Anyone got a Gravel bike?

[penfold]

@flyinghaggis - your last point is exactly what I think. The nice weather is here (almost) and I intent to get outside as much as I can. Doing something is better than nothing and fortunately I live in an area where I can enjoy it. I already do a lot of running, but this is mostly during lunch time as I need to take the dog out so is only a maximum of about 50 minutes. I intent to get on the bike during the weekend when I have more time. Plus I want to get back to going out after work as it is a good stress relief after a bad day in the office.

[flyinghaggis]

@penfold Just curious if you decided to purchase another bike in the end and if so which option you went for?

[penfold]

@flyinghaggis - I bought a gravel bike in the end. Actually took a week before I was able to use it and during this time, I had a feeling of regret that I shouldn't have spent that much money on a bike, and that I should not have got a gravel bike. However, the first time I went out on it....it was like a completely different feeling. So much a nicer ride than my cheap road bike. I did consider that I should have just bought a more expensive road bike, but also since than I've been out with the family and instead of using a really old mountain bike (which will now surely go in the scrap) I used my gravel bike. It handled fine - albeit only over gravel roads so I'd expect it to. Only thing I noticed is that on the paths were they are basically loose stones, it struggles due to the smaller tires, but this was also something that the other bikes were struggling on catching grip so I'm not sure how much worse it was. I have to be honest, I think having 2 separate bikes is something that would have been better except for 1 thing. I rode my bike on the road and got to a point where there are 2 options. 1 to stay on the road or to go slightly off road and meet up with a different cycle path. As there were road works ahead, I decided to take the off road to the cycle path. Something that I would not have done before.

 

I checked my "segments" on strava for where I'd been before and could see that for up-hills where I thought I was going much faster now actually showed me slower than my road bike. The biggest difference though is that at the top of the hill I was much fresher due to the easier gear I could use. As for top speed I was maybe a little bit slower but not noticeably (my times always varied based on riding conditions). So overall I would say, while this bike may have some disadvantages against a road bike, for me having the ability to go over those areas which I would not have considered before is good.

[maark]

I have found https://www.komoot.com/ to be useful when route planning showing off road options.

[Dos_Box]

I looked at gravel bikes....then electric bikes.....then gave up! It could will end up in my shed before going either on ebay or equivalent or to the tip as a rust bucket (as all my other failed biking attempts have done!) I live in a very hilly part of the world and it is these that kill me!

 

In the end I said get fit, lose weight and then aim for a bike, in that order! - I'm on phase one!

 

If you get a bike, it'll help greatly with the first two. You really do get good excersise on them which helps build up your fitness.

When I started riding again about 14 years back there were a lot of hills on my route to and from work and you do end up pushing it up some of them, but as your fitness builds you will find that most hills get easier and easier. I had one (quite, quite steep) that I had to get off and push the rest of the way up for several weeks, but each day I pushed myself to make it just that little bit further, and after a month or so could do it without getting off. Yes, it was still hard work, but well worth it.

My route was almost all downhill on the way in and uphill back with the occasional up and down in-between 155ft (47m) between home and work over 4 miles.

And no, I don't own any Lycra

[mikeprice]

Many years ago I started training to be a teacher (sorry!) and we couldn't afford to run the car at the time.

Hence I had to use my old bike to get to teh college - pretty much all uphill

 

The first few days it was all I could do to get the bike up to the high point using the low ratios and 1st or second gear

 

 

after several weeks I noticed that I was going up to that point much faster and in 4th or 5th gear - I could even get there in the high ratios - so 6th gear

 

so fitness does improve quite quickly with regular use

 

 

Even on my ebike I can tell the difference if I have been using it most days for several weeks

When I broke my arm I had an enforced layoff for about 6 weeks and after I got back on it I needed the motor assist set upa level to keep up the spped I normally used - previously I rode about half of it with the motor switched off!

[flyinghaggis]

So having spent most of this thread questioning the point of gravel bikes I've gone and bought one .....sort of....

 

https://whytebikes.com/products/portobello-my23?variant=43938638758163#

 

 

I don't know if you'd call it a flat bar gravel bike, hybrid, rigid fork mountain bike or something else! Regadless of category I finally got round to selling my road bike and wanted something a bit more commuter focused than my mountain bike for getting to work. This seemed to offer exactly what I wanted in a commuter bike (flat bars, rack/mudguard mounts, wider road tyres, 1x drivetrain, hydraulic disc brakes).

 

Perfect for my daily trek to work!

Edited August 17, 2023 by flyinghaggis

[Rob_D]

Nice. It looks/sounds like what I've seen called a city or urban bike in Europe. Very similar to the Cube Hyde Pro I've been commuting on for the last 6 years or so. Hope it works well for you.

[mikeprice]

So having spent most of this thread questioning the point of gravel bikes I've gone and bought one .....sort of....

 

https://whytebikes.com/products/portobello-my23?variant=43938638758163#

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]69704[/ATTACH]

 

I don't know if you'd call it a flat bar gravel bike, hybrid, rigid fork mountain bike or something else! Regadless of category I finally got round to selling my road bike and wanted something a bit more commuter focused than my mountain bike for getting to work. This seemed to offer exactly what I wanted in a commuter bike (flat bars, rack/mudguard mounts, wider road tyres, 1x drivetrain, hydraulic disc brakes).

 

Perfect for my daily trek to work!

 

Looks great!