(energetic music)
- Go on mate, come on.
- Guh.
This Cyclocross bike, is the original, versatile
off-road drop handlebar bike.
Actually, it's pretty fair to say
that it's one of the original off-road bikes.
But, back in the day,
they had tires that were just 25 millimeters wide
and they had cantilever brakes.
The combination of which,
was so ineffective
that a Cyclocross race
was about 40 percent running.
Now though, as you can see
things have changed.
We have tires that are wider and grippier than a road bike's
to give you more control and more comfort.
You also have a slightly taller bottom bracket
so that you have more pedal clearance when riding off-road.
And, the handling is a little bit more stable.
So, you've got way more control when it's slippy or loose.
- But now, there's a new bike in town.
- Ollie, I'm two minutes away, mate.
- Oh yeah, well same town.
I mean, the forests and mountains.
But uh, here is a gravel bike.
Which has wider, grippier tires.
Geometry which makes the bike more fun and safer to ride
in loose conditions.
And, more comfort built into the frame than a road bike
thanks to either the components that are specked on it
or the frame itself.
- Wider size, more stable handling, more comfort.
- Yeah
- I mean that's exactly what my bike promises.
- Yeah.
Uh, yeah I guess you could be forgiven for wondering
what exactly is the difference between a gravel bike
and a cross bike, then.
- You could.
Fortunately though, given that Canyon have literally
just supplied us with a brand new Inflight cyclecross bike
and a brand new Grail gravel bike,
we are perfectly placed to actually drill down and find the
answer to this question once and for all.
A question is actually really important
to many of you out there
who might be considering
your next bike purchase.
Cause after all, who wouldn't want
fun, versatile, and comfortable with their next bike?
- Tell you what, this actually going to be really tough
in it?
Riding these brand new, amazing gravel and cross bikes
in the finest dirt and gravel mountain has to offer.
- You say that Ollie, but this really could actually
be quite tough cause you really haven't ridden off-road
very much, right?
- Yeah
Um, I'm pretty green at riding off-road.
I mean, I've never really done it.
To be honest.
But, I guess, that means I can offer a fresh perspective.
There's a lot of you guys who've probably never
ridden much off-road either.
Where as yourself, I mean your an off-road veteran.
- I really don't like the word veteran Ollie.
Thank you very much.
I'm a bit sensitive about that.
- Okay.
Should we go and ride the bikes then, dad?
(Ollie laughs)
(energetic music)
- Before we go into the physical differences,
we're going to see if we can feel any difference first.
So, we're inventing a new race discipline.
- (Loud Echoing Voice) Gravel Cross
- Ollie, it's a short circuit with some road sections,
some gravel sections, some muddy sections,
one brief bit of running, 2 laps with a bike change
after the first lap in our official pit area.
- You ready Cy?
- I think I'm ready mate, yeah.
- I'll count you down.
- Okay
- Three, two, one, go.
(energetic music)
I'm going to time Cy and also help him with his bike change
in this, the official pit area.
Which is conveniently marked by this cow pie.
Wrong side, wrong side.
Four minutes, 40 for the first lap.
So, we'll see what he does on the gravel bike.
It's a bit keen, isn't it?
I think he's been quicker.
- (loud echoing voice) Gravel cross.
- It's got a future.
That was wicked.
- (laughs)
Yeah, we'll see about that.
Four minutes, 40 on the first lap.
Four minutes, 20 on the second lap.
Well, four minutes, 22 on the second lap.
- Interesting.
- You were quicker on that.
- Doesn't surprise me, I see.
Wider tires, bike, what is it seven mil difference?
But, you can hit that single track so much faster
with the wider tires.
The bike feels very different
like it feels better suited to that kind of riding
because it's so rocky.
I mean it's not a cross course.
It's gravel cross.
But, uh, see what you think.
I recon you'll find the same thing.
Genuinely, I'm quite surprised at just how much
I like the Grail gravel bike.
I mean, on this terrain
gravel, effectively.
Surprisingly, the gravel bike actually feels a bit better.
- Good thing about this is,
I'm guaranteed at least second place.
- Winner.
Okay mate, off you go.
Ready, go.
(energetic music)
Come on Ollie!
Dig in mate!
You went through a puddle.
(censor beep)
- What a stupid sport.
- I thought you were a runner!
- [Ollie] (laughs)
(censor beep)
- Good luck, good luck.
Come on mate, you've got this.
You've got this.
- Go, go, go, go!
(laughs)
Just jump on this one mate.
That's the gravel bike.
Good luck.
Go, go, go!
- Wooh!
Oh shit!
- [Cy] Go on mate, come on! Dig in!
- Ugh!
- [Cy] Oh, I nailed it!
- Ah!
(censor beep)
Gah!
Guh!
- I can't stop giggling.
What a legend, yeah.
Come on mate.
- Why, I'm flying!
- Go, go, go!
Boom!
He shaved only a minute off.
Maybe we know something that Mathieu Van der Poel doesn't.
- [Ollie] Well, not so fast.
Maybe if Van der Poel was racing Cyclocross on gravel
in the Daylamites.
As opposed to thick mud in Northern Europe.
But, even then
it wouldn't be quite that simple.
Tire width for a start.
I mean the fact is,
that gravel cross is more gravel than cross.
So, to truly understand
the difference between these two bikes
we are going to need to delve into the tech.
Historically, gravel bikes have come from Cyclocross bikes.
And so, as we'll see
there is an awful lot of shared DNA between the two.
But now, it's left a door open for people to design
Cyclocross bikes that are back to being specific
for racing in mind.
And, this Inflite is one of those.
So, it's designed around a typical Cyclocross course
which tends to be quite grassy, or muddy,
relatively smooth, and with lots of tight turns.
You also find, that there is actually less tire
clearance on this bike than the gravel bike.
And that's because, the UCI stipulates a maximum tire width
of 33 millimeters.
And so, although this will accommodate that,
and with plenty of mud clearance.
In fact, the tubes are designed to shed mud as well.
You would struggle to fit a 40 millimeter wide tire in.
Certainly, at the back.
We would have checked except for the fact,
that this runs a 140 mil rotor at the back.
Where as that's a 160.
But again, it's fit for purpose.
Your not going to be going down on any epic descents
in a Cyclocross race.
Now, much along the same with the gearing, actually,
I noticed when I rode this one back to the hotel
that actually you run out of gears relatively quickly
when riding down a fast road descent.
Perfect gearing for Cyclocross course.
But, not necessarily for epic road rides.
Our two bikes also look vastly different.
And, a lot of that is down to this horizontal
top tube.
You rarely see a compact geometry Cyclocross bike.
And, that's because when you need to pick it up
and put it on your shoulder, you need as much space in that
front triangle as possible.
Now, it's perhaps not something you notice when
it's someone who is six foot one, like myself
because the frame is naturally going to be quite big.
But, certainly when I was teaching Emma to ride Cyclocross,
we actually couldn't really work out how to get her arm
through the frame because it has to be so compact
for her height.
In this case though, the fact that it's horizontal
gives even more space to get your arm and shoulder through.
But, the reason it dips down here,
is simply to get a bit more seat post exposed,
to get much more compliance out of the back of the bike.
You can see
if it weren't on there
that's quite a stubby bit of seat post.
And, it would be feeling a little bit on the stiff side.
Now lastly, the geometry of the bikes.
It's actually really quite similar.
The chain stay length is similar,
the angles of the seat tube, and the head tube
are quite similar.
But, the significant difference
that might not sound significant
is the bottom bracket height.
So effectively, how much lower the bottom bracket axle is
compared to the wheel axle.
In this one, is 11 millimeters higher.
So, that actually makes the bike sit much higher.
And, it feels slightly less stable
when you're going quickly.
What it does, is it gives you much more pedal clearance
so you can keep pedaling
on more of the course.
And unfortunately, as any of you who race Cyclocross
would know,
you have to pedal almost all of the time
when racing Cyclocross.
But, what's interesting
is when you look at our leanometer, or our leanometer,
you'll see that both bikes actually have similar
pedal clearance despite the difference
in bottom bracket height.
And that is because, the wider tires
also sit higher on the Grail.
So, actually the bottom brackets relative to the ground
are very similar.
But, it effects the feel of the bike
far, far more.
- In contrast, gravel is not often about pure speed.
It's about comfort.
Big miles.
Versatility, and going on adventures.
Consequently, you've got a few features.
So, you got bigger tires than the UCI would legally permit
you to run in a cross race.
You've also got bossers and mounting points everywhere
to festoon all your worldly possessions.
And, there's loads of comfort features built into the frame.
So, we've got Canyon's split seat post here
which is able to deflect and give more comfort in the rear.
And, we need to talk about the Hover bar.
So, the Hover bar looks a little bit weird.
But, when you're riding it you don't kind of notice
the way it looks.
And, it feels, well pretty comfortable.
And, according to Canyon,
it's seven times more compliant
than the H31 cockpit on the Inflite.
Because, you're likely to see a wider variety of surfaces
than you would with a thoroughbred cross bike,
you need to be able to pedal at both 50 kilometers
an hour and five kilometers an hour.
And in this case, to help with that
I've got a wider range of gears.
I've got a 50/11, and then a 34/34.
Typically, cross bikes have tighter ranges of gears.
As a relatively inexperienced off-road rider,
the Grail is really appealing to me
because it offers loads of versatility.
I can use this is local cross races,
where you don't have to adhere to the strict
UCI rules.
And, let's face it I'm a long way off
from entering any UCI events.
Ah!
- [Cy] I nailed it!
- What a stupid sport.
But it will also be perfect for going on gravel riding
and bike-packing adventures too.
Because, I'm less proficient off-road
and don't have mad skills with a Zed, yet.
The bigger tires, and the wider handle bars,
and the lower bottom bracket,
and the increased compliance within the frame
just help come together to give me more confidence
when I'm riding the bike.
Especially, off-road.
And, that's something that just feels really good for me.
Cross bike versus gravel bike then,
what is the big difference?
Fundamentally, this is a more versatile option.
Where as, that is a thoroughbred cross racing machine.
- What about a bike, Ollie?
Hah!
No, I think you're absolutely right.
But, the differences are still relatively subtle,
aren't they?
The wider tires make a big, big difference.
But then, on this one
just that slightly higher bottom bracket
changes the character so much.
And so, in less you ride them back-to-back
you might not necessarily perceive those differences
the way you are in this incredibly fortunate position
that we've been in today.
It's remarkable, the characters that shine through,
isn't it?
- Yeah, it really is.
Now, if you'd like to see more epic off-road content
with mad skills with a Zed,
than why not check out Cy's awesome
mountain bike versus gravel bike adventure video
in Iceland?
Click, down here.
- Yeah, please give this one a thumb's up,
if you've enjoyed it.