Gravel Bike vs Touring Bike (Whats the REAL Difference?)

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Touring bikes and gravel bikes look pretty similar. What's the difference?

[TwowheeledChronicles]

I think it doesn't really matter what bike you ride. It's important why you ride. My wife and I rode from Europe to Australia on budget hybrid bikes, which cost 350 euros each .. And we were happy!

[plusbonus]

As soon as you said non-competitive cycling you got a subscribe from me.
Just the fun of riding and exploring !

[davidroberts]

For my supple life, the primary "just" is "just" get on a bike.


I'm 60-something and after a health wake-up call, I "just" happened up on some of your videos (by providence or "just" chance - we can argue that too...), then started riding again after locating my college-era Peugeot road bike that likely didn't cost $100 then and sure not worth that today but I put that back in it to get it going. Mostly riding local streets & multi-use paths, I soon became frustrated with pinched tires and all the little things that kept going wrong - but, the old Peugeot showed me "just" one thing - I want to ride!


As I started looking and listening I was amazed at the choices, the brands, the models; the categories & subcategories of bikes - its like a bike candy store out there.


Finally (for now), I "just" set a budget then narrowed it down to "just" 6 bikes. I am riding a Kona Rove ST because I have a local servicing dealer which I deem important. And, I "just" love it! That being said, I am very confident that I would "just" love any of those 6 or the other dozens of bikes that were "just" dangling in front of me as choices.


I like my bike and I feel good.


Thanks for a really great channel!!!

[mjenk]

I think a major distinction is frame flexibility. While carrying a significant load, particularly in the rear, a flexible frame will tend to feel like it is moving around a lot. Climbing out of the saddle exacerbates this distinction. My recollection of the Surly LHT is that it felt pretty dead when riding unladen. When laden, the LHT seemed to inspire confidence while descending.
Much of this stiffness distinction is due to tubing wall thickness explaining the heavier weight associated with a touring frame.

[vincenttribou]

Good video. I would add however that the touring bike is built to carry weight. As such it could be heavier (stronger) steel, would often have stronger wheels with more spokes, and generally also have a more "robust" groupset - up to barends etc. All this explains the weight difference. Now the frame itself if usually of very similar geometry, and you can most of the time convert a bike from touring to gravel and vice versa

[guilhermecaldas]

I always liked the idea of an all-purpose bike. In my case it’s a Surly Ogre that, like other touring bikes, is not intended to develop high speeds or to be super light weight. What I really enjoy about the Ogre is that I can assemble almost any gear I want. It's well suited as a touring, a commuting or an off-road bike.

[congerscott]

When we were kids we took our trashed out 10 speeds AKA road bikes ( back then they called them " English racers") and put wider tires on them because we couldn't find the correct tires for them to buy, there was no internet, it wasn't invented yet lol ! We did what worked, all road bikes and i mean ALL bikes had steel frames, we trail rode those bikes, rode wheelies and even took them off homemade ramps (jumps) maybe those were the first gravel bikes and we didn't know it, if that's the case i want back pay lol, great video, thank 59 years old and still riding every day 👍🏆.

[quijadriss]

A gravel bike is pretty much just a penny-farthing But with similar sized wheels, elongated frame, a geared transmission that has been transferred to the back wheel and a bit more stable geometry and bars.

[davidgriffin]

Just finished overhauling a 1984 Raleigh Portage, 100% original w/650bx38 wheels/ tires and 40mm cs...can't wait to see what it feels like on roads/paths (after the ice melts that is)

[brandonshaw]

I can't help but click when I see any video defining the gravel bike from others

[Masaki]

gravel bikes are good looking bikes for now. actually i wanna have it some day. i think i’m watching the youtube too much.

[joeh]

Watching this a little late but wanted to comment. I was looking for a compromise between touring and Gravel and think I found it in the Salsa Vaya. The bike is steel with a carbon fork, mechanical disc brakes, GRX components, and lots of attachment points for touring packs. The chain stay measurement is 450. I find the bike a smooth rider, comfortable, solid but I can feel the weight compared to my road bikes. Comes in at around 28 lbs. with pedals so once you load up with racks and packs it won’t be much different than a dedicated tourer. But I love going out on the bike just for leisurely 30 miler mixed road and trail. Good all around bike. I call it the Beast.

[djtoman]

I have a Surly Long Haul Trucker I bought in 2009, so obviously not updated with disc brakes and predating the gravel bike boom. I switched out the shifters from the original indexed friction bar ends and it's remained in that configuration ever since. I love the feel of the frame and never really want to part with my LHT, and was wondering if it would be suitable as an all-road or "gravel" bike. It's tempting to just go out and get an entry-level gravel bike like the Ozark Trail Walmart bike, but this video has encouraged me to look for ways to update my LHT as more of an all-terrain than touring bike.

[ttoth]

Well to me a touring bike, and this is super important, must be easier to fix on the side of a road !
If you want to go disk brake for example i would choose cable over hydro. I even choose to go V-brake for my touring bike as i don't plan to ride on mud. I also go for a more up position/geometry, i have to sit on my touring bike for 8 hours each day, for weeks with 30 kg of stuff, the goal is to never have too much effort. A gravel is sold to be able to do everything but imo it's not good for big tour, for a ride of some days sure, on a week end, for a mini tour even a bit on the "sport" side it's great, but if you go for month on your bike with a tone of stuff (i like having my coffee maker on the morning for example) well i prefer doing 20 km less each days and have everything with me, and no pain in the butt :3

Ofc that mean you have a more stable comfortable bike, so for the "fun" ride of one afternoon, where you take some gravel road etc... It's less efficient. It's ok to have more than one bike. I have 3 and i could see myself with more. :3

[brentirvine]

I decided against 'cobbling' something together; after endless hours of joyful research (it truly was fun) I decided on my version of a light touring/gravel bike... the Vaya. Love it.

[transfixit]

I'm more curious about finally understanding the difference between what seems to be a new trend (gravel bikes) and what we grew up with in Europe ("Tout chemin", all trail, by opposition to "Tout terrain", mountain bike).

[standingstone]

Touring bikes are designed for stability when carrying heavy loads. Gravel bikes aren't really designed for that but can do lightweight touring if fitted with the appropriate eyes for mounting rear racks. Most gravel bikes have carbon forks which are not suitable for mounting front racks. Horses for courses really.

[sheilaroote]

I'm a real newbie on bike terminology, it would be really nice if you could point out on the bike exactly what you are talking about. Most of what you are talking about is going over my head.

[kris.monroe]

It's interesting how much people want gravel bikes to "just" be mountain/cross/touring bikes with a list of tweaks.. I've always seen them as road bikes with wider tire clearance - that's it. Geometry, bars, often gearing, seems to trend much closer to road than mountain bikes.
Although smashing a wide tire into a road frame isn't as negotiable as changing everything on a mountain bike frame to make it work.

Maybe I'm crazy though.

Keep up your awesome videos! Always love your stuff.

[roadbikecommuter]

To sum it (the video) up: the only difference is longer chainstays in touring bikes! I hope you do a review of Trek 920. Keep up the good work!