Gravel bikes are a relatively new genre in bikes even though riding on dirt and gravel roads is not. Randonneuring has been around for over 100 years, the original bike races covered many miles of gravel roads because that is what they had. The original Clunkers would race down logging roads on flat bar bikes. Even today races like Strade Bianche and numerous stages in the grand tours include gravel sections in the race.So why a new bike for this? And what can it be used for? Gravel bikes have the features needed to be safe and comfortable riding on dirt and gravel roads including some single and double track routes. We know a lot of cyclists who like to use these bikes for those shoulder season rides when they don’t want to take their prized road bike out and get it all dirty. Or to take it out for a nice inner city coffee ride.
The next cyclist really likes getting outside the city and exploring new gravel roads they have never been on before. There is something nice about being on a road less traveled and as a bonus the number of cars that pass you can be next to zero.
There are the cyclists who have planned to get out there and challenge themselves to a long 100K plus gravel race here in Canada or down in the US.
Finally, there is the type of cyclist that will load a gravel bike up with everything they need for a weekend using different bike packing bags and head out into the wilderness for multiple days.
