Why Gravel Bikes?
Surely wherever we stay, we will have found dirt roads or gravel roads around the country.
We would love the idea of cycling fast on these roads, but with the road bike, we would have tired tires, frame stresses, mud on the forks and so on.
In winter preparation, when there are few hours of the day, it would be good to train on short but demanding routes. Such paths could be found on dirt roads, used by the Fire Department to reach the top of a mountain. So if we have such concerns, we buy a gravel bike!
Unrivaled Gravel Speed,
Uncopromising Versatility
Gravel bikes - where?
So gravel bike is a combination of road bike and cyclocross bike.
First of all the idea of this type comes from the United States, as the concept of mountain bike started in the 70's. And why in the United States? Because someone thought that all provincial roads, with dirt or gravel or uphill narrow cement roads, remain unused.
This bike covers roads, which due to geometry cannot move a road bike, and which are very fast for a cyclocross bike.
Gravel bikes - how?
The secret is that such a bike can travel both quickly and relatively comfortably on such roads.
So we can use it for winter training, as we said above. We can also do combined asphalt + dirt training or even multi-day off-road tourism. There are many possible uses.
Gravel bikes - Geometry
The geometry is generally lower than a road bike. The head tube is taller and the angle different, to be slower, but also less nervous at the front.
The krankset is lower than on a cyclocross bike. These bikes are designed with a longer wheelbase (the distance between the two axles of the wheels) so that they are fixed on the road. Also important when cycling on an unpredictable surface, such as gravel. Finally, the larger wheelbase provides extra stability and comfort over long distances.