![]() Gravel bikes are designed much like road bikes, with a classic riding position with a nod to aerodynamics and comfort - it’s not upright like a beach cruiser, nor slammed down like a time trial bike. Keeping the braking surface out the way of dirt and grime, they offer far superior power, modulation and durability out on the trail. While road riders quibble about rim versus disc brakes, hydraulic disc brakes are the most preferred option off-road. Donning the name ‘dinner plate’ due to their sheer size, cassettes such as the SRAM XG-1295 Eagle range from 10t to 50t. Mountain bikes almost exclusively come with a 1x setup, as a number of drivetrain manufacturers have been able to invent a huge cassette range that will give you the right gear no matter if you're going 8km/h or 35. But if you enjoy doing repeats on 12 percent gravel climbs, you’ll want as big of a range as possible. If you live in the flatlands of Iowa, you probably don’t need a 2x setup with a huge cassette. ![]() The gravel world is still pretty split when it comes to 1x or 2x setups, and it usually comes down to where you’re riding. There are tons of gearing options for both gravel bikes and mountain bikes, and you can find setups including one, two, or occasionally even three front chainrings for either kind of bike. Modern gravel bikes have begun to incorporate more and more ‘mountain bike technology,’ such as 1x drivetrains, wide-range cassettes, and powerful disc brakes. (Image credit: DNA Photographers) Gears and brakesīelieve it or not, there’s actually a lot of similarities between gravel bikes and mountain bikes when it comes to gearing and brakes. Here are the similarities and differences between gravel bikes and mountain bikes. Millions of cyclists around the world suddenly started shopping for gravel bikes, but many didn’t really know what they were looking for. The best gravel racers in the world, at least for now, seem to be former WorldTour pros, with Laurens ten Dam, Peter Stetina and Ted King all seeing major success in gravel racing.Īside from racing, the popularity of gravel riding took off like a rocket just a few years ago. The most popular gravel races around the world are typically 5-10 hours long, on courses of up to 200 miles including 10,000+ ft. Gravel racing, on the other hand, has more of an ultra-endurance theme. Mountain bike racing has been around for decades, and includes both men’s and women’s racing in multiple forms, including Short Track Cross-Country (STXC), Cross-country (XCO), Enduro and Downhill. When it comes to racing, mountain biking is much more established than gravel racing, which is still in its unofficial, unsanctioned, unwritten-rule-filled infancy. Drop bars and close-to-road-frame geometry help create this illusion and it’s a fun feeling when you turn onto a gnarly gravel road and still have most of the grip of an off-road bike. Their frames are light and agile, and the road feel is very similar to a road bike. With lightly treaded tires pumped up to 40psi, most gravel bikes can roll almost as fast as a road bike. From the best mountain bikes for beginners for taking on entry-level trails, to the best lightweight mountain bikes designed to take on cross-country racing and the best downhill MTBs to throw down a World Cup course. Mountain bikes are made for off-road riding. Again, it’s hard to define ‘gravel,’ but we know one thing for sure: gravel bikes are not mountain bikes. Gravel bikes are meant for all sorts of riding, both off-road and on, from dirt trails to gravel roads and the stretches of tarmac in between that piece a route together. What is the difference between a gravel bike and a mountain bike? Before we dive into those details, let’s look at the broader purpose of gravel bikes and mountain bikes. A gravel bike isn’t a whole lot different from the options we already had - namely the best hardtail mountain bikes and cyclocross bikes - but there are a few key differences that give the gravel bike its name. The bike industry has really committed to this ‘new’ idea of gravel riding, following the discipline’s explosion in popularity during the last decade. ‘Gravel cycling’ is truly an undefined term - it can really mean anything from rough pavement and rock chunks, to sandy dirt and singletrack trails.
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