Gravel Bike Vs Road Bike Speed

It is great that road bikes and gravel bikes are good at different things.

Gravel bike vs road bike speed.

What is a gravel bike and why do i need one. As usual the idea comes from the us where the countryside is crisscrossed by miles and miles of unused tracks designed to help fire trucks navigate around remote forests. Here are some fast facts. Road bikes will also have a longer reach and shorter frame stack and head tube to facilitate a longer lower more aero position while gravel bikes are shorter and more upright.

A gravel bike has a large clearance for tires. Gravel is faster than trail maintaining an average speed of 25 km h 15 5 mph on a mountain bike over rocky and technical terrain would put you in a very elite category. In truth they sit somewhere between the two. And that can mean a lot of fun and a fresh look at where and how you ride a gravel bike can raise a smile in so many ways there are lots of.

On the slopes of the epic jebel shams climb in oman ollie and si looked to settle the battle once and for all with this gravel bike vs road bike race. Simply said a gravel bike is a combination of a road bike happy on tarmac and a cyclo cross bike happy on mud. You ll still get plenty of gears for most road riding but you won t have quite enough high gears for when the speeds gets very fast like 26 mph to 30 mph or faster. At first glance not that different from a cyclocross bike gravel bikes are actually distinct and often closer to an endurance road bike.

If you are a road bike racer then a gravel bike probably won t work as your primary bike. Gravel bikes can be thought of as the fusion between cyclocross bikes and road bikes. My gravel bike is 1 or 2 kmph slower than my road bike with 32mm slicks on it mainly as its more upright in position over a 50km or so ride. My long low road bike with aero wheels and 28mm compass tires is materially faster than my gravel bike with a more relaxed riding position low gearing and 700 42 compass tires but they are both great at what they are designed to do and without trying to perform like the other.

Many gravel bikes these days have a 1x single chainring set up in the front.