Gravel Vs Road Bike: Ultimate Battle | Jebel Shams Epic Ride Oman
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- On the slopes of the epic Jebel Shams climb in Oman, Ollie and Si look to settle the battle once and for all with this gravel bike vs road bike race. Si the thoroughbred Orbea Orca road machine, and Ollie had the all-new Canyon Grail gravel grinder. Each has their advantages with the mixed terrain route, but which will win?
In association with Haute Route Oman.
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The cinematography in this video is incredible! The scenery is beautiful and the camera men/ drone pilot did an amazing job of capturing it
You did an amazing job of writing it, too!
The music and video is excellent.... gcn has really been taking it up a few notches over the years.
Oman demands highest quality for their 💰
i agree, however some colour grading , on the drone footage, could have made it a bit better.
What is cinematography? Is it just continuity of scenes or shots, as far as color and tone goes, or is it lens and location as well?
The best thing about this video is that I now feel much better knowing I'm not the only person who talks to sheep while out on my rides.
Dam you got there first! Me too
I'm not alone 😁
Cows here. More cows in Michigan. They talk back,and will follow you.
Alpacas too!!
Thought it was a cycling rule...
This should be a short movie, it's epic.
Yes it's epic ,,I can afford a great gravel and road bike like this blog, I want to experience that kind of ride ,,,,and I wish I have this kind of bike before I leave this world ,,good job all of you two wish for your good health
funny cat videos
Road bike - Sport coupe
Gravel bike - Rally car
Mountain bike - SUV
Fat bike - Monster truck
E-Bike - Beer lorry
Recumbent? Velomobile?
Don't badmouth e-bikes, try to pedal on a hardtail Cross-country or gravel bike in 5 cm (1 inch) deep slushy snow, you probably can't. You can also tell that to someone with knee injury...
@@paras86 Ebikers the new angry cyclists my answer is fat bike. Doesn't matter the ride just enjoy it.
@@michaeldennis7950 I'm actually planning to get a Fat-bike and use a front wheel motor on it in the snowy months of winter (December - March) and without motor during summer.
Very right
The production value of this rivals "Top Gear" and they did it a long time before they were this good. Keep up the good work!
Si in parent mode; "keep away from the Edge, Ollie". 🤣
you guys at GCN are incredibly lucky to have a chance to ride in these amazing places, and not only for fun, it's actually your job! Insane!
We are lucky to watch them too
Can someone give the editor a pay-raise, cause the person really deserves it, as a editor myself, i know that despite what some people believe, a editors job is not to just put things together, but to tell a story. and a story was certainly told.
Shame you don't give any love to the person or people who did an incredible job of shooting these pictures. Without that person or people the editor wouldn't be able to do anything.
@@Maxwaehrens indeed, while i do agreed with that, the fact is also that we editors more often then not get far less notice then most other people do but which also effect the end result in just as big way. so yes, a editor can not make anything without footage, and better it is thus better the end result, but that works the other way as well, as without a editor then no footage will be put together. so they are both valuable, just that, you can see the camera work, but not the editing(if the editor is worth his salt that is), so i just felt pointing it out^^
14:52 Si: "Oh man" - yes, that's where you are
Yep this was the clincher
O man
Road bike on gravel is still better than I Ran...
came to the comments just to see if anyone had said this
FFS. He needs no encouragement.
I came here for this comment, I was not dissapointed 😂
I'm trying to work out what I did with my life before I had discovered GCN
It doesn't bear thinking about.
Andy D exactly
Lol
Rode your bike and not sit in front of a screen
5:55 genuinely thought you were going to say my skinny little arms are more aerodynamic
Well... They are ;)
I just got a new Gravel bike and took it out on a gravel and dirt trail to see what all the hype is about and immediately after my ride, I washed it, put 38mm slick tires on it and turned it into my road / commuter bike. My Mountain Bike has officially been promoted to all things Gravel and Trails! Key takeaway: Gravel bikes are so versatile, they could go either way in terms of use. I feel a ton more stable and confident on my 700x38 and it feels like it belongs in an urban jungle! In fact, I just sold my road bike and am down to just my MTB and my new Gravel Bike. Anyhow, great video! Loved the camera and editing work!! Breathtaking!
Gravel bike with two sets of wheels , gravel wheelset and a road wheelset. TOTAL AWESOME.
CRAIG HENRY I just got a grail and that’s exactly my plan
It does work. Just bought willier tristena, and set of hope rd40s best of both worlds..
CRAIG HENRY Yes sir, with Gravel bike you have a lot of tire sizes to choose from.🚵🚴🏻
got tired of switching the tires (no pun intended), and no money for a second set of wheels for now, can anyone recommend a good tire for both road and gravel conditions? :D
@@geraldfisher6475 WTB exposure 32
this video is really amazing. the images, the music, the speaches... really inspiring!!! the humor! Love this two guys...
This channel is just killing it lately ... how is there not 3 million subs ?
Thanks Scott 😘
It's close to it now
"I brought some spare tubes if you want."
That gentlemen, is pure gold.
Japan next please, especially the forests
ben Mt Rokko in Kobe would be one I’d love to see decent riders take on. It always kills me.
We would LOVE to ride in Japan!
@@gcn Come on over then!!!
@Global Cycling Network There is also the ride around Lake Biwa. 200 k.m.
Karl Mathew so I went to Google maps to check it out. Looks like you get a fair amount of snow. Maybe a tad higher up than the Lake though.
Absolutely loved this vid, guys. The scenery is jaw dropping (especially the scenes captured near sunset), the bantz were flowing, and there were some honest insights into the capabilities of the bikes. Also always good to see the hurting.
Cheers JMS!
The quality of your videos is growing so much in the recent period... stunning piece of cinematography!! Thanks guys
The tyres on the grail looked like they were designed for wet/light mud terrain and not suited at all to the route chosen. There are plenty of near-slick tyres available in the 35-40mm width that would have been a much better fit with nearly equivalent rolling resistance on tarmac and no degradation on the gravel.
Conti doesnt offer them. That's the problem.
@@fadenseiden Continental CONTACT production line offers what Tony Stanley suggested to use.
And why is he running tubes.
@LisaPet
Those are more like overbuilt, wire bead sometimes cheapo touring, trekking and city tyres.
There are a lot of better and lighter, but not paper thin gravel tyres that would be a lot faster. I don't think Conti has tyres like that.
fadenseiden there’s this www.continental-tires.com/bicycle/tires/cross-tires/speed-king-cx and this www.continental-tires.com/bicycle/tires/city-trekking-tires/speed-ride
They both aren’t tubeless sooo......😂
Oman looks incredible. Great photography. Fun video too chaps, enjoying the humour.
10:48 that shot of Si, tearing along ar the edge of the track is absolutely amazing - doff my hat to your extremely versatile camera man and extended crew.
I love Ollie’s sarcastic way of presenting, almost an innuendo on most things he says, very entertaining, great job GCN, he will go far!.
One of the best pieces of filming GCN have done. Partly down to the landscape but also Si and Ollies chat. All great stuff
I absolutely love my CX bike for exactly the one pro Ollie mentioned: being able to swap out wheels to a set of road wheels such that other than a bit more weight and slightly less aero, the bike rides like I expect a road bike to ride.
These two just cost me 4000 Euro, I bought that Canyon Grail :-) One of the best videos of GCN. Ollie, Si and the third rider - the camera team, perfect work.
Si, you nailed it in the first few seconds. Yes a bike that excels on tarmac and gets by on gravel.... or.......wait for it...... a bike that excels on gravel and gets by on tarmac. It just depends on your surroundings ( and if your better half will let you buy another bike ). Either way I love being torn between the two.
Depends on your surroundings, and also depends on you. Now that I ridden good 35-45mm tyres, I just can't go back to skinny (28mm and smaller) road tyres even for road riding. Yeah, the bigger tyres might be a bit slower and heavier, but they're so much more comfortable on even just slightly rough asphalt roads. I'm not racing anyone after all.
Don't need bikes, just a gravel bike and two sets of wheels, one for pure road riding and one for gravel
Gravel bike with 40c tyres is faster on my local porridge than road bike with 25c tyres.
@@HollyBoniAgreed! The comfort just begs me to ride more, and be more adventurous, on the 35mm tire bike. I have a road bike for racing some years ago and while the road bike is definitely faster the softy is just pleasant to ride for training despite the slowness.
Yeah, my cross bike with 28mm/32mm slicks is a totally different bike then it is with 40mm knobbies. I have 2 sets of wheels and just swap them depending on if I'm riding mostly on the road or if I'm riding mostly gravel/dirt. Between weight savings, rolling resistance, and aero gains (my slicks pretty much are flat from the rims, no bulge, so act like a deeper section wheel) we are talking 1mph/1.6kph faster average pace at speed over the same route if riding mostly on good asphalt. But I'd rather ride the wide tires anywhere else because it's more fun / less rough on my body.
"I've sneakily added on some extra route"
Adds an extra 40km
This is the first video I've seen that actually makes road biking look cool
That's because one of them was a gravel bike.
The production standard of this video is really, really high. I absolutely do appreciate this
You chaps are such a pleasure to watch! This and every single video, every single pal, I am so grateful for your presence and this initiative! Keep pedaling, keep creating, keep living, keep enjoying and inspiring. A big, sincere THANK YOU!!
مرحب فى عمان يالحبيب
Welcome to Oman
This is by far the most beautifully shot, scenic episode. ❤️🗻🚲
Though there is competition, thinking of the Iceland videos.. for example ;)
The content quality is getting better and better, cheers!
Best bikechannel on youtube. love the videos and the people in the videos
Wow this was a nice one guys! Also can’t wait for the video from the rad race from yesterday. I have followed the live stream, it was so cool. Had sweaty hands just by looking at it. Well done James!💪🏻
What race?
Stay tuned, coming real soon :)
You guys just can not make a boring youtube clip.
Once again, bloody well done guys.
Keep it up ;)
7:14 Feel the slope dig in!! Deep.
Beautiful country side. Harsh but beautiful
next!! gravel bike vs hardtail XC mountain bike
all ready done in island
@@Sangocid can you put the link of that comparision please
@@SLALOMBRUNO th-cam.com/video/GsAlxJjuY7E/w-d-xo.html
Excellent production value. Don't start thinking I didn't catch that fake goat sound at 8:10
Guys you smashed the editing and sound on this one!!! Bravo!
This is why I love gravel bikes, but not just that because I also love this channel very much, so epic
Huge kudos to your camera crew.
that ride looks unreal, would really like to do that on my gravel bike, awesome video and kudos for getting Ollie onto GCN.
Watching Ollie struggle up that hill made me feel so much better about myself. Yesterday I was riding my gravel bike around town, and a few of those hills were killing me.
The music of this video is just as good as the cinematography! Kudos to the camera crew and editors
This is the very best video in terms of visual storytelling, I'm so happy for you, peeps! Also thanks for sharing this amazing Views in such a beautiful way
Thanks Jafer!
Great video in every respect hats off to the camera crew.
Oliver said the Canyon Grail was a tool for the job, well certainly had the right tool riding it.
Joking aside the Orbea Orca is a much nicer looking bike which I would have over the Canyon any day.
Interestingly back in the 80's we would go on club touring 15 day holidays around the UK most of the time on Unmetalled roads riding 27x11\4 tyres and standard road 531 tubing which was brilliant fun and I still miss it.
Thanks for this guy's.
Thanks for the comment Ray :)
Can I just be impressed that they have such long monologues while steaming up a steep climb?
The best part of this video is how much fun you both seem to be having... But, almost equally, this is the kind of riding that more people should be encouraged to do! Away from cars, gorgeous views, challenging riding; that's what a gravel bike is all about! Fun times!
yes, people should absolutely be discouraged to ride on acrual roads.
As a MTB-er, I honestly can't see the fun or pleasure in eating the dust of all the cars, and as a car driver I can see all the problems with cyclists on roads.
That Orbea is stunning!
Epic race! That was like a top gear special on bikes! Awesome!
More videos with Si and Ollie please. These two are incredibly entertaining on their own, but put them together and you get one heck of a good time. Really appreciating the coverage on Allroad/gravel bikes. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if you guys had a channel just dedicated to that. GGBN - Global Gravel Bike Network anyone? 😉
haha glad you enjoyed this one, thanks for the support.
Great shots, nice video. I bought the Gravelbike Grail from Canyon 4 months ago and I'm thrilled. For our low mountain landscape with many climbs and forest trails the right thing. But if I really want to accelerate, I get out my Aerorad SLX, then fly the scraps.
After owning a MTB for years, I bought a Gravel Bike and my very first thought riding it was, "Dear God road bikers have it so much easier!"
Just found this channel. So many good videos, I can't stop watching!
Great film, Top Gear style cinematography; more like this please 👍
i like the comparison, GCN is top gear for bikes xD
@@riciy Except the presenters are not total w*****s
@@riciy I've thought that for a while. It's a very apt comparison.
I've watched this video several times now, but every time it pops up I laugh way to hard when Si "baaah"'s the sheep and whimpers through the gravel parts 😂😂😂😂
I know, I'm easily entertained 😂😂😂😂
Love this show! Huge fan of Top Gear back in the day - but was never an auto enthusiast - it was about the personalities. You guys bring all that bigtime and bonus! It's about bikes!! Si , Olie, you Rock! Shine on!
This was a great video, no real conclusion, it all depends on what you do more of and goals. But I just love GCN content. Finally we have a single place for great cycling content! Love all these folks at GCN!
Amazing scenery!
But riding gravel bikes is not about going fast, its about going far.
The grail ist a great bike for bike packing tours through unpaved roads.
Yes! More gravel bikes...for the roadies...ultimate commuter bikes for some river bank fun on the way. As well racks for the grocery store. I live where a river seperates the city in half. I’m so looking forward to this area developing.
I must say that the score is fantastic in this one.
This video is outstanding even for GCN's already very high standard. Thanks.
That Orbea bike looks absolutley stunning
:)
@@orbea you should give me a bike.
@@orbea I will give you a drawing.
@@orbea I can't draw thoght.
@@orbea but is with love.
This feels like the Top Gear of cycling and I love it
Excellently produced! Great one!
GCN guys you are making cool fun little movies. It's the Clarkson feel on a humble hobbyist / enthusiast budget. Well done.
Another stunning Video. I mean I know it is probably an Ad for Canyon Grail (which I find ugly) and Oman (where I really wanna go) but this quality of content is absolutely mindblowing. More of it, Please!
One Note: How would the Grail have performed if you put 32mm Conti GP5000 TL on it? Probably much better on Tarmac - but I would be really interested if it made so much of a difference on the gravel? :)
visit oman for what reason???? the best place for bike riding is Iran.
pedrao420 I prefer North Korea
Thanks Bernd, glad you liked it! As disclosed, this was produced in partnership with Haute Route Oman, and Canyon are a channel sponsor which is why they're riding the Canyon Grail. That's an interesting point about the tyres, maybe time for some more science....
I run 32mm on the rear and 28mm on the front on my gravel bike. Conti 5000 with latex tubes (just kinda iffy about tubeless still) anyways this last weekend i did a 40mile gravel ride on them and they actually preformed pretty darn good! I’m not the best rider or the thinnest but at 245# 6’1” i avg 17mph on them. Those tires if on the Canyon would of really let it fly both pavement and the gravel to crush the roadie. Now as for which one would i pick? Yeah i have both a gravel and a dedicated road bike.
@@richardstoffel6585 Good choice! I am thinkin of doing the same. Tough I would like to try out those tubolito tubes - supposed to be as fast as latex, but more durable and dont loose air
You feel comfortable on gravel with that 28? How much pressure?
That was better than watching an episode of The Grand tour. Fantastic shots of the lads hurting each other.
Brilliant video.One of the best. I want both bikes and to live there,nuff said
This may have been mentioned already, but I love that Si's response to getting to the top of a mountain in Oman was to say "Oh man!".
Who'd have thought a road bike quicker on the road and a gravel bike quicker on the gravel! Great test
8:19 what a perfect description for the "joy" of riding a road bike!
Good debate! One that I’ve had with myself all winter. Began commuting to work last year. In the end I’m looking for top of the line Canyon Endurace as a compromise to both types of riding. Good to commute yet with all the bells and whistles with tubeless ready and wider tires. Absolutely amazing views. Thanks mates.
Thank YOU!
It’s what Americans who are huge on the “mixed terrain”/gravel/Allroad whatever you are gonna call it learned ages ago is that you can “run what you brung” and have a good time no matter what you brung. That is what it’s all about.
Great video, loved seeing cycling in other parts of the world - Japan next? great camera work.super presenting
Great video! Ollie is a sneaky rider and he show it the whole time video after video. Seem it must be an sneaky GCN competition soon. Who is the sneakiest? Dan or Ollie?
Thanks again GCN!
The best compromise for me for this kind of riding is a gravel bike with high volume (maybe 32-35c) but slick tires. That way you don't give up comfort due to the high volume but you don't give up speed since the tires are slick. Perfect for my home roads around Boulder, CO.
Neve disappointed with a GCN epic event you guys are legends, keep up the great content
Why did I not discover this awesome channel at the start of lockdown?!! Thank you for giving me a massive motivation and confidence boost with biking
at least we got to see some beautiful imagery of Oman. Seems like a remarkable destination.
I have a gravel one with two pair of rims. One with dirt tires, and one with road tires... solved.. :-)
Great video. Gravel all the way for me! Having the option to whack it on the trails for part of the ride is invaluable and in the winter the gravel bike is better for the Cornish lanes anyway! Sold my Emonda and now a full gravel convert.
My Top Gear episod !! 😄
Great panoramic views 👌
Please some more Gravel content !!!!
The production values on your vids just get better and better / luv gcn
Thanks for this amazing video; what a beautiful countryside. I wanna go.
BTW, the knobby tyres on the Grail were overkill for that particular ride. I ride 90% gravel on my gravel bike, and my tyres have very small knobs.
Beautiful ? Dry wasteland. No water, no plants, no shade ! Nothing is alive there except scorpions and spiders !
Glad you two are having fun! Beautiful ride and very well done.
Until i got a gravel bike I didn't think that I was missing anything.
Having gotten one just before winter, it's been a great hoot! It's opened up riding options and made bikepacking possible(weight limit on the road is too low)
The road bike is just a different kind of fun, significantly faster.
Great video guys , felt like a movie 🤠 i really really loved this one
Thanks Angelica, stoked you like it :)
Sounds like the cameraman was riding a BMW GS. I bet he was loving it just as much!
Amazing production value! Really enjoying these videoes!
Comfort always comes first, I ride steel with tubeless 40mm tyres most of the time. Better to get there slowly but enjoy the journey 👌
Chris Hall same here 👍
GREAT video guys! Love the scenery too! Thanks for putting this together.
Si bleating at the goats 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Great vid, really well shot and the music was excellent. Love watching this channel grow.
You two can speak and cycle at the same time!!!! 🙌🏻 🙌🏻
Phenomenal video.
New to the channel and maybe its been mentioned before...or maybe its me... is this the "Top Gear/GranTour" of cycling on TH-cam?
Spectacular scenery very educational looking forward to viewing previous and post videos.
I love the Orbea. Love it. You guys must have enough bikes, can you give your Orbea road bike as a gift to me?
Most of their bikes are on loan for review or ads, why would a yt channel sends bikes that they don't even own to random people like you? It may not even be your size.
@@bike_rider-k2h you never know what you can get when you ask.
I wanted a road bike. Now i will take a gravel one and just take a set of wheels for road so i can change. I care for long distances,descents and freedom. So i think it will fit me better than a pure road bike. Great video.