What Are These Bikes Now?

The bike with an identity crisis- What is this really?

NOTE: Large doses of "my opinion" will be handed out in gloppy dollops today. You've been forewarned.....

It used to be that things seemed so much easier. They probably weren't, but it just seems that back in the day, you had 'road bikes' and 'mountain bikes' and that was about it. Now we have a zillion different niche bike categories and names all over the place. No wonder we all get confused and hung up on this. 

The thing is, humans like to categorize stuff, put that stuff in neat boxes so we can 'know' what that stuff is, and we don't have to spend time and energy thinking about what 'that' is because it goes here, in this box. Don't you go using what's in that box for that thing you are doing, because it wasn't put in that box so you could go do that thing. I generalize, but this goes for a lot of what we discuss, (argue about?), on the digital communications devices we have these daze. (Because 75% of what you'd type on a keyboard/touch screen you'd never say to someone's face!) 

Anywho..... I was thinking about this when I was writing up my "Bikes of 2020" post on my Black Mountain Cycles "Monster Cross" rig. So, let's start there, with that name. It's an interesting concept from the 2000's.

This category of bike made sense back before 'Gravel®' became a thing. Drop bars, (natch) and tires bigger than cyclo-cross (33mm) but smaller than MTB (2.0"). Makes sense, right? Bigger than 'cross bike's tires = monstercross. Smaller than MTB because, well, that just becomes a drop bar mountain bike, right? This illustrates where Gravel® ended up muddying up the waters. Now there are no guidelines. 

Any drop bar bike, (and now some are saying flat bar as well). with bigger than cyclo-cross tires (33mm) is now a Gravel® Bike and even drop bar bikes with 2.0"+ tires, what used to be the line at which demarcated MTB, is still considered Gravel®. What is more, usage is now a blurred line with regard to what is what. 

Look at any current marketing for drop bar Gravel®. Almost always the setting is a fire road, or even single track, out West somewhere, with guys (almost exclusively, but not always) catching air off some boost or lip in the 'road', which almost never has any Gravel® on it. They say 'that is Gravel®. Really? Why does it look more and more like rigid MTB from the 1990's? Weird! Substitute in a 1990 era MTB into the picture and the marketing is identical. And what about "Monstercross"? Where did that go? And where is the actual Gravel® here? Why does no one in marketing look at roads that, you know, are actually gravel. And quit thinking that your imagery sucks unless you have mountains in them. Clue: Most people do not live anywhere near mountains. Really! I know that may surprise many of you marketers. But besides this, why didn't we stick with "Monstercross" for all of this? It actually makes more sense than calling these bikes Gravel® Bikes.

But things are more complex these days. I get that. Any bike can be used on Gravel®, so long as you understand the limitations of said bike. Anything not paved is "Gravel®" in terms of usage so long as the terrain doesn't call out for specialized equipment, like fat bike snow or mud conditions, or full-on MTB trail conditions, Down Hill courses, etc. What's in a name these days anyway? What, if anything, does a name like Gravel® for a bike style tell us now? 

Clue: There's Money® in it, that's what.