I’m looking at gravel bikes, but my wife isn’t all that fond of the idea. I got a mountain bike this spring, and also have road bike and a tri bike. Adding another bike would be ideal, but I’m considering selling my road bike to get a gravel bike that could double for road and some off road - dirt and gravel.
My current road bike is a Cannondale CAAD 10 that I’ve upgraded with carbon wheels, SRAM Force and a Power2Max power meter. It’s not super light - somewhere just under 17 lbs. I really like the bike, but am looking at options that could double for road and gravel. The CAAD is not a disc brake bike, and I’m thinking that going with two wheel sets would be best on a new bike - one for the road and one for gravel(ish) riding.
Has anyone else considered doing this? Budget wouldn’t be that big - maybe in the $2000-$2500 range. Then I’d probably want to add a power meter and another set of wheels that would be more for road riding days.
I think a lot of people are in the same boat. 3T exploro race is one that seems to fit the bill. https://us.3t.bike/en/223-exploro-race. Its a little higher price range but hey …why not?
Same here. I sold my road and mtn bikes to fund the purchase of a 3T Exploro Race Max GRX 2X. I have 3 sets of wheels - aero road, gravel, and mtn 650b x 53. I love it! My TT bike will remain in the stable for triathlon racing.
You should check out the giant revolt as an option it has many different price points. My wife has the $1100 model and it’s quite nice. I even found myself taking it on gravel and paved road rides.
I considered this a couple years ago when I bought my gravel bike and decided not to get rid of my roadie. My main reasons were:
My road bike isn’t worth a ton of money and selling it wasn’t going to cover a decent second set of wheels for the gravel bike. I don’t know what your CAAD is worth but if your budget for a gravel bike is $2500 plus second wheels and a PM, you’re probably still over $3k even after you sell the CAAD. You can get a perfectly good gravel bike in that range and still have the CAAD for road riding.
I ride my roadie quite often, far more than my tri bike, and ride regularly in a pretty fast group ride. It only took a few rides on the gravel bike (actually CX bike - 2018 Specialized Crux) to realize that the goemetry and road feel were never going to be the same as my roadie, no matter what wheelset I put on it. Admittedly gravel bikes have gotten better and something like the Cervelo Caledonia might bridge that gap better than a purpose-built CX bike, but your CAAD is a race bike and if you like the way it handles on the road I think you’re unlikely to replicate that with a gravel bike. I’ve since upgraded to lightweight carbon wheels and more road-oriented gearing on my Crux but it will never handle like my road bike.
I’m also in the Boston suburbs and, as much as I love gravel riding, there just isn’t that much available in the area so I don’t ride the bike as much as I thought I would. I’m glad I have it but also glad that I kept the roadie.
I’m a believer in using the right tool for the job. I have a tri, road, gravel and mountain bike and if I had my way I’d have a second mountain bike for burlier terrain. There just isn’t that much overlap in their capabilities. I *could *do gravel rides on my MTB, and I *could *race tri’s on my roadie, but it’s more fun using the right bike for the task at hand.
I did that in January of this year. I was in need of a new road bike and decided grave. I bought a Trek Checkpoint. I love the feel. Currently I ride one tire for both road and gravel. My next investment which I have a deal on is a second set of wheels that I’ll use for road and then go a bit wider on my gravel tire.
I have bike envy sometimes when I see someone on their aero frame and deep dish rims but that’s usually when I’m not riding. I have no problems riding in a group. I may lose a wheel on a big acceleration that I wouldn’t on a road bike but as long as I stay calm and just turn the pedals I can usually catch back on.
You said you just got the Mountain bike, but how much do you love it/use it?
I would not give up my road bike. Sold my Mountain Bike to fund the Cx bike which I now race and ride gravel on. Can still ride plenty of decent single track with it. In fact, I enjoy the challenge and improving my handling. Still gets me up there, but after breaking my clavicle last year, decided was time to give up more technical stuff.
You could probably sell the fairly new MTB and get a really nice gravel ride.
I think a “gravel” bike can definitely fit the bill as an also-road bike. I’ve used my CX bike for gravel and if I didn’t also do road racing, it would be perfectly fine for road stuff. My CX bike has 46/36 chainrings so a little undergeared for some road stuff but it’s perfectly fine. Also being in the boston area, it doesn’t get a lot of off-road use besides CX races, and I used it for Gravel Worlds in Nebraska last year. Personally, I live down the street from the Fells and am looking for a cheapo MTB to ride the trails, and by cheapo I mean <$150 lol
I replaced my 2018 S-Works Tarmac this March with an Ibis Hakka MX, GRX Di2 with 11-34 cassette and 50/34 chainrings. It’s not as snappy and I occasionally miss the 52T, but I’m within a hair of my previous climbing PR’s and enjoying the extra gearing when off road gets steep. I run two wheelsets based on the same hubs so I can swap with little drama. I definitely miss the Tarmac and will get another roadie in the future, but for now I’m happy with the setup.
My road bike is now a trainer bike. It never goes outside. I have 3 wheelsets for the gravel bike - aero, commute, gravel. I don’t miss the extra maneuverability and lightness of the road bike, but I’m also not road racing. Plus, after riding on 32’s, I don’t want to ride on anything smaller.
I would have sold my road bike but it’s probably only worth $300-$400. So I’d rather keep it for that as a dedicated trainer bike.
Been doing this for ~8 years or so now. I found myself riding my cross bike almost exclusively, so got rid of my road bike. Haven’t missed it a bit. As long as your gravel bike isn’t too relaxed geo, it’ll be fine for the road. I run 25mm tires on 52mm deep carbon rims if i want to go fast on pavement, and 38mm knobs on HED belgium plus the rest of the time. The only real challenge is gearing if you want to do hilly offroad riding.
I did this recently. I don’t race much anymore so I didn’t go as bananas as some here would - - got the entry level 3T Exploro and put some tubeless Enve 45s on it for road, kept the stock wheels for gravel. I also put a Quarq on my bike and SRAM Force Crank but couldn’t use the little ring in front without the chain coming off. It turns out the Praxis chainrings that came stock were total garbage. Apparently they now Spec the bike with different chainrings (supply chain issue or acknowledgement of this issue . . . who knows?) Everyone shrugged their shoulders and pointed at everyone else so I have a brand new bike with big scratches and chipped paint from the chain coming off and lodging against the frame…not due to cross chaining or my abilities as a cyclist thank you very much. AND I purchased a new chainring (6800 Ultegra 34T).
Despite this rocky start and not being thrilled with my Exploro initially, now that the chainring issue is resolved I do love the one bike for gravel and road set up a lot. I live in a tiny house so I have to be selective about accumulating things - - so I won’t make a brand recommendation here but will say the one bike for two totally different courses is fantastic. You won’t regret it.
Thanks for all of the tips and suggestions! Anyone have experience with Ridley as a gravel bike? This one looks interesting, as it looks like it could do road and some gravel as well.
Why not just ride the MTB on gravel? I ride a HT 29er w/ fast 2.25’ tires for gravel and works just fine, I’d probably be a bit faster on a true gravel bike but I don’t do group rides or races so I’m not too concerned about a little more speed. I still nab some gravel KOMs on the MTB so it’s not that slow.
sometimes i think that gravel riding is something more consumed in image than in practice. there’s no doubt that gravel has the best branding in cycling right now - it’s cool and exciting and new and it looks really, really seductive. but will you really be riding gravel more often than road?
i’m not saying you won’t, for the record. and i’m one of those dudes who had a 'cross bike waaay before it was cool, because i just think they’re the oatmeal that’s just right. a lot of unpaved roads around the cottage where i road, i did a lot of long-haul touring on it, commuted, and even raced 'cross. still, i wonder if gravel bikes are the new fat bikes - remember 5 years ago, when everyone suddenly ‘needed’ one of them?
anyway: i think $2000 for a decent gravel bike +2 wheelsets might not be much, unless you’re looking second hand. people are suggesting rigs like the exploro, but yikes - that retails at closer to 3000 for a bare frameset. that thing’s a rocket, and then it’s like you’re upgrading to a ‘faster’ gravel bike than your actual road bike, and then it seems to me like the logic is getting fuzzy.
i’m thinking through all these thoughts myself because my 'cross bike just died, and my road/tri rig is getting old, and i’m also trying to think about how to reorganize my stable.
sometimes i think that gravel riding is something more consumed in image than in practice. there’s no doubt that gravel has the best branding in cycling right now - it’s cool and exciting and new and it looks really, really seductive. but will you really be riding gravel more often than road?
I think this is missing the OP’s point. Gravel bikes aren’t just for gravel! I have a Santa Cruz Stigmata set up identically to my road bikes – same measurements, same saddle, same aero drop bars with Dura Ace shifters, literally the same exact crank (I swap a Quarq back and forth between them). The only difference is I have an 11-42 cassette on it. With 32mm GP5000s it weighs about 17lbs (can’t remember the tenths). It might be a tiny bit slower on road climbs than my road bike due to the extra weight, but it ain’t much. And those 32mm tires handle wet or potholed roads with ease and a lot of gravel too. I keep a separate set of wheels with 40mm tires mounted for more aggressive off-road riding that I can swap out in 30 seconds. If I only owned one bike (I own six), this would be the one. It is awesome in all conditions. So my answer to the OP is: yes you can totally do this! I wouldn’t use a gravel bike for a tri, but for everything else it’s really do-able with almost no compromises. Find a nice frame from a year or two ago for cheap and have at it!
sometimes i think that gravel riding is something more consumed in image than in practice. there’s no doubt that gravel has the best branding in cycling right now - it’s cool and exciting and new and it looks really, really seductive. but will you really be riding gravel more often than road?
I think this is missing the OP’s point. Gravel bikes aren’t just for gravel! I have a Santa Cruz Stigmata set up identically to my road bikes – same measurements, same saddle, same aero drop bars with Dura Ace shifters, literally the same exact crank (I swap a Quarq back and forth between them). The only difference is I have an 11-42 cassette on it. With 32mm GP5000s it weighs about 17lbs (can’t remember the tenths). It might be a tiny bit slower on road climbs than my road bike due to the extra weight, but it ain’t much. And those 32mm tires handle wet or potholed roads with ease and a lot of gravel too. I keep a separate set of wheels with 40mm tires mounted for more aggressive off-road riding that I can swap out in 30 seconds. If I only owned one bike (I own six), this would be the one. It is awesome in all conditions. So my answer to the OP is: yes you can totally do this! I wouldn’t use a gravel bike for a tri, but for everything else it’s really do-able with almost no compromises. Find a nice frame from a year or two ago for cheap and have at it!
i guess, but then you’re also sort of arguing my point!
you own 6 bikes, and one of them (!) is a stigmata which is what, $2250 framset only, and you have it set up as a road bike that can do gravel if you swap the wheelset.
