Yeah, steep head angles, low stack height in the front, super stiff frames.
So a lot of weight forward and twitchy AF.
2 Likes
That’s kinda neat. Not trying to be a dick I legit can’t see much difference between a cross bike, gravel bike, modified 90s mtb, a road bike with different tires on it, etc, all looks like the same geo and purpose
1 Like
Yeah, I own or have owned all, pretty big difference. Especially between a road bike and a gravel bike. I can barely fit 25c tires in my wife’s road bike, let alone 45s. But sure, they all look like bicycles so how much different can they be. It’s kind of like comparing a rally car to an F1, I guess.
1 Like
That’s a bit of a far comparison, but I see your point - sort of.
I’m quite confident I could do an equal amount of non mountain biking with all of these 4 “radically different” bikes to the same level of efficiency
Probably, I can’t really tell what I am looking at for some of them. Which is the 1995 mountain bike? The specialized crux and the Trek gravel touring bike are the ones I am most familiar with. If I had to choose between them I’d probably go with the crux even though the Trek is more suitable for gravel grinding, though I’d take a gravel specific bike over both of those if I could.
I think if you actually rode one as opposed to to looking at pictures you would have a better understanding. Even if I posted up the geometry specs comparing the different types of bikes it wouldn’t be of much help other than ‘look at the different numbers’.
2 Likes
Ha ha, actually that trek 920 is kind of a converted MTB, 29er version though.
1 Like
I’m sure it suits you just fine which is perfectly reasonable. Not for me though.
I just googled cyclocross vs gravel bike for that stock image, I omitted the 90s mtb as it would be a dead giveaway based off the frame but I mean otherwise, it’s like looking at “eggshell” vs “white” at the paint store.
Well, if you don’t actually know what you’re looking at when you look at that picture how could you possibly expect to have a discussion about the pros/cons between the two platforms?
3 Likes
@Nova From the picture it looks like you could ride all of them on the road and off of the road. Being different bicycles they are not the same. Each will feel different in their own specific way due to the differences between them.
If you’re seriously going to be competitive on the group ride you better pick the right one for the specific ultra-niche sub-genre of off of the road drop bar bicycle riding you intend to be doing. Otherwise it will feel like shit, you will definitely finish last at the group ride and possibility die from the shame of being so ignorant as to ride a gavel touring bike on the gravel grinding ride.
3 Likes
Hahaha my point was more so that in that photo, there are 2 gravel bikes and 2 cyclocross bikes, and nobody can really tell which ones are which
Not really much of a point to that. You have more than one bike right? Do you think average Joe can tell them apart? I doubt my parents could tell the difference between my stab primo dh rig and my xc hardtail. Much like I’d never be able to tell the difference between my brothers various telescopes. You don’t get it, I understand that. How about comparing two stroke motorcycles VS four stroke? They probably look alike, no?
4 Likes
The bottom right bicycle is neither a gravel bike or a cyclocross bike.
Such a negative reaction to people jazzed about a style of bicycle that you don’t agree with or something. I chose a gravel bike because it was by far the best choice for the riding I want to do with it and it has far exceeded my expectations. I don’t plan on racing cx or competing in gravel events, just want the best platform for the job and this it. I wonder if I would have even bought a MTB 30 years ago if gravel bikes would have existed then (hell ya of course).
4 Likes
Agreed. The original thread was 'who’s into gravel riding?" and judging from the # of people I see hitting gravel and mixed surface rides I’d say a shitload of people are into it. Gravel riding is a ton of fun (as is ALL bike riding IMO.) My cross bike turns around the pin of a 180 deg corner on a dime but my gravel bike is much more stable descending on gravel at 60kph. Both have two wheels and two pedals but handle differently.
I did a 4 day gravel ride in western NL this past summer, about 400k of everything ranging btwn pavement and techy singletrack. Sick terrain, killer riding and amazing sights. A mtb would have worked as would’ve a cross bike. I orobably could have done it on a fixie track bike if I had to too but it wouldn’t have been as efficient, fun or fast. You can bang a nail into the wall with a rock or a hammer but one works better than the other.
On a related note, it’s ok to read about new things or things you’re not familiar with and not feel obligated to be negative or demonstrate ignorance. Here’s to just chillllin.
6 Likes
it was a good time
2 Likes