Blurred Lines Or Just Bicycles? Part 2

Specialized Roubaix SL8 Apex Sport (Image courtesy of Specialized)

About three weeks ago I wrote a post concerning the blurred lines with regard to drop bar bicycles. Ten years ago a "drop bar bicycle" was generally a road racing style bike, a touring bike, or maybe a cyclo-cross bike. This new, weird segment being foisted upon the marketplace called "gravel bikes" was just coming on-line at that time. But everyone knew all you really needed was a cyclo-cross bike. These so-called "gravel bikes" were an invention by marketers to cause you to feel that you needed to buy another bicycle. That was all THAT was about. (Remember those comments?) 

Also, as I have written on these pages ad nauseum, these gravel bikes, so-called,were really meant to be "all-roads bikes", and not pigeonholed by a name like "gravel". That is like calling what we now know as "fat bikes" snow bikes. Remember that? That name was dropped pretty quickly when marketers found out that "snow" was a turn-off for consumers. 

I wanted to point those things out because today we have bicycle companies marketing bicycles which are "all-roads" bikes as "endurance road bikes" (Because why? What a weird category!) which are confusing some people because they think they might be gravel bikes. 

What?!!

This one takes up to 38mm tires (Image courtesy of Trek)

With tires from 38mm to 40mm fitting these bikes, what is the difference between these and gravel bikes? 

Well, first you need to understand what a "gravel bike" even is. 

Back in 2012 Salsa Cycles created the category with the introduction of the Warbird Titanium and Aluminum models.The tire clearance? Up to a 38mm width.

In 2012 you'd be lucky to squeeze a 28mm tire into any "road bike" of that time. So, keep that in mind.

The "endurance" name for these current, new "road bikes" is just another way to say "comfort-focused". But saying that would be....what? Marketing suicide? Can't say that now, can we? So "endurance" is the word used because, c'mon? Who doesn't want to have "endurance"?  That sounds a LOT better than "comfort-road bike". 

And what sells? Gravel™! That's what. So if you had an "endurance" road bike that you could ride on "Gravel™", well, that's a winning combination, and you wouldn't have to buy into this trendy BS called Gravel Bikes", right? 

But these are gravel bikes, aren't they? Yes. These are gravel bikes because you could easily ride these on gravel. So, what the heck? 

Is this all just marketing gone haywire? Perhaps a little bit of that is going on here. But there is a silver lining to this. People have more access than ever before to "all-roads bikes", no matter what the media wonks and marketers want to call them. 

I'd say they are just "nice bicycles".