Gravel riders- how do you descend?
Discussion
I have found riding downhill on the drops with my weight off the back of the seat really helps with hand and arm fatigue.
Took me a while to get confident with it, but seems to work well for me.
Also carrying a bit more speed helps (although when it’s get really steep, am I still working on this bit!)
Took me a while to get confident with it, but seems to work well for me.
Also carrying a bit more speed helps (although when it’s get really steep, am I still working on this bit!)
I do a fair bit of xc type riding on my cx bike (probably shouldn’t but I weirdly enjoy being underbiked, makes everything more exciting 
)
For me the key is standing up with neutral weight- so all your weight is going through the bottom bracket and your hands are just resting on the bars not pulling up or supporting any weight. Knees slightly bent and bend forward as much as you can at the waist/hips so you can bend your elbows and give the front of the bike enough space to move up and down. This also gives you space to lean the bike over in corners.
Obviously a rigid bike on 40mm tyres is never going to be as quick downhill as a mtb but it’s surprising what you can do by reading lines and carefully hopping/ unweighting the bike at the right time.
)For me the key is standing up with neutral weight- so all your weight is going through the bottom bracket and your hands are just resting on the bars not pulling up or supporting any weight. Knees slightly bent and bend forward as much as you can at the waist/hips so you can bend your elbows and give the front of the bike enough space to move up and down. This also gives you space to lean the bike over in corners.
Obviously a rigid bike on 40mm tyres is never going to be as quick downhill as a mtb but it’s surprising what you can do by reading lines and carefully hopping/ unweighting the bike at the right time.
President Merkin said:
Flex stems, elastomers, 60mm suspension forks. I'll get flamed for this & fair enough but I can't escape the feeling gravel bikes are more or less crappy 90's mountain bikes with curly bars! The wrong tool for the job. Use a mountain bike or ride on the road on a road bike.
It’s a fair comment- but the local trails and bridleways the old 26” mtbs were built for haven’t changed and most of the time a heavy 29” mtb with fat knobbly tyres is overkill. Depends what and where you ride- there’s lots of bridleways around where I live but you have to do a fair amount of road riding to link them all together. I have hardtail and full suspension mountain bikes but it’s the cx bike I take out the most just because overall it’s the quickest and most rewarding on the terrain I ride.Wouldn’t take it to a train centre or wales etc. where a proper mtb is defo the best tool but gravel/cx bikes are popular for a reason.
lufbramatt said:
It’s a fair comment- but the local trails and bridleways the old 26” mtbs were built for haven’t changed and most of the time a heavy 29” mtb with fat knobbly tyres is overkill. Depends what and where you ride- there’s lots of bridleways around where I live but you have to do a fair amount of road riding to link them all together. I have hardtail and full suspension mountain bikes but it’s the cx bike I take out the most just because overall it’s the quickest and most rewarding on the terrain I ride.
Wouldn’t take it to a train centre or wales etc. where a proper mtb is defo the best tool but gravel/cx bikes are popular for a reason.
Out of curiosity, did you consider an xc bike? Something like a Spesh Epic, Canyon Exceed, YT Izzo, that sort of thing? They seem ideal for this style of riding, lightweight mile munchers but with 90% of the capability of a typical trail mtb. I'm open to persuasion but it seems to me a much better choice for this kind of riding as they'll smash gravel & cope with harder terrain and meet the needs of weight weenie crew.Wouldn’t take it to a train centre or wales etc. where a proper mtb is defo the best tool but gravel/cx bikes are popular for a reason.
President Merkin said:
Flex stems, elastomers, 60mm suspension forks. I'll get flamed for this & fair enough but I can't escape the feeling gravel bikes are more or less crappy 90's mountain bikes with curly bars! The wrong tool for the job. Use a mountain bike or ride on the road on a road bike.
What if you ride on roads and forestry tracks in the same ride? Mountain bikes and road bikes have gone off in drastically different directions in terms of weight, gears and geometry. Gravel bikes are just one of many types that have appeared in the void.
Gravel bikes are ideal for badly maintained roads (which there are lots of) as well as joining sections of off road together by being on a road for a few miles. Having said that, you could easily draw a venn diagram showing substantial overlap between multiple bike styles.
As for descending style - depends on the conditons, I spend most of the time on the hoods, as described above keep most of the weight over the centre of the bike. A rigid bike will take more out of you than riding a plush full susser on the downhills, but you gain massively on the climbs and flat sections.
As for descending style - depends on the conditons, I spend most of the time on the hoods, as described above keep most of the weight over the centre of the bike. A rigid bike will take more out of you than riding a plush full susser on the downhills, but you gain massively on the climbs and flat sections.
President Merkin said:
lufbramatt said:
It’s a fair comment- but the local trails and bridleways the old 26” mtbs were built for haven’t changed and most of the time a heavy 29” mtb with fat knobbly tyres is overkill. Depends what and where you ride- there’s lots of bridleways around where I live but you have to do a fair amount of road riding to link them all together. I have hardtail and full suspension mountain bikes but it’s the cx bike I take out the most just because overall it’s the quickest and most rewarding on the terrain I ride.
Wouldn’t take it to a train centre or wales etc. where a proper mtb is defo the best tool but gravel/cx bikes are popular for a reason.
Out of curiosity, did you consider an xc bike? Something like a Spesh Epic, Canyon Exceed, YT Izzo, that sort of thing? They seem ideal for this style of riding, lightweight mile munchers but with 90% of the capability of a typical trail mtb. I'm open to persuasion but it seems to me a much better choice for this kind of riding as they'll smash gravel & cope with harder terrain and meet the needs of weight weenie crew.Wouldn’t take it to a train centre or wales etc. where a proper mtb is defo the best tool but gravel/cx bikes are popular for a reason.
Edited by lufbramatt on Tuesday 29th August 09:50
That's true. My riding mate had his Epic nicked, £7k that set the insurance back. Makes sense that you buy a bike that suits your local, since that's where most of anyones riding happens. My back yard is the South Downs, if you look at it by distance, most of it is chalky fire road but without exception, there are chutes, techy chunk & fast downhills on every ride. I ride a straight down the middle 150/150 trail bike & find it's the best compromise.
I do see the gravels about round here but note they avoid the more interesting stuff because presumably the bikes don't cope with it very well & I wouldn't want to limit myself to the main drags when I can scare myself pretending I'm Greg Minnaar.
I do see the gravels about round here but note they avoid the more interesting stuff because presumably the bikes don't cope with it very well & I wouldn't want to limit myself to the main drags when I can scare myself pretending I'm Greg Minnaar.
I spent lots of time thinking about a gravel bike, but then decided to just change the tyres on my old hardtail. I bought Continental Double Fighter III to replace the typical MBT heavy tread blocky tyres. They've been a revelation for the type of riding I do with that bike. Fast rolling on the road, good enough when it gets tricky, and several thousand pounds cheaper than a gravel bike.
alock said:
I spent lots of time thinking about a gravel bike, but then decided to just change the tyres on my old hardtail. I bought Continental Double Fighter III to replace the typical MBT heavy tread blocky tyres. They've been a revelation for the type of riding I do with that bike. Fast rolling on the road, good enough when it gets tricky, and several thousand pounds cheaper than a gravel bike.
There's no requirement to spend thousands on a gravel bike...Likely that your hard tail weight and gearing are a significant compromise on tarmac or forestry roads, but the tyres are a good compromise.
Similarly, I can swap onto road wheels and tyres and I'm not far off road bikes, just heavier and more relaxed geometry.
Evanivitch said:
There's no requirement to spend thousands on a gravel bike...
Likely that your hard tail weight and gearing are a significant compromise on tarmac or forestry roads, but the tyres are a good compromise.
Similarly, I can swap onto road wheels and tyres and I'm not far off road bikes, just heavier and more relaxed geometry.
I agree. Currently I don't have a road bike. I bought a Ragley Trig with GRX for 1100. For me that's a perfect bike for me. I'm sadly never going to be below 100kg due to my height and build. So a steel/carbon fork with two wheelsets is perfect Likely that your hard tail weight and gearing are a significant compromise on tarmac or forestry roads, but the tyres are a good compromise.
Similarly, I can swap onto road wheels and tyres and I'm not far off road bikes, just heavier and more relaxed geometry.
The age old conundrum. Front suspension slows you down on a paved or smoothish gravel surface, but it speeds you up over a bumpy/off road surface.
I run a carbon/rigid gravel bike and a hard tail eMTB. For most of my riding the gravel bike is faster, but for anything that "needs" the front fork, the mtb will leave it for dust.
There are a few hacks for gravel bikes on rough surfaces
bigger tyres + tubeless to allow less tyre pressure
better technique
Redshift stem/seat post
Double tape your bars/gel tape
or just slow down.
Its never gonna be as capable as a decent hardtail or full sus on bumpy stuff at speed, just like its gonna be harder than a road bike on a silky smooth surface. Gravel bikes are a compromise after all, great for riding I do though!
I run a carbon/rigid gravel bike and a hard tail eMTB. For most of my riding the gravel bike is faster, but for anything that "needs" the front fork, the mtb will leave it for dust.
There are a few hacks for gravel bikes on rough surfaces
bigger tyres + tubeless to allow less tyre pressure
better technique
Redshift stem/seat post
Double tape your bars/gel tape
or just slow down.
Its never gonna be as capable as a decent hardtail or full sus on bumpy stuff at speed, just like its gonna be harder than a road bike on a silky smooth surface. Gravel bikes are a compromise after all, great for riding I do though!
stargazer30 said:
The age old conundrum. Front suspension slows you down on a paved or smoothish gravel surface, but it speeds you up over a bumpy/off road surface.
I run a carbon/rigid gravel bike and a hard tail eMTB. For most of my riding the gravel bike is faster, but for anything that "needs" the front fork, the mtb will leave it for dust.
There are a few hacks for gravel bikes on rough surfaces
bigger tyres + tubeless to allow less tyre pressure
better technique
Redshift stem/seat post
Double tape your bars/gel tape
or just slow down.
Its never gonna be as capable as a decent hardtail or full sus on bumpy stuff at speed, just like its gonna be harder than a road bike on a silky smooth surface. Gravel bikes are a compromise after all, great for riding I do though!
So on a decent gravel surface, the fire road etc. a gravel bike will smoke a mountain bike? And is that the attraction of them?I run a carbon/rigid gravel bike and a hard tail eMTB. For most of my riding the gravel bike is faster, but for anything that "needs" the front fork, the mtb will leave it for dust.
There are a few hacks for gravel bikes on rough surfaces
bigger tyres + tubeless to allow less tyre pressure
better technique
Redshift stem/seat post
Double tape your bars/gel tape
or just slow down.
Its never gonna be as capable as a decent hardtail or full sus on bumpy stuff at speed, just like its gonna be harder than a road bike on a silky smooth surface. Gravel bikes are a compromise after all, great for riding I do though!
President Merkin said:
So on a decent gravel surface, the fire road etc. a gravel bike will smoke a mountain bike? And is that the attraction of them?
The attraction is that they are good all rounders - ideal for mix of bridleways and badly maintained country lanes. There are better bikes if your riding is 100% on one or the other, but gravel bikes handle the variety wellPresident Merkin said:
So on a decent gravel surface, the fire road etc. a gravel bike will smoke a mountain bike? And is that the attraction of them?
On the descent I did yesterday I could ride it, float it very quickly on a mountain bike. I struggled in a gravel bike. I liked that. I liked how difficult it was. On my sons bike - Bird AM9 I ping off everything at speed whereas on my ebike it's just too stable and planted. I really like the lack of control and on the edge it feels.
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