Gravel Vs XC Mountain Bike: What Is The Best Do-It-All Bike?

Okay okay, we admit it, modern cross country mountain bikes might not actually be boring despite what we've previously claimed. In fact, just how capable is an XC 29er compared to a gravel bike, and which is best? We put a Canyon Grail up against a Canyon Exceed on a variety of terrains to find out...

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What do you think is the best do-it-all bike? Let us know in the comments below! 💬

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[ThorDyrden]

so it simply boils down to the most fundamental rule of biking: "You just need one additional new bike for that special road" 😃

[peterbarclay]

Can we just take a moment to appreciate the level of skill chris has track standing, talking and top class presenting all at once. While making it look effortless.

[charliebamford]

I like both MTB & Road riding but what I really like about MTB is the fun. I don't measure speed as much & I find that the secure grip of my MTB helps me to relax & enjoy. MTB is fun even if you don't race!

[Vam]

I bought a gravel bike this year and it’s been loads of fun and opened up many new places to ride. This video makes me want to get an XC hardtail though. If you are not racing, the overall experience of the ride is what is important. The faster overall bike in this test was the hardtail, but more importantly being a few seconds slower on smooth payment is not nearly as much of a bummer as being bounced around on rougher terrain or not having enough gearing for steep pitches.

[marksmithWLC]

Which all goes to prove one of the fundamental laws of cycling: n+1

[jjacekj]

Doesn't matter what bike you ride, it comes down to one thing: having fun :)

[stevedinverno]

Back in the mid 90's I started on a non suspension 26" wheeled hardtail from Orange and hit the trails all over the country from fast single track to the roughness of the lakes. Back then there were no bike parks it was all natural. You finished black and blue, crashed many times but what fun. Wow what freedom the mountain bike gave you. Over the years the bikes developed to the full blown all mountain full suspension bike I was riding in places like Whistler Canada, it floated over trails which were unbelievable that went on for miles. The bike making me look a far better rider than I was. So recently I got myself a Gravel bike to take me back to those days in the 90's where it was you against the trail, not the bike. What a shock I had, it was horrible!! The position for off-road was so wrong. It showed how amazing the modern mountain bike is at riding the trails now. I soon swapped it out for a Trek 29'er hardtail with 100mm of front suspension, which gave me so much more control and now in my 50's a little more comfort when bouncing on the rough stuff. Yes the gravel bike has its place as a great touring to dirt road blaster, perfect for those fire road blasts, especially in America. If you are not loaded up with bags then a 29'er can do all that and more with little more comfort off-road. I like the idea of a racing bike you can ride off-road but reality is unless your thing is for coming back all bashed up like we were all back in the day then a modern 29'er is perfect. I wished these existed back then when I was younger. What an off-road weapon. If you want to ride the road get a road bike. Whatever you ride have fun...

[woody]

On roads and smooth trails the gravel bike is faster by a few seconds. On rough tracks the mountain bike is faster by minutes. So there's very little difference and advantage to a gravel bike in its best conditions and loads of advantage to the MTB in its best conditions which overall makes the mountain bike a better all rounder.

[cdamian]

Mostly tells me that if you got a road bike already, then get a mountain bike before you get a gravel bike.

[kevinbowe]

This is a wonderful experiment. I would like to see the same experiment, with the same bikes, ridden by Neil Donoghue and Blake Samson from GMBN.I suspect that their experience will be slightly different. Since Gravel Riding sits somewhere in between Road and Mountain, a riders 'point-of-reference' will give a different result/opinion. Thanks and keep up the great work!

[ReneHoffmann]

I think they focus to much on the speed in these challenges but for most of us I think it's about fun and comfort?

[dennisuerling]

As a mountain biker, I will always choose a mountain bike over a gravel even on light gravel. HOWEVER, there is a point that was missed to be completely fair to the gravel bike. There was mention that you can go slicks on a mountain bike and that is fantastic for light gravel and is fine for roads and commuting. However, the opposite should be true of the gravel bike as well. If you push the limits of the tire size on the gravel and get something a bit wider and maybe with nobs, it should be perfectly fine for rough gravel and light mountain biking trails.

[AK-leys]

Is it just me or do road bikers talk about the most basic mtb trails as if it's redbull rampage

[VirtualFreightDog]

If you are in the woods and say ”He looks aero”, you might be a road biker.

[paulcuthbert]

I'm 100% a roadie but I still watched this, totally engaged, for half an hour. The power of GCN!

[lauig]

So basically, doesn't matter which bike, the important part after all is to know the directions to the closest pub.

[nbergstedt]

A few friends and I did an off-road bike packing trip earlier this year in northern Minnesota, and we all had hard-tail plus bikes... until a four joiner came on board with a 38 mm tire gravel bike. Needless to say, we were all a little curious how this was gonna work out. The results, as you’d expect after watching this video, were that the new guy blew us away on the hard-packed logging roads, but the rest of us had to spend a little quality waiting time whenever we found ourselves on rocky and muddy forest trails. And boy oh boy, the descents on the rocky trails were absolutely incredible on the plus bike! Just exhilarating.
I’d also like to add: Kudos to that gravel bike! We all expected at least one flat tire from him over the four day trip, but no! Not a single flat!

[RobertWaldron]

We are all different, I prefer my 29er because I appreciate more comfort and reliability in the sense of knowing whatever the terrain, even pot holes on roads, it can cope.

[gsrossco]

Great comparison. I've just bought a gravel bike and I own a hardtail. Must confess I like the gravel bike over terrain that contains stretches of deep sand, gravel, and really rocky trails. Overall I'm slower on the gravel bike, but the challenge is greater and the adrenalin buzz is higher when I finish. Think some people call it underbiking.

[Deuteross]

Chris is absolutely smashing it at 20:57. I can't imagine anyone could be significantly faster on this trail.