Spinnekop Posted April 2 Share 45 minutes ago, Nick said: I haven't done any verification on these numbers so don't take them as fact but.... The number of gravel bikes listed for sale per quarter: The number of enquiries sent to gravel bike advertisers per quarter. A sign of shopper demand. Cool and interesting. Thanks for this. So demand climbed after Covid and stayed. Should be interesting to plot on same graph demand for road and MTB? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted April 2 Share 1 hour ago, Iwan Kemp said: It would be interesting to see the same stats for road and mtb. 1 hour ago, Spinnekop said: Cool and interesting. Thanks for this. So demand climbed after Covid and stayed. Should be interesting to plot on same graph demand for road and MTB? A brief look at the numbers for road and MTB don't show as interesting a trend as gravel bikes, mostly flat. I'll possibly take a deeper dive shortly and create a separate thread about it and some others things. Smartie, nonky, Frosty and 2 others 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prince Albert Cycles Posted April 2 Share 3 hours ago, Headshot said: Thanks. Spent the Easter weekend there and loved it. The dry river beds have some potential for technical riding I think... Were you on a Revolt ? Saw you on Saturday morning riding back to town Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
100Tours Posted April 2 Share 11 hours ago, Prince Albert Cycles said: As someone who started the wonderful life of being a cyclist some 36 years ago and obviously then on a road bike my passion for road bikes and road riding still exceeds the one for mountain bikes. First forced to switch to mountain biking for road safety reasons when I lived in cities and now because of where I live I find the looks of a combination of the two ( gravel bikes ) very sexy . So browsing through the adds for gravel bikes this morning just looking ..I have one .. and seeing the number of really nice gravel bikes for sale made me wonder why are these bikes for sale . Are guys upgrading or disillusioned with what they found riding gravel riding to be ? Looking forward to some responses. Arno My experience was that my first gravel bike (Spesh Diverge 1) was very nice on tar, but not 'gravel' enough for SA. The early bikes were probably more CX than gravel in their concept. Number 1 issue for me is tyre clearance - my personal belief is that only 45 mm is enough, and if you're stuck with a gravel frame that tops out at 38 or 40 then before long you're going to be re-selling. My current steed will take a 50 and I'm very happy with that. less than 45 and you're goinng to ride too hard a pressure and still you risk punctures. The problem is that once you've found the right tyre width now you can't find the appropriate gearing. it doesn't help having MTB tyre clearance if you're stuck with a maximum 42t front ring. There are a special few bikes that get this balance right (Giant Revolt, Canyon Grizl), and the rest are still searching. Shopping for road bikes doesn't have quite the same learning curve. Rowl, _David_, Vaultboy and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadenceblur Posted April 2 Share Interesting chat, my “gravel bike” - a HT I converted to one has no issue with no tyre clearance and I’m comfortably running a set of 45’s. but I’m maxed out at 40 up front - I wonder if a spacer of sorts could sort this out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertWhitehead Posted April 3 Share I currently have two gravel bike builds or should I say potential builds which I've been reluctant to start as I've been unsure if there's a market for them . Turns out....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prince Albert Cycles Posted April 3 Share 11 hours ago, 100Tours said: My experience was that my first gravel bike (Spesh Diverge 1) was very nice on tar, but not 'gravel' enough for SA. The early bikes were probably more CX than gravel in their concept. Number 1 issue for me is tyre clearance - my personal belief is that only 45 mm is enough, and if you're stuck with a gravel frame that tops out at 38 or 40 then before long you're going to be re-selling. My current steed will take a 50 and I'm very happy with that. less than 45 and you're goinng to ride too hard a pressure and still you risk punctures. The problem is that once you've found the right tyre width now you can't find the appropriate gearing. it doesn't help having MTB tyre clearance if you're stuck with a maximum 42t front ring. There are a special few bikes that get this balance right (Giant Revolt, Canyon Grizl), and the rest are still searching. Shopping for road bikes doesn't have quite the same learning curve. In my humble view a gravel being bike being more road bike than mtb 2 x is the solution . I find the GRX 46/30 with 11-34 on my Topstone perfect . 2 x 10 being as inexpensive as bicycle parts can get Vaultboy, NC_lurker, BuffsVintageBikes and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
100Tours Posted April 3 Share 12 minutes ago, Prince Albert Cycles said: In my humble view a gravel being bike being more road bike than mtb 2 x is the solution . I find the GRX 46/30 with 11-34 on my Topstone perfect . 2 x 10 being as inexpensive as bicycle parts can get Agreed - I am a 2-by for gravel guy. Now if there were only 10 speed hydraulic lever options.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prince Albert Cycles Posted April 3 Share 2 minutes ago, 100Tours said: Agreed - I am a 2-by for gravel guy. Now if there were only 10 speed hydraulic lever options.. There is . Shimano GRX 400 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
100Tours Posted April 3 Share 4 minutes ago, Prince Albert Cycles said: There is . Shimano GRX 400 True. I'm a snob - I like the hydraulic routing on the ultra levers better 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_David_ Posted April 3 Share This thread is making me think of scratching an itch I don't have; I'm now considering a gravel bike. Please educate me on what would make a gravel bike better than the light carbon hardtail mountain bike I already own. 🙂 Does it come down to gearing and efficiency on the road? Prince Albert Cycles and Rowl 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mecheng89 Posted April 3 Share 16 minutes ago, _David_ said: This thread is making me think of scratching an itch I don't have; I'm now considering a gravel bike. Please educate me on what would make a gravel bike better than the light carbon hardtail mountain bike I already own. 🙂 Does it come down to gearing and efficiency on the road? It all depends on where you ride more regularly. IMHO, on the road/light gravel road, there is nothing quicker than a gravel bike due to the better aero. I've managed to hold on to a road bunch at 60kph before spinning out (50/11). However, once it becomes remotely rocky, you've better off with a hard tail. But once again, it's not about the bike but the rider. I've had HT riders cream me on an open gravel road. Ant in the NL, eala and _David_ 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinmug Posted April 3 Share @_David_ Better hand-position variety. Much lighter. Simpler. Wide range of tyre options; i.e. right wheel width for the job. All of these combined equals more speed (and in some cases more comfort). The downside is that people might confuse you with a hipster. Zebra 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shebeen Posted April 3 Share 16 hours ago, Nick said: A brief look at the numbers for road and MTB don't show as interesting a trend as gravel bikes, mostly flat. I'll possibly take a deeper dive shortly and create a separate thread about it and some others things. That would be cool, even if just a crude way to confirm what we think we know! My bike closet is (currently) MTB (2014 carbon hardtail) + Farr gravelbike + 18yr old alu/carb roadie the mtb is used for long rides and AR racing the gravelbike has two wheelsets now and does the most - including to shops and back the roadie now sits on the dumb trainer, but got taken off for the argus. There is serious overlap between the gravelbike and mtb, and gravelbike and roadie if you switch gravel wheelsets. I should probably swap out the mtb for a duallsus but it doesn't seem to be a priority right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bub Marley Posted April 3 Share 2 hours ago, _David_ said: This thread is making me think of scratching an itch I don't have; I'm now considering a gravel bike. Please educate me on what would make a gravel bike better than the light carbon hardtail mountain bike I already own. 🙂 Does it come down to gearing and efficiency on the road? I’d say your biggest upgrade would be gearing. You’d be able to fit a larger chainring which should make a huge difference on your flats and descents. _David_ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vaultboy Posted April 3 Share 15 hours ago, 100Tours said: Number 1 issue for me is tyre clearance - my personal belief is that only 45 mm is enough, and if you're stuck with a gravel frame that tops out at 38 or 40 then before long you're going to be re-selling. My current steed will take a 50 and I'm very happy with that. I agree fully. My gravel bike runs 47mm, which I really like the feel of. I think Dylan Johnson was on to something when he said that the ideal tyre for gravel bikes are thin casing 2.2 MTB tyres. nonky and RustyHWR 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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