Road Bike Vs Gravel Bike: 6 Key Differences

What are the real differences between gravel bikes and road bikes? With more road cyclists riding gravel bikes, Si investigated the top 6 differences between gravel bikes and road bikes, including tyres, bike gears, bike frame shape and much more!

00:00 Intro
00:21 Tyres
01:41 Gears
02:42 Geometry
03:55 Weight
04:20 Pedals
05:19 Mounting points

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[gcn]

Road or Gravel... What would you choose? 👇

[gravelmeri]

Majority of roads aren't perfectly smooth so I even join road races with my gravel bike that has two chain ring and it seems just fine. I can efford only 1 bike and gravel bike is perfect for every type of riding scenario.

[OMCBOONE]

Asked my cousin for a good road bike recommendation few years ago.. He told me get a gravel bike because you can do pretty much anything with one.. road and offroad.. So I ended up getting a gravel and few sets of tires for both on and off road. Love it..

[StanWatson]

I ride mostly on the road, but switched from a road bike to a gravel bike 3 years ago, and will never go back. For one, a lot of roads these days are chip seal, basically compressed gravel, and the ride is much smoother with a gravel bike. Two, I have a balky back, and being able to more easily adjust the tire pressures (going tubeless) on my gravel bike for the conditions makes my rides so much more comfortable. Three, when I used to ride a road bike and came upon some gravel I slowed down considerably and proceeded with great trepidation. But with my gravel bike, I actually speed up and rip through the loose surface with confidence (and fun). I'll gladly sacrifice a little speed for the comforts of a gravel bike. It's not like I was winning any races anyway.

[nerigarcia]

I recently sold all my road race bikes but one and replaced them with a 2x gravel bike with a set of road wheels with 30c tires and tighter cassette, and gravel wheels with 43c tires a wider cassette. It's suiting me just fine as I ride mainly road but am older and not as flexible or fast anymore. I tried more adventure gravel frames but they seemed sluggish on the road so I went with a gravel race frame which made it a nice blend of a road race and gravel bike, which was perfect for my needs. I still keep the mechanical, rim brake road bike around for when I want to go uphill or on proper road rides with the club, but my all-road/gravel bike seems to be doing the trick these days. Plus, I have more space in the garage replacing 3 bikes with one.

[tristamrossin]

For pure versatility I went with a gravel bike. It's simple really, there's very little difference between a gravel bike and road bikes on the road, but a huge difference on more gravely, muddy paths. The gravel bike is just a better all-rounder with very little compromise.

[fotmheki]

As most of things, it's always depends on application and personal choice.
I recently switched completely to gravel bike because I prefer the versatility and having multiple mounting points is a plus for touring/bikepacking, also I do not have the legs to push a road bike to 80% of his capabilities 😂

[seanmorgan]

After years of riding a Cervelo road bike have now migrated to almost always riding my titanium Wondercross gravel bike. Does everything I want and not that concerned about the extra 3-4 kmh the road bike can give me. With 12 speed, electronic shift and very wide gear range it does everything I need

[Z-u-m-a]

Not sure if you've already done this, but it would be great to have a test where you do a longer road ride on both a road and gravel bike but with exactly the same set of (road-based) wheels and tyres on each. Same gearing too or very similar - at least a 2x.

Maybe two of you doing it, one on each bike then swap half way through. See how they really compare for speed, comfort, and feel etc.

[cherriagana]

My favorite, My gravelbike with 35C tires and a 105 groupset 53+11/25casette xD
Perfect commuter bike and fun at the weekends :p

[mickp]

I've just taken the plunge and ordered my first gravel bike (Titanium 1x with Sram Force AXS electronic shifting). Driven by a desire to take the road (or track) less travelled, it should be quite a contrast to my carbon framed, rim brake, skinny tyred, old (but loved) Pinarello. For me, it's time to slow the pace and explore.

[BrianRPaterson]

Gravel! Definitely. Mostly for the tyre clearance.
For years my road bike has been a cyclocross frame with skinny tyres. In recent years I've graduated to 35mm rubber, which irons out most of the road buzz.
So, a gravel bike seems to make a lot of sense.

[TheCrasian]

I recently picked up a Cervelo Aspero, it's the perfect mix between road and gravel. Comfortable for long rides and still nimble enough for the roads. Gravel bikes all the way.

[bradbailey]

As someone who has enjoyed both road and mtb, I converted to gravel two years ago. My compromise was 35s, Ekar 1x, and aggressive geometry (3T) over slack. Even though I ride mostly on road, I enjoy the versatility for trails, fire roads, rough tarmac.

[adamsandler]

Thanks GCN.
After watching your channel (incl. GCN Tech) for 2 years and having watched ALL of the episodes from that period plus some episodes reaching 6 years back, you finally explained the difference between road and gravel bikes. Well done mates ;)

[davidbraddon-mitchell]

For ages I was a road rider; then a couple of years ago got a Grail, which was better on the road than my 12 yer old titanium/campagnolo road bike! But recently I shelled out for a modern road bike, and it's fun to be able to ride on the road even faster. If I was to have only one bike, it'd be gravel with all road tyres. Better still, gravel with two wheel sets. But if money and space permit, it's awesome to have both gravel and road!

[martinbauman]

We have a Giant Road, Mountain & Gravel bike. We prefer the Gravel as it is a very versatile and safe bike which we ride anywhere. Absolutely awesome bike.

[xosece]

found my perfect bike, the Canyon Roalite 6 (5 is fine too) and I hope to get it next month. It has the best of both worlds, 1X drivetrain, 46T chainring and a 10-51 cassette, and flat bars! When I found it by sheer chance I couldn't believe my eyes! (I wanted to cry) It seems to be designed by me. It almost has the speed of my 48T road bike (I can get up to 54Km/h or so, 11-34T cassete), and the easy gears of a MTB with the simplicity of 1X. It accepts 32mm slick tyres or more. Also it looks gorgeous. Plus it weighs 10, 06Kg. Superb. Why don't we see more bikes like that?? Not even most gravel bikes achive that.

On my road bike with a 48-34T chainring and a 11-34T cassette there are some hills on my region that I can't climb without issues, something that on my 22-30-40T 11-34T MTB with the middle 30T chainring-34T sprocket, I can climb basically almost everything

[joelwhite]

I picked a gravel bike, mainly because I have only ever really rode mountain bikes, and also because I like having options. With my gravel bike, I use the same pedals as the mountain bike I own to quickly switch between them. I also tend to like the SPD cleats for MTB, as I sometimes have to walk and do things off the bike.

This is particularly my use case.

Also I am getting a second set of wheels with road tires if I want to use the bike in such fashion.

Thank you for the video

[cruachan]

When I got back in to cycling this year I bought a gravel bike (although I have an old 80s Raleigh road bike that needs some TLC!) as after much research it covered the most ground for what I wanted to do. NCR routes around me go through country parks and there's also routes on old railways and canal towpaths, and want to do some bike packing so light offroad capabilities were a must for me.

My gravel bike does have a road groupset though (Sora 2x9), although that is very common at the low end or the market.