This Mountain Biker Hates Gravel Bikes - Can We Change His Mind?

Let's just say, like most mountain bikers, Rich isn't the biggest fan of gravel riding. But you should never knock something until you've tried it! Blake Samson's mission today is to convince Rich that gravel riding is an underappreciated discipline of mountain biking. It promises to bridge the gap between road and offroad riding, so why wouldn't it be fun?

⏱ Timestamps ⏱
0:00 - Welcome back you beautiful people!
0:22 - The bikes
1:35 - Let's go for a spin!
2:19 - Why not just ride an XC bike?
3:00 - Let's hit some single track
6:58 - Cuppa Tea

Useful Links:

Have you ever tried gravel riding? Let us know what you think in the comments!

Watch more on GMBN...

🎵 Music - licensed by Epidemic Sound 🎵
Dancing as One (Instrumental Version) - ELWIN
Game for You - Daniel Fridell
High Tech - Rocket Jr
Hokey Pokey Rumble - Speedy The Spider
Run for Cover - Sven Karlsson
Street Smart City Dawg - Def Lev
The End Again (Instrumental Version) - Par Hagstrom

#GMBN #GlobalMountainBikeNetwork #MTB #MountainBiking

The Global Mountain Bike Network (GMBN) is the world’s largest and fastest-growing online mountain bike channel and community – and your destination for the best mountain bike content in the world.

GMBN is dedicated to inspiring and unlocking your riding potential. Our videos cater to fans of every mountain bike discipline: from mile-munching cross-country (XC) riders, through adrenaline-fuelled dirt jumpers, gravity-hungry downhillers or aspiring enduro racers, and beyond.

Our ex-pro presenting team are on hand to entertain and inspire you while also providing a uniquely qualified insight into the world of mountain biking. Every week we deliver original daily videos that include:

Adventurous and entertaining features
Mountain bike skills coaching
Technical advice and guidance
Mechanical know-how to keep you rolling
A place for the riding community with our weekly Dirt Shed Show

Thanks to our sponsors:

Watch our sister channels:

[gmbn]

Have you ever tried gravel riding? Let us know what you think in the comments!

[Sixbillion]

I have a gravel bike, and honestly, I prefer riding road with it. It’s more for the occasional cut thru off-road. Riding single track on one stinks.

[TheMachoGabacho]

I’m sticking with my two-bike setup: XC bike for the rougher stuff and endurance bike for road and light gravel. My Domane can fit 35mm tires. If I need more than that I go for the XC hardtail.

[ffe]

I do a lot of gravel races and ended up getting in to mountain biking from it. Our local race series kept getting more extreme and adding more single track and tech to races. People on xc hard tails started destroying everyone. I built a hard tail with more gravel like geo and a big front chain ring and thought well of i have this I might as well try some xc races and I've been absolutely hooked on xcm since

[marksandoval]

I ride gravel but my gravel bike is a full-sus XC bike with gravel tires.

[ivostarmans]

Next to my trail bike, My gravelbike with 45mm tires and 1x11I use it on xc trails, gravel and road. Very fun and versatile.

[ivarsmaurans]

As an owner of both gravel and XC bike i can say that i love both. They are somewhat similar, but not the same. I can't agree with Blake, to my mind gravel bike is not for the singletrack. It's simply too sketcy and uncomfortable. Gravel tires are nothing like XC tires, the grip is much less and they dig in sand. But the gravel bike is way faster and it's great for everything else, commuting, gravel, exploration, travel, road and simply riding along. Every time i do not have specific plan for the ride i grab my gravel bike. However if i'm heading for the woods, i would definitely pick XC bike.

[dcv]

PLEASE DO THE TOUR DIVIDE Gravel Race! That would be AWESOME!!! 😎💯💯💯💯

[robertbransby]

Pointless, he knows he'd have far more fun on an XC bike

[Verbot]

I just love all videos including Blake

[steffgofpv]

My gravel bike is mostly used as a bike packing bike and I really like it. But for the occaisonal road ride or on forst roads, it is good fun too 😅

[junka]

Never ridden a gravel bike but I would say for road riders who just want a little more adventure, they're going to be a good option as they're basically a beefed up road bike.

[KManhunters]

Gravel bike for road and gravel aka not technical stuff. Hardtail mtb for forest, single tracks, etc. FS XC for marathon races.

[charlesstafford]

Don't knock gravel bikes! Underbiking is fun, especially on smooth singletrack. The climbs are a breeze on a gravel bike and the descents are sketchy AF!

[kbrsk]

Longer mountain rides can include highways or roads to get back to the car. Having knobby tires is a detriment on those road sections. My gravel has the Fox 32ax Fork to save my hands and arms on the vertical descents.

[speedbird]

Had my Gravel bike just under a year. Bought it to ride road in the winter. However, over the summer I took it on all sorts of off road, including tracks and trails, and I absolutely love it! Little bit of air off tree roots, riding steep off road muddy descents. Might only be going 10mph but I do have a big smile on my face when doing it!

[markhay]

Underbiking a breath of fresh air really hones the skills and bike handling. Loads of fun. Your not going to beat a MTB off road but if you like a challenge and want to improve your fitness gravel bikes are a must 👍

[jamiefarrell]

Love that Blake and Rich are gravelling in mtb territory 🙂 I think the versatility is the key argument in this use case…you can throw in laps and loops on the trails when you’re doing other rides. Rich’s conclusion is the right one…it doesn’t replace your MTB, but there’s definitely room in the garage for one. Love my Crux…and my Epic Evo…and my Ostro VAM

[neilelliston]

I tried it once. Fast on smooth stuff, but not comfy. And rubbish downhill

[Damiendrops]

How about a manual challenge between a gravel bike and mountain bike, then finish off with a very steep, technical descent? That would be good video.