This Guy HATES Gravel Bikes - Can We Change His Mind?

I found someone who thinks gravel riding is I know I couldn't believe it either I don't know how you can find any negatives to this wonderful ever popular side of cycling so today I've decided to invite said gravel skeptic out for a gravel ride and see if I can change their mind in the process oh my goodness so rich has left me for dead yes I'm coming in boom it's what I call hiker bike Rich Payne mountain biking hitter off-road wizard an all-round lover of anything two wheels he's been riding the rough stuff most of his life and whilst he may admit to enjoying the odd ride on his roadie most of the time you'll find him hitting jumps steep trails and sending it big style so when I heard man rings of his skepticism for gravel I was surprised what does he have against this beautiful part of our sport doesn't own all Rider grab a bike and I've heard he does have a tendency to roll his eyes at the mere mention of the G word so I've sorted them out with a bike told us meet me here for my local Loop I'm hoping that I can change his mind what's your main reason for not liking the gravel you know what I just don't get them they're like an inadequate mountain bike okay and an oversized heavy road bike so I just don't I don't get it okay well I'm gonna try and change your mind and get into it a bit more about why those reasons are forever you're kind of you're hesitancy yeah okay I think for us road is it's a way of kind of continuing our love of heading out enjoying different routes and just getting a bit more of an option out there and finding those different sort of routes to explore but let's hit let's hit it yeah yeah I've got a root plan all right lead the way a few few kind of gnarly bits of nice Scenic spots okay any cups of teeth Fair coffee maybe we start our ride heading south from the city this part of the UK is known for its small lanes open access byways and farm tracks I've planned a 35 kilometer Loop which should take in some of the best local spots a few rougher sections yes but if we stick to my plan nothing too ridiculous this is a gravel ride after all right now you ready first gravel sector well I'm Keen I am genuinely Keen to give this a whirl so uh I'll let you lead out let's follow you this is a nice one all right Mom let's do it get rounded as you say Rowdy ass I'm doing it I'm grappling favorite little [ __ ] mate you get it first thoughts from Rich despite the skepticism is that he's having a load of fun convincing him should be a walk in the park especially seen as the first gravel track of the day is an absolute belter [Music] there you go mate first bit of gravel done this is one of my favorite little stretches yeah for me it encapsulates what gravel ride is all about because it just extends what you can do on a road bike you can go on to this sort of kind of quiet car free Trail yeah like your definition of trail of mine are a bit different amazing view when the sun is set in here it is absolutely banging I wouldn't come here on my road bike while a gravel bike it's absolutely perfect yeah you're right if I was to go on a robot I think you'd punch her straight away wouldn't you my my argument here would be that like my XC bike is sub 10 kilos it's a 120 mil travel full sus it would make mince meter this it's a fairly slick tires I could blast it on the roads but I just I don't I don't know but if you're coming from a row background the gravel bike allows you to continue that it feels like you're still on your road bike but with with the wider tires with a bit more cushioning a bit more Comfort that's a that's a valid point no I'll give you it's almost a Gateway into the mountain bike world then it's like a Gateway bike so basically it's us slowly converting you over gravel riding is his own thing it's not a Gateway it's not a Gateway it's a gateway to mountain biking okay the argument continues right on right onwards [Music] [Applause] [Music] things are off to a good start then and seeing as we're mixing up our route with both off and on-road sections I can play my trump card as I woo Rich to the gravel riding way enjoying a cafe stop as we pass through the next town of course you can do this on Rich's usual mountain bike but he seems to have forgotten this much to my advantage [Music] all right that was good that's part of gravel riding I could get on board of you Roadies love a coffee stop I wasn't sure if you were familiar with the concept of the cafe stop no I I don't stop you don't well when you're on your Mountain but you're off in the middle of nowhere it's true the gravel bike can take you back into town easy enough have a nice coffee bit of cake You've Won me on that part that's what it's all about a bit of chit chat over a brew yeah all right and we I feel like I'm winning you over what that was definitely did I feel like I'm wooing you oh what's next well we've got a few more sections to do more quite nice gravel bits this way so I'm going to take us on a bit more of a loop lovely and yeah just just keep you entertained right let's do it I'm waiting you over this is gonna be too easy that's a lovely bit of shortbread delightful shortbread eaten we were filled up for the remainder of the ride Rich was barreling along and I did my best to hold face and keep up however it turned out that the ride was becoming a little too tame for his liking oh it's lovely in picturesque around here mate I'll give you that beautiful beautiful spot to ride a bike you've got loads of options as well so link it all up you know the problem though it's a bit tame in it I mean British Countryside we're not even barely on gravel mate that's tarmac okay okay okay but the thing with the gravel bike is that it can pretty much almost do anything okay well I'll tell you what I do know a pretty rough session if we go down here I've tried it before it didn't end well let's see what you reckon come on all right let's do it that's all the Fun's all about come on then let's go shred let's go shred Shred the Gnar [Music] see ya oh who is this this is what I remember get up oh it's where my lady colors come out oh I mean it [Music] guys I'm doing it this is pretty rowdy foreign Rich has sabotaged my route and whilst he's enjoying the challenge this is beyond my skills and the capability of our bikes don't be fooled gravel riding isn't really this and it'd be foolish to suggest otherwise but I do see the value of us trying to ride this part of the route gravel bites aren't trying to replace a mountain bike for the rest of the routes they've been perfectly suited to the task for this just know I think Rich understands that it's um That's What I Call hiker bike oh my these whoa oh Christ I'm stuck in a gully I can't get out I'm coming in boom [Music] um holy moly that was pretty wild I have no idea where uh Connor's got to Big Man look at that I'm alive I'm alive everyone oh my gosh I did say that was a bit kind of tricky tricky yes jungle no it was very jungly wasn't it yeah I mean dude check it like to ride that this is the bike I'd have used to ride that yeah bit different okay okay I get your points but I think on a serious note it must be said that there are limitations to a gravel bike and if you're riding a machine like this that's a bit beyond it I mean you showed us how you could ride down that there yeah but I think your skills are a lot better than mine and maybe a lot better than most others as well well I mean you know what I think the problem is it can just about do it and it was wild I gotta say I got that was pretty wild riding down that was tough but you know I think the bike will limit you I think if you were to do too much of that on these bikes I think you'd break them I think it's kind of pushing it a bit far yeah you can outside of his boundaries aren't you then really I suppose yeah and whilst the grapple can do most things doing that and we had a lot of fun we were laughing yeah it's it's not the the most enjoyable thing to do for the whole day no I haven't being a mountain biker actually I really enjoyed that because that was pushing like you blast on that on my enjoy bike I blast down that no problem but on this bike it was proper wild it was like raw mountain biking again like back in the day so that actually did make it quite fun so kind of the gravel bike in a way did win me over there because it was so stupid there we go we're not supposed to win I know and uh where did you go well for me that's hiker bike that's that's a hiker bike section I grab the bike anyways we crack up with our ride tarmac thank goodness got a nice way to finish this one off a bit less rocks bit more gravel foreign [Music] I think personally well what are your thoughts now because when we set out you really know many of the roads and kind of tracks which we're about to head on to and you've been coming here in this area for quite a while yeah yeah yeah fairly local fun thing is Bin exploring some new spots that I probably wouldn't bother going to otherwise and the fact that we can link up them on the road and then do some off-road it is actually pretty cool so it does you can see how it opens up it broadens your horizons yeah 100 yeah I do think like you know saw that we went back to that if you are doing a road ride but you want to get a bit more adventurous then it can yeah it can broaden those Horizons should we say and whilst you can do that on a mountain bike you can do it on any bike you want of course yeah I do personally believe that a gravel bike is the best tool for that particular sort of riding uh yeah go on I'll give you that it's probably a bit it said it's niche is maybe not the word specific but it does that it does it very well okay there we go but I mean it's a nice little Lube I've been having a great time with you thanks for being fun thanks for being a good sport yeah nice to be out in the sunshine let's crack on though because there's a beautiful little spot to finish up on all right to the end oh yep [Music] [Music] there we go there mate the loop is completed on the edge of town now this is actually kind of my little swim spot so on a good day I tend to jump in for a little dip you don't fancy today well the trench your rain recently and it's not the best idea so I just want to show you it just for future reference but you know what that was all right there we go my takeaway from this is like gravel bikes are less and if you're coming from a road background it does really I think broaden the options you have close home in a big loop you can go places you wouldn't have before you can have an adventure you can if you want take on slightly more techy stuff if you're feeling brave yeah not sure we'd recommend it but it is I think like in all seriousness my big takeaway is it actually it does like you said broaden what you can do so if you are new to maybe going off-road then this is a great way of getting that access to the tracks and stuff that you definitely wouldn't do today on on a normal road bike right exactly and getting away from the hustle and bustle of town I could look at the places we've gone today and you know chilled out and had a chat and a bit of Bounce and all that and you can't do that sometimes and I don't think they grow a bike is trying to go up against any form of mountain bike like if you you can ride whatever bike you want but if you have a mountain bike then great like go ahead of course whip away on it if you're thinking of getting into a bit of off-road riding you're coming from that road road style of things yeah two grab a bike is a great shout yeah I'm like 50 converted now let us know down in the comment section below do you ride a gravel bike how's this video maybe convinced you to try a bit of a bit of dirty riding or let us know uh mate thank you and we'll see you guys later see in the next video

Channel: Global Cycling Network

Views: 121,000

Keywords: Gravel cycling, gravel bike, gmbn, off road cycling, gnar, gravel ride, canyon grzl, ordea terra, all road bike, begineer gravel, mountain biking, xc mtb, Rich gmbn, old school mountain bike, cafe stop, adventure cycling, tubless tyres, adventure, roadpluss, disc brakes, gravel tyres, GCN, Global Cycling Network, Sports, Cycling, Bike, Bikes, Bicycle (Product Category), Road Bike, Road Cycling, Cyclist, GCN Cycling, sec-feature, sca15, gc21s, ꗧ, ꤬, r1, ꗶ, Ղ, ሙ, ସ, ଙ, 𖬵, ළ, Ꮽ, Ա, Լ, Ծ, Ձ, ፕ15, ザ, ጞ, 5130

Id: AX006n6n92E

Length: 14min 44sec (884 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 23 2023