Besides cycling media, racers, and brands harping on "aero" lately, I've seen a lot of digital space given to running mountain bike tires as "gravel tires" on "gravel bikes". Okay, so here's my opinion on all of this.
First of all, most "gravel bikes" are not, and should not be racing bikes for gravel. Just as all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares. Also, not everyone should be looking to racers, or gravel racing, for their direction to take for riding a bicycle on gravel.
However; this has been, and still is modus operandi for the cycling industry in the USA. Everything revolves around racing, to the great detriment of the average cyclist and those who might become cyclists. (I know, I probably sound like Grant Petersen here) What is happening in "gravel" cycling now is a repeat of the story which happened to road cycling and mountain biking. Competitive ______ racing (fill in the blank) is the measuring stick for ALL ______ biking (fill in the blank) cyclists. The equipment is put up as the "best", and all the things racers do are "better" for you, (even though you probably are the furthest thing from those Professional racers) and their actions and equipment are the goals you are to attain to.
This is one of the main drivers for all the weird standards, ill fitting bike designs (ill fitting for average shaped humans), and expensive bicycles. But bringing it back to the tire thing, some racer said MTB tires are "better" for gravel, and there is "no reason" to race gravel on 40mm tires. Here's the really bad part about this sort of messaging.
Most people don't consider the source and the context of commentary like this. Maybe for a particular course, and for a small handful of humans who are professional (read: Have tons of time to train, are sponsored, or paid to race) these recommendations may have some merit. But telling me not to consider 40mm tires for gravel racing is pretty bogus. What if the bike I have to "race gravel on" is also my daily driver? Maybe I have pavement for long stretches of my ride, or I commute. A MTB tire at 29" X 2.2" is kinda "not the right tire", perhaps?
And no - none of what these racers are saying about gravel racing in terms of tires is "new". These racers, and many who are influenced by these racers just don't know what they don't know. That is a completely different story for another day. Point is, if you are not a professional racer, you may want to sift what they suggest very carefully before jumping on their bandwagon.
Or not......
When It Becomes "Not An All - Roads Bike", What Is It?
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| Image courtesy of Ridley Bikes |
This fat tire gravel thing is leading some down a road which looks suspiciously like XC mountain biking with drop bars. I reported on the Ridley bike in a recent FN&V here. Ridley call this concept "Alpine Gravel"
Another online cycling media outlet asked if full-suspension gravel bikes were the "vision" going forward for gravel bikes.
A certain photographer I follow on social media answered back with, "You mean a drop-bar mountain bike? No."
Some people have far more sense than the media, or cycling brands give them credit for. Just about anyone with a decent amount of time in mountain biking, gravel riding, or cycling in general can see right through all of this crap. The thing is, most of these brands and media sources don't really care. Their narrative will win out the day eventually if they keep banging the drum for whatever they deem is "The Next Big Thing" and as long as it sells units.
Drop bar mountain bikes, in and of themselves, are not a 'bad' thing. What is wrong about this is how these bikes are being sold to the naive cyclist as something 'new' and different. An XC mountain bike hard tail with drop bars is nothing new. Not even one with 29"er wheels. And especially in this instance, it is laughable to try to push this narrative.
These bikes also do not really fit the originally intended purposes of what became known as "gravel bikes". In the beginnings of all of this, the idea was to have a bicycle which would cover the area between single track and fully paved roads. A bicycle for roads, no matter what their surface was. Not single track. Not mountainous, rock infested terrain. We already had mountain bikes for this activity. We already had great choices for bicycles which did well on fully paved roads.
Somewhere along the way we have been asked to think gravel bikes are mountain bikes as well. Why? Maybe because gravel is a hot category, and XC MTB is not? Yes.....that's pretty much it right there.
NOTE: Next week a lot of press releases come off embargo previous to Sea Otter. I'll have some news posting at odd times. Thank you for your patience in this matter and for reading Guitar Ted Productions
3 comments:
Yea - as much as I love my 2.2 Race Kings on gravel, for long stretches of pavement they aren't ideal.
I completely agree with the big picture idea that what's best for pro racers is not usually best for the average cyclist. But I would like to make the case for where mtb tires on a gravel bike might be advantageous for the average rider. I am not a racer and I've had Race King 27.5 x 2.2s on my Black Mountain Cycles Road+ since 2020 (officially they don't fit, but they work for me).
The first case comes from a blend of using the bike as a tool to escape to the woods and the idea/thought experiment of...how much fun can you have with one bike? Mountain biking is by far my favorite form of cycling but I also enjoy road and gravel. Being out in the woods on single track is a great way to escape the stress of daily life. And for some reason, I always get this bonus psychological boost when I pedal from my garage to the singletrack and back (as opposed driving to the trailhead in my car). Now, a 2.2 xc mtb tire is not my ideal mtb tire. I'd never put one on my mtb. As Tyler said above, it's not going to be ideal on the road. And as you said, an XC MTB tire is not necessarily "better" for gravel. But somehow, that Race King 2.2 tire that is not ideal on any individual segment of my ride becomes perfect for a ride that starts from my house and combines, road, bike paths, gravel and singletrack. It allows me to quickly cover some ground on pavement and gravel and is fun to ride in the woods on smooth singletrack. That combination of roadish geo and big (but lightweight) tires is really is fun on such a wide range of surfaces. And again, I think this increases the versatility of the bike for the average rider that wants to explore and ride a little bit of everything, but just owns one bike.
Another case for xc mtb tires on gravel bikes is highly dependent on geography. I used to live in Stillwater, OK and on a typical gravel ride there were zero "corners". The gravel roads are laid out in a grid and nearly every turn is 90 degrees at a four way intersection. You need to slow down and check for vehicles before turning so you never really get to corner the bike. Now I live in a more mountainous region and my favorite ride includes a segment with two different continuous 4 mile descents down winding forest service roads with numerous switchbacks. As you've said, "Tire tread design is a fashion business" and no side knobs on a 40mm tire are really gonna bite in a gravel or dirt corner. But I've found that as you move from a 40mm tire to a 2.2 the increased volume and larger side knobs do provide a real benefit of increased traction and confidence when cornering. And again, I think this is a huge benefit to the average cyclist if their home terrain features unpaved corners.
@Scott - Thanks for the detailed and considered response.
Just to make things clear here - I was not making the case against running big tires on a gravel bike. Clearly, as you so very well wrote here, there are use-case scenarios which might call for such a tire as a Race King.
Might I suggest these drop bar "adventure" bikes, which have been around for some time, as another way to cover the same ground as what you describe? For instance, if I am going to a place which is unfamiliar to me, I grab my Gen I Fargo every time. It can handle everything with its bigger 2" + sized tires which you describe in your comment.
Also, your comment perfectly describes why one may NOT want to run wider tires. It all just depends on what your expectations are.
Thanks again for stopping by to read and comment!
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