Ollie: Shimano got in contact with us and asked if we could make a video showing how
capable and versatile their gravel-specific groupset, Shimano GRX, really is. So with
that in mind, I've come down to Wind Hill Bike Park to have a race with X-pro mountain
biker, Blake, from GMBN. [music]
Ollie: Now I am a thoroughbred road cyclist. I love my road bike, riding on the road, wearing
the tightest-fitting lycra possible, chatting to all my skinny mates about power numbers
and how many kilometers I've ridden, and then, drinking pretentious coffees and getting excited
about how stiff and aero my bike is. Road cycling is the best.
[music] Ollie: In case you're unfamiliar, this is
Blake. Blake: Hello.
Ollie: Blake's a mountain biker which means he loves riding downhill, doing jumps-
Blake: More so Ollie: -getting dirty, saying words like "rad,"
"gnarly," "sick," "dope," "berm." He also generally just wears clothes that are too
big for him. Blake: Yes, I do.
Ollie: But to be fair, he's pretty good. Blake: Oh, thanks, Ollie. Hello out there,
you beautiful people. Ollie: Now I was intrigued, could I beat Blake
in a race if I had all of the gear but still none of the idea?
Blake: Hell no, not with them cool arms, you've got no chance. [chuckles]
Ollie: Obviously, that's why I'm not going to let you use that bike, Blake. Instead,
you're going to be using this gravel bike- Blake: What?
Ollie: -with no suspension. [laughs] Blake: No.
Ollie: Yes. Blake: All right, race on.
[music] Ollie: This is the gravel bike you're going
to be using. It's an Orbea Terra, and fitted with GRX, Blake, which I think you will be
quite familiar with because a lot of the technology from it has come from Shimano XT and XTR which
you ride normally. Blake: It looks similar.
Ollie: It does look very similar, and it's got a clutch on the rear mech as well, which
helps keep the chain tension tight when you're going over the rough stuff.
Blake: I'm going to need that. Ollie: Yes. It's also designed for a wide-ratio
cassette as well, so you've got easier gears at the back. That also means you've got a
double chainset on the front. Blake: Which I don't really run 2x on a mountain
bike, it's mainly 1x. Ollie: Yes, but that's part of the versatility
of this. You're probably only going to use the inner ring today, but if you were then
taking the bike on road, you'd want that bigger gear.
Blake: Yes. Ollie: Something important to point out is,
you can run a 1x setup on this if you did really want to. The rear mech is compatible
for that. And this is the mechanical version, but there's also a Di2version as well.
Blake: Fancy pants one. Ollie: The lever as well, they've got hydraulic
disk brakes, but the levers themselves are specially designed. They have a higher pivot
point than a standard brake lever, which means that it's easier to get a big lever pull when
you're in the hoods and fully engage the brakes. You don't have to be in the drops like you
would on a normal hydraulic road lever. This is advantageous because gravel riders often
find they want to be in the hoods when they're going down steep descents rather than being
in the drops because that can make them too low, and they feel like they're going to go
over the front of the bike. Blake: Last question, Ollie.
Ollie: Yes? Blake: Does that cap keep the sun out of your
eyes? Didn't think so. This does. Ollie: In all seriousness, Blake, I feel quite
nervous. Have you've got any tips for me? Blake: Yes, you need some clothes that fit
you, for a start. [popping sound]
Blake: Yes, that's it. Now you're set. Ollie: Wow, I'm ready.
Blake: Are you ready though? Ollie: No.
Blake: [laughs] Where's my bike? Ollie: The course we're going to be riding
is 1.1 miles long, with 220 feet of elevation. Now Blake might think I'm going to get slaughtered,
but that's because he hasn't looked at the course. Yes, we have a technical downhill
section, but then, we have to ride back to the start, uphill.
Blake: Do you know what, before we go and shred our rigs down this mountain bike track,
we should do a poll on the GCN app. Who's going to win? No?
Ollie: We don't need to do that. We don't have to do all those.
Blake: Yes, we do. Who's going to win, myself or Ollie? Ollie is on a mountain bike, I'm
on a gravel bike. Vote now. Ollie: All right.
Blake: I've got goosebumps. Ollie: Now, what Blake hasn't factored in
is that, although, our course features a technical descent, which I'm pretty sure he'll still
have the edge on, it also features a climb back up to the start. I'm hoping that it's
on this climb that my skinny road bike arms and superior power to weight will give me
an advantage, and I can make up the deficit. Blake: Hey, Ollie?
Ollie: Yes. Blake: Go on, you first. I'll give you a head
start. [music]
Blake: Ready, Ollie? Ollie: Yes.
Blake: Three, two, one, go. [music]
Blake: Oh, look at that. Smooth as butter. His wheel came off the ground a little bit
on the first jump, [chuckles] nice. [music]
Blake: [laughs] He's so slow. All right, it's time for me to catch him. Three, two, go.
[music] Ollie: Oh man, this is so much fun. Even though
I'm rubbish, I don't care. [chuckles] Oh, God. Blake has got over a minute on me, so
I better get going. [music]
Blake: [grunts] All right, I think I've got enough time to put my saddle up, get my saddle
up and get a power down. I think I've given myself enough time to do this. Or shall I
drop it? Go. [music]
Ollie: This uphill part is tough, but this is where my roadie skills come in. God, I
wish I had my power meter on now. [chuckles] [music]
Blake: Oh, my legs are burning. [breaths heavily] [music]
Ollie: [pants] It's steep, coming back. Good fun though. I was so slow on that descent,
but it is really good fun. Blake: [pants] That was hard work.
Ollie: [laughs] Blake: How did you go?
Ollie: I was so slow on the descent, but I'm a total beginner. This is the whole point,
I am a total noob. All the gear, and I no idea. I wasn't lying, but it's ridiculous
how much quicker guys like you are, down there, compared to me.
Blake: Of course. Ollie: Oh man.
Blake: I can't talk. Ollie: [background noise] Oh, look at that.
I've got a little golf ball coming out. Blake: Oh hey, you have as well. It's going
to be so easy to clean now because of the shaved legs.
Ollie: Yes. Blake: That's why they shaved your legs, right?
Ollie: Yes. We've done our runs, yes? Blake: We did, yes.
Ollie: The results are that you put over a minute into me-
Blake: [laughs] Ollie: -on the descent.
Blake: Yes. Ollie: Which meant that I had quite a lot
to do on the climb. Blake: I had my work cut out on that thing.
Ollie: All right. Anyway, then on the climb, I did claw a load of time back, but I just
had too much to do. I only managed to get about 20 seconds back on you. Overall, you've
smashed me by like 40 seconds. Blake: Oh, yes. Sorry but--
Ollie: Which, I guess, shows to prove that all of the gear and no idea doesn't beat-
Blake: The gear. [laughs] Ollie: -some of the gear and all the idea.
Blake: It was a good idea though. Ollie: Thanks. [laughs]
Blake: Really good idea. I thoroughly enjoyed it. On my mountain bike, I run 1x, so I've
got a wide narrow chainring on the front which eliminates that chain and stops it from bouncing
off. Whereas, that has a 2x on the front. I had thoughts and images of that chain just
bouncing off and rattling off when I was coming down them rough bits, but having that GRX
clutch on the rear, it actually stopped it doing it. You could hear chain slap but it
didn't come off, and I had it on the big ring and on the small ring. I was chaffed, and
I had hydraulics, which is great. Ollie: It's probably capable, but my excuse
is that that's basically a mountain bike, anyway, from the early '90s.
Blake: Just with weird handlebars. Ollie: Yes. Anyway, Blake, I'm under good
authority that when two mountain bikers come into the woods, like us, and film a video,
it's called a sick edit. [music]
Blake: That is correct. You know what the good thing is? We don't actually have to shoot
much slow-mo with yourself running. Ollie: [laughs]
[laughter] Blake: That is so slow.
Ollie: Okay. I've had a good time. Blake: Likewise.
Ollie: It's been fun. I'd like to have another go at mountain biking sometime.
Blake: Please come over to GMBN. We'll show you an absolute good time, man.
Ollie: [chuckles] If you'd like to see that, if you'd like to see more content like this
and you've enjoyed this video, please give it a thumbs up, comment down below on how
you think I did and-- Blake: If you want to see more blood.
Ollie: [laughs] Some more scars. Blake: [laughs]
Ollie: We'll see you next time. Blake: See you.
Ollie: All right. Blake: Can I have my mountain bike back?
Ollie: [laughs] Yes. [00:13:07] [END OF AUDIO]