(dramatic tone) (typing)
(whooshing)
- So you're thinking of buying a new gravel bike,
which one to get can be a difficult decision
because there are a lot of different types.
So we got together with Shimano, who this year launched
the first gravel specific groupsets, GRX, to put together
this video to help to guide you through the maze.
'Cause actually once you understand just a few key points
the whole thing begins to make sense
and you'll be able to choose the right bike for you.
And it doesn't matter what your budget,
the principles remain the same.
(upbeat music)
(typing)
(whooshing)
(upbeat music)
Firstly, I want to introduce you to the spectrum.
Some gravel riding is basically
just road riding but browner.
And some gravel is not gravel at all,
it's actually just mountain biking.
So the spectrum then is the spread of all the terrains
and surfaces that span road to mountain bike.
And it's relevant because while a gravel bike
is truly a great dual bike, some perform better
at one end of the spectrum than the other.
Now happily, most do fall somewhere in the middle,
but how do you know?
Well, I'm going to give you some pointers.
(upbeat music)
Firstly clearance, because tire size
is probably the biggest factor governing
a bikes ability on different surfaces.
Some gravel bikes have clearance restricted
to about 35 millimeters,
whereas others will allow you to fit tires
up to and in excess of 50 millimeters,
which is kind of like mountain bike territory really.
Although, in the words of our own J-Pow, Jeremy Powers,
there's nothing you can't handle on a 40 millimeter wide
tire like this one, which is true.
However, you might find that on really rough
and long days out in the saddle,
you might want an even wider tire than that
just to add a little bit more comfort,
the ability to run lower pressures,
plus, you're also able to relax a little bit more
when you're going faster on rougher terrain
'cause there's much less chance of you puncturing
and dinging your wheels.
Some gravel bikes actually have a bit of a party trick
in that you can fit smaller diameter 650b wheels,
and then correspondingly much fatter tires.
And that really does add to their versatility,
but you've obviously got to buy two pairs of wheels.
Basically though, more tire clearance
means more versatility.
But there is a trade-off and that is that less tie clearance
can mean that a bike feels a little bit more zippy,
a little bit more like a road bike, but on steroids,
which doesn't sound like a bad thing.
(upbeat music)
Linked into that road bike feel,
we also need to talk about the position
that the bike puts you, the rider, into.
So a road bike does tend to be quite long and quite low,
it's faster because it makes you more aerodynamic.
If you're doing longer or even multi-day rides,
then you tend to want to be a little bit higher up
and perhaps a little bit shorter to increase the comfort.
And the same is true for riding off-road as well,
except in that instance it's less about comfort
and more about improved control.
And you'll see when you start to look at gravel bikes
that actually the geometry of them can vary
quite significantly depending on which end
of the spectrum it's on.
So either fast and racy or slow and relaxed,
or like in this instance the Orbea Terra,
it kind of fits in that middle ground
in that it can kind of go either way.
How do you know which one is which?
Well, you will have to compare geometry charts.
Yes, you can always find 'em on the web page
of any bike that you're interested in.
And basically once you've found your size,
you then need to seek out the reach and stack numbers.
They basically tell you how far forward
and how high the front of the bike will be
and they are the single best measurement on the bike.
Because while you can more often than not find
the right saddle height in relation to your pedals,
either by moving the seat post up and down
or the saddle forwards and backwards,
if your handlebars are in the wrong place
you are much, much more limited.
(siren ringing)
If you're comparing the geometry and fit
of lots of different bikes,
why not create your own reach and stack spreadsheet,
or better still, head to Geometrygeeks.bike,
which is a website I happily stumbled upon the other day
where someone has basically done it all for you.
Amazing.
(upbeat music)
Let's talk about gears next.
We know to look out for tire size
and also body position, geometry on our frames,
but what we choose to put on there also has an influence
on where your bike will sit on that gravel spectrum.
As I said at the beginning, we've partnered with Shimano
for this video so we are of course going to be using
their GRX groupsets to illustrate.
Not long ago gravel bikes just had road groupsets on,
and that's fine, they already had compact gear ratio,
so you could get some fairly low gears
for steep, off-road climbing.
So it's fair to say then, you don't need anything specific,
except for disc brakes, which for me are an essential.
Having the ability to have predictable, consistent braking
no matter what the road surface nor the weather conditions.
And also, they place zero restrictions
on tire width, just ask fat bikers.
Now furthermore, one point I would make here,
is that the difference between hydraulic disc brakes
and cable actuated disc brakes is vast.
So, if there was ever anything to stretch your budget for,
then going for hydraulic disc brakes
as opposed to cable actuated disc brakes is it.
They give you more power, more modulation,
and more ability to withstand crappy conditions.
So, if you can afford it, do it.
There have been several other advances in recent years,
not least the choice between two-by drivetrains and one-by.
Something this worthy of a video all on its own,
and it will indeed get one, but in a nutshell,
one-by drivetrains look a lot cleaner,
and tend to be a little bit lighter,
you can also still get a really widespread of gears.
But if you do choose wide ratios,
you will get larger jumps between them.
Now this isn't a problem off-road, but it's something
that does frustrate some people on the road.
Two-by meanwhile, (attempting snapping)
(breathing hard)
Two-by meanwhile, (snapping)
gives you the ability to have wider gear ratios
and smaller jumps between them,
but something to bear in mind,
that is that on a standard road groupset,
the front derailleur puts a restriction
on the maximum tire width.
On GRX, Shimano have bumped up
that maximum to 42 millimeters,
so it does comfortably exceed J-Pow's minimum.
But remember, that if you want to fit really wide tires
on your gravel bike, you are going to need one-by.
Another point to look out for, if budget allows,
is to get a rear derailleur with a clutch on.
Now with a one-by setup, this and a specific chainring
are important to keep the chain on, but actually,
I think it's still desirable on a two-by setup as well,
because it keeps your bike so much quieter.
Not adding to your speed perhaps,
but definitely to enjoyment.
One other point that I often get
asked questions on relates to gear ratios.
Yes, such a sexy term that I would imagine
if you're watching this video and anyone is within earshot,
they've immediately stopped what they're doing,
and they're going to come over and watch as well.
If however, they missed it first time round, I'll say it
once more for their benefit so they don't miss out.
(shouting) Gear ratios!
Yeah, there we go.
Now, as terribly boring as it sounds,
it is worth paying a little bit of attention to.
For example, if you are going to be buying a gravel bike
for the smoother end of the gravel spectrum,
it's worth choosing gears that are optimized
for faster riding.
However, do not get too concerned about maximum gear sizes.
Yes, if you're racing, you really don't want to get dropped
on a descent 'cause you can't peddle fast enough,
but in the real world, I don't tend to get too concerned
about pedaling beyond about 60ks an hour.
And the 48 tooth chainring that's on
this particular GRX setup, or the 46 that you
often get on the other two-by version,
is plenty big enough to be able to pedal
beyond 60k and hour.
And actually the one-by setup as well, is quite happy
doing that if you're comfortable spinning away.
At the other end of the spectrum, for rougher
off-road riding, you definitely want to
optimize your gears for slower, slower climbs,
particularly if you're going to be going up steep stuff.
So again, on this instance,
31, 34 would be perfect for that.
And also, if you're going to bikepack as well.
Something that gravel bikes often get pressed into
service for, if you're carrying heavy luggage,
bear in mind that you want lower gears as well.
(upbeat music)
We've covered the basics then.
Hopefully you know now what to look out for
in a frame in order to make sure it's tailored
for the right kind of gravel riding that you want to do.
And you also know now what to look out for in a groupset.
But there are of course other things to consider,
not least the material of the frame.
Do you go for carbon, or aluminum,
or steel, or titanium, or even magnesium.
On a budget, aluminum is great.
I love it, it's pretty light, it's pretty stiff,
and it's also robust, what's not to like.
Steel is significantly heavier, but it has a lot of fans,
partly for its image, and also partly
for the way it feels to actually ride.
Although, bear in mind, that that steel feel really kicks in
when you start to spend a little bit more money.
Carbon, is of course, super duper light,
or it can be anyway.
Plus, you can also do more to the material
to really tailor it, either for more comfort,
through more compliance, or indeed, for more stiffness.
Then you have titanium, which is amazing,
but a little bit heavier and also expensive.
And then lastly, magnesium.
Which is new on the market or at least new again.
And it's a little bit unproven, but it does have some
pretty punchy environmental credentials, which is cool.
For me though, honestly frame material is not half such
an important decision as the ones we've already covered
in this video, hence the reason, I guess,
it wasn't the first thing we started with.
(upbeat music)
One of the great gravel bike traits, is the increased
comfort that comes from the wider tires fitted to them.
But in respect to of that, a lot of manufacturers
boast comfort boosting measures, either built into
the frames or into the components that are fitted to them,
and this Grail is a prime example.
We've got this split seatpost, which effectively acts
like a leaf spring, and is super effective.
And then also, got this Hover Bar up front as well,
which gives you increased compliance.
And while increased compliance definitely takes
the edge off bumps and it smooths out the ride,
you shouldn't confuse it with suspension,
which is also a thing.
Either the suspension fork that you can plug in the front,
or indeed, full suspension gravel bikes.
But interestingly or perhaps not,
the suspension that I've ridden on gravel
hasn't actually effected where the bike sits
on the gravel spectrum.
That probably should've come in earlier
as well shouldn't it, sorry,
should've given you some warning.
(upbeat music)
One last thing to look out for is bosses.
So little bolts all over the bike
that allow you to attach extra stuff to it.
Now it could be carrying extra water,
which would be essential for epics in arid wilderness.
Or it could be attaching luggage to your bike,
now maybe not bikepacking luggage,
but certainly old school panniers and pannier racks.
Or in this case, it could be for attaching mudguards
to your bike as well.
Personally, this isn't something that I'm
all that fussed about on my gravel bikes.
But it's something to bear in mind if you want
a Swiss Army knife of gravel bikes, or indeed,
it's just something you want to have the option for.
Whilst in this video, I haven't tried to tell you
what the best gravel bike in the world is.
Hopefully by watching it you've realized that
you can't answer that question because it depends on you
and the type of riding that you want to do on it.
But now you're more empowered to make that choice
'cause you know about the spectrum and you know how
to work out where a gravel bike sits on that spectrum.
So you need to look, to recap, at tire volume and position,
the geometry of the bike principally,
but then also the groupset as well.
And little extras, like if you want to go
on multi-day wilderness epics, you will probably need
every bolt imaginable to attach stuff to your bike.
Now, if you would like to tackle another couple
of questions right now that are commonly asked,
such as, why a gravel bike and not
a cross-country mountain bike?
Or indeed, why a gravel bike and not a cyclocross bike?
We have actually made videos about those already,
you can click through to them onscreen now.
Otherwise, please give this one a big thumbs up,
and I'm going to go for a ride.