Mental Wealth Podcast

Welcome to Ask The Pedal list the podcast where I try to answer common cycling and strength training questions in small bite sized format. I’m your host Mukund Murali in each episode I take one question and try to provide a short but information rich answer which hopefully will help you implement right away.

In this episode I tried to answer the question what is the difference between a gravel and a road bike? 

To put it plainly, gravel bikes or Rd. bikes with thicker tyres. From a distance you can hardly make out the difference. On closer inspection, there are a few critical differences. First, the frames are a little more robust on a gravel bike. This is because gravel bikes are designed to go on non paved surfaces, so the frame has to be strong to put up with the rattles and shocks of riding on gravels, rocks, stones, tour roots, etc. So thicker down tubes. Head tubes and chain stays provide this much needed support and cushion for the rider. Another point is the provisions to attach bags and other travel essentials to the bike. Girl bikes have been used for bike packing trips, so storage for longer trips is essential. You see grommets on the fork, the down tube and seat stays to attach panniers and bags. Because of these two reasons, thicker tyres are preferred for traction on loose terrain and for comfort on longer rides. A road bike on the other hand by design is aimed for speed and lightness, adding stiffer grommets and thicker tyres make it slower. A rider on a gravel bike, on the other hand, is not looking for speed, it’s more about the adventure of off road riding. So some people with just the gravel bike have two sets of wheels, one with. Thicker tyres for gravel rides and one with thinner wheels with Rd. tires for on road riding. There are other differences as well, such as gravel bikes having a single speed, or rather a single front chain ring, whereas a road bike has a double or in some cases a triple front chain rings for more speed and more gearing options. 

Some consider the gravel bike to be a different flavour of the mountain bike, meaning the gearing and stiffness of the frame is similar to that of a mountain bike and with the. Replacement of the handlebar with that of a road bike makes it a gravel bike and in a lot of cases it’s true and I have converted my own mountain bike into a gravel bike. So this is this is certainly the case and this is applicable to a lot of situations, but on the whole the gravel bikes are thicker versions of Rd. bikes, which provides much more flexibility for the rider with just a couple of wheels or even the same wheels, but with the different sets of tires, one bike can kind of. Hit multiple goals of the rider in terms of taking it off road on on street and also as a daily commuter. And even I have found it very useful in a lot of instances where I just take my gravel bike to to ride on the road and then hit the trails near my house. Which I would not be possible to do on a road bike by itself.

So hope that answers the common question of the difference between a gravel and a road bike, and I will see you on the next episode. Cheers and have fun.