Gravel World Championships: Best Gravel Bike Tech
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.ค. 2024
- These are our favourite selection of gravel race bikes from the inaugural UCI Gravel World Championships.
Except - brace yourself - some riders weren’t even on gravel bikes. In fact, men’s winner, Gianni Vermeersch, was riding Canyon’s new Ultimate CFR road bike with a set of gravel tyres swapped in.
That’s right - road and gravel tech clashed at the gravel worlds..
With fast conditions on the hard-packed course, aero-optimised gravel bikes and road bikes shod with gravel rubber were the order of the day in Italy.
What did you make of the first Gravel World Championships? Is it even a gravel race if it’s won on a road bike? Let me know in the comments.
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:00 Gianni Vermeersch’s Canyon Ultimate CFR
03:06 Pauline Ferrand-Prévot’s BMC Kaius
04:48 Specialized Roubaix, Diverge and Crux
08:00 Lachlan Morton’s & Magnus Cort Nielsen’s Cannondale SuperSix Evo SE
10:18 Ivar Slik’s Wilier Rave SLR
Photo Credits:
-Nurphoto/Contributor
-BMC / Phil Gale
-LifeTime
-Twila Federica Muzzi / Cannondale
-Wilier
-Canyon / Tornanti.cc 2022
-Specalized
Best Gravel Tyres 2022 | 11 Tyres Tested & Rated!
→ • Best Gravel Tyres 2023...
6 Unbound Gravel Race Bikes 2022
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Top 5 | 2022 Bikepacking Bikes
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What Is the Best 2022 Gravel Bike? | Specialized Crux, Wilier Rave & Trek Checkpoint Reviewed
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4 more pro bikes from the 2022 Gravel World Championships | Cannondale, Wilier and Specialized
→ www.bikeradar.com/features/pr...
A road bike wins the gravel worlds | Gianni Vermeersch’s gravel-tuned Canyon Ultimate CFR
→www.bikeradar.com/features/pr...
#GravelChampionships #GianniVermeersch #GravelRaceBike
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What did you make of the first Gravel World Championships? Is it even a gravel race if it’s won on a road bike? Let us know in the comments!
ף ץץפ
Imo too easy terrain for gravel. It needs more "tecnical" terrain to be real gravel.
2022 UCI Bike Path Bandit World Championships. Poorly executed and not representative of what a true gravel race is.
@@tomas7403 gravel aint technical, its just gravel
@@dangerousmomo1 there are not hundreds of kms of gravel roads in europe
Perhaps next time there will be gravel on your gravel World Champ race?
Maybe. Or UCI bought some civil engineering companies and already started paving all the gravel tracks in this world...
@@MKetzer I can get behind this conspiracy
2022
Road = All-road
Gravel = XC
XC = Enduro + extreme cardio
Enduro = Riding to the start of DH nd 👇🏽
DH = Absolutely insane 😳
That's exactly how I see it, it's happening even in my town local amateur racers
The world gravel championship happens every year in Emporia Kansas
Nobody wants the UCI in gravel, but I do appreciate the video
Gravel Race without Gravel. XC Races got so technical, there is space for gravel. Maybe use the old xc courses and slap some fireroad for length in.
Philosophical differences aside, the series will be whatever is commercially viable. It seems like the immediate future might be this circuit-based, "it's a cyclocross or XC course but you have to spend less on buildout and tear up less land because you use existing roads" pitch to host cities, which is likely to continue being not-so-gravelly.
The UCI rules for Gravelraces should be similar to CX events in the other direction. Minimum 37-40 mm tires allowed and a track where these tires make sense. This will sort all roadbikes out.
Don't mandate tires, just make the terrain require them! Nobody will be willingly (let alone successfully) running a 30mm tire on chunky gravel and gnarly singletrack!
Even though there are road bikes there are still plenty of gravel-specific components such as the tyres and metal pedals instead of the more traditional road pedals.
Another thing to notice is there are no rim brakes at all, not surprising but still something to point out in addition to the dirt covered frames that were presented.
I'd say it was a success given it isn't just a pure copy-paste a road bike over. Although I'd love to hear about the bike weights and/or aero and how that would factor into a gravel race compared to a road race.
Pedals of the winner (and probably most in the top 10) were road pedals. I would say the course is to blame. This wasn't a representative gravel course. I've seen worse Roubaix editions.
With regards to no rim brakes: ofcourse not. Most people ride new bikes and good luck even finding a high-end rim brake bike now. But would it have made any difference on this flat course? I guess not.
Did i hear SRAM? Not Schram? 🎉🎉🎉 Congrats BikeRadar 😁😉
We watched this video before recording our voice over th-cam.com/video/N_6TLA_ClXk/w-d-xo.html
For this type of terrain a roadbike with enough tire clearance ( perhaps up to 36mm ) proved to be far more outstanding than the heavier gravelbike. Steering is often better too.
That is the end of the gravelbike for this purpose.
What I have missed so far is the use of the tube in stead of tubeless. For instance a Dugast tube in 36mm with a Pipistrello, Typhoon or SmallBird would very fast, comfortable and reliable on 1.7 to 2.4 bar for this course. Even a supple vulcanised tube in such a size would be a perfect option. For the shape of the rim bed is very strong, safer to avoid flats and the weight is superior.
Nah this is a light gravel its different for chunky gravel surely these dudes will use a heavier bike when that happens
It was a light gravel race I mean in the technical aspect, it was a tarmac race with dust, but super fast race and not suited for many riders used to ride gravel on gravel bikes. best choice it was indeed a "road bike".
Cant believe how strong these guys must be, pushing a 52t chainring against a 40mm gravel tire... Amazing.
Didn't seem a very gravelly race to me. Hopefully will be more challenging terrain next time.
So Pinarello got it right with the Grevil a few years ago. When everybody says its sucks and its to uncomfy😎
Am I the only one who like gravel bike more then high tech fully integrated proprietary aero-bricks??
welcome to the bike path world champs...
The Uci need to get their course designs a re-think. I know it's early doors for the sport of gravel racing, but you wouldn't see a gravel bike winning an xc world cup, or a xc bike winning an Enduro stage. The UCI time and time again put too many restrictions in place, making for dull cycling.
Its not early though. We've been having gravel races for years. UCI, in typically European arrogance, just chooses to ignore all current precedent because they want to protect their roadies. This race was designed for roadies because that's what Euro audiences will flock to.
@@cjohnson3836 in comparison so other cycling sports its a baby - it took 15-20years or so for MTB xc courses to develop into something that required technical skill rather than just fitness.
@@skinheadjc Gravel Worlds is 13 years old now. Dirty Kanza/Unbound held their first even 16 years ago. This is nonsense. They've had time. Hell, Migration Gravel Race (RIP Sule) while not perfect, is by any account absolutely epic and got so many things right after just 2 editions, and that's got the extra complexity of being a freaking semi-supported gravel stage race. No, people know how to do this. They have experience, and they've grown it successfully. Europeans are just too stuck up their own asses to bother seeing what is already working and learning from those successes.
Route and starting grid favoured the road racers. UCI obvs wanted a high profile winner.
CX it's about race gravel about journey. That's why so many road and CX bikes on the unbound start line
5:05 Does anyone know what stem/computer mount that is?
As an American New Englander, early adopter of gravel, this race was a farce. The fast, dry conditions also took away from what should have been a bike handling clinic for the lead group. For me, a gravel course should include some steep climbs and steep descents that play into the longer wheel base and slacked out geometry of modern race gravel bikes. There should be a section that makes you wish you were on a hard tail with fat tires that challenges your handling skills. From what I saw of the race, a road bike that could fit a 35 or 38mm tire was the right choice. Get it right next year UCI or stop calling it "Gravel Worlds".
It’s not the bike, the bike it’s just a tool, the men behind the winner was the real factor, …exercise, determination, focus, discipline, and ..last ..talent
C’mon Jack - no mention of Cort’s Speedplay Syzr pedals?!
The tyres on Matt Beers' Roubaix were the new S-Works Tracer by the looks of it. Thread pattern is identical to the Tracer Pro. Specialized have already announced these were coming, but I'm not sure if they're officially available yet.
He was riding the Crux
@@steadster6572 yeah you’re correct. I mixed up the bikes as half the Spesh riders were on Roubaix. Also: I should know this.. I ride the (current) Crux myself 😂
I'm all the more confused now! What exactly is a gravel bike? What are its irreducible minimums?
Lots'a love, cheers, & Mabuhay, from tropical Philippines! #RideOn #KeepBiking
I agree mate more like a Paris roubaix, no specific guide lines on bike specs...?
In think those terrano dry tyres make you fast .I use them and they are fast
ah yes the elite world bike-path riding championship. what a joke.
Awesome race but not a real gravel race when you have the likes of Unbound for a real gravel experience.
Yeah it looked like a pro road race that just took place on some roads that were not roads. I’m not for having to define gravel, but this is now what I picture. It’s certainly was not 200 mile epic. They can do their thing, we know it’s not what most of us think of as gravel.
You’re not supposed to do gravel without little pockets in your bibs. Where did they put their bananas?
As we saw the best gravel race bikes are lightweight disc brake road bikes. "Rubaix" Basically all disc brake road bikes are gravel bikes. Rims for road , discs for dirt.
The gravel worlds was a road race with a sprinkle of sand
Only 32% of the coarse was on road…
Where were the aero bars ?
Those bikes (tires) would not work on many US gravel events. UCI gravel seems to be smoother, tamer. US gravel, which is the original gravel, dips more on single-track, rougher terrain where 33mm tires just wont cut it. Usually, probably 70 to 80% of courses, can be ridden on 33-35’s, just not as comfortable as on the 38-45 tires which can be ridden on lower pressures and can handle with more control the singletrack segments.
Wasn’t a gravel race…
NOW HEAR THIS: A Bicycle is a Bicycle is a Bike--two wheels = bicycle which is synonymous with bike (road/gravel/mountain/hybrid)--tires/tyres only give hint to its intended us for the present ride...
5:56 owwwhh 32mm Pathfinder Pro's! Really? Can this be a mistake, I hope not.
Not a mistake. Looking to get my hands on them as I'm currently running 38mm Pathfinder Pros and would love a skinnier version for summer.
Ay have been won on a road bike, but how much of the race was on road??????
Can somebody please tell me what this race actually achieved?
Leave it to the UCI to completely neuter the sport.
I'm closely monitoring every updates about this recent controversial gravel race. But I'm about to see the real reason why the guest roadbike emerge superior, if there is.
Fucking love it they make a whole new genre of bikes and when they race the course they just use a road bike with some big tyres slapped on cos frankly that's all a gravel bike is.
This was not a proper Gravelrace. This was a course finding gravelparts just to make it a Gravelrace!
The gravel course is too gentle. there needs to be some mountain bike-ish sections to put true gravel bikes into use. Its just a road race with some sand.
This was a real gravel race, "Gravel" intended in the way that gravel was born and it should be: a mix of paved and easy non-technical gravel roads. Of course, you can do this just fine with any endurance road bike, equipped with slightly threaded 28-36mm tyres.
Unbound are the real gravel World Champignon race.
It's not a gravel race if the best bike to choose is a 32mm tire road bike lmao
It is a gravel race and gravel bikes are made for this exact terrain. It just shows that if you want to be fast road bike is still the faster option.
Gravel bike purpose is to be comfortable while you’re slowly riding on gravel. That’s all there’s to it, that’s their only purpose lol.
@@latte6878 Tarmac is gravel? 80% of tarmac on this course?
@@mariop8101 "The race has 36% unpaved roads, 18% hard gravel, 1% cobbles, 17% hard surface and 27% asphalt"
44% tarmac at best so yea it's a gravel race.
The more skills the rider has the skinnier the tyres he/she can ride on gravel. 32-35mm is all you need if you need more for gravel better learn how to ride a bike.
Whats a "gravel" bike anyway?
I'm glad you asked, we have an entire video on that th-cam.com/video/Jb9VrC7OHAI/w-d-xo.html
Terreno tires were a poor choice. Poor rolling resistance.
Rather more strada bianci than dirty kanza. And duller because of it.
If a Gravel World Championship can be won on a roadbike it is (in my opinion) not a Gravel World Championship. Sorry UCI, but you definitely missed it. You won´t be able to race Unbound in the US on a road bike.
Because gravel bikes are nothing more than road bikes with fat tires. Only an XC race shows (a real XC race) that you need a different bike.
how are road bikes allowed at gravel uci wold championship? or there's really no such thing as gravel bikes... it's just a road bike with beefier tires.
@BikeRadar plz fix the spam problem, the comment section is completely infested.
I know it's supposedly TH-cam's job but since they refuse to do it you should instead.
There are tools to do it automatically, I think Linus Tech Tips made a video about it
It seemed fun but really not completely thought out, the fact the timing motorcycle gave the exact same time like 11 times. Even Daniel Oss and Vermeersh commented that they had no idea really, then we have on Saturday the ladies get spun out on a Y in the course with an 8"x11" black arrow on a forest green piece of paper with a background of roadside shrubs and trees 🤷. These ladies were coming in at almost 30mph and they have to look for this😡 so there's a crash and many riders race over because course marked like a kid's race put-on by the parks department not the World Cycling Governing Body. 8 Miles of hills out of 194km WEAK by any standard and to have them all at the beginning 🤔 seems 5o me if it were flat then hills at the finish you're going to create much better spectacle for the viewing audience and have drama at the end.
Overall I'd give Pipo a 6+on his first attempt of laying out a new world championship 🏆 plenty to grow from. 🌻
sell yer gravel bike boys. just put some 35s on your road bike. im selling my revolt to buy the new tcr. bahaha. love it
its not the greatest marketing for the gravel hype that the world champion won on a hardcore road bike, with everything road specific except tyres
Gravel riding/racing is just another opportunity for the bike industry to sell more stuff.
Vermeersch. If you are going to mention a name that many times, is it too much trouble to check the pronunciation?
Is a road bike
Thanks UIC, the lesson here is Just get wide gravel tires and keep riding your road bike (assuming it is disk brake with plenty of tire clearance)
The differences are so slight between gravel and road. The bike doesn't define the race the track does.
Ah yes, the ‘ inclusive’, free-spirited gravel riders - bitching about what is ‘gravel’ and what is not, bitching against the UCI, against road riders, against road bikes, and forgetting that there were plenty of gravel bikes on course, that a MTB rider won the women’s race and that (above all) many of the so-called roadies in both races had already earned their ‘degree’ in various sorts of off-road riding.
Where I live, these are called ROADS. This isn’t gravel
What a boring race compared to other gravel events.
Mostly tarmac with a little bit of dust, no elevation or single tracks.
The uci gravel world was not a true gravel ride like Kansas unbound! A Paris Roubaix or Strade Bianchi would be a hell of a better challenge!! Face it, Europe doesn’t have gravel like the US!
That's not real gravel!
The fact that Gravel bikes weren't even used for the terrain they were supposed to be best at is hilarious but expected. Gravel bikes are essentially the pointless middleground between a road bike and an MTB except that a road bike is far better at it's job. Also I find it funny how all American gravel cyclist were crying that the pros used road bikes because the course wasn't technical enough but the truth is the pros would be riding road bikes in unbound and all of those races anyways they're just simply faster and if you're riding on terrain where anything wider than 35mm is needed than it means you need a mountain bike.
The takeaway is that gravel bikes are mostly useful for the very average, slow amateurs or dads and uncles.
Wow.....yeah no. I don't understand your belittlement of gravel but you're completely wrong. Even pros such as Ted King use "gravel bikes" and enjoy every second of riding it. Most ex roadies are coming to gravel since it's actually fun and not as serious and stale as roadie culture. I've been on some roads that would destroy a road bike but would be too mild for a Mt bike.....hence why the gravel bike is a perfect fit.
@@David-lm7ql I'm not trying to belittle gravel bikes as they have their perks, hell even I own one. What I'm saying is people shouldn't be surprised why road bikes are better at being gravel bikes. As an average person I don't have the luxury of destroying my carbon road bike on rocky gravel roads, could I? yes, would I ride faster doing it? yes but it's just not practical. Gravel bikes are also more comfartable so you can ride those overkill fat 56mm tyres and not be bothered with a sore ass afterwards. They;re good bikes and have a purpose, but their purpose isn't in racing.
That’s not fair! I went on a 20 mile ride on my gravel bike yesterday and I averaged almost 13mph!
@@latte6878 Gravel bikes have a purpose in racing on a course that's more difficult/technical. Take a road bike on something like the Cedar City Belgian Waffle Ride or Unbound, and good luck. At Cedar City, I used 42mm Rene Herse knobbies and they were perfect for the offroad sectors. I'm going to try to get to Unbound next year and tire choice is still up in the air, but will ride nothing less than 42mm. I mean you could ride a road bike on those courses, but it would suck balls unless your road bike can fit 38-40mm tires comfortably. I love my gravel bike (currently on my 3rd one), but I consider it a "mixed surface" road bike really. I got my first gravel bike when I lived in southern California and riding in the mountains/terrain around there (read: mountain bike territory), it was definitely the wrong tool for the job in most cases. However, here in Arizona, a gravel bike is perfect as there's tons of dirt roads and often a lot of (rough) road riding mixed in to get to the dirt.....so a road bike would definitely suck on the dirt parts (there tends to be lots of sand), and a mountain bike would suck on the road parts and overkill on most dirt roads/paths. My gravel bike (Merlin Sandstone) with 40+mm file treads is great (and then wider knobbies for the more technical terrain), and you're not going to fit those in a standard road bike. My Merlin is also decently quick for a 19 pound fairly indestructible titanium gravel bike, and has all-day comfort that you can easily transfer to the road. The geometry is also really good and the steering is reasonably quick for a gravel bike....strikes a great balance of being good at both on and offroad. Actually, the Merlin with 38mm Rene Herse Barlow Pass (measured at 41mm on my wheels) file treads is just under a half mph slower on a flat course (26 miles with around 700 feet of gain) than my Trek Emonda with 25mm Schwalbe Pro One TLE's (on my non-aero wheels) on the road at 170 watts average power (normalized power was 180 for the Merlin and 186 for the Trek)....Merlin was 18.8 mph and Emonda was 19.2 mph, which surprised me as the Trek obviously "feels" faster. The UCI race was cool in the respect that they'd transition to different types of terrain, but the "gravel" parts weren't that difficult - even I could easily do them (albeit much slower as they were riding at 30 mph on the flats), and I'm pretty average lol.
as a gravel race it was a joke
Gravel racing, racing for people who are sh*t at the tour and other races, a bit like Enduro racing
the best gravel bike is my tern x18 foldable bike with 47c pirelli semi-slick tyres.
this race is an joke for all offroad riders on the world
Vermiche? Vermeersch is pronounced like Vermears for English speakers
🙃I really tried my hardest and even watched a few TH-cam videos to check! Thanks for letting me know, Jack
@@bikeradarNot a big deal. I appreciate the good effort! Great video
I laugh at your "gravel".
world cycling commuter championship. My hunch is correct all this while. Gravel is a just lame excuse for roadies to get off road.
This race was a joke for a gravel race
Fake true gravel race. just a fancy event for companies to showcase their products and boost road cyclists's egos. If this was a real UCI gravel race, they should actually choose a route that is actually gravel challenging so the true gravel pros can excel and get some recognitions. But then again, no name gravel pros wont 'sell' products as well as MVDP and high end road dudes.
You think your "gravel pros" have better skills than Matheu van Der Poel or most of others in that race? 😂 Typical gravel hippies.
Gravel is like cyclocross now. It holds zero interest for me.
Relatively easy to assemble th-cam.com/users/postUgkxMesz3KOGEmwmvyKQfLfrRSUXLFzfVHZA (note that is does not come with tools, so please have a set of hex/Allen keys and Phillips screwdriver handy). The bike weighs 27 lbs fully assembled, which is not bad.A couple quirks about the bike:- left brake lever operates the front brake (something to get used to if controlling the front brake with your right hand is what you usually do)- Shimano thumb shifters for the gears are positioned close to the center. This is a bit of a nuisance because changing gears involved taking your weight from one hand to change gears, a hassle if you are regularly changing gears. However, gear shifters positioned at the drop bars are very expensive compared to thumb shifters, so I can understand, given the price of the bikeBike is otherwise of good quality. Gears change fairly smoothly and fit/assembly is of good quality. A totally competent product for the price.
UCI is trying to ruin the spirit of gravel.
JUST GET A 90S RIGID MTB
This is a race, not a roadtrip...
The uci gravel world was not a true gravel ride like Kansas unbound! A Paris Roubaix or Strade Bianchi would be a hell of a better challenge!! Face it, Europe doesn’t have gravel like the US!
All the pros would be riding road bikes on your American gravel roads anyways 😅 just face it, gravel bikes are useless
There's plenty of rough roads in the EU, but the situation is going to be that "showing off the host city/region" comes first and course design is second.
@@latte6878 what are you talking about a road bike would be destroyed or hinder a rider in unbound.
@@David-lm7ql Ever watched a cyclocross race? it's two times as thechnical and muddy than unbound and they're all riding pretty much road bikes with 28mm tyres.
Just put strong 32-35mm tyres on your road bike and it's far better than any gravel bike.
@@latte6878 oh really? None of the pros are riding road bikes at Unbound, Mid South, etc.