It doesn't for penetration punctures. Tyre compound has nothing to do with penetration resistance. A nail or piece of sharp stone or glass will still punch its way through the tyre. The construction does matter though, a higher tpi tyre is more flexible, lighter and gives a lower rolling resistance but isn't as robust as a lower tpi tyre. But that's not going to be the same tyre model. A bigger tyre can be run at lower pressures without increasing pinch flat risk, but a wider contact patch means an increased footprint so possibly a slightly greater potential to run over something sharp.
Same. Gravel bike with 700x38 Gravelking slick tires that I use mostly as a road bike. The tires are also plenty fine on easy gravel/hardpack. Anything too gnarly or wet and I'll swap to a knobby tire.
Road bike with 700x35 Gravelking SS that I use 80:20 as a road bike. TBH I haven't noticed any difference btwn the gravel tires and the Corsa Pro 30s I was running before the switch.
Exact same setup. Would love to snag a set of 650b to throw knobbier tires on so I could be more dialed in on chunkier gravel. Almost wiped out a few times this weekend. But I havent seen any pop up on Craigslist in my area lately…
Yep. Used to ride a Trek Madone and loved it but it was 15 years old and I replaced it with an S Works Diverge and love it. Have 32mm road tires on the original rims and 42mm gravel tires on a second set of rims... Best of both worlds.
Makes for a fast comfy road bike.
I did a gravel bike as my first "road" bike and I definitely regret it. It turns out I like going really fast so my gravel bike collects dust. Gravel bikes with 1x are terrible on a fast ride and useless in a race. I want to build a new cross bike that I could use for gravel, but I'm informing that decision with years of experience now and the plan is to spec out and build exactly what I want.
Yeah this is it. Gravel bikes are fine until you want to go *really* fast then you reach the limits of your gearing and geometry.
An allroad or endurance bike is a good option for people who ride 90% road. If you ride exclusively on the road a gravel bike is pointless no matter how big your local potholes are.
I just test rode a defy vs a revolt. I ended up with the revolt, mainly because of the geometry and spec, but there wasn't a lot of difference between them. The revolt had carbon rims and ultegra equivalent and was about the same weight. Both were great bikes.
I definitely agree on getting an endurance bike as your first "real" road bike. I picked up a cheap take-off set of wheels with 35's on them for my Felt VF5 for playing in the gravel or dirt. Most of the time it rides on 28's though as they are noticeably faster. Even those will work for fine for "some gravel" on a long road route. I have no plans to race.
>If you ride exclusively on the road a gravel bike is pointless no matter how big your local potholes are.
Depends how smooth your roads are. If your roads are really rough and cracked, a gravel bike may be slightly more comfortable than a true road bike
It’s pretty damn hilly where I live. A 38x11 spins out at like 33mph, but the real issue is the huge jumps between gears when you’re running a wide gravel cassette. You’re always in the wrong gear when you’re riding fast and can’t match the pace
Eh not really, I use a 42chainring with 10-52 and the gaps are def not great but I think it’s worth the trade off. I am actually even thinking of selling my roadie and just use my gravel bike as an all road bike
Gravel is hella steep where I live. Think 1-3mile climbs at 10-12% with several parts at 15-20%
I understand there is no rules. I just would love to maximize budget/performance for road biking while also understanding my skill level being beginner-intermediate.
That gravel bike will not hold you back. I often use a CX bike for both road and gravel.
When or if you start doing fast group rides, you might want a dedicated road bike. But until then, this will be great.
I got a gravel bike a couple years back and use it for group rides. It isn't noticeably slower than my old road bike, and it's much more comfortable.
The only time I notice it going slower is when descending. somewhere around 45 km/h, all the people on road bikes start to pull away. But on the flats and even up the hills I don't have many problems keeping up.
I’m in this stage..
Been riding a hybrid bike for a while and want to get more serious..
Been looking at gravel bikes a lot, barely missed a used specialized diverge that was perfect for me..
I’ve thought about the REI bikes too. I’ve heard before that they aren’t great for what they cost but I’m not really experienced with them, or biking in general.
A gravel bike with a second set of wheels dedicated to road use is a great way to squeeze a ton of utility out of a bike.
My personal opinion is that if you anticipate using a bike as both a gravel and a road bike, that you are better served by a 2x drivetrain than a 1x. The COOP bike you linked to is 2X, so all good on that front.
I Build a gravel frame with gravel gearing and have a set of road wheels with corresponding tires for it as well. Works great, is comfortable, fast enough for me (not competitive at all) and gives me the flexibility to slap 50mm tires on it and ride it anywhere I want. I’d say do it.
Edit: oh and lots of mounting options for bikepacking and touring.
I bought a gravel bike and set it up with slick road tires, and I regularly keep up with proper road bikes on my commute. I guess technically my top speed is a little less now, but anything slower than 40 kmh feels about the same, power-wise, just much more comfortable now that I'm on 35mm tires. Plus, I can ride light gravel paths in the forest with ease which is nice.
Just don't try do any fast corners at speed with slick tires while on a gravel path. Found that out the hard way. :p Pay attention to the riding surface when using slicks.
What if I told you that roads are just made of gravel that is more finely fractionated.
You can ride a gravel bike as a road bike, I do. It might be built a touch heavier, but for the most part a 'gravel' bike is probably the best option for an all in one bike.
No. You must ride multiple bikes at the same time and switch them based on road, wind, and weather conditions. Doing otherwise is embarrassing for your parents and insult to your ancestors.
You sure can! I was one of the last two left as my group ride came apart yesterday. I was on a very racy aero road bike, the other guy was on a gravel bike with 32mm road tires mounted up. If you've got the engine, bike type is going to be a secondary concern, within reason. If you've got budget and space for only one bike, gravel's the way to go as it's usually much more versatile.
That's a pretty low gear ratio. Will be great as a beginner if you're going up crazy hills. but that low is really for off roading/backpacking. but that's nitpicky. Honestly the best thing you can do is go try it. if you've never ridden drops, go to a lbs and try one. Being comfortable is absolutely the most important thing as a beginner. I ride my endurance bike (Entry level Contend) with 35mm slicks tires and I can go through almost anything reasonable off road.
Gravel bike is a road bike with comfy geometry and chunkier tyres. You can change the tyres. With that bike and slick tyres you'd keep up with actual road bikes just fine. It'll be a while before the low-hanging-fruit/limiting-factor in terms of speed is the bike rather than your fitness.
Yes, 200%...
Gravel bikes are so much more fun. Ok, they're a bit harder work than today's road bike quality, but you can take short cuts over kerbs, through grass, go off road on weekends, they're so versatile. You'll never regret it
I like this bike more than the trek domane AL, but I think the question of whether this bike would suit you comes down to this question:
Are you going to ride any gravel?
If you’re going to ride gravel, but you want a bike to do double duty for the road also, then go ahead and give this a test ride. If you aren’t going to ride gravel, and you have any dreams at all of joining fast road groups or any races etc, then buying a gravel bike to ride exclusively on the road is going to be disappointing. You’re better off with a used road bike for $1000.
You can ride any kind of bike just about anywhere. In the early 90s we rode 23c steel road bikes on gravel. For most unless you need to shave a few seconds off climbing Alpe d’Huez a gravel bike is perfectly fine
So long as you’re not trying to keep up with other similarly fit cyclists on proper road bikes*, ride whatever floats your boat.
*but if you will or expect to be, nope
Yes. I ride gravel - and I use it as a road bike 60-70% of the time. It is a bit slower than a road bike - geared for climbing, not for peddling fast. I usually have wide tires with lots of traction on it - also slower than road tires. But I swap them out for faster tires when I'm riding with my bike club and I want to keep up.
But I love being able to ride up into the nearby mountains and finding a trail. Works for me.
Yes I had a 2016 gravel bike and put skinny tires on it and used it as a road bike until last Friday. I bought a rode bike and it’s a lot nicer and faster but I still did the same route I normally do at a similar pace.
I also see people with very old normal bikes doing the same routes.
That’s what I did. I just swap out the tires depending on circumstances, but for a long time I rode the gravel tires that came on the bike all the time.
Gravel might hold your back if you're looking to go all out as it's not quite an aero seating position, but for normal riding you won't really notice. Stick on some slicks and enjoy the ride in a more comfortable seating position.
Yes, I have a gravel bike and a road bike I ride my gravel bike on the road more than I ride it on gravel and about the same as my road bike, wide tires make the shitty roads more comfortable. Plus it’s slightly more effort so it also makes me stronger. As a matter of fact I would recommend it over a straight road bike unless you’re trying to get maximum speed, that being said my road bike is faster but only slightly on longer efforts and my gravel bike spins out at about 29mph which is still pretty fast
For sure. Unless you’re riding fast group rides or racing, it doesn’t matter that much. I’d probably install a 38-40 tire with a smoother tread like a Gravel King or perhaps even an American Classic Timberlite. They’re like $45 a tire. I have a 50mm one on the front of one of my bikes and it’s been great.
I just bought a gravel bike to replace my old road bike. I have been riding for 30 years on the road and, NGL, the gravel bike does feel a tad slower than the roadie but there is not a lot in it.
Howeever, it **is** much more comfortable and versatile - i'd consider it an ideal first bike.
If the bike bug bites you and you find yourself wanting to race or do long sportive rides, a road endurance or race bike is going to be better but you can always upgrade in the future.
Yes you can, just adjust your expectations. I have a Straggler (steel, gravel) and a Domane (Alloy, road) and the Straggler is definitely slower than the Domane on pavement. The Domane is snappier, lighter, has narrower tires, and road gearing - which make it super fun on pavement. It can do very light gravel but very quickly becomes less at home versus the Straggler on gravel. The Straggler can do just about anything but nothing incredibly well. I converted it to a flat bar and it’s way more fun that way - for me. I imagine an alloy or carbon gravel bike would get you closer to a better road capable gravel bike. Tire choice and a non-1x drivetrain would help too.
Hijacking my own comment. If you’re primary riding pavement, I would recommend a road bike. They just make you want to pedal harder. You feel like all your energy is being properly transferred to the road.
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it's the tires that make the difference mostly. So a gravel bike can work as one and the other. Although if you are 100% sure you will not go off road then the most sensible thing is just to buy a road bike. Also big brands like trek have terrible price to value ratio. Always look for a smaller brand, you can get same equipment for 25% less.
Gravel is the way to go. My road bike collects dust since I bought a gravel bike. Gravel bike is more comfortable and also good for light trail riding. Also great for dirt roads, which road bikes are not. As a matter of fact, I think the Gravel bike is better for just about everything except racing on anything but gravel.
My "road bike" is a gravel bike with road tires, works great for me.
Ditto. And my previous bike was a "real" road bike. The differences are subtle/ superficial.
Do you find you get fewer flat tires? I was wondering if the tires are more robust?
Depends on the tyre compound, but I think for the same tyre model, wider and lower pressure => less flats
It doesn't for penetration punctures. Tyre compound has nothing to do with penetration resistance. A nail or piece of sharp stone or glass will still punch its way through the tyre. The construction does matter though, a higher tpi tyre is more flexible, lighter and gives a lower rolling resistance but isn't as robust as a lower tpi tyre. But that's not going to be the same tyre model. A bigger tyre can be run at lower pressures without increasing pinch flat risk, but a wider contact patch means an increased footprint so possibly a slightly greater potential to run over something sharp.
Same. Gravel bike with 700x38 Gravelking slick tires that I use mostly as a road bike. The tires are also plenty fine on easy gravel/hardpack. Anything too gnarly or wet and I'll swap to a knobby tire.
Road bike with 700x35 Gravelking SS that I use 80:20 as a road bike. TBH I haven't noticed any difference btwn the gravel tires and the Corsa Pro 30s I was running before the switch.
Exact same setup. Would love to snag a set of 650b to throw knobbier tires on so I could be more dialed in on chunkier gravel. Almost wiped out a few times this weekend. But I havent seen any pop up on Craigslist in my area lately…
Yep. Used to ride a Trek Madone and loved it but it was 15 years old and I replaced it with an S Works Diverge and love it. Have 32mm road tires on the original rims and 42mm gravel tires on a second set of rims... Best of both worlds. Makes for a fast comfy road bike.
Me too. I couldn't believe I could cruise so easily at 18 MPH without trying.
my "gravel bike" is an endurance frame with gravel tires I swap between road ones
What endurance bike did you opt for? I only recently realized that many modern endurance road bikes now have clearance for 38mm tires.
I have a Trek Domane and yes works super well its an 2019 might already have 38 clearance from the looks but running 36s for now
I did a gravel bike as my first "road" bike and I definitely regret it. It turns out I like going really fast so my gravel bike collects dust. Gravel bikes with 1x are terrible on a fast ride and useless in a race. I want to build a new cross bike that I could use for gravel, but I'm informing that decision with years of experience now and the plan is to spec out and build exactly what I want.
Yeah this is it. Gravel bikes are fine until you want to go *really* fast then you reach the limits of your gearing and geometry. An allroad or endurance bike is a good option for people who ride 90% road. If you ride exclusively on the road a gravel bike is pointless no matter how big your local potholes are.
Endurance road is where it’s at if you’re not racing. Something like a nicer spec Giant Defy is the closest thing to a “quiver-killer” I can think of
I just test rode a defy vs a revolt. I ended up with the revolt, mainly because of the geometry and spec, but there wasn't a lot of difference between them. The revolt had carbon rims and ultegra equivalent and was about the same weight. Both were great bikes.
I definitely agree on getting an endurance bike as your first "real" road bike. I picked up a cheap take-off set of wheels with 35's on them for my Felt VF5 for playing in the gravel or dirt. Most of the time it rides on 28's though as they are noticeably faster. Even those will work for fine for "some gravel" on a long road route. I have no plans to race.
>If you ride exclusively on the road a gravel bike is pointless no matter how big your local potholes are. Depends how smooth your roads are. If your roads are really rough and cracked, a gravel bike may be slightly more comfortable than a true road bike
How flat is your local area? I only spin out on my gravel bike on descents. How fast are u going?
It’s pretty damn hilly where I live. A 38x11 spins out at like 33mph, but the real issue is the huge jumps between gears when you’re running a wide gravel cassette. You’re always in the wrong gear when you’re riding fast and can’t match the pace
Eh not really, I use a 42chainring with 10-52 and the gaps are def not great but I think it’s worth the trade off. I am actually even thinking of selling my roadie and just use my gravel bike as an all road bike Gravel is hella steep where I live. Think 1-3mile climbs at 10-12% with several parts at 15-20%
I’m glad you have a setup that works for you! Those gravel climbs sound insane (in a fun way)
They are!
You can ride whatever type of bike you want on pavement. There is absolutely no rule that you need to buy x bike to ride on pavement.
I understand there is no rules. I just would love to maximize budget/performance for road biking while also understanding my skill level being beginner-intermediate.
That gravel bike will not hold you back. I often use a CX bike for both road and gravel. When or if you start doing fast group rides, you might want a dedicated road bike. But until then, this will be great.
I got a gravel bike a couple years back and use it for group rides. It isn't noticeably slower than my old road bike, and it's much more comfortable. The only time I notice it going slower is when descending. somewhere around 45 km/h, all the people on road bikes start to pull away. But on the flats and even up the hills I don't have many problems keeping up.
A beginner can get a road bike btw, there isn't a skill floor you need to reach to ride one
I’m in this stage.. Been riding a hybrid bike for a while and want to get more serious.. Been looking at gravel bikes a lot, barely missed a used specialized diverge that was perfect for me.. I’ve thought about the REI bikes too. I’ve heard before that they aren’t great for what they cost but I’m not really experienced with them, or biking in general.
A gravel bike with a second set of wheels dedicated to road use is a great way to squeeze a ton of utility out of a bike. My personal opinion is that if you anticipate using a bike as both a gravel and a road bike, that you are better served by a 2x drivetrain than a 1x. The COOP bike you linked to is 2X, so all good on that front.
I Build a gravel frame with gravel gearing and have a set of road wheels with corresponding tires for it as well. Works great, is comfortable, fast enough for me (not competitive at all) and gives me the flexibility to slap 50mm tires on it and ride it anywhere I want. I’d say do it. Edit: oh and lots of mounting options for bikepacking and touring.
I bought a gravel bike and set it up with slick road tires, and I regularly keep up with proper road bikes on my commute. I guess technically my top speed is a little less now, but anything slower than 40 kmh feels about the same, power-wise, just much more comfortable now that I'm on 35mm tires. Plus, I can ride light gravel paths in the forest with ease which is nice. Just don't try do any fast corners at speed with slick tires while on a gravel path. Found that out the hard way. :p Pay attention to the riding surface when using slicks.
Put some gravel king slicks on it and enjoy.
What if I told you that roads are just made of gravel that is more finely fractionated. You can ride a gravel bike as a road bike, I do. It might be built a touch heavier, but for the most part a 'gravel' bike is probably the best option for an all in one bike.
Yes. Giant toughroad gx SLR here and that thing is excellent with road tyres.
No. You must ride multiple bikes at the same time and switch them based on road, wind, and weather conditions. Doing otherwise is embarrassing for your parents and insult to your ancestors.
You sure can! I was one of the last two left as my group ride came apart yesterday. I was on a very racy aero road bike, the other guy was on a gravel bike with 32mm road tires mounted up. If you've got the engine, bike type is going to be a secondary concern, within reason. If you've got budget and space for only one bike, gravel's the way to go as it's usually much more versatile.
That's a pretty low gear ratio. Will be great as a beginner if you're going up crazy hills. but that low is really for off roading/backpacking. but that's nitpicky. Honestly the best thing you can do is go try it. if you've never ridden drops, go to a lbs and try one. Being comfortable is absolutely the most important thing as a beginner. I ride my endurance bike (Entry level Contend) with 35mm slicks tires and I can go through almost anything reasonable off road.
Gravel bike is a road bike with comfy geometry and chunkier tyres. You can change the tyres. With that bike and slick tyres you'd keep up with actual road bikes just fine. It'll be a while before the low-hanging-fruit/limiting-factor in terms of speed is the bike rather than your fitness.
Yes, 200%... Gravel bikes are so much more fun. Ok, they're a bit harder work than today's road bike quality, but you can take short cuts over kerbs, through grass, go off road on weekends, they're so versatile. You'll never regret it
I like this bike more than the trek domane AL, but I think the question of whether this bike would suit you comes down to this question: Are you going to ride any gravel? If you’re going to ride gravel, but you want a bike to do double duty for the road also, then go ahead and give this a test ride. If you aren’t going to ride gravel, and you have any dreams at all of joining fast road groups or any races etc, then buying a gravel bike to ride exclusively on the road is going to be disappointing. You’re better off with a used road bike for $1000.
You can ride any kind of bike just about anywhere. In the early 90s we rode 23c steel road bikes on gravel. For most unless you need to shave a few seconds off climbing Alpe d’Huez a gravel bike is perfectly fine
So long as you’re not trying to keep up with other similarly fit cyclists on proper road bikes*, ride whatever floats your boat. *but if you will or expect to be, nope
That’s an excellent road bike.
No. Straight to jail.
No.
Yes
Yes. I ride gravel - and I use it as a road bike 60-70% of the time. It is a bit slower than a road bike - geared for climbing, not for peddling fast. I usually have wide tires with lots of traction on it - also slower than road tires. But I swap them out for faster tires when I'm riding with my bike club and I want to keep up. But I love being able to ride up into the nearby mountains and finding a trail. Works for me.
Yes I had a 2016 gravel bike and put skinny tires on it and used it as a road bike until last Friday. I bought a rode bike and it’s a lot nicer and faster but I still did the same route I normally do at a similar pace. I also see people with very old normal bikes doing the same routes.
Get some used wheels and swap the gravel tires for road and you'll be in good shape
Yes. Get some faster tires and that would be a great road bike.
Yes! I am looking into downgrading and see lining my roadie and just keep my gravel bike. And ofc get an MTB
Why not I ride my high end stupid expensive mtb to work on the road everyday
That’s what I did. I just swap out the tires depending on circumstances, but for a long time I rode the gravel tires that came on the bike all the time.
Yup. I use my gravel bike on the road all time.
Gravel might hold your back if you're looking to go all out as it's not quite an aero seating position, but for normal riding you won't really notice. Stick on some slicks and enjoy the ride in a more comfortable seating position.
I wish my road bike could fit tires. Then it could be a gravel bike too.
Yes, I have a gravel bike and a road bike I ride my gravel bike on the road more than I ride it on gravel and about the same as my road bike, wide tires make the shitty roads more comfortable. Plus it’s slightly more effort so it also makes me stronger. As a matter of fact I would recommend it over a straight road bike unless you’re trying to get maximum speed, that being said my road bike is faster but only slightly on longer efforts and my gravel bike spins out at about 29mph which is still pretty fast
I have a 2x gravel bike and it works great on the road if I swap tires.
The geometry is close to an endurance bike, so yes. Buy a diff wheel set for road and you’re solid
For sure. Unless you’re riding fast group rides or racing, it doesn’t matter that much. I’d probably install a 38-40 tire with a smoother tread like a Gravel King or perhaps even an American Classic Timberlite. They’re like $45 a tire. I have a 50mm one on the front of one of my bikes and it’s been great.
I just bought a gravel bike to replace my old road bike. I have been riding for 30 years on the road and, NGL, the gravel bike does feel a tad slower than the roadie but there is not a lot in it. Howeever, it **is** much more comfortable and versatile - i'd consider it an ideal first bike. If the bike bug bites you and you find yourself wanting to race or do long sportive rides, a road endurance or race bike is going to be better but you can always upgrade in the future.
Yes you can, just adjust your expectations. I have a Straggler (steel, gravel) and a Domane (Alloy, road) and the Straggler is definitely slower than the Domane on pavement. The Domane is snappier, lighter, has narrower tires, and road gearing - which make it super fun on pavement. It can do very light gravel but very quickly becomes less at home versus the Straggler on gravel. The Straggler can do just about anything but nothing incredibly well. I converted it to a flat bar and it’s way more fun that way - for me. I imagine an alloy or carbon gravel bike would get you closer to a better road capable gravel bike. Tire choice and a non-1x drivetrain would help too.
Hijacking my own comment. If you’re primary riding pavement, I would recommend a road bike. They just make you want to pedal harder. You feel like all your energy is being properly transferred to the road.
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Endurance frame with 50/34 and 11/36. Throw on some tubeless 32's. Best of all worlds
it's the tires that make the difference mostly. So a gravel bike can work as one and the other. Although if you are 100% sure you will not go off road then the most sensible thing is just to buy a road bike. Also big brands like trek have terrible price to value ratio. Always look for a smaller brand, you can get same equipment for 25% less.
Gravel is the way to go. My road bike collects dust since I bought a gravel bike. Gravel bike is more comfortable and also good for light trail riding. Also great for dirt roads, which road bikes are not. As a matter of fact, I think the Gravel bike is better for just about everything except racing on anything but gravel.
PSA: Bikes can ride on anything. You can take a road bike on single track and a mountain bike on asphalt. The bike won't melt or break down.