It Is A Road Bike

What the heck is "Gravel™" anyway?

Okay, I know I have written thousands of words regarding what I am about to write about here ((again!) today. The thing is, I've seen some things on the internet lately which points to the fact that the cycling industry and the mainstream cycling media has lost its way. Especially when it comes to "Gravel" as a category. 

First up is a video I saw from "Velo", I believe it was, that was so poorly done and out of touch with reality I could only make it through about a quarter of the way into the piece. 

In the video this media outlet purported to be testing six "gravel bikes" to see what the future of gravel cycling could be. Apparently it should be something other than real gravel road riding because everything they were doing was pointing to off-roading, or in the common person''s parlance, mountain biking. 

Get this: Gravel ROAD cycling is done on ROADS. Not on single track fellas! Man! I was astounded when I saw them riding an aero focused road bike on rocky, rooty single track after the narrator tried to say these bikes were not going to be tested on "real mountain biking terrain". 

Look, we're not stupid. That was mountain biking. Mountain biking with bicycles meant for roads. Dumb. Just really dumb. 

An "All-Roads" bike - Image courtesy of Trek Bicycles

Next thing I see we're talking about an "all-roads" bike which has come out from Moots with 42mm tire clearance which is meant to tackle any type of road surface. 

Oh! You mean like a gravel bike does? No..... The brands think they are inventing a "new category" which is an outgrowth of the "Endurance road bike" niche because, well, "not everyone wants a gravel bike". 

Because gravel bikes are mountain bikes, only less capable and without suspension, right? Like an all-road bike, only with MTB tires stuffed in there? 

Again, dumb. 

See, here's what the brands don't seem to understand. Gravel bikes are ROAD bikes. The term "gravel" refers to "gravel roads", and was not the ideal terminology, but hey! The industry adopted it, so you only have yourselves (speaking to the cycling industry here), to blame for this stupid situation we see where confusion reigns and people try to test a road bike on MTB terrain and think they are discovering "The Future" of something. 

Fools......

Note: The latest Guitar Ted Podcast also covers this and more HERE.