At least where I am, I really get the sense that most of the gravel bikes I see could just as well be a road bike for where they’re being ridden (towpaths). But this would require knowing not to run 32s at 95psi, etc., so maybe mtbs are the better option after all.
Yup. Happening in earnest here.
I think the bigger issue is that 95% of the US population doesn’t live anywhere near a gravel road. I feel like this is a continuation of the trend from 5 years ago when everyone bought a cross bike because they thought they needed it for anything that wasn’t glass smooth pavement.
I think folx are ultimately going to get sick of riding bikes optimized for rough roads/gravel that provide a subpar performance on normal roads. Gravel bikes aren’t as good as road bikes on the road and not as good as mountain bikes on the trail. So what’s the point?
My solution has always been to just ride my road bike wherever. Yeah there have been a more than a few hike a bikes but that’s part of the fun. A roadbike with 28-32 mm tires is fine for everything up to gravel and smoothish trails, after that it’s MTB time
Ride 20-30+ miles of rough roads (but still roads) on an xc bike? No thank you.
Guys, it’s aspirational. It’s buying the bike for the adventures you dream of doing, or the lifestyle you wish you were living. As long as reality continues to be a hellscape, that’s the best capitalism can do- offer the dream of going on a weekend bike camping trip while you’re stuck in front of your computer making money you can’t spend anywhere.
Sad
As someone who rides to the places I want to ride, rather than throw my bike in the car I don’t own, jack of all trade bikes are absolutely what I want. A rigid mtb that’s pleasant to ride 20 miles round trip so I can do 8 miles of singletrack? Yes. A fat slick tired bike I can take for 40+ mile rides and hop on that random dirt road google maps promises me is there? Yes.
That flat bar OPEN would be a blast for me personally.
I’m obviously a bike nerd but I think the idea of a bike that handles most terrain in a 40 mile radius of my house is what most people want even if they can’t put it into words. If they want the illusion of going fast while they do it a drop bar gravgrav is the sexiest version for a lot of people. Its both aspirational and utilitarian, which hardtails and pro looking road bikes aren’t.
The higher stacks fit average Joes and Joannas better and the bikes feel more stable.
i.e. they’re Subarus
Eh, I love my mtb. I love my road bike. My cx/gravel bike is right in the middle as I can ride it out of town and into the middle of the desert on jeep roads and then ride it home. I can also do a bunch of the singletrack out here on it. There’s fun because something is genuinely fun and there’s fun because something is a challenge. There’s fun in using the wrong tool for the job.
does the average joe(anna) need optimization on the road or trail?
perhaps not
how will they know it’s not as good if they aren’t trying to hang on to a group ride
pedals go br br br br
You sell what you can measure, and changing even a small feature creates a differentiating claim, even if it’s a really really small number. The part where an integrated front end with fully hidden cables doesn’t hurt either, as it makes a 2020 bike look different than a 2017 bike or a 2011 bike, even though as you say, they’re about equivalent in real world performance.
I mean also I say all this and I know this, and I also built a set of 55m carbon rim wheels for a road bike with rim brakes THIS YEAR, so I’m not saying I’m Alfred Einstein over here
Exactly, the 2011 bike, if you build from scratch with the right parts is basically just as fast as the 2020 bike. The 2020 bike is sold as a system.
I’m about to build a set of medium depth carbon wheels for my round tube rim brake bike too so yeah…
I’m planning on at least 2 new bikes and 3 sets of wheels
I’d like all electronic everything but I’m not sure that will work
I’ve commissioned one frame, it’s basically a bike from 1999, but with disc brakes
I’m thinking about a Jones in '21, maybe in place of my current squish bike, but that may / may not happen since everything seems to be out of stock anyway.
I’m selling my Jones in 2021 coincidentally.
I’m gonna buy a dope tandem in 2021.
Ti space frame with a truss fork, right? SWB? I was thinking a steel diamond LWB, but could entertain other geometries.
Yes and with XTR roboshitting (battery in the head tube!) set up by Mr. English
I was wondering about this myself. This time last year I would have said that gravel bikes were going to continue evolving into XC mountain bikes, but the lack of new full-susp or even hardtail “gravel” bikes this year points towards a stall in that trend.
Yes to all of this. Gravel bikes are ideal for bay area riding, when you want something that’s not punishing to climb up ~1500ft of pavement but is still fun to ride the dirt on the top of the ridge.
Gravel bikes are so pervasive in southbay that even the non-cyclists recognize them now. A few weeks back we had to flag down some park rangers to help an injured cyclist and he commented that he was “surprised to see someone on a real road bike, most riders in the park are on gravel bikes nowadays”.
Yeah, that. Also 1x drivetrains (simple to shift!) and lower gears. Maybe normies will quit buying gravel bikes now that companies are finally sticking wide-range 1x drivetrains on cheapish hybrids.
Oh that’s probably worth way more than I might be willing to pay, sounds fun tho.
It’s an absolutely amazing bike, and it kept me riding when I couldn’t ride a road bike, but now that I can go fast and far again I’ve kind of lost interest in toodling around in the woods.