Honestly let’s all just ride whatever we can afford and just enjoy cycling! If you want to ride a MTB on the road go for it if it’s all you have, ride a road bike on gravel if it’s all you have. Just enjoy cycling and exploring our beautiful world.

Very interesting! For me, living in an urban area without "real gravelroads" but lots of messy little roads and paths, a road bike with some wider tires (30 -35 mm) might be the perfect choice. As a roadie the last years/decades i used 25mm tires, which are nice on a good surface, but a little harsh on a bumby path. So I´m really thinking about getting such a bike as shown, maybe 32 mm tires should be perfect on this Canyon. Thank you for the insight, David!

The new Endurace all road changes this perspective a lot. It's a road bike that has the clearance for (and comes with) gravel tires. Solid value bike the Endurace CF 7.

I own both a road bike and a gravel bike and what you just said is right on point! I ride my gravel bike more than my road bike because I can go any where and I ride all year round no problem even when it snows!

Using my Giant Defy as the occasional gravel bike since it fits 35mm +. I just switch wheelsets. Geo is pretty similar to the Giant Revolt so don't feel like I'm missing much comfort. Have contemplated doing the reverse and getting a Revolt frame as the do it all bike. Your video that compared the road bike to the gravel bike speeds/time kind of confirmed what I was thinking. Really enjoy the channel!

The Vegan Cyclist has been racing events like Unbound Gravel on exactly this setup for ages albeit with 33mm gravel tyres I believe and he’s had great results

Thanks Dave for not shying away from potential contentious subjects. This is where we NEED to have discussions on. Thanks

Perfect timing for this video. Excellent job explaining. Long time fan of your channel. Cheers, from New York!

I think of something inquisitive in my mind about the cycle and there you have it, this channel has covered it meticulously! Kudos!

Awesome vid David, you’re right, gravel bike is the way to go for comfort & tire clearance, however you’ve also proven that you can ride gravel on pretty much any bike. I’ve ended up on gravel roads on my Fuji SL1 road bike with 28c road tires & yes it was sketchy but I had no issues & it was actually fun, great vid!

Excellent content David! At the moment I use my aluminum road bike with 32mm tires as a ‘gravel’ bike until budget allows for a real gravel bike. Not that many hard gravel trails around my home anyway.

I rode Grinduro California a few years ago on a Trek Domane with Panaracer 35mm tires, and that’s an event known for its “gnarly” gravel. Some people were on full suss MTBs, but I did just fine and had no mechanical issues. Nowadays I would take my gravel Ti bike with 42mm knobbies, though!

Yep nailed it, it can be done but it's not ideal. I started on an alloy bike 25mm clinchers, punctured every time. Moved onto my Cannondale Synapse with 30mm tubeless tires, much better but had to be careful and still punctured and trashed tires. MTB was too slow over longer distances and on the sealed sections and tiring to ride (to upright all the time). Moved onto a Trek Checkpoint and got away with 40mm on the front and 35mm on the rear for ages but after hitting a few hard rain ruts and some gnarlier rocky sections the rear wheel suffered quite a few dents and trashed tires. Now run 40mm front and rear, it's the sweet spot for what I encounter at a lightweight 63kg. Gearing is exactly the same as my road bikes, 50/34-32-11, I prefer it than the smaller gravel specific gearing these days.

You can ride gravel bike on the road, you can ride road bike on gravel, you can ride a mountain bike on road and gravel.!!!!! As the saying goes horses for courses!!!!!

The biggest difference to me is when I ding a rim or dent a frame due to a larger stone pick up or pothole then I feel it in my pocket, whereas when MVDP et al due likewise then they jump off and grab a fresh bike off the team car. I have an Emonda SLR with a 28mm rear and a 25mm front with 48/35 x 11/33 Red AXS. My gravel is an iCAn with Campagnolo Ekar 13 cassette with 9/42 and 40 chainrings… no batteries to fail or break out in the wilds. Running on a nice pair of Roval C38 with 30mm Roubaixs for the road or 38 Pathfinders for the rougher trails. Horses for courses. The Emonda can only be ridden on the roads but the Gravelo can do both ( and at speed too on those 30’s she hangs on well with the fast Crit boys where I can’t even push the 9x 40 combo there days. (I’m 57 which is my max sprint speed these days too! ) Great reviews and thought goes into your videos David which are honest and enjoyable to watch. From the Gold Coast Australia

I think CX bikes make the best of both. For me a Trek Boone with 650B wheels. Shimano GRX 11 speed. Fast on road and gravel.

The tires don't make the bicycle, it's the frame. Another great video. Just because I can drive the tractor down the road to the next field doesn't make it a good family vehicle.

The biggest issue with a road bike going gravel is that road bikes have dog shit climbing gears if you're not ultralight and ultrafit.

love your videos! David! I would still be pushing for a revolt then - I been toying w the idea of going to colombia and doing some off road and letras pass, and I would like to get a revolt to go and bring 2 sets of tires, the off road set and the road set.

I’ve used a SuperSix EVO in this way for a light gravel Fondo here in the US. It was about 60/30 gravel-to-road ratio. It worked, but, by the time we were midway through I was dreading the next gravel section because of the chatter. Not the way it should be. For most US gravel events, I’ve long wondered whether it would be faster to go for a suspended gravel bike like the Topstone Lefty or BMC offering than the typical Crux or Aspero you see at races. In fact, I’ve been hoping someone would do a video comparing the speed of a gravel race bike (e.g., Crux) versus a suspended gravel bike over moderate gravel with the same tire setup. Also wondering if you could get away with running slicker tires on a suspended gravel bike versus a gravel race bike.

Great video

Well they seem to do it at world championship in Italy looked like a road race bloody ridiculous great content again David.

I did use my road bike on a gravel track. It did have plenty of clearance and was running 30mm tyres. There was a time before it was sanitised I would only ride my MTB down there! How times have changed! The techy bits I now ride down there I use my gravel bike and use my MTB for more challenging terrain! The goalposts have been moved again! 😄

Would be interesting to see how an endurance bike with max size tires compares to a gravel bike. Like a domane with 38 mm gravel tires. Plenty of clearance and pretty compliant geometry. Would be good to know what kind of terrain becomes too much for an endurance bike and a gravel bike is necessary - if at all.

As a person who has no intention of racing crits, but is a mid-pack gravel racer, I’ll take a gravel bike as my one and only. An extra set of wheels with slicks for normal road training/group rides would come in handy.

Interesting. I've used a Specialized Roubaix on gravel for some years but I guess (as the name suggests) that was the intention behind the bike.

My Factor Ostro was a fantastic gravel bike with 32s although a tight fit. I actually sold it because it was too soft for the road. Maybe that is why they just recently came out with the Ostro Gravel version.

Great stuff David 👍🏻👍🏻

Fatter tyre clearances are great for allowing people to have a comfy commuting setup without having to have two bikes but as you say, i think if you want to ride a large amount of gravel, a proper set up is the better option. How do you feel about putting 32mm ish tyres onto a gravel bike and using it as an endurance/winter training bike?

Trust me I'm riding a cinelli veltrix with 700x35c tyres it fucking works but honestly just ride what you've got and enjoy it enough said

I own a "Gravel" bike and any gravel specific design adaptations to my Diverge are to make it more comfortable to ride on gravel. If speeds your thing a less comfortable but faster option is a road bike.

I've got a friend with a nice Bianchi road bike. He was going to try riding rougher surfaces - so he got fatter tires. And by fatter tires, he meant 28mm tires. I thought he was nuts to think he could do that with a road bike but apparently he's not wrong after all.

Don't know what the big deal is. I use my Roadbike with 25mm Tires quite regularly on "good" gravel. Never had a problem.

I live in a region of Brazil with many VERY steep climbs, often with 14%, 16% or even more. The thing is that even with a gravel bike with 30/46 chainrings and an 11/34 cassette I sometimes have a hard time climbing these hills. With an endurance road bike I suppose it would be even more difficult. So the option for a gravel bike does not have to do only with tires. I must say, however I am not a very fit cyclist. I am an intermediate amateur.

Rather controversially I have been using spd pedals and mtb shoes on my road bike for the last 11 years. They're easier to clip in/out and the shoes are much better for walking about. The only negative I've found is the increased surface pressure but only after 7 or 8 hrs does it begin to cause discomfort. I've just taken delivery of a cannondale topstone 3 gravel bike and gone for spd pedals again 😀

As for tire clearance, why not put 650b tires on. As for the rocky, muddy and rutted trails wouldn't a typical mountain bike work better. I have ridden 25c tires on gravel roads, before there were so called gravel bikes.

what I'd like to see is a 'one bike to rule them all' showdown between CX, Gravel and Endurance bikes.

I rode SBT gravel on a road bike with 32mm panaracer gravelking tires. The bike was more than sufficient in the single track, the rain and the gravel.

David. Your himod from 2012 will take a rear 28mm tyre for the UK roads which are in fact gravel roads. Try it.

Yes, and on road tires. I once did a circuit race that had three miles of American style gravel roads on each lap. You had to ride in the car tire tracks to keep the rubber down. Many people who were using clinchers, flatted. This race was before tubeless tires, or wide tires became popular. I managed to get in a break with one other rider, and won it with a bike throw, on Conti Comp 22's. (the finish was on paved roads)

You surly can’t blame the WTB Vulpine tires David. These are great gravel bike tires for all but the chunkiest gravel and wet conditions. While listed at 36mm actually measured 37.5mm on my bike at 3 bar. My experience and all the other reviews I’ve read indicate that this is one of the most supple and sure footed gravel tire on the market while offering superb traction. Maybe your riding technique needs a little tune up.

I've rode my fair share of class 6 roads and mountain bike trails with 23's, so as far as I'm concerned, road bikes can handle anything

You chose a road race bike but an endurance bike would have a better geometry and clearance for the tires.

Really great video. I think gravel bike is more popular nowadays than roadbike. But Gravel bike here in taiwan is very expensive. Let see😊.

So: can you? yes. Should you? probably not. Would you want to use your road bike for gravel in the UK on a regular basis? er no. Will you break your best road bike using it regularly for gravel in the UK especially in winter? almost certainly. Another good discussion video - thanks.

Have you tried these wheelsin your TCR? As an owner myself Im wondering what the actual clearance is over the factory stated.

unbound, kanza ,bwr are all being raced and won on bikes like this, so yeah i can do gravel

I am running 700×40c Cinturado on my 2022 Giant Contend AR and absolutely luv it...can drop tire pressure down to 20-25psi depending on gravel conditions and gets tons of grip!

If i have money i buy an cervelo p3x/p5x put an drop bar, mount 650b rims and use an 40,42mm tyres and start to ride gravel with that sick machine. groupset? 50/34 DA with 11v xtr di2 w/11-40.

A gravel bike with road tyres for the road is less compromising than a road bike with gravel tyres on gravel? Meaning gravel bike is the way to go if you want just the one bike?

Geometry and gearing aside, what about fitting a road bike with 650/27.5 wheels? This would allow wider tires, yes?

Can you? Sure. Should you? How about some plushy 45c tires and a comfy gravel bike instead

I disagree I rode 90Km across 4x4 on 25mm TCR back in the day. That looks fantastic. Weight negates comfort. I'd take that with 32mm tyres over. a dedicated gravel bike any day. That's why all the pro's raced worlds on road bikes too. The industry copied curve but the average rider should be able to ride a road bike with 28mm tyres on what you just did

Last summer, I rode the Strade Bianche course with over 60k gravel on a cheap alloy rim brake road bike with 28mm tires (conti 5k) and had no issues whatsoever. I cannot believe you are calling 35mm tires „narrow“

It has done it again 2nd in men and 1st in woman, at the belgium waffle ride 2023. This bike can really be the do it all machine

An endurance road bike would be the right bike to choose for all round package...

Other way for me Giant Revolt with two wheel sets has handled all the duties for me.

Amazing ideia! My cervelo doesn’t have tire clearance unfortunately 😢

For amateurs your writh, But fore racing i think t'is is fine (in USA they race to with road race bike look at belgian waffle with the melee) and the races are lots with 35-38mm tyre

So, not ideal for gravel, it was ideal for what the UCI course designers deemed gravel to be.

Planning a trip to UK for first time 2023. Looking for a fun sportive to ride. Bring a bike vs rent?

100% agree!

Yes. I put 35mm on my Ultimate two years ago before others tried.

i think the biggest problem would be toe overlap. its bad enough on road bikes as it is with 28c.

Further proof about what amazing athletes and bike handlers the world tour guys are

So gravel and road bikes are allowing wider and wider tyres.

What's the "actual" tire size with the rim? What's the measurements with calipers?

its very interesting how all of the sudden, because a pro did it, I see people going crazy about this… come on, its not rocket science, we are not talking about putting an engine in a Tesla. A road bike with enough tire clearance can be used as a light gravel bike. You can even put a fork with enough travel to extend the wheelbase. Also you can use 650b wheels with 45’s it would be the same as a 700x28

I think your weight makes a big difference as well I’m around 71kg, in the summer when it’s dry 35mm tyres are plenty for me have ridden 32mm for racing CX for 25 years so they feel big! if I need more I ride my hard tail MTB maybe I’m old fashioned😊

That ultimate is gonna have paint scraped on the first gravel ride with that clearance

What they did in Italy was not gravel racing, that was road racing with some dusty sections. Put this bike on Unbound then see how it holds up in a race. That said, I think we are going to start seeing road bikes become more like gravel, and gravel get lighter and zippier, and eventually hit a convergence where they are effectively the same thing with just a few different part options swapped in and out.

If the bike allows you to. I wouldn't suggest slick tires on gravel.

I've been riding gravel on road bikes for years; whether that was a CAAD12, a few rim braked Domanes, with 30mm tyres.....I even put 30mm Schwalbe G-One Speed on my rim braked TCR.

What gravel is, is subjective to where you live really.

To be fair, first will run 33 or 36 cog rear. Also with this configuration could add an inner foam to protect rims and add comfort trough down tire presures. But for me i think could run a 35 terreno dry tires for gravel 1 and 2 terrain is more than enough. If you spent more than 40% of the time in gravel, or like go fast as you can or race, or ride challenging terrain then of course a more compilance bike with specific geometry will be better. Anyway seeing how fast can go pros in easy gravel terrain with this kind of bike open me to do some gravel in a more relaxed speed and spirit

I have to ask. What if you bought a cheaper set of wheels in size 650b. As a second set of wheels. Could you fit a larger tire?

Question: how far could I take it in terms of gravel roads with my Bianchi Infinito CV if i fit some gravel tyres? It has wide tyre clearance and endurance geometry. Thinking about getting a lighter road bike and adapting the infinito to a gravel bike

36mm? that's crazy clearance

Throw 650B on there instead. 700c with wide tires are huge.

36mm tyres and still not enough to tackle that Cotswald gravel?

Will you be testing the 2023 Domane as a gravel bike?

In fact, Vegan Cyclist already raced gravel with his Ultimate way before this came to light from UCI Gravel...

Just run tubeless and you don't have to worry about running low pressure and pinch flats.

Everything is simply explained. The pros choose road bikes for gravel with dual front drivetrains and the thinnest possible tires because they go really fast. With race fit geometry. Long wheelbase gravel bikes are stable but not agile, and heavy compared to a road bike. Suspension forks don't add speed as much as thick tires. all this is suitable for the average untrained cyclist with a weak heart and poor cycling skills.

bahaha, i knew it. the best gravel bike is a road bike with wide tires. we are finally there. 1 bike to rule them all. why have a bike that weighs 5lbs more. its absurd. im selling my revolt and buying the new tcr

The real question everyone really wants an answered is, "Can you use a fat bike for time trialing?"

Pro tip: use some tape to save your bikes paint when running gravel tires

Time for a buzz cut, Dave ;)

UCI Worlds Podium - Yes you can.

Nice 👌

Duh! At the dawn of cycling roads were worse than current gravel paths while tyres were even narrower than current road specific.

Have You tried 650B with 40-45mm maybe that will be the way to go ?

Should do a test with a gravelbike with road tires versus a roadbike

a road bike bike with knobbly tires.. isnt that a cyclocross bike?

Well I used to ride a Raleigh shopping bike with 3 speed Sturmey Archer gears and ......on what is now called " gravel" In the 70s 80s 90s no one gave a damn about the genre of your bike you just rode it where you wanted to.... usually not well though😏

I think the real question for the next video should be can you put road wheels on a gravel bike and it's just as good or better on the road as a road bike?

I wonder what the clearance is for 650b wheels

Is this video serious? How else were gravel bikes born-- by taking your road bike on gravel.

All limitations are in our head.

they used road bikes because it was clearly a road racing and they are pro.