Is a Gravel Bike FASTER than a Road Bike? Giant Revolt VS TCR Advanced

Introducing my new long-term gravel bike the lovely Giant Revolt Advanced and what better way to see what it's all about than a timed road test against my my Giant TCR Advanced to see just how fast a gravel bike can be.

Content
00:00 Giant Revolt first look
00:25 How versatile are gravel bikes?
1:24 Revolt Advanced 0 price and details
4:27 Giant Revolt vs TCR road bike test
6:36 Which is faster?
8:07 What does this mean?

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[joonlee]

Great video! I am now convinced that for the VAST majority of us (who don't regularly race crits) a bike like the Revolt is the best bike coupled with larger tires. The expensive/aero/stiff bikes that the pros use with skinny tires are good for them but not for the majority of people on this earth. Plus, a wider tire (like a 38mm) can provide much more confident handling that may actually make you go faster than a skinny 28mm so I'm not surprised by the results of the David's test/video. Yes, a light racing bike will be easier to go up hills but so can a lightweight gravel bike. I'm ditching my stiff race bike and opting for a good all-round gravel bike that still weighs around 19-20 lbs with a good set of 38mm tires.

[Teddyspice]

My Revolt Advanced 2 with Gravelking 32mm slicks on a road wheel set keeps up with the best of them. Zero punctures as well. When I’m feeling more adventurous I throw the stock rims and some 38 semi knobs and it does great on the pavement until I hit the local gravel (even some single track). Very happy with the gravel bike, 2 wheel set solution. Looking forward to your long term of the revolt!

[BensMis-adventures]

Hi David, I bought a Revolt Advanced 0 based on your Advanced Pro review, and now you have the Advanced 0 too! My goal was to hit a 100km ride by the end of the year, I did it on my 3rd ride out! As a MTB rider I was concerned about how rough the ride would be, but I am very happy with it. Great to see I am not really going to lose much to the road guys if I ever decide to join them on a lap.

[BrettinLux]

I had a Giant Revolt but sold it as it was a little to big.Now riding a Trek Checkpoint SL6.I have a 104km road route that I enjoy as a long ride and usually do it in my Trek Emonda .Last week I decided to put my 40mm carbon wheels onto the Checkpoint and did the road ride on my gravel bike.I was 7 minutes quicker than my previous best and I put it down to the comfort of the 30mm tyres and the easier gearing up the 1300m of climbing.

[eteocles]

I own and regularly ride a 2018 Defy Advanced, 2020 Defy Advanced Pro, 2019 Revolt Advanced and a 2019 TCR Advanced Pro. I have ridden all 4 fitted with 28mm Grand Prix 5000's on Hyper 50mm wheels(plus other identical wheelset/tire combos), the TCR simply kills the Revolt when it comes to holding speed on tight turns and in agility on winding roads. The Revolt also feels heavier on climbs, not drastic, but noticeable. On fast descents the Revolt feels more stable, the TCR slightly faster but much twitchier. The Defy lands in between and is a better all rounder, in my opinion, than the TCR or Revolt.

[nitemunky]

I run my Revolt on 30mm Goodyear Eagle F1s for road riding. Goes great. TBH unless youre racing to any serious degree a gravel bike with road tyres will get you 95% of the performance of a more dedicated road bike.

[mathewkilgore]

I recently purchased a 2022 Revolt Advanced 3. 70 miles on the bike and loving it. I just logged a segment and hit a PR on the Revolt. It’s quite impressive just how “quick” this bike is. Compared to my 21 Emonda with 50mm clinchers I managed to knock of 28 seconds while riding the Revolt. Next on the agenda is to swap to a lighter wheelset with ~32mm tires to see just how well this gravel bike is on the road.

[MrTschalow]

I've been riding exactly this Revolt model since February and in my opinion there is no sense in getting a road bike for someone like me where every second doesn't count. The comfort benefits on bumpy roads or poorly maintained paths far outweigh the speed you loose!

[philtomlinson]

Great test, and I have to be honest the result didn't surprise me too much.
I'd love to see you do the test using the same wheels and tyres on the road bike and gravel bike. I suspect there'd be very little in it.
It would also be interesting to see a test over a much longer route, say about 80km. The longer distance would highlight any smaller differences which don't show up on the shorter test.

To be honest unless you're racing seriously, I think a gravel bike with a swap of tyres / wheels is plenty good enough on the road.
The main advantage to having two bikes is that it's nice to have something a bit more pristine for the road, whilst saving the gravel bike for the mud and slop.

[pscoop]

It would be great to see you compare these with the Hyper wheels & 28mm tyres on both. Also maybe using power meter pedals to try and push the same power on both over the course?

[jtalley]

I put 25 mm tires on my trek checkpoint and it was very noticeable that the 25 mil tires were much faster both up and down hill compared to the 40 mil tires that came with the bike.

[davidzacharie]

Love the channel and content, im at the point in my life of N-1. With a career and young family im not managing to ride all my bikes, (road, gravel and MTB) Im considering have a gravel bike with two sets of wheels, standard gravel wheel set and and another deeper section wheel set with narrow tyres (25-28mm) for the road. Im interested to see how a gravel bike with a road wheel set-up compares against an all out road bike. Yet to find a comparison like this on youtube.

[ashleyhouse]

Your test of the Orro Terra C gravel bike several months ago made me buy one. I use it all the time on the road with my carbon deep section wheels. I haven't actually tested but I think there's very little difference between that bike and my Cannondale Synapse.

I think if you tested the two Giants back-to-back with the same wheel and road tyre combo the results would be even closer.

[rudyelizondo]

Great vid, yeah I timed myself on my gravel bike vs my road bike on flat surfaces and there is only a small difference in the time. I own a soaeialized diverge with size 38 panaracer sk on it with psi of 40. The rims are carbon and the higher psi the faster it goes, lower psi of 25 for hard ruff gravel is smooth as butter. Safer and more forgiving on this bike than my road bike. The only drawback is the over toe.

[petervandijk]

I have a Giant revolt and a Giant TCR and prefer my TCR on the road but my Revolt runs very smooth to on and off road..i love them both.

[SteveBrill]

Interesting test Dave and it's exactly this thought process that led me to buying a new Trek Checkpoint SL6 etap and running both 40mm Bontrager gravel tyres and then switch to my Zipp 303s wheels with 30mm Goodyear Eagle F1's. The bike is 1x and geared for gravel, so inevitably I can run out of gears going downhill. But at my age I'm not wishing to break any land speed records. But so far it works out really well. Great video and keep them coming.

[TheTurnerturner]

I’d love to see you put the hypers from your tcr on the revolt and do a test.
To a lot of us who can only afford one bike, a gravel bike for commuting and gravel riding, and then swapping out the wheels could be the way to go. I don’t do races, just ride with mates and the odd fondo, so this could be the way for many of us to go. Plus the hyper seem to be a great set of wheels at an affordable price.

[bbweyman]

I've been using my Lauf Anywhere exclusively for almost two years and other than a bit slower handling on the road and twisty descents it's been great. Set up with SRAM Red AXS 2x, 10-33 on the road wheels and 10x36 on the gravel wheels. Both wheelsets are Zipp 303's.

[stephenwilliams]

It would be interesting to see how the gravel bike performs with the road wheels & tyres on... the idea of 1 bike but 2 sets of wheels/tyre combinations is an interesting proposition

[michaelwatters]

I bought the Revolt Pro 1 last year, I wanted something a little more comfortable than a road bike. It hits the mark! every ride is truly a pleasure.