I suppose the endurance bike might be more lightly constructed and weight a bit less.Īre there any other factors that would give the dedicated road bike an advantage in terms of performance or comfort? If one considers purely road use, would a gravel bike with 28-32mm road tires be at all disadvantaged compared to a dedicated road endurance bike with similar tires? Giant Defy, Trek Madone, Specialized Roubaix) and the sportier end of the gravel / adventure / all-road bike spectrum. There seem to be a lot of similarities between a road endurance bike with disk brakes (e.g. I have cantilever brakes on both of these bikes and they both perform beautifully on gravel roads no matter how gnarly or steep. The other one is a Surly Cross Check, on which I have 38mm tires. Originally, this bike was designed as a touring bike. One is an old 1983 Specialized Expedition that I had fixed up a few months ago. I'm using two bikes as predominantly "gravel" bikes. Realistically that's unlikely to affect performance in any meaningful way on a gran fondo, and once again some people might be fine with it, but a lot of people will prefer a steeper, lower-trail feel that's lighter on the steering and doesn't get wheel flop at low speeds.True. Handling is another area where gravel bikes are often extremely touring-bike-esque, with slack angles and lots of trail. Depends on a lot of factors, like what a given manufacturer considers a "gravel bike" to be. I can see obvious advantages in a gravel bike in terms of flexibility for use on different surfaces, so this would be choice for non-competitive riding, unless there is something I'm missing! I was really just interested in knowing whether there are any disadvantages to the "gravel/adventure" style of bike (with suitable tires) for long distance road riding. I guess it's mostly down fit and finding a comfortable geometry. But it fits so well, the 154 miles I did on Saturday left me with no discomfort whatsoever.You make some good points. Reference: I have just over 3,000 miles this year on my Ritchey Swiss Cross, which is inarguably "racy" CX geometry. Minor differences in frame geometry will go unnoticed, unless they compromise the fit. Points of contact are more important than anything else, followed a ways back by the tires. Unless we're talking about frames that put you into "extreme" positions, like TT bikes, so long as the bike fits you and you fit the bike, you can ride it as far as you want, as much as you want. This is another thing people put entirely too much thought into. Realistically that's unlikely to affect performance in any meaningful way on a gran fondo, and once again some people might be fine with it, but a lot of people will prefer a steeper, lower-trail feel that's lighter on the steering and doesn't get wheel flop at low speeds. Some people are fine with that, some might want a bike that naturally fits a bit more aggressively. A decent number of gravel bikes are very relaxed, like touring bikes. Couple that with the general push for fewer chainrings especially off the pavement, and gravel bikes often end up with much wider-spaced gearing than what many roadies would prefer. Steep gravel hills with loose surfaces can necessitate very low gears to stably climb, and this often means using very wide drivetrains. So a little extra weight is a possibility. Sometimes gravel bikes are further beefed up just for the sake of being tougher. Plus, gravel bikes typically have more clearance, meaning that a bit more material is needed to maintain stiffness and strength. Gravel bikes are more likely to use disc brakes, which are heavier than rim. If one considers purely road use, would a gravel bike with 28-32mm road tires be at all disadvantaged compared to a dedicated road endurance bike with similar tires?Maybe.
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