of various 'road bikes' than you would between these two examples (with the same wheels/tyres on).
Who did Si upset? Asking him to 400 watts. That's fun. Oh, I meant cruel.
Just put thinner tyres on, relatively inexpensive compared to buying new wheels.
Did a 120km sportive on my Trek Checkpoint gravel bike two weeks ago with 32mm road tyres along with a group of road bike guys and being in the peloton negates much of the drag of the upright position. The 1X AXS gearing might add a small difference for gear spacing and top speed but other than a lot of comments on the single chain ring and size of the rear cassette, I found it an amazing all rounder bike and well able to keep up with the roadies.
I've been wondering about whether to go 1-by or 2-by with Shimano's GRX groupsets. Your comments are food for thought.
@@wandering_pete personally I don’t find the 1X a disadvantage. The 12 speed 10-44 SRAM rear cassette is amazing for climbing. For me I think the latest 1X equipment from SRAM has already made me wonder I will ever need or want 2X.
@@ShaneOSullivanky Yes, the climbing ratios alone make it tempting to go 1-by, particularly as most road groupsets only have a 1:1 for climbing.
A few days back I used ChatGPT to do some calculations on 1-by vs 2-by top-end speeds, there was a difference but only by a few km/h, and of course, most riding isn't being done at top-end speed and downhill you can freewheel.
I'm definitely leaning more to 1-by.
It is like riding in mud it is so slow😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅
2km/h is HUGE. If I do a regular very hilly route absolutely flat out (solo) I can average about 26km/h, but if I do the same route at 24km/h it feels almost effortless by comparison. It's going on for 50W difference. Even on a 1 hour ride it's very noticeable, but on a 5-6 hour endurance ride you mates can have a cafe break and still beat you home!
Nice!
Thanks!
comes down to comfort between the two. What would the difference be with a more relaxed geo road bike like a pinarello X and a gravel bike?
What timing! I just bought a gravel bike and am weighing selling my road bike
I just bought a MARIN FAIRFAX 1 on Wednesday and did my first 22 mile ride the next day to test it. It's a heavy large frame but the 38mm TERAVAIL WASHBURN tires helped with the speed and comfort all the way through. A friend and I were on the trail just cruising then a cyclist passed us that sneered at our speed. My friend was sick on this day and I'm testing out my new bike on its first long ride so we didn't feel the need to go fast. My friend sensed the passing cyclist's attitude and he looked at me. The cyclist was way ahead of us by a quarter mile and we were about to hit the biggest climb on the trail. Not bad, but enough to blow this dude's wad and my friend knew it! So, he looked at me and he screamed "He's tired!" I didn't know what he meant and he kept screaming "He hit the climb and now he's tired! Let's get our position back!" Then as soon as I noticed the situation I immediately went for the ATTACK!!! Hahaha! 😂 For nearly 2 miles my friend caught up to him and passed the fully geared Road Cyclist. He wasn't prepared to see who passed him and he tried to catch up to us but we were long gone. I was on a heavy gravel bike and it goes to show that gravel bikes can have the ability to catch up but it's still not quite as fast as a fully designed road bike. It was the rider that day but gravel bikes can handle flat road conditions. That was our "Meathead" moment. Haha!
No matter what bike you ride, just enjoy riding your bike.
You were in the Forest of Dean by the looks of it, so I hope you also recorded a video of the gravel bike Vs the road bike on gravel for fairness!
1:38 deliberately cross-chaining to wind people up?
How did the gearing affect the gravel bike? Especially something with a smaller one by chainring
When i replaced my gravel rims and wheels with hunt aerodynamisist and schwalbe pro one, my average speed went up like 4k an hour which is much imho
Who cares 🤷🏾♂️
Surely all that matters is that we’re outside riding our bikes having fun meeting new people exploring and being free works for me👍🏿
It's not in all honesty; if you don't race then it doesn't matter.....Take both down a proper gravel trail and the road bike won't be faster.....
On my road bike I’m on 25’s but someone tells me to get 28’s as he claims they are faster !? Surly this can’t be true or does he have a point
I love my gravel bike. It was therefore really interesting to see that by simply changing the wheels I can improve my speed on the road (although you did say smooth tarmac. I’m not sure the roads around here classify as smooth! )
really watched all that to not get data but rather philosophy... could have just asked my mate...
Agree, after switching to a gravel bike I really notice that ascending out of the saddle seems a lot more sluggish. But I really enjoy the handling and comfort of a gravel bike.
Bought a gravel bike at the beginning of the month after riding a road bike for years. Result: -2kph wrt the road bike. Only to be expected: on the road, the chunky tyres move the bike up & down uselessly and the energy to do that has to come from somewhere, i.e. muggins.
Responsiveness and nimbleness are also scary twitchiness. It’s just a matter of perspective. For some riders the slower feel is actually a benefit. You see a similar thing with people considering an endurance bike. They get very concerned about descriptions of them being slower or less nimble even though since they aren’t former pro’s they may prefer the stable smoothness over responsive nimbleness.
100km charity ride you say.last week I didlondon to brighton off road. The gravel bikes were speedy on the smooth flats but sloooow on the down hill.
I was on 150mm full suspension. No lock outs. 8 hours. Sore gooch!
wanting to watch road setup gravel bike(position, cockpit, groupset, wheels) that would be interesting
This video very nicely shows the suspension effect (2:45) of a larger tire volume. You can see the bike bouncing up and down gently and it is easy to understand why this setup, while more heavy than a road bike, would be more comfortable on a poor surface road, thereby keeping you less fatigued and able to keep riding without taking a break.
Got a new road bike with gravel like tyre setup. Heavy 32ing tubeless tyres were soon replaced by 28 GP 5000 plus the feather light Ridenow tubes. What a difference. BTW a guy at the shop I bought the bike told about me the recommended pressure, he recommended like 3 PSI for the original tubeless tyres. Ridiculous.
Thanks Si and crew. I just "Foghat " , sir ! I feel fast , going slowly . I began riding late in life , and I am learning about cycling from your channel , and greatly appreciate all of your knowledge , and humor !
Agree with you on that love, i have a few bikes that all feel different. The one thing i come to on my race bike is the feel, it just wants to fly. I love that. My steel project bike is all about fun, there is nothing more fun than that. My gravel bike isnt as fun as my other bikes (5 in Total) but having a bike that can go anywhere is just awsome especially when you want to mix up the comute with some gravel riding
On a flat road the grx crankset will just be too small. But this can be fixed by running a road crankset paired with a road FD
I want to see a bike which is efficiency optimized for 12-15 mph. Least watts needed to get to that speed. Least watts needed to hold that speed. Averaged across all surfaces and grades.
I think this is an overlooked sweet spot for the masses who can potentially ride a bike but don't. And I think it's one reason that ebikes see such adoption. But in breaking down one barrier to entry (effort) ebikes add another (cost).
When I swapped the gravel knobblies on my giant Revolt for GP 5000 then compared back to back on the same route I found exactly the same increase in speed as Si did. Do that and gravel bikes make great road bikes. I prefer the gravel geometry as its more comfortable for my old carcass and gravel bikes generally have space and fixing points for mudguards making them great winter bikes also.
Makes complete senses. I started with a really nice gravel bike and did the old wheel swaparoo and it was amazing riding it in “road mode” and was rugged and fun in gravel mode. The moment I built up a light semi aero road bike I felt the difference. Both bikes were carbon, both bikes had di2 and both bikes had the same gp5000 tyres on. But the road bike was just more agile. It was effortless when it came to acceleration, climbing out the saddle was easier and more enjoyable, descending felt racier and cornering felt better. I moved country to somewhere with worse roads than the UK, I know imagine it so I brought my gravel bike with me as you never know when the tarmac runs out and the gravel starts. And I love the bike but when the roads are smooth, I lust after my road bike.
Regarding the feel of the road frame vs gravel, I get it. But there are many, many gravel bikes. Some are optimized more for full-on gravel, and some are optimized for race-gravel (and thus more road bike dimensions). So there *are* gravel bikes that do-it-all in the sweet spot of riding both disciplines (giving up the extremes of each). I do the dual wheel set (and optimized cassette) and find it's really the ideal solution.
I'm actually positively surprised that you are finely taking the cycling experience or ride-feel into account. That's what it's all about if you ask me. Cycling is to us humans what horse riding was to our ancestors. It's about exploration, about freedom, about adventure, about conquering your fears, pushing your limits, going into the unknown, about play (yes; that feeling of mucking about like a kid out on his bike), about the exhilaration of powering a machine with your own strength, is about feeling the wind rush along your body, feeling the sensation of traversing this single track descent, it's about being outside and feeling stronger and healthier with each fresh breath of air and with each mile you ride, it's about that nod to your fellow rider, it's about cruising and swerving alongside this canal with backwind when unexpectedly joined by a flock of geese hovering just overhead, it's about growth (both in terms of strength and endurance) and about self-reliance. And last but not least it's about meeting the world - head on face first - putting your self out there. Going places. meeting people; needing only your sweaty body, and pouring your heart, mind and soul into something you love and sharing it with other people.
Ride feel is everything. I ride a bike because I enjoy the feeling of going out into the world, trusting my body , my wits and my bike to get me where I am going. The best feeling is just to surrender to the ride, and leaving it all to chance. Not knowing what the ride will bring in terms of vistas, meetings, situations and the sheer exhilaration of the ride. So yes, again; For me cycling is about the love of cycling and all about emotion. 🚵♥🌍
I inverted my stem and lowered the bars a cm. Could lower another 2cm for more aero position. I might do it in .5cm increments to get used to the position. Tire pressure and tubeless also can improve speed. It is definitely faster than the hybrids I rode before, despite of the profile on the tires
0.5-1 kph for Si is even stevens for the average middle aged fat bloke.
Try TT test with 32-35mm wheels on speeds over 35kmh and 20km distance
I have found that my fairly “road oriented” gravel bike (Open UP) with road wheels and pedals is about .5 to .75 mph slower on avg. over my usual 30mile weekday training ride vs my road bike. Some of this is likely due to aero positioning (although I do have the gravel bike set up reasonably aggressive up front, but not slammed) and I think the rest is probably the angle of the seat tube which puts you in less efficient position to generate power but is better for stability and tire clearance. I do actually prefer the stability of the gravel bikes in road set up vs my road bikes in most situations as I am not carving turns most of the time. Also the added compliance is nice. For a future “light gravel” bike I will probably look at a bike similar to the enve fray since I don’t do much in the way of more technical gravel riding. Most of the time the bike is used an endurance road bike.
Swap the wheels and tyres definitely could be as rapid gearing could be the issue but i didnt lose much speed on a 1x on the flat or hills just downhill road bike a bit quicker.
the speed differences are negligible, BUT the 'feel' difference is very tangible. and that is going to impact your emotional state as well. if you like the feel of a road bike - those short chain stays, the shorter wheelbase - you're going to notice the "dullness" of a gravel bike. i have a more road-focused gravel bike (3T Exploro RaceMax), which has a short-ish wheelbase of 1014mm in size 56, and it's only 31mm longer than my road bike (it also has more of a road bike crown length). but, i can still FEEL that difference, and it's enough to me that i just leave my road wheels on my road bike all the time.
Great video Si! I bought my "dream bike" last year - all carbon frame and finishing kit and Di2 groupset - and I can only afford one such stead its a gravel bike (Trek Chekpoint) but with extra wheel-sets it really can "do it all". The wheels I have for it are carbon Roval Terra C wheels with Pathfinder 42mm tires (for bikeacking and gravel rides), HUNT Aerowide 34's with Vittoria Corsa Pro 32mm tires (for road rides and club runs), and DT Swiss GR 1600 with Hutchinson Touareg 45mm (for gloopy rides through fields and the woods). And its fantastic to always be riding my "dream bike" whatever my ride - and a frame and set up put together after a "fit before you buy" bike fit so the position I have is the one I can hold anyway. Being older (60yr) its important to be able to hold a position in the drops to make me as quick as I can be, and I was always slow and I never could keep up with the speedy boy groups on my club runs anyway!
I have been riding cyclocross bikes for the last 10 years. And in my experience its roughly 3-5 kmph.
Last fall I did a cycling holiday in French Alpes on my gravel with road wheels. Absolutely
No regrets, great gearing and hydraulic brakes made this experience much better than my last visit on my old rim brake bike. Managed a solo without any issues at all.
But which one is more fun?
For me the goal is to (and what my next bike will be) a road bike with all road capabilities. So we have lots of of good bike paths with really light compressed gravel or compressed Forrest road I love to try with my roadbike, but have to slow down considerably to handle the terrain.
Next road bike will be with 32mm tires and somewhat of a gravel spec, to be fast enough on the road and still be able to ride on anything that’s labeled a bike path
I routinely ride my gravel bike on club road rides, I love it. It is a better workout for me and I don't have issues staying with the group. However, I would not stay with just one bike (gravel) with different wheels for gravel and road. My road bike is definitely faster, better handling and my go to race bike. So, in the end, my opinion is gravel is usable for road, but it is not ideal for road :).
My 3 MTBs all have 2 sets of wheels - one set std with basic tyres on decent rims and hubs for riding along flatish/ less demanding trails, exercise rides, or pouting along the canal etc with my wife. The other set are the business with hubs and tyres to match for days at the bike park or mountain trails. Saves a bomb on wearing out top tyres for basic trails/rides.
A agree, the agility you lose on a gravel bike with road tires is noticeable. That’s the biggest draw back for me. I know it’s silly since I don’t race and seldomly do a group ride. But I that quick handling of a road bike is the reason to ride road
Both look like gravel bikes to me
It’s taken me around four years of riding gravel bikes to realise that it’s the sweet spot for me. I don’t race and ride for the fun of it. I also have a xc mtb and a road bike and haven’t rode either of those for ages, the gravel bike at least for me is the perfect set up.
What about doing the test again from a gravel point of view.? So the same tests but on gravel. The advantage of a gravel bike is it can go on gravel and road. It would be interesting to see how a road bike went on gravel and if the difference was more than 2kph.
two years in a row i did a local century back to back on my pinarello road bike, followed by my lauf gravel bike. the road bike ended up just under 6 hours, and the gravel bike around 6:25. unsurprising result.
the better part was how much less sore i was after riding the gravel bike vs the road bike. for me, comfort is king. and the measurable speed difference isn’t a big deal to me.
I think for northern Europe even for cities gravel bikes are better because they can deal with leaves and light snow. I mountain bike can too but gravel is a nice compromise, I can just use it more of the year.
Don;t know, when I was a kid, more than 50 years ago, we had one bike and nobody cared if if it was slow or fast and this bike was for any kind of surface and our clothes was for any type of activity. And noe it takes half an hour to choose correct outfit and prepare for cycling.
So how about Road bike with gravel tires? Would that be better choice?
Well thats weird, this was uploaded when I was out doing a road/gravel ride on my road bike with 25mm tyres. Decided to myself I am really enjoying going off road, but I can't hold any speed on the gravel with my road bike. So I am going to replace it with a gravel bike!
My speeding days are over so I bought a gravel with two sets of wheels thinking that it will be my ultimate do it all. But I really miss as Simon said, the sharpness, agility and power transfer of a road bike. Ended up keeping my road bike too.
I have giant revolt that I have another set of wheels with road tires and my speed differences are very close to your results. The gravel bike is more versatile with just simple wheel swap,try putting a set of gravel tires on a aero if they fit
I ride a specialized crux with a fairly aggressive body position for gravel and i have a second set of wheels for the road. I am very happy to spend money to make me faster but would i buy a another bike to save 0.5kmh.... NO, id rather spend upwards of £5000 on upgrades to my fleet of bikes or to other areas of my life. In my opinion my Crux is certified 'good enough'
I think the gravel is a better choice for ppl who look for comfort cos u can use bigger tires and be pretty damn fast on some 32s roadies tyres. Next video test that same gravel now with bigger Slick tires, like 32,38,45s . Tyres and tires to please you all lol
As ever does depend, I personally prefer the gravel bikes feel apart from anything else, mine is a older all road and I don’t run wide or deeply treaded tires so doesn’t feel like it hold me back, I suspect its position is the main thing that would come into play.
But seems to hold it’s own at least on moderate type, club runs. And is much more sure footed and planted, and well can do Gravel!
I have done a lot of similar road routes on my gravel bike and road bike averaging about 150 to 170watts over the whole ride. The average speed difference between road and gravel is around 2.5 to 3km per hour over an hour or two. The thing is that I don't care, I'm not in a rush and don't worry about the averages I post on Strava but then I am over 60 years old and not a young pup.
You have made a video about my excact feelings around a gravel- vs endurance roadbike. I used to have a gravel, but I wasn’t happy about it, so I swapped it and now I ride a Scultura Endurance.. I think that is the best choice I’ve ever done ❤️Scultura- E with a spare set og wheels is like a «kinderegg surprise».I got a toy and a piece of chocolate in the same 🥰
Been swapping the wheels on my gravel bike so I can run 35mm road tyres for ages. The bike is quick.