Rode mtb my whole life, never went for road because where I live it's a lot of farm tracks, rough roads/poorly maintained tarmac and forested land. Gravel was a blessing of bringing all that together and I love it.
Same. Where I live, go off the main roads and there's more gravel than paved roads. I discovered gravel bikes completely independently from marketing - when I started investigating to see if there was such a thing as a drop-bar bike with disc brakes and slightly wider tires.
I rode road for years then moved somewhere with loads of nice bridalways and off road tracks, however I still need to ride there so I wanted something light and efficient so bought a ‘gravel’ bike. Don’t know why people are crying about something so ridiculous it’s called the evolution of cycling. Stoopid twats.
What made you choose gravel over an xc hardtail bike? I guess performance on roads is worse for xc but that gets more than compensated by its better off road capability.
A gravel bike is really just an apocalypse-ready road bike. For when everything goes to shit and they stop maintaining the roads properly. So for right now, basically.
As to why this generation thinks this is something unique to them is mind-boggling. If you have wide-enough gearing, a springy frame (mine is close to fifty years old, a 531 DB rebuilt initially by Argos Racing as a road racing bike, I've since beefed it up with newer wheels built for strength in lieu of lightness) maps, sunshine and back gravel roads and railtrails, then done what rail-trails were built for. And rail trails far predate "gravel bikes". I'm also in North Am where many back roads are gravel, albeit gravel can present in many forms, from loose and sharp to fast and slippery high clay content. I don't get it. Can this generation be sold anything, with matching outfits to boot?
A ride is easier to enjoy if you can traverse ALL roads... even if they're just goat herding trails. BTW, I think we can agree the UCI is always going to be a villain. Video is nearly over and NOBODY's mentioned the Salsa "Fargo" yet... Good call, keep that steel/Ti gem a secret!
100%. I've totally changed my daily commute to work from a 32-mile road ride to a 25-mile gravel ride, and couldn't be happier. No longer need to breathe fumes, but I'm also not worried about road rage and idiot drivers who don't look at people on bikes as people, but rather cockroaches to be squashed
This is one of the best sponsored content pieces I've seen by GCN. Thoroughly enjoyable, and it didn't feel like an extended ad for Salsa even though it was clearly sponsored by them.
I grew up 5 miles from the nearest paved road here in Iowa so I’ve been “gravel biking’” since about 1972. Everybody else is late to the game in my book.
Yeah! I'm in Southern Ontario, and not being anywhere as rugged as the north, we all grew up cycling the back gravel roads. Perhaps this generation will also pride themselves on inventing the Jeep?
My dad grew up in far west Queensland Australia, basically in the middle nowhere. The closest township was 2.5hrs drive away on horrendous unpaved roads, even today with it being paved a fair chunk of the way it still takes a good hr and a half with atleast 50k of unsealed roads. He used to cycle his fixed gear around to the local homesteads to visit mates and what not, the closest place is about 6 miles away from there place. that would have been in the 60s. It is amazing though how far bikes have come compared to what you and he rode around, fixed gear, no brakes gas pipe as frame tubing.
Excellent film as always. I love my gravel bike: I’ve ridden it more than any other bike I’ve ever had. Two sets of wheels and it’s perfect for commuting, sportives, audaxes, bikepacking and just nipping out to the shops. And ‘gravel gearing’ is the kind of gearing mere mortals actually need.
Gravel bikes just unravels everything by being an "All Road Capable Bike". Capable doesn't mean that it is a Master and it does not always have to be that way. Btw, GCN this film intro was so sick! Really loved it!
As a college kid in the American midwest, the Warbird was the bike that got me into cycling. Gravel riding pulled me through a really rough period in my life and I wouldn't be the healthy person I am today without it. This brought tears to my eyes. Thank you!
I love my gravel bike, rode it today in fact. It's great when you don't have an exact route planned so if you see a random and not paved road branching off you can just go exploring. Sometimes having a bike that's not great at any one thing but good or good enough at many things is just what you need
Years ago I bought a mountain bike since where I live there's lots of cycle paths, towpaths, old railway lines, shortcut footpaths across fields, etc that tend to be my routes - along with roads - from A to B. Then my friend suggested that a hybrid might suit me better - and she was right! But I missed the wide tyre air 'suspension' of my MTB and I've now got a Kona Dr Dew (frame/forks/wheels off ebay, the rest from a donor Specialized which had a broken frame.) It's not exactly a gravel bike, nor a touring bike, nor a road bike, nor anything else in particular really. I suppose it's closest in concept to a gravel bike - but built to do what I want it to do and how I want to do it. I had to take an angle grinder to the bottom of the fork crown to allow clearance for a 622-47 tyre (don't worry, there's still loads of metal left there); it's got a rear carrier with a solid centre (best rear mudguard ever); swoopy backswept handlebars and longer stem (3 comfy hand positions); most replacement bits came from ebay, Amazon and the local clearance auction house, and will probably have every purist ever frothing at the mouth! :D I don't care - I built it for me, not for them ;)
Blame? After 30 years of road riding and as I ‘slow down’ I discovered gravel and got a whole new lease of cycling life. I just want to say thank you.🙏
I bought a road bike late last year, rode it for a few months and thought that it was just a single purpose machine. Decided I needed something else that was basically all purpose, enter the gravel bike. Perfect for going basically wherever I want and still fast.
All the pros at the uci just slapped wider tubeless tires on their disc brake cobblestone road bikes meant for cobblestones, which in my opinion is way tougher than gravel. I don’t understand what is so difficult about having a second wheel set compared to a whole other frame, drive train cockpit and group set?
I started riding gravel 50 years ago in NE Iowa because I lived 5 miles down a gravel road and had no choice. I would say the biggest game-changer for me is the tires that have come out gravel specific. Any bike will go down a gravel road but a properly dedicated tire will make you enjoy the experience. For me the PIRELLI Cinturato GRAVEL M Tire - Tubeless tires are the state-of-of-the-art all around best performing multi-surface gravel tires ever designed. They make mixed surface bicycling fun again.
Our choices back then were single speed balloon tire bikes or three or ten speed "road" bikes - took both everywhere from single track "mountain bike" trails, open forest stands, sea walls, farm fields and tractor trails, gravel roads, abandoned roads and sometimes tarmac. Illinois and New Hampshire where I wonder how I climbed some of those hills.
@@chriscohlmeyer4735 I started off with a Schwinn Stingray 3 speed. Then I moved up to a Browning Road Bike. Neither were ideal for gravel but I never knew that at the time.
This jokey video aside there is still some serious talking to be done. Agreed, rigid bikes have not changed that much, unlike suspension and tyres which have improved a lot. Weight is over-hyped, an easy way to waste money. Slacker front end does not make that much difference, you just put your weight back more actively. Bigger wheels do roll better but hybrid bikes have had them for years and got laughed at. Guys on gravel bikes tend to go a bit faster bc as you say they fit the latest tyres. And they also value speed more than people who choose hybrids - they push themselves harder head down and so build up more CV speed. They can use the drops for a bit more speed on the flat and into the wind. But lose out in control for off-road. Gravel bikes are not a major game-changer as the industry hypes. Just their own compromise. Gravel bikes are hyped as allowing more experience and are the trendy thing to be seen to have. Yet in my experience, the biggest freedom you can give yourself is more free time and to build up endurance. That way you can cover great miles on any bike such as a hybrid or a cheap mtb with thinner tyres. Do not skimp on the tyres as you say. Then the world is yours, free to have many adventures, ride all day, mixed surfaces.
Thank you for interviewing Joe; what a great, genuine guy. Been riding dirt roads and working in the industry for 30+ years now. The last 11 on Salsas, they don’t give themselves enough credit for what the Vaya and Fargo did leading up to the Warbird and Cutthroat. Jason, Mike, Joe and the rest of the team should be inducted into the cycling hall of fame for breathing new life into our sport. Thank you! Also, love that you mention no bottle cage mounts and minimal tire clearance on “do-it-all” CX bikes. The resistance to “gravel” while holding up CX within the industry(media included) was so perplexing.
My Ridley CX bike came out the other day and told us it now identifies as a gravel bike. It’s exploring groupset reassignment surgery, however, as it is still running Campagnolo Record.
Personally, I've never been fast on a road bike, so having the versatility of a gravel bike is infinitely better than a lighter or "faster" road bike. I don't really understand why anyone would hate any type of bike?
As the roads get busier and drivers less considerate, gravel does become an alternative. If you can link bits of gravel with bits of road, ideal 😁 28mm tyres, you're halfway between nowhere and out in the fresh air. 👍 Edit: I will add, there's a marked difference between drivers depending on where you are. Cycling around the new forest the other week along a fairly busy main road I suppose you'd call it, cars are happy to wait a minute to pass wide and safe. I guess because there's often horses and pigs roaming around that don't give a shit about your day or what a rush you're in. Round here in the Cotswolds, not so much, generally ok but always passing way too close and the road edges are knarly and full of holes as well so it's difficult to keep out of the way. 🙃
My issue is where is this so called gravel? I’m always searching for it but what I find is bridleways and farmers tracks. Lovely scenery and lack of cars but always gates and mud (which when dry takes on shape of tractor tires or horses hooves). I’m from Worcestershire.
I use a bike as daily transport around the Forest of Dean and over about 12000 km over the last three or four years, I have to say I've found the vast majority of drivers to be careful and considerate. I can count the dickheads on the fingers of one hand.
@@PedroRodriguez-kg4bq have you got Komoot? Because sometimes there's recommended routes and rides in your area on the front page there and you can set it to gravel as a route choice when planning to take you on those to get somewhere. It's free and you should be able to download your area as a freebie too. 🤔 Pretty sure Strava would do similar but I'm not really interested in being KoM or power meters and stuff.
@@ollieb9875 I would be interested in a power meter if it was cheaper, but mostly only for curiosity to check my overall progress. every once in awhile I'll record one of my rides just to see how it compares. but I also cyclocommute so I want to know how long a particular route takes me so I can plan to be on time. I'll usually record a ride if I change something significant such as new tires or if I try it a different cassette ratio, or if I'm playing with tire pressure
@@PedroRodriguez-kg4bq check out Wales, mid, south and north wales have enough gravel that an audax or overnighter in a bivvy bag is completely achievable without leaving the gravel forest tracks and roads. I ride at St Gwynnos Forest and up over to Afan Forest. You can cover as much or as little as you wish and all day you might see a couple of people and some sheep.
Just bought a gravel bike and on country Irish roads its rekindled my love of cycling. Touring backroads in Ireland on a road bike could actually be considered torture haha
I just got my first "road" bike well into my 40s this year, and it is a gravel bike. I rode mountain bikes since they started being a thing in the 80s. With trail centres being more and more finicky about riding in wet conditions, I decided to do this as a side activity for the days they close down, but I find myself hopping on the gravel bike a lot more than I expected. I was not ready to go all in into road cycling yet. The gravel bike is my way of easing into your world, which I am enjoying more and more.
Gravel bikes make excellent commuters. Gotta ride some turf for a bit? Hop a curb? Navigate shoulder crud? Find a ragged shortcut? No problem. Add in moonlighting capability for light touring and bikepacking.
Great Job! I've been a Salsa fan for years and have a Salsa Vaya that I love. The bit about "whether you're at the pointy end or just trying to finish what you thought might be impossible" is THE reason these gravel/adventure events are so popular. At 53 I'm not trying to win anything, but I relish the sense of accomplishment I get from gravel races and bikepacking.
That was some real hard-hitting journalism. It was good to see Si get that off his chest. Proud of you man. You are not a bad person. Embrace your inner gravel...
Gravel is heaven. The scenery, freedom and safety. I used to trundle around roads looking at those tracks, wishing I could ride them without damaging my bike. Mountain bikes were always too slow for me. Possibly the best purchase I ever made and then I discovered bike packing.
Love 😍 my gravel bike. Suits the area I live in Sweden with forest trails and cross-country. Just finished a 4 day bikepacking holiday on a mix of roads, tracks and fields! It was brilliant.
Grew up riding South East Kansas gravel on a Schwinn Sting-Ray with coaster breaks in the mid 60's. Didn't realize how far we were ahead of the curve. Took a 40 year break now riding a Cannondale Topstone 105 on some of the same gravel for the last few years an loving every minute of it.
I wasn't even sure what gravel biking was. I imagined it to be gravel like in my parents front drive. So now I know it's cycling on un-ashpalted dirt roads without suspension. I was doing this in the 70s on my Raleigh RSW 16 when I was a kid.
People said the same sort of things when mountain bike first came out. But we observe the same kind of pattern in every sport, with the evolution of the hardware being more and optimised and specialised. And at any point, someone come with a more versatile toy, and let's face it, more fun. By the way, back in 1905,TdF bike were gravel bikes 😅
As far as i can tell the rigid mountain bikes of yesterday basically just did what gravel bikes do now. MTBs became much more capable and specialised and outgrew their niche. Gravel bikes are now basically reclaiming that spot left empty.
@@sionjones1675 The main difference between early 1990s MTBs and gravel bike is that the bars curl downwards and not upwards with bar ends. Wheels are bigger, tyres are fatter and more comfy with lower pressures thanks to tubeless tech, so hardly less capable.
Ever since I changed to drop handle bars (17 years ago) I've been taking my roadbike on dirt tracks. This is either because I was ahead of the curve or because I am a philistine (probably the latter). It also helps that I don't have to worry about breaking my nice shiny new road bike, as they have all been quite close to Manons £100 bike for 100 miles.
Built my first gravel bike from frame up early this year. The idea of riding more close to nature without worrying about traffic was just too appealing. Looking forward to my upcoming gravel events.
@@brianwright9514 paved =/= gravel gravel features small crushed rocks, usually machine crushed for driveways paved is well smooth without those crushed bits
The death of the XC bike and the rise of Trail/Enduro bikes is really what's propping Gravel bikes up. We went from sub-20lb bikes, the right amount of fork travel, with an aggressive but still comfortable to pedal riding position, to heavy full-suspension beasts that are more designed for dirt jumps and bombing down rocky hills that are simply 'too much' for dirt roads.
Yepp. That's why I choosed a cross trekking. It is a hardtail, with 60 mm travel and 1,5 inch wide multipurpose tyres. It won't be a superstar of rock gardens, neither the pelotons but it knows enough. And nonetheless cheap (at least it was)
I moved to the Olympic Peninsula 18 months ago and shortly after I bought my first G-bike, a Salsa WarRoad. My road bike found its way to an indoor trainer and will never see the light of day again. I love my gravel bike even if I never touch gravel on any given day. For all the chip seal roads (compressed gravel), there's nothing better than a gravel bike. The added comfort allows me to ride longer more comfortably. And the best part, when I do come across something not paved, I no longer hesitate to take it on like I did on my road bike.
@@hansanders4983 38mm schwalbe G one all rounds. Bike can take max of 40mm. Agreed would rather have the agility of a cross bike rather than being more upright and comfortable on a gravel bike. Never ridden a gravel bike wouldn't rule it out as they are a broad spectrum some racier than others, others more comfort oriented etc. I like the racier ones👍
@@hansanders4983 yeah I believe I had 36mm clement xploro on when I bought the bike. Then tried 32mm. Then went to schwalbe g ones in 35 then 38mm. Think 38mn my favourite give them a try I'm in Scotland we get a good mix of gravel from compacted nice stuff up to chunky stuff. Enjoy the bikes man have fun 👌👍
Brilliant piece, I absolutely loved it and your perspectives. Since starting Gravel late part year, I increased my riding options and found new friends to ride these great road out here while enjoying the beauty of the Black Hills! Thx!
I had a 2013 Warbird and the reason I was excited about it at the time was the slack drop bar geometry coupled with the ability ride wider tires, to me that made it a great basis for a go anywhere bike. Rode it with 32mm tires and a compact drivetrain on anything from group road rides to grocery store runs and then later on converted it to 43mm Bruce Gordon Rock n' Roads to ride on a mix of road, dirt, gravel and forrest roads around where I live. I cannot stand the marketing hype around gravel, but I found you can get a tremendous amount of joy and fun out of a drop bar bike that's capable of handling just about any terrain you throw at it.
Aside from modern materials and more gears, gravel bikes are nothing new. The French were building bikes conceptually like them in the 1950s. I had a Le Chemineau that I bought used in the 1970s. It had 6 speeds (2x3) with an indexed shifter for the rear. The smaller chainring was a granny gear, and the front derailleur was operated by a little lever on the seat tube at ankle level. Steel frame, of course. I believe the tires were 650b, maybe 40mm wide. I suspect it was intended more for utility transportation than for sport, because it had fenders and dynamo lights from the factory, but it was essentially the same concept as today's gravel bikes - drop bars, low gears for the steep hills, and wide tires - at least 60 years before Salsa. In the late 1980s, REI's house brand, Novara, built a 15-speed with an Ibis-designed frame, set up as a touring bike with drop bars, "half-step" gearing for the large and middle chainrings, bar-end shifters, and 26x1.3(?) tires, intended to be ridden on good roads and bad roads. Aside from the half-step gearing, it was essentially the same concept as my old Le Chemineau and today's gravel bikes. (I still have one of those, but it has metamorphosed a bit over 30+ years with different gearing, and different bars because once I was past 60, my neck didn't like drop bars so much.) Who's to blame for gravel bikes? No one who's alive today. Cheers. Dave
This is a fantastic piece, Si and Alex, and much respect to Salsa Cycles for serving as the binding to the adventure book of gravel riding and racing. And while I have yet to participate in a gravel race, I very much want to do so, not to be a master blaster or anything, just to roost and get roosted, love that dirt and dust. And it does seem that gravel brings it all together for us, competition and community and camaraderie. O and when he gets dropped, I'd be happy to pace Ollie to the next water station somewhere in Kansas. I'd be back there, too, huffing and puffing and laughing all the way.
In 1983, I bought a 10 speed bike and asked the to swap the original thin tires for thicker ones. I believe it turned it into proto-gravel bike. Last year, I saw a gravel bike for sale at a shop and I had to buy it. Since then, I'm enjoying it greatly. It brings me back the time I had 10 speed bikes with thicker tires and used to use them to commute to work and roam around on weekends.
Here in New England we've been riding precursor gravel bikes since the early 1990s, possibly earlier. You'd take an older 27" wheel embargo era touring bike and fit a set of then current 700c hybrid bike wheels with their semi tread tires (usually about a 700x38) to it. Reuse the hybrid bike gearing for it's wide range on climbs. If you were lucky you could still fit a set of fenders. I loved commuting to the shop on mine, leaving the pavement and short cutting through fire department dirt access roads, gravel service roads under the major power lines, and through this one cemetery that had a trailhead leading away from it hidden behind a hedge.
I’m disgusted Simon and Alex have been riding on Gravel and glad they have used this opportunity to come clean about this practice - or rather get dusty … I kid … great video once again!
Personal confession. I enjoyed a gravel type ride recently on a mountain bike that has a rigid fork, rim v-brakes, and friction thumb shifters. Oh the shame of it.
As I walk out the door to buy a Cannondale Topstone 105 aluminum - er, aluminium - this video could not have been timed better, or be so much fun to watch.
I rented one in Asheville, NC last week. (Youngblood Bikes) It fit me like a glove and was just as fun on the Mellowdrome (track) as it was on the trails at the North Carolina State Arboretum. It made the traveling over the drain grates and pothole less stressful as I navigated the streets of West Asheville. 10 out of 10 would recommend for sure! Enjoy that bike! The 46/30; 11-34 combination let me (230 lbs/100kg) plow up some fairly steep loose trails 😁 although my wife had to dodge the flying g-words as she ran up the trail behind me, runners?
Great video by everyone involved! That's a whole lotta footage of the Flint Hills of Kansas. A little disappointed that wasn't mentioned a single time. Hard to talk the early years of gravel without mentioning Kansas!
i grew up in Iowa in the 1960/70's, 7 miles from the nearest hard surfaced road. Gravel was you rode at the beginning and end of every ride. Schwinn or Sears 3 speed up until I found a 1974 Raleigh Super Course. Why does everyone think that gravel is a "NEW" form of riding?
Back maybe in the late 1980’s, another cross Iowa ride - RAGBRAI - had (still has) occasional sections of gravel. One county road maintenance crew, in preparation for the ride passing through, thought to add fresh gravel for the thousands of riders. It was like riding on a pile of gravel- thick and loose. Of course most folks were on road bikes. A lot of people walking their bikes for mikes. If you went like mad and rode loose you could ride it. Loved those images of Iowa and Minnesota.
You show a shot of the Breezer #2 (Breezer #1 was the first purpose-built mountain bike), on display at the Marin Museum of Bicycling, in Fairfax, California. It sure seems like a GCN visit to the museum is in order, so many bikes and so many stories!
The Almanzo Series Since showing up on the scene back in 2007, Almanzo (opens in new window) quickly became Minnesota's most infamous gravel race-feared and cheered alike for its grueling climbs and DIY ethos. - This reminds me of the Gary Fisher story, laying claim to inventing Mountain Biking.
As Simon mentioned, I have a ton of respect for Chris Skogen, Almanzo and other event promoters who created the events. Almanzo was a classic and I have some of the momentos from Chris', hand written notes, pad printed race envelopes with pre-printed Q cards. Everything about those events was amazing! If you think the Almanzo had grueling climbs, Ragnarok was my favorite with nearly 10k of climbing and mid-April weather. It could be snowing, rainy, or absolutely perfect.
@@simonrichardson5259 to be fair, it would have been great to give props to those who built the scene which later created the market for bike brands to capitalize on. The brands came to the scene because of these founder type individuals like Chris Skogen. Gravel didn’t come from brands, it came from people.
I brought a gravel bike for a winter training bike to save my road bikes. My logic was “they’re built to take the water, dirt & grit, and the tyres give better traction in adverse conditions”. It was riding a rim brake bike on zipp wheels, in wet, watching the black gritty streaks of water coming from behind the brake blocks, made my mind up for me. But I will always be a roadie at heart.
Good on Salsa for being innovative…I didn’t know they introduced the fat bike, but I’ve had a Warbird for many years now. I always hated the danger of road cycling, so I got into mtn biking. I currently have a Salsa Full sus, SS HT, and a older Ti Warbird. I still prefer to ride trails, but when I want more miles I hit the gravel.
I'm more of a mountain biker that got quite big into road riding. Eventually though I got sick of dealing with traffic and found roadie culture too serious. I sold my De Rosa, bought a GT Grade and have never looked back. I still love my mtb but the gravel bikes just give me a great sense of freedom. I'm off on my third bikepacking trip in a few weeks. Can't wait 🙂
Salsa is where 'modern' gravel started for me. But, I would cite the 2009 Salsa LaCruz as the first purpose built 'gravel bike'. When I sought out a steel frame, disc brake, road/cyclocross bike with greater tire clearances back then the ONLY bike on the market that fit the brief was the Salsa LaCruz. I still ride it today as a 650b x 48 all-road bike. The question I'd like answered is who at Salsa designed/imagined/developed the La Cruz? The vision represented in that bike in 2009 predicted future trends for the next decade! That bike had to be on the drawing board 18-24 months earlier? Honorable mention: Probably the 'correct' answer to who/what created the 'spark' - Bruce Gordon's 700 x 43 Rock N' Road tires (1988) inspired a lot of hybrid-ized bicycle designs. Including his very own Rock N' Road drop bar 700 x 43 bike in 1992! Very often the creation of new tire standards precede the bike designs that best utilize them (29ers).
I am so glad that gravel bikes came out. Without it, you would have to ride a heavy ass mountain bike or deal with unbearable vibration on your road bike. I live in Chicago which is nice and flat and paved but just outside of the city there a ton of trails and gravel roads. I can transition from city to country without an issue on a gravel bike.
Interesting! Here in Manitoba, Canada, there really are only three types of roads - pavement, gravel, or 'undeveloped' (which is either farmer field dirt with no discernable path or trees/brush again with no developed path, only existing on maps as theoretical right-of-way as part of the Dominion Land Survey) My first bike (That I bought myself) was an Opus Spark 3.0. Produced in 2014 they technically called it a cross bike, but their V4 dubs itself a gravel bike, but that may be because the term 'gravel' was just getting started then. It makes a great commuter, and rides perfect on my country roads!
One of the best videos recently on GCN. Well I started watching GCN way way back when it was Si, Mr. Cervelo and Old Man maybe that's why but always was fascinated in gravel. I'd love to see comparison between gravel and hardtail XC on all sorts of terrain and what you guys think. Cheers
I think it's like any mutation, which evolves from a cyclical pattern (pardon the pun). In the late 70s, I and some mates converted our 'road' bikes (with reynolds tubing, frame affixed gears and rim brakes) to something with wide, chrome cowhorn handlebars. Halfords were selling out of them all over the country. It was THE mod when you couldn't get your hands on a Muddyfox Mountain Bike. The tyres came later, when we'd split, ripped and punctured the skinny tyres to beyond salvaging. My bike went from riding from the South Wales Valleys to the coastline around Porthcawl and back to being dragged up our local mountains and woods. This is where we explored the carless and roadless territory that led to also finding gravity-fuelled excitement called MTB. Some of my mates stayed with the road scene and went to Uni as they called it. They are now the teachers, the large company directors etc. We are the lorry drivers, the teachers' assistants, the builders, the farmers..but the drop handlebar? The gears on the same lever as the brakes. The lightness of a £10k carbon XC bike? That original feeling of riding a drop handlebar bike, before we fitted the cowhorns. When I first heard about a road bike with sturdier tyres called a gravel bike I had to go try... and buy I did. So good to turn off the tarmac (which I hate as I practically lived on the motorways in a 30 year sales career stuck on the M25 or M5), and on to the gravel forest roads and tracks in South Wales. Favourites are St Gwynnos Forest, Afan, Margam, Glyncorrwg even a bit around north of Cardiff at Castell Coch. I still have my mountain bikes, Rocky Mountain Altitude and a 29er On One Parkwood hardtail. The gravel bike has its place in my stable and I'm not complaining.
A few comments: 1. I know this is apparently an ad, but it's brilliant. 2. I love gravel bikes. They're nice on dirt, but I mostly use them on tarmac because I live in a city, and it turns out they make really nice commuting and light touring bikes as well as dirt bikes. I have never regretted buying the gravel bike, not even for a moment (especially after I replaced the 105 34-50 chainring with a GRX 30-46). 3. If I had any influence in this industry, I would strongly urge bike makers to completely resist the urge to add suspension to gravel bikes. Look what happened to mountain bikes: they used to be fun and even practical, and then they became a major reason gravel bikes were invented. (I personally will always prefer a bike with no suspension at all.)
C1963 with a group of pals we built up bikes from scrapyard parts and rode in the woods - We called them ‘Plebsters’ - Didn’t have a marketing team though 😊
Sad to see Simon doing a legal deposition. In hindsight, “all-road bike” makes more sense. It did the trick... I am looking for Salsa bikes on-line because of you.
Hell yeah, I had a similar bike, the Shogun Prairie Breaker, complete with oval front sprockets. I would swop the bars back and forth between drop bars and flat. It's funny that 30yrs later rigid frames, oval rings and skinny tyres are a thing again.
I think a mention of Grant Peterson and Bridgestone's XO bikes is worth a mention too. Came out in 1992, way before those Salsa bikes mentioned existed. Of course, they didn't have the marketing chops to get it into mainstream.
I miss the Trans Iowa… and the Almonzo Alexander. I loved showing up at gritty DIY (and free) events when it was still possible for a middle aged cat to podium without having to chase (with absolutely no chance of catching) the Lochy Morton du jour.
“Fear factor of road biking” - that was a huge thing for me - i wanted to get into it but was scared and then these more upright, more comfortable, more stable bikes came around. Sure I’m slower but I’m out there! It’s like a crossover vs. a sports car and I love it - I ride about 50/50 gravel/pavement.
My first experience with gravel was 4-5th grade riding a BMX from K Mart with the coaster brake. We'd have skidding competitions. We'd haul ass as fast as we could, slam that coaster brake and see how far we could skid. I remember one day I did that and all the bearings fell out of my bottom bracket. I walked it home feeling defeated and waiting for me was a brand new red Murray bmx (also from K Mart).....it was my birthday :D
Thanks GCN, for proving that Gravel bikes are worthy, and necessary! I’ve ridden road, MTB, Hybrid, and Tandem bicycles, and here’s a thing, the MTB was just for cycling off-road… where my BeOne wouldn’t be comfortable, and yet, I never climbed a mountain on it. (Although I did ride to Paris on it, from Southeast England!). And I’ve always preferred riding on roads, but I live where there are some wonderful, nearby off-road places to cycle. So my Genesis CDA made perfect sense to me, more so than any MTB, or a hybrid with front suspension…… so, even though I don’t compete, I can achieve much better use of those roads and tracks around where I live. So thanks, Salsa marketing team, and all those who pursued the development and evolution which off road, drop bar bikes have seen… and of course Thanks to Genesis who made my CDA… because my commute, and my leisure cycling, have been made all the more simpler by having the one bike…… (not to mention of course, my Brompton, which fulfils an entirely different role…) Thanks GCN, keep up,the great work!
I'm running a gravel bike with two different wheelsets for slicks and knobbies. My bike isn't geared to be the fastest road bike or have the cushion of a full suspension mountain, but I can ride steep uphill fire roads one day or do long distance road riding the next all with one bike! I can also mix and match my rides and hop on the bike lane and then go straight on to an off-road trail. Riding options are so much more flexible. Saying that, don't get me started on the 2x vs 1x crankset debate!
Some of us have been riding our drop bared, skinny tired, basically road geometried early Bridgestone MB bikes on gravel roads (cause that's what there's most of around here) since the early 1990s. I am thankful, however, the industry finally got around to design suitable replacements as the Bridgestone has been enjoying retirement.
People have been riding drop-bar bikes in Scotland on gravel tracks since the 1930s. The tradition continued in the 1980s when the first 'official' MTBs arrived. I did thousands of miles on hill tracks all over the Scottish Highlands on an early rigid ridgeback with 1.9" tyres (Ritchey Quads were the best all-round tyre then, with a zig-zag centre ridge and could go up to 80psi). Could keep up with touring bikes no problem on roads, but very fast on estate tracks and also light enough to carry over watersheds and deer fences etc. I once took some Belgian clients on their expensive xc mtbs way up a remote highland glen, after 15 miles we met an old Glaswegian in lycra on his road bike. The Belgians were amazed, I explained that this was not unusual for old boys - in the early/mid 20th century people could only afford one bike.
Rode mtb my whole life, never went for road because where I live it's a lot of farm tracks, rough roads/poorly maintained tarmac and forested land. Gravel was a blessing of bringing all that together and I love it.
Same. Where I live, go off the main roads and there's more gravel than paved roads. I discovered gravel bikes completely independently from marketing - when I started investigating to see if there was such a thing as a drop-bar bike with disc brakes and slightly wider tires.
I rode road for years then moved somewhere with loads of nice bridalways and off road tracks, however I still need to ride there so I wanted something light and efficient so bought a ‘gravel’ bike. Don’t know why people are crying about something so ridiculous it’s called the evolution of cycling. Stoopid twats.
Shame
Same here down in Costa Rica ☝️
What made you choose gravel over an xc hardtail bike? I guess performance on roads is worse for xc but that gets more than compensated by its better off road capability.
A gravel bike is really just an apocalypse-ready road bike. For when everything goes to shit and they stop maintaining the roads properly. So for right now, basically.
excellent point
IF you live in europe or usa. Come and check the roads in latin america, they are alreadye apocalypstic
No. You don't needan apocalypse. For example, a MTB bike on Poland's roads is already a better choice then gravel.
As to why this generation thinks this is something unique to them is mind-boggling. If you have wide-enough gearing, a springy frame (mine is close to fifty years old, a 531 DB rebuilt initially by Argos Racing as a road racing bike, I've since beefed it up with newer wheels built for strength in lieu of lightness) maps, sunshine and back gravel roads and railtrails, then done what rail-trails were built for. And rail trails far predate "gravel bikes".
I'm also in North Am where many back roads are gravel, albeit gravel can present in many forms, from loose and sharp to fast and slippery high clay content.
I don't get it. Can this generation be sold anything, with matching outfits to boot?
A ride is easier to enjoy if you can traverse ALL roads... even if they're just goat herding trails.
BTW, I think we can agree the UCI is always going to be a villain.
Video is nearly over and NOBODY's mentioned the Salsa "Fargo" yet... Good call, keep that steel/Ti gem a secret!
Can't help but feel like gravel has succeeded simply because the paved roads have become so dangerous.
This is true. Where some people live a roadbike is simply not feasible.
100%. I've totally changed my daily commute to work from a 32-mile road ride to a 25-mile gravel ride, and couldn't be happier. No longer need to breathe fumes, but I'm also not worried about road rage and idiot drivers who don't look at people on bikes as people, but rather cockroaches to be squashed
Gravel bikes, I think, succeeded because they are great fun.
I agree. I don't ride on the roads here. The paved back roads are 35mph but everyone goes 60 everywhere on their phone.
@King Of Crunk I took my gravel bike to Edinburgh a few weeks ago and I promise you I will never complain about London roads again.
Gravel biking is what we did as kids without thinking too much about it. We just did it.
This is one of the best sponsored content pieces I've seen by GCN. Thoroughly enjoyable, and it didn't feel like an extended ad for Salsa even though it was clearly sponsored by them.
To be fair, Salsa WERE there at the start. I remember the early Warbird, and was like...WTF?
@@matthewlewis2072 I think that's why this video works so well. It's history and ad all wrapped up into one.
You can't expect them to work for free.
Oh dear
I grew up 5 miles from the nearest paved road here in Iowa so I’ve been “gravel biking’” since about 1972. Everybody else is late to the game in my book.
I do enjoy these Iowa gravel roads.
Yeah! I'm in Southern Ontario, and not being anywhere as rugged as the north, we all grew up cycling the back gravel roads.
Perhaps this generation will also pride themselves on inventing the Jeep?
Yep me too (SE Ontario). They even oiled it in the summers to keep the dust down. The trails there are still small gravel
Same here. My first gravel bike was a Sears Free Spirit 10-speed in 1970. It’s hard to listen to these people make it sound like a new thing.
My dad grew up in far west Queensland Australia, basically in the middle nowhere. The closest township was 2.5hrs drive away on horrendous unpaved roads, even today with it being paved a fair chunk of the way it still takes a good hr and a half with atleast 50k of unsealed roads. He used to cycle his fixed gear around to the local homesteads to visit mates and what not, the closest place is about 6 miles away from there place. that would have been in the 60s. It is amazing though how far bikes have come compared to what you and he rode around, fixed gear, no brakes gas pipe as frame tubing.
Excellent film as always. I love my gravel bike: I’ve ridden it more than any other bike I’ve ever had. Two sets of wheels and it’s perfect for commuting, sportives, audaxes, bikepacking and just nipping out to the shops. And ‘gravel gearing’ is the kind of gearing mere mortals actually need.
Nice one!
For people with a lot of bikes, it's "one more bike". For the rest of us, it's probably the only bike you'll need.
Me too. It’s a road bike and mtb in one so the perfect solution for 90% of riding.
Gravel bikes just unravels everything by being an "All Road Capable Bike". Capable doesn't mean that it is a Master and it does not always have to be that way. Btw, GCN this film intro was so sick! Really loved it!
As a college kid in the American midwest, the Warbird was the bike that got me into cycling. Gravel riding pulled me through a really rough period in my life and I wouldn't be the healthy person I am today without it. This brought tears to my eyes. Thank you!
I love my gravel bike, rode it today in fact. It's great when you don't have an exact route planned so if you see a random and not paved road branching off you can just go exploring. Sometimes having a bike that's not great at any one thing but good or good enough at many things is just what you need
I do that on 23mm Road tyres anyway anyway , sometimes even unplanned !
Years ago I bought a mountain bike since where I live there's lots of cycle paths, towpaths, old railway lines, shortcut footpaths across fields, etc that tend to be my routes - along with roads - from A to B. Then my friend suggested that a hybrid might suit me better - and she was right! But I missed the wide tyre air 'suspension' of my MTB and I've now got a Kona Dr Dew (frame/forks/wheels off ebay, the rest from a donor Specialized which had a broken frame.)
It's not exactly a gravel bike, nor a touring bike, nor a road bike, nor anything else in particular really. I suppose it's closest in concept to a gravel bike - but built to do what I want it to do and how I want to do it. I had to take an angle grinder to the bottom of the fork crown to allow clearance for a 622-47 tyre (don't worry, there's still loads of metal left there); it's got a rear carrier with a solid centre (best rear mudguard ever); swoopy backswept handlebars and longer stem (3 comfy hand positions); most replacement bits came from ebay, Amazon and the local clearance auction house, and will probably have every purist ever frothing at the mouth! :D
I don't care - I built it for me, not for them ;)
Blame? After 30 years of road riding and as I ‘slow down’ I discovered gravel and got a whole new lease of cycling life. I just want to say thank you.🙏
Thats great you've gotten back into it! - we hate to see people fall out of love with cycling!
The geometry is great for us old guys.
Well, someone clearly didn't get the joke.. ^^
And it seems that they have rediscovered some of the construction and geometry of those old steel frames that we road everywhere.
@@johnnybow7045 Got the joke. Just chose to share the gravel love.
I bought a road bike late last year, rode it for a few months and thought that it was just a single purpose machine. Decided I needed something else that was basically all purpose, enter the gravel bike. Perfect for going basically wherever I want and still fast.
What about the hybrid bikes?
@@yengsabio5315 I like narrower drop bars better.
so, an all-road bike if you will?
Did the name not give it away ?
All the pros at the uci just slapped wider tubeless tires on their disc brake cobblestone road bikes meant for cobblestones, which in my opinion is way tougher than gravel. I don’t understand what is so difficult about having a second wheel set compared to a whole other frame, drive train cockpit and group set?
I started riding gravel 50 years ago in NE Iowa because I lived 5 miles down a gravel road and had no choice. I would say the biggest game-changer for me is the tires that have come out gravel specific. Any bike will go down a gravel road but a properly dedicated tire will make you enjoy the experience. For me the PIRELLI Cinturato GRAVEL M Tire - Tubeless tires are the state-of-of-the-art all around best performing multi-surface gravel tires ever designed. They make mixed surface bicycling fun again.
Our choices back then were single speed balloon tire bikes or three or ten speed "road" bikes - took both everywhere from single track "mountain bike" trails, open forest stands, sea walls, farm fields and tractor trails, gravel roads, abandoned roads and sometimes tarmac. Illinois and New Hampshire where I wonder how I climbed some of those hills.
@@chriscohlmeyer4735 I started off with a Schwinn Stingray 3 speed. Then I moved up to a Browning Road Bike. Neither were ideal for gravel but I never knew that at the time.
This jokey video aside there is still some serious talking to be done. Agreed, rigid bikes have not changed that much, unlike suspension and tyres which have improved a lot. Weight is over-hyped, an easy way to waste money. Slacker front end does not make that much difference, you just put your weight back more actively. Bigger wheels do roll better but hybrid bikes have had them for years and got laughed at. Guys on gravel bikes tend to go a bit faster bc as you say they fit the latest tyres. And they also value speed more than people who choose hybrids - they push themselves harder head down and so build up more CV speed. They can use the drops for a bit more speed on the flat and into the wind. But lose out in control for off-road. Gravel bikes are not a major game-changer as the industry hypes. Just their own compromise. Gravel bikes are hyped as allowing more experience and are the trendy thing to be seen to have. Yet in my experience, the biggest freedom you can give yourself is more free time and to build up endurance. That way you can cover great miles on any bike such as a hybrid or a cheap mtb with thinner tyres. Do not skimp on the tyres as you say. Then the world is yours, free to have many adventures, ride all day, mixed surfaces.
Thanks for the info on tyres
I love how the salsa guy (senior product manager) streams from a homemade bike garage. Guy is clearly dedicated to his job I love it.
Green screen behind him :D
Thank you for interviewing Joe; what a great, genuine guy. Been riding dirt roads and working in the industry for 30+ years now. The last 11 on Salsas, they don’t give themselves enough credit for what the Vaya and Fargo did leading up to the Warbird and Cutthroat. Jason, Mike, Joe and the rest of the team should be inducted into the cycling hall of fame for breathing new life into our sport. Thank you!
Also, love that you mention no bottle cage mounts and minimal tire clearance on “do-it-all” CX bikes. The resistance to “gravel” while holding up CX within the industry(media included) was so perplexing.
My Ridley CX bike came out the other day and told us it now identifies as a gravel bike. It’s exploring groupset reassignment surgery, however, as it is still running Campagnolo Record.
haaaa haaaa :-)
Personally, I've never been fast on a road bike, so having the versatility of a gravel bike is infinitely better than a lighter or "faster" road bike. I don't really understand why anyone would hate any type of bike?
As the roads get busier and drivers less considerate, gravel does become an alternative. If you can link bits of gravel with bits of road, ideal 😁 28mm tyres, you're halfway between nowhere and out in the fresh air. 👍
Edit: I will add, there's a marked difference between drivers depending on where you are. Cycling around the new forest the other week along a fairly busy main road I suppose you'd call it, cars are happy to wait a minute to pass wide and safe. I guess because there's often horses and pigs roaming around that don't give a shit about your day or what a rush you're in. Round here in the Cotswolds, not so much, generally ok but always passing way too close and the road edges are knarly and full of holes as well so it's difficult to keep out of the way. 🙃
My issue is where is this so called gravel? I’m always searching for it but what I find is bridleways and farmers tracks. Lovely scenery and lack of cars but always gates and mud (which when dry takes on shape of tractor tires or horses hooves). I’m from Worcestershire.
I use a bike as daily transport around the Forest of Dean and over about 12000 km over the last three or four years, I have to say I've found the vast majority of drivers to be careful and considerate. I can count the dickheads on the fingers of one hand.
@@PedroRodriguez-kg4bq have you got Komoot? Because sometimes there's recommended routes and rides in your area on the front page there and you can set it to gravel as a route choice when planning to take you on those to get somewhere. It's free and you should be able to download your area as a freebie too. 🤔 Pretty sure Strava would do similar but I'm not really interested in being KoM or power meters and stuff.
@@ollieb9875 I would be interested in a power meter if it was cheaper, but mostly only for curiosity to check my overall progress. every once in awhile I'll record one of my rides just to see how it compares. but I also cyclocommute so I want to know how long a particular route takes me so I can plan to be on time. I'll usually record a ride if I change something significant such as new tires or if I try it a different cassette ratio, or if I'm playing with tire pressure
@@PedroRodriguez-kg4bq check out Wales, mid, south and north wales have enough gravel that an audax or overnighter in a bivvy bag is completely achievable without leaving the gravel forest tracks and roads. I ride at St Gwynnos Forest and up over to Afan Forest. You can cover as much or as little as you wish and all day you might see a couple of people and some sheep.
Just bought a gravel bike and on country Irish roads its rekindled my love of cycling. Touring backroads in Ireland on a road bike could actually be considered torture haha
We love gravel bikes in Australia too. A lot less cars to contend with and often more scenic, out of the way routes as well🤙
I just got my first "road" bike well into my 40s this year, and it is a gravel bike. I rode mountain bikes since they started being a thing in the 80s. With trail centres being more and more finicky about riding in wet conditions, I decided to do this as a side activity for the days they close down, but I find myself hopping on the gravel bike a lot more than I expected. I was not ready to go all in into road cycling yet. The gravel bike is my way of easing into your world, which I am enjoying more and more.
Gravel bikes make excellent commuters. Gotta ride some turf for a bit? Hop a curb? Navigate shoulder crud? Find a ragged shortcut? No problem. Add in moonlighting capability for light touring and bikepacking.
Great Job! I've been a Salsa fan for years and have a Salsa Vaya that I love. The bit about "whether you're at the pointy end or just trying to finish what you thought might be impossible" is THE reason these gravel/adventure events are so popular. At 53 I'm not trying to win anything, but I relish the sense of accomplishment I get from gravel races and bikepacking.
That was some real hard-hitting journalism. It was good to see Si get that off his chest. Proud of you man. You are not a bad person. Embrace your inner gravel...
Gravel is heaven. The scenery, freedom and safety.
I used to trundle around roads looking at those tracks, wishing I could ride them without damaging my bike. Mountain bikes were always too slow for me.
Possibly the best purchase I ever made and then I discovered bike packing.
Love 😍 my gravel bike. Suits the area I live in Sweden with forest trails and cross-country. Just finished a 4 day bikepacking holiday on a mix of roads, tracks and fields! It was brilliant.
Grew up riding South East Kansas gravel on a Schwinn Sting-Ray with coaster breaks in the mid 60's. Didn't realize how far we were ahead of the curve. Took a 40 year break now riding a Cannondale Topstone 105 on some of the same gravel for the last few years an loving every minute of it.
I wasn't even sure what gravel biking was. I imagined it to be gravel like in my parents front drive. So now I know it's cycling on un-ashpalted dirt roads without suspension. I was doing this in the 70s on my Raleigh RSW 16 when I was a kid.
9:54 : Possibly the most British fistbump ever caught on camera.
People said the same sort of things when mountain bike first came out. But we observe the same kind of pattern in every sport, with the evolution of the hardware being more and optimised and specialised. And at any point, someone come with a more versatile toy, and let's face it, more fun. By the way, back in 1905,TdF bike were gravel bikes 😅
As far as i can tell the rigid mountain bikes of yesterday basically just did what gravel bikes do now. MTBs became much more capable and specialised and outgrew their niche. Gravel bikes are now basically reclaiming that spot left empty.
@@Exgrmbl so, a less capable mountain bike?
@@sionjones1675
basically yes. In some ways also very similar to oldschool randonneur bikes. I mean, look at the handlebars.
Fixed gear gravel bicycles
@@sionjones1675 The main difference between early 1990s MTBs and gravel bike is that the bars curl downwards and not upwards with bar ends. Wheels are bigger, tyres are fatter and more comfy with lower pressures thanks to tubeless tech, so hardly less capable.
Instant classic this.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Ever since I changed to drop handle bars (17 years ago) I've been taking my roadbike on dirt tracks. This is either because I was ahead of the curve or because I am a philistine (probably the latter).
It also helps that I don't have to worry about breaking my nice shiny new road bike, as they have all been quite close to Manons £100 bike for 100 miles.
At the end of the day, as long as your cycling, the bike doesn't matter!
@@gcn Grrrr. you're not "your". Sorry, it's my pet peeve.
Built my first gravel bike from frame up early this year. The idea of riding more close to nature without worrying about traffic was just too appealing. Looking forward to my upcoming gravel events.
Posh Driveways: Shows Hank's Driveway 😂😂
😄
Hank's Dad's Driveway.
American here trying to figure out if this was a joke... All our driveways are paved
@@brianwright9514 paved =/= gravel
gravel features small crushed rocks, usually machine crushed for driveways
paved is well smooth without those crushed bits
@@brianwright9514 All of our *posh* driveways are paved.
The death of the XC bike and the rise of Trail/Enduro bikes is really what's propping Gravel bikes up. We went from sub-20lb bikes, the right amount of fork travel, with an aggressive but still comfortable to pedal riding position, to heavy full-suspension beasts that are more designed for dirt jumps and bombing down rocky hills that are simply 'too much' for dirt roads.
Yepp. That's why I choosed a cross trekking. It is a hardtail, with 60 mm travel and 1,5 inch wide multipurpose tyres. It won't be a superstar of rock gardens, neither the pelotons but it knows enough. And nonetheless cheap (at least it was)
Alex randomly popping up out of bushes is hilarious!
Pythonesque.
I moved to the Olympic Peninsula 18 months ago and shortly after I bought my first G-bike, a Salsa WarRoad. My road bike found its way to an indoor trainer and will never see the light of day again. I love my gravel bike even if I never touch gravel on any given day. For all the chip seal roads (compressed gravel), there's nothing better than a gravel bike. The added comfort allows me to ride longer more comfortably. And the best part, when I do come across something not paved, I no longer hesitate to take it on like I did on my road bike.
I rode my Cross bike on the G word yesterday loved it.
@@hansanders4983 38mm schwalbe G one all rounds. Bike can take max of 40mm. Agreed would rather have the agility of a cross bike rather than being more upright and comfortable on a gravel bike. Never ridden a gravel bike wouldn't rule it out as they are a broad spectrum some racier than others, others more comfort oriented etc. I like the racier ones👍
@@hansanders4983 yeah I believe I had 36mm clement xploro on when I bought the bike. Then tried 32mm. Then went to schwalbe g ones in 35 then 38mm. Think 38mn my favourite give them a try I'm in Scotland we get a good mix of gravel from compacted nice stuff up to chunky stuff. Enjoy the bikes man have fun 👌👍
Brilliant piece, I absolutely loved it and your perspectives. Since starting Gravel late part year, I increased my riding options and found new friends to ride these great road out here while enjoying the beauty of the Black Hills! Thx!
I had a 2013 Warbird and the reason I was excited about it at the time was the slack drop bar geometry coupled with the ability ride wider tires, to me that made it a great basis for a go anywhere bike.
Rode it with 32mm tires and a compact drivetrain on anything from group road rides to grocery store runs and then later on converted it to 43mm Bruce Gordon Rock n' Roads to ride on a mix of road, dirt, gravel and forrest roads around where I live.
I cannot stand the marketing hype around gravel, but I found you can get a tremendous amount of joy and fun out of a drop bar bike that's capable of handling just about any terrain you throw at it.
Finally!!! a feature befitting Salsa's reputation! Great work GCN! ^_^
One of the best episodes I´ve watched on gcn so far! Thanks guys!
Thanks Whizkid! Appreciate it
Aside from modern materials and more gears, gravel bikes are nothing new. The French were building bikes conceptually like them in the 1950s. I had a Le Chemineau that I bought used in the 1970s. It had 6 speeds (2x3) with an indexed shifter for the rear. The smaller chainring was a granny gear, and the front derailleur was operated by a little lever on the seat tube at ankle level. Steel frame, of course. I believe the tires were 650b, maybe 40mm wide. I suspect it was intended more for utility transportation than for sport, because it had fenders and dynamo lights from the factory, but it was essentially the same concept as today's gravel bikes - drop bars, low gears for the steep hills, and wide tires - at least 60 years before Salsa.
In the late 1980s, REI's house brand, Novara, built a 15-speed with an Ibis-designed frame, set up as a touring bike with drop bars, "half-step" gearing for the large and middle chainrings, bar-end shifters, and 26x1.3(?) tires, intended to be ridden on good roads and bad roads. Aside from the half-step gearing, it was essentially the same concept as my old Le Chemineau and today's gravel bikes. (I still have one of those, but it has metamorphosed a bit over 30+ years with different gearing, and different bars because once I was past 60, my neck didn't like drop bars so much.)
Who's to blame for gravel bikes? No one who's alive today.
Cheers.
Dave
This is a fantastic piece, Si and Alex, and much respect to Salsa Cycles for serving as the binding to the adventure book of gravel riding and racing. And while I have yet to participate in a gravel race, I very much want to do so, not to be a master blaster or anything, just to roost and get roosted, love that dirt and dust. And it does seem that gravel brings it all together for us, competition and community and camaraderie. O and when he gets dropped, I'd be happy to pace Ollie to the next water station somewhere in Kansas. I'd be back there, too, huffing and puffing and laughing all the way.
I tuned up an old ‘96 GT Zaskar yesterday. Took it for a test run. It felt like a modern 2021 Giant Revolt but about 1/10 the cost.
Just bought a Warbird and road 56 miles last weekend…love it and is perfect for riding in Colorado.
In 1983, I bought a 10 speed bike and asked the to swap the original thin tires for thicker ones. I believe it turned it into proto-gravel bike. Last year, I saw a gravel bike for sale at a shop and I had to buy it. Since then, I'm enjoying it greatly. It brings me back the time I had 10 speed bikes with thicker tires and used to use them to commute to work and roam around on weekends.
Here in New England we've been riding precursor gravel bikes since the early 1990s, possibly earlier. You'd take an older 27" wheel embargo era touring bike and fit a set of then current 700c hybrid bike wheels with their semi tread tires (usually about a 700x38) to it. Reuse the hybrid bike gearing for it's wide range on climbs. If you were lucky you could still fit a set of fenders. I loved commuting to the shop on mine, leaving the pavement and short cutting through fire department dirt access roads, gravel service roads under the major power lines, and through this one cemetery that had a trailhead leading away from it hidden behind a hedge.
I love to ride the "G", and i can honestly say i have found a lot of awesome "G" spots...
I’m disgusted Simon and Alex have been riding on Gravel and glad they have used this opportunity to come clean about this practice - or rather get dusty … I kid … great video once again!
16 year old 1993 me just says "Wow, that's what happened to Salsa". Maybe we could bring back Onza and I could get some Porcupines on a gravel bike!
That was brilliant! Love the format 😂😂😂 👏👏👏 🍻🍻🍻
Salsa rider since 05’ 🤘❤️🤘
Glad you enjoyed it
If Joe Meiser was any more laid back, he would be asleep. Oh, by the way Joe, thanks for the Journeyman!
Love my Journeyman commuter bike and unPAved plenty bike
Personal confession. I enjoyed a gravel type ride recently on a mountain bike that has a rigid fork, rim v-brakes, and friction thumb shifters. Oh the shame of it.
😂 Well done for making it home alive.
As I walk out the door to buy a Cannondale Topstone 105 aluminum - er, aluminium - this video could not have been timed better, or be so much fun to watch.
I rented one in Asheville, NC last week. (Youngblood Bikes) It fit me like a glove and was just as fun on the Mellowdrome (track) as it was on the trails at the North Carolina State Arboretum. It made the traveling over the drain grates and pothole less stressful as I navigated the streets of West Asheville. 10 out of 10 would recommend for sure! Enjoy that bike! The 46/30; 11-34 combination let me (230 lbs/100kg) plow up some fairly steep loose trails 😁 although my wife had to dodge the flying g-words as she ran up the trail behind me, runners?
Great video by everyone involved! That's a whole lotta footage of the Flint Hills of Kansas. A little disappointed that wasn't mentioned a single time. Hard to talk the early years of gravel without mentioning Kansas!
i grew up in Iowa in the 1960/70's, 7 miles from the nearest hard surfaced road. Gravel was you rode at the beginning and end of every ride. Schwinn or Sears 3 speed up until I found a 1974 Raleigh Super Course. Why does everyone think that gravel is a "NEW" form of riding?
The acting quality on show here would put some "real" actors(ahem on Coronation Street) to abject shame here!
I don’t think Ollie is acting... 😄
@@the_real_iceman I think, on reflection, Ollie's curmudgeonliness can't be faked XD
just what i was thinking!
Back maybe in the late 1980’s, another cross Iowa ride - RAGBRAI - had (still has) occasional sections of gravel. One county road maintenance crew, in preparation for the ride passing through, thought to add fresh gravel for the thousands of riders. It was like riding on a pile of gravel- thick and loose. Of course most folks were on road bikes. A lot of people walking their bikes for mikes. If you went like mad and rode loose you could ride it.
Loved those images of Iowa and Minnesota.
wow. what an entrance..... This is hilarious seriously.
Üü8
Ii
You show a shot of the Breezer #2 (Breezer #1 was the first purpose-built mountain bike), on display at the Marin Museum of Bicycling, in Fairfax, California. It sure seems like a GCN visit to the museum is in order, so many bikes and so many stories!
For the bad roads of my city it's really the best commuter
I decided to sit down, have a nice pint and watch this... I quickly decided to stop in fear of me spitting it out due to laughter! Brilliant video!
The Almanzo Series
Since showing up on the scene back in 2007, Almanzo (opens in new window) quickly became Minnesota's most infamous gravel race-feared and cheered alike for its grueling climbs and DIY ethos.
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This reminds me of the Gary Fisher story, laying claim to inventing Mountain Biking.
To be fair to Joe, in his full interview he checked Almanzo and a few other Iowa events, but we couldn’t squeeze it all in.
As Simon mentioned, I have a ton of respect for Chris Skogen, Almanzo and other event promoters who created the events. Almanzo was a classic and I have some of the momentos from Chris', hand written notes, pad printed race envelopes with pre-printed Q cards. Everything about those events was amazing! If you think the Almanzo had grueling climbs, Ragnarok was my favorite with nearly 10k of climbing and mid-April weather. It could be snowing, rainy, or absolutely perfect.
@@simonrichardson5259 to be fair, it would have been great to give props to those who built the scene which later created the market for bike brands to capitalize on. The brands came to the scene because of these founder type individuals like Chris Skogen. Gravel didn’t come from brands, it came from people.
of all your many videos ... this was by far one of the best. Great fun and a good watch.
Ollie's mockumentary parts are a real good laugh. Dude raced a gravel race in freakin' Iceland.
And loved it!
Road 😀
MTB 😀
Gravel 😀
I love cycling anyway! (Never tried track! 🥳)
Track is awesome, you should try it!
@@gcn agree , there used to be an outdoor wooden track in my hometown of Harlow , I rode it before it was completed , no lower boards , it was fun.
Just wanted to say that this was a really fun, interesting and well produced episode. I want more!
I brought a gravel bike for a winter training bike to save my road bikes.
My logic was “they’re built to take the water, dirt & grit, and the tyres give better traction in adverse conditions”.
It was riding a rim brake bike on zipp wheels, in wet, watching the black gritty streaks of water coming from behind the brake blocks, made my mind up for me.
But I will always be a roadie at heart.
GCN Crew: thank you for continuing to NOT take yourselves seriously 🤣. Has Si been taking some acting classes?....
Good on Salsa for being innovative…I didn’t know they introduced the fat bike, but I’ve had a Warbird for many years now. I always hated the danger of road cycling, so I got into mtn biking. I currently have a Salsa Full sus, SS HT, and a older Ti Warbird. I still prefer to ride trails, but when I want more miles I hit the gravel.
I'm more of a mountain biker that got quite big into road riding. Eventually though I got sick of dealing with traffic and found roadie culture too serious. I sold my De Rosa, bought a GT Grade and have never looked back. I still love my mtb but the gravel bikes just give me a great sense of freedom. I'm off on my third bikepacking trip in a few weeks. Can't wait 🙂
I think you got the question wrong. It's not Who is to blame for gravel bikes? It's Who is to thank for gravel bikes?
Speaking of bizarre. I didn't even mention children.
Some marketing intern that never rode a bicycle
@@3mtech and we are better off for it. Road bikes suck.
@@batterybuilding Aww, somebody couldnt keep up
Salsa is where 'modern' gravel started for me. But, I would cite the 2009 Salsa LaCruz as the first purpose built 'gravel bike'. When I sought out a steel frame, disc brake, road/cyclocross bike with greater tire clearances back then the ONLY bike on the market that fit the brief was the Salsa LaCruz. I still ride it today as a 650b x 48 all-road bike. The question I'd like answered is who at Salsa designed/imagined/developed the La Cruz? The vision represented in that bike in 2009 predicted future trends for the next decade! That bike had to be on the drawing board 18-24 months earlier? Honorable mention: Probably the 'correct' answer to who/what created the 'spark' - Bruce Gordon's 700 x 43 Rock N' Road tires (1988) inspired a lot of hybrid-ized bicycle designs. Including his very own Rock N' Road drop bar 700 x 43 bike in 1992! Very often the creation of new tire standards precede the bike designs that best utilize them (29ers).
As far as ads go, this is one of the best ever. Well done.
I am so glad that gravel bikes came out. Without it, you would have to ride a heavy ass mountain bike or deal with unbearable vibration on your road bike. I live in Chicago which is nice and flat and paved but just outside of the city there a ton of trails and gravel roads. I can transition from city to country without an issue on a gravel bike.
@King Of Crunk Would still need rop bars, though
Interesting! Here in Manitoba, Canada, there really are only three types of roads - pavement, gravel, or 'undeveloped' (which is either farmer field dirt with no discernable path or trees/brush again with no developed path, only existing on maps as theoretical right-of-way as part of the Dominion Land Survey)
My first bike (That I bought myself) was an Opus Spark 3.0. Produced in 2014 they technically called it a cross bike, but their V4 dubs itself a gravel bike, but that may be because the term 'gravel' was just getting started then. It makes a great commuter, and rides perfect on my country roads!
One of the best videos recently on GCN. Well I started watching GCN way way back when it was Si, Mr. Cervelo and Old Man maybe that's why but always was fascinated in gravel. I'd love to see comparison between gravel and hardtail XC on all sorts of terrain and what you guys think. Cheers
I think it's like any mutation, which evolves from a cyclical pattern (pardon the pun). In the late 70s, I and some mates converted our 'road' bikes (with reynolds tubing, frame affixed gears and rim brakes) to something with wide, chrome cowhorn handlebars. Halfords were selling out of them all over the country. It was THE mod when you couldn't get your hands on a Muddyfox Mountain Bike. The tyres came later, when we'd split, ripped and punctured the skinny tyres to beyond salvaging. My bike went from riding from the South Wales Valleys to the coastline around Porthcawl and back to being dragged up our local mountains and woods. This is where we explored the carless and roadless territory that led to also finding gravity-fuelled excitement called MTB. Some of my mates stayed with the road scene and went to Uni as they called it. They are now the teachers, the large company directors etc. We are the lorry drivers, the teachers' assistants, the builders, the farmers..but the drop handlebar? The gears on the same lever as the brakes. The lightness of a £10k carbon XC bike? That original feeling of riding a drop handlebar bike, before we fitted the cowhorns. When I first heard about a road bike with sturdier tyres called a gravel bike I had to go try... and buy I did. So good to turn off the tarmac (which I hate as I practically lived on the motorways in a 30 year sales career stuck on the M25 or M5), and on to the gravel forest roads and tracks in South Wales. Favourites are St Gwynnos Forest, Afan, Margam, Glyncorrwg even a bit around north of Cardiff at Castell Coch. I still have my mountain bikes, Rocky Mountain Altitude and a 29er On One Parkwood hardtail. The gravel bike has its place in my stable and I'm not complaining.
A few comments:
1. I know this is apparently an ad, but it's brilliant.
2. I love gravel bikes. They're nice on dirt, but I mostly use them on tarmac because I live in a city, and it turns out they make really nice commuting and light touring bikes as well as dirt bikes. I have never regretted buying the gravel bike, not even for a moment (especially after I replaced the 105 34-50 chainring with a GRX 30-46).
3. If I had any influence in this industry, I would strongly urge bike makers to completely resist the urge to add suspension to gravel bikes. Look what happened to mountain bikes: they used to be fun and even practical, and then they became a major reason gravel bikes were invented. (I personally will always prefer a bike with no suspension at all.)
Love this! Gcn ought to make more of these mockumentary videos!
Fantastically funny video guys. Absolutely loved the intro.
Great content, as always.
C1963 with a group of pals we built up bikes from scrapyard parts and rode in the woods - We called them ‘Plebsters’ - Didn’t have a marketing team though 😊
Sad to see Simon doing a legal deposition. In hindsight, “all-road bike” makes more sense. It did the trick... I am looking for Salsa bikes on-line because of you.
1989 Specialized Rock Combo? To quote specialized at the time, “Rock Combo is a hybrid between a road bike and a mountain bike.”
Any bike, 1950 works too. The question is "why do we have gravel bike now ?", not why it did not go crazy in the past. Like with the rock combo ;)
Hell yeah, I had a similar bike, the Shogun Prairie Breaker, complete with oval front sprockets. I would swop the bars back and forth between drop bars and flat.
It's funny that 30yrs later rigid frames, oval rings and skinny tyres are a thing again.
Ever since the giro and TdF riders started using Gravel bikes, it's all the more popular.
😂
LOTS of long gravel roads in Canada too. And Kona had a very gravel-ish drop-bar bike called the Dew Drop back in 2009
I think a mention of Grant Peterson and Bridgestone's XO bikes is worth a mention too. Came out in 1992, way before those Salsa bikes mentioned existed. Of course, they didn't have the marketing chops to get it into mainstream.
No one’s to blame, I love my gravel bike, on-road or off-road it performs how I need it to. 👍🏼
I miss the Trans Iowa… and the Almonzo Alexander. I loved showing up at gritty DIY (and free) events when it was still possible for a middle aged cat to podium without having to chase (with absolutely no chance of catching) the Lochy Morton du jour.
I do not know of any gravel type roads around where I live (Eastern Massachusetts). A mountain bike and an endurance bike fit my needs.
great one guys - perfect combo of fact and comedy... helped me through a turbo session except for the laughing whilst not breathing!
“Fear factor of road biking” - that was a huge thing for me - i wanted to get into it but was scared and then these more upright, more comfortable, more stable bikes came around. Sure I’m slower but I’m out there! It’s like a crossover vs. a sports car and I love it - I ride about 50/50 gravel/pavement.
Who cares if you are slower. There’s always someone slower than you and always someone faster. What’s important is how much you love it.
I was on the mendips when this was filmed top guys just as friendly in real life as in the Videos
My first experience with gravel was 4-5th grade riding a BMX from K Mart with the coaster brake. We'd have skidding competitions. We'd haul ass as fast as we could, slam that coaster brake and see how far we could skid. I remember one day I did that and all the bearings fell out of my bottom bracket. I walked it home feeling defeated and waiting for me was a brand new red Murray bmx (also from K Mart).....it was my birthday :D
Thanks GCN, for proving that Gravel bikes are worthy, and necessary! I’ve ridden road, MTB, Hybrid, and Tandem bicycles, and here’s a thing, the MTB was just for cycling off-road… where my BeOne wouldn’t be comfortable, and yet, I never climbed a mountain on it. (Although I did ride to Paris on it, from Southeast England!).
And I’ve always preferred riding on roads, but I live where there are some wonderful, nearby off-road places to cycle.
So my Genesis CDA made perfect sense to me, more so than any MTB, or a hybrid with front suspension…… so, even though I don’t compete, I can achieve much better use of those roads and tracks around where I live. So thanks, Salsa marketing team, and all those who pursued the development and evolution which off road, drop bar bikes have seen… and of course Thanks to Genesis who made my CDA… because my commute, and my leisure cycling, have been made all the more simpler by having the one bike…… (not to mention of course, my Brompton, which fulfils an entirely different role…) Thanks GCN, keep up,the great work!
I'm running a gravel bike with two different wheelsets for slicks and knobbies. My bike isn't geared to be the fastest road bike or have the cushion of a full suspension mountain, but I can ride steep uphill fire roads one day or do long distance road riding the next all with one bike! I can also mix and match my rides and hop on the bike lane and then go straight on to an off-road trail. Riding options are so much more flexible. Saying that, don't get me started on the 2x vs 1x crankset debate!
1:55 "gravel has never been associated with anything positive" Colin McRae would like a word with you mate.
If only he was still around to dish out the talking to.
Some of us have been riding our drop bared, skinny tired, basically road geometried early Bridgestone MB bikes on gravel roads (cause that's what there's most of around here) since the early 1990s. I am thankful, however, the industry finally got around to design suitable replacements as the Bridgestone has been enjoying retirement.
I like how in the UK gravel driveways seem posh while where I live it's a thing you use when you can't be arsed to pave
People have been riding drop-bar bikes in Scotland on gravel tracks since the 1930s. The tradition continued in the 1980s when the first 'official' MTBs arrived. I did thousands of miles on hill tracks all over the Scottish Highlands on an early rigid ridgeback with 1.9" tyres (Ritchey Quads were the best all-round tyre then, with a zig-zag centre ridge and could go up to 80psi). Could keep up with touring bikes no problem on roads, but very fast on estate tracks and also light enough to carry over watersheds and deer fences etc. I once took some Belgian clients on their expensive xc mtbs way up a remote highland glen, after 15 miles we met an old Glaswegian in lycra on his road bike. The Belgians were amazed, I explained that this was not unusual for old boys - in the early/mid 20th century people could only afford one bike.