The new build, poised near the top of Sulphur Mtn, Ojai CA. I still need to trim steerer and brake lines once I get the fit dialed. It’s a sweet riding bike with a ton of ability to get you out there in a different way than a MTB.
Even as I typed that post title into the box, I winced a bit. I even rewrote it several times before I ended up with those words. Gravel bikes…Adventure Bikes…All-Road, Any Road, Multi-Surface. The list goes on as the industry struggles to wrap it’s ad copy around a new genre of bikes that draw from the past and mix in the future, bringing together the idea of taking a robust, skinny tired bike onto something other than pavement, hardly a ‘new thing’, yet doing so with modern brakes, drivetrains, etc. is.
If you are looking to buy a gravel bike for yourself, make sure that check out reviews of the best gravel bikes. There are many websites which review gravel bikes, however, you should start of by looking at 10BestReviews.com as they go very in depth reviewing their products, the advantages and disadvantages of each product and factors to consider before you buy!
N+1. The idea that the perfect number of bikes to own is always one more than you have does smack of the insatiable desire to accumulate ‘more stuff’. But I will submit that, for many mountain bikers out there, this Adventure bike deal is the perfect foil to the average trailbike. Why is that?
Many cyclists are multi-discipline. I mean to say that they ride MTB and road, having at least one each of the type of bike that is made just for this. But many MTB’ers have tried the ‘roadie’ deal and found it lacking. It can be a bit pretentious and unkind to the unshaven legged masses looking to try skinny hoops for a change. It’s a different world for sure and the bikes can be a bit flighty and uncomfortable. Then there are the traffic concerns that make riding on public roads a lottery you do not want to win.
The first Gravel Bike I had was the second gen Salsa Warbird. A real peach of a scooter. Taken a few miles up the Old Ridge Route, a historic, forgotten, and gated road. Perfect for this type of bike.
I began road riding a couple of years ago now and I ride that at least 50% of the time. So I am dipping my bucket in two wells of different waters. But when I, with a good deal of skepticism, purchased and assembled a “Gravel Bike”, I honestly was not sure I could justify doing so. In So Cal, most all the dirt roads we have are hardly smooth or graveled. Yet that bike, a Salsa Warbird, has become one of my favorite bikes to ride and is different enough to make a lot of hardcore MTB riders sit up and pay attention.
Why is that? Bigger tires, lower gears, and slacker geometry than any normal road bike makes the typical Adventure bike a challenging and fun bike to ride. Challenging, as it is amusing to find yourself on roads or trails you would normally see only as an MTB route, working your way along on this drop bar’d rigid beast with tires way narrower than you would think even makes sense. Yet, there you are.
They are a road bike for mountain bikers in that they allow a pretty big tire, often up to 40C and more (1.5″-1.7″). That and a slower responding geometry…slacker head tube angles and longer chainstays with more BB drop…makes this a bomber-quality road bike. Slower a bit? Yes, but not as much as you would think and while all-out speed and response are not what they do best, a strong rider can still worry a pack of average roadies while aboard a decent Gravel Bike. I still have a Strava PR on a rolling, hilly section of country paved road done on my Salsa Warbird Gravel bike which preceded this build. And downhills on crummy surfaces like chip seal? Well this type of bike is comfy and faster than all get out.
What I love is the ability to make some large and interesting loops, loops that would be a bit laborious on a pure MTB (even a 29er hardtail) due to the longer stretches of pave’, but have enough dirt to where any road bike would be super sketchy and slow. And I enjoy the challenge too. To some degree, the state of the modern MTB can make most trails pretty tame, but get on a Gravel Bike and that fire road or smooth trail demands your attention to the correct line and a fine balance. It’s a hoot. And these things climb like scared rabbits.
Now to be realistic, they are not magic. You are still on a drop bar bike, a VERY rigid one with moderate volume tires so there are limits, but those limits are higher than you would expect them to be.
My latest ride is a fine example of what I would call the ‘second gen’ of production Gravel/Adventure Bikes. The Lynskey GR250 (which I am reviewing HERE for ridinggravel.com) is one of the latest efforts from this ‘Made in USA’ company that has been building bikes out of Ti longer than most cyclists have been riding bikes. They are not super high end like Firefly or someone like that, but neither are they outsourced, race-to-the-bottom Ti. Their pricing is at least approachable. Maybe the company might have used a price sensitivity survey or tool like Van Westendorp or similar ones that could have helped them in determining the consumer price preferences. Such tools can help businesses make their price point approachable to the consumers, although Ti is not a low-budget item.
From the Lynskey website:
“A frame that leads to freedom. The GR 250 allows you the freedom to roam almost anywhere without adhering to the rules of traditional cycling categories. With adventure oriented geometry, and loads of tire clearance, this model blurs all the lines, conquering any manner rough roads, gravel and mixed surfaces. The GR250 features a 1 ¾” biaxially ovallized downtube rounding out a butted, 3AL-2.5V aerospace grade titanium tubeset. Added to an adventure geometry that is designed for the rider to be in the cockpit rather than on the bike, and clearance for 700c x max 45 or 650b x max 2.1″ tires, this model is capable of taking riders over any variety of terrain in all-day comfort.”
Go USA. Make America great (and shiny) again.
As stated above, the Lynskey GR250 allows for up to a 45C in a 700c wheel/tire combo and for those seeking some real tire options, will fit a 650b (or 27.5″) wheel with up to a 2.1″ tire. That allows for some expanded capability for rougher trail surfaces if you are rolling on a 2.1″ 27.5 tire, although just how much room you will have will depend on what tire and what rim, etc.
Rear rack mounts and fender mounts allow for light touring or practical use like commuting, and the slacker geometry and smooth ride make potholes and curb hopping just a point of fun, not concern.
I am running FSA wheels with Panaracer 40C tires that are nearly 42mms wide. The drivetrain is SRAM Rival 22 based. Hydro brakes with 160mm rotors haul me down and the 36/46 crank and 11-36 cassette haul me up. So far 1:1 has been adequate on the low end and I seldom spin out an 11×46 gear.
That 40C Panaracer Gravel King SK on the FSA wheels is nearly 42mms wide. Great tire for all-round So Cal use.
Yes, you can run a 36T cassette with a standard mid-cage road der.
The Relevate Tangle frame bag is a permanent addition to the bike. I love the function it offers in carrying goods and it never gets in the way.
With the recent boom in Bikepacking, an Adventure bike like the Lynskey GR250 will fill a lot of those desires to ‘get out there’. Frame bags, handlebar bags, and seat bags keep it light and simple and many of these will take rear racks, others front racks too. It’s the real deal, these new Gravel/Adventure bikes and I am smitten. Even an old mountain biker can learn to love new things.
Coming back from an S24O aboard the Salsa Warbird. The GR250 will do this type of ride with juuust a bit more capability.
Note: The products shown here were purchased at a discount to Twenty Nine Inches for test and review. We are not being paid, nor bribed for these reviews and we will strive to give our honest thoughts and opinions throughout.
+1 about getting out of traffic. I’ve found that while riding dirt roads on my gravel bike, the drivers are actually careful and courteous. Even the diesel pickup a holes. I mainly ride mountain bikes but when the trails aren’t ready gravel has been refreshing. I’m glad it worked out. I didn’t want to resort to running.
did you consider going with a carbon warbird, versus a ti frame?
@Jkd…No. I wanted the 650B option and the rack mounts, plus I do not see carbon as something I want to hang bags on and drag around the backcountry. Race? Sure. Ride really fast? Sure. But not adventure based stuff.
just my slant on things.
gg
About 20 years ago I set up a Cross bike with a 3X9 XT drivetrain, v-brakes, and a flat handlebar. (I never liked dropped bars!) With the low gears it climbs the steepest roads and trails easily. With a light set of fast rolling Cross tires, the bike is almost as fast as a road bike but still capable on gravel and non-technical single track. With the relaxed geometry and lower pressure tires it is also much more comfortable and less twitchy than a road bike. I still ride this bike. This bike handles all non-mountain bike duties – road, gravel, cross, easy singletrack, even townie – with aplomb. It might be the best bike purchase I ever made. I imagine that the modern gravel bikes with disk brakes, 1x or 2x drive trains, improved frame designs, and wider tires are even better.
I dig Gravel bikes. However, I can’t help but wonder if a 29er hardtail with a short travel suspension fork set up with gravel tires might do better. Yes, the suspension fork adds weight but the increased comfort and control would be an advantage on dirt roads filled with rocks, potholes, and washboard. Any opinions?
@The Second Mark…A 29er hardtail, IMO, begins to be the thing to do once you find yourself thinking “I wonder if I can fit 2.2″ 29er tires on this thing?” (although the Salsa Cutthroat might disagree with me).
At some point along that line of progression you do end up with what I have heard called “a crappy 29er hardtail”. I find a bike like the GR250 a much different animal. It has a very, very different feel over a HT 29er. The drop bars give you more hand positions and the bike is quite a bit faster nearly anywhere except when the trail gets more technical or on downhills.
There is a reason we ride mountain bikes because they are very good at what they do. But those things they do well are not really the same thing that a gravel bike does well.
gg
Great piece! It totally agree.
I’ve been riding the mountains around LA for 25+ years and have never been more excited than right now as I have a gravel grinder. The flexibility and options it opens up are amazing. I look at the map now and can get creative to with my routes: start on pavement and where it ends and the dirt begins, keep going. The bike opens up some great loops. The mountain biking in the Santa Monica’s is honestly not that technical, so the GG is ideal.
Interestingly, I took my hard tail Niner Air9 and put drop bars, an Ultegra group, and 700×40 tires (kept the dropper post – it’s a must) and never looked back. Makes a killer cross town commute bike, too. Especially for all the rough and broken streets around Hollywood.
-Brendan