Moving from MTB to Gravel to Road
Discussion
Am a dedicated MTB-er, though last year I bought a gravel bike and have been thoroughly enjoying it. Bought the cheapest I could and ended up having to replace the groupset as it was pretty rubbish.
Couple of mates of mine are roadies through and through. They have a couple of lunchtime ride routes which look great, and I tried one on the gravel bike yesterday. Really enjoyed it, but came away feeling that the gravel bike might not be best tool for the job (nothing to do with the fact my mates are clearly faster on the routes than I was. Honest!).
I will still remain a MTB-er at heart, as I'm too much of a coward to deal with traffic on a regular basis (seriously impressed with those of you who regularly do!), but am interested in a road bike.
- What should I be looking at for that balance of 'good enough not to need to upgrade instantly' v's 'not huge investment'?
- Brakes in particular seem to be rim brakes, is that standard road spec? Feels a little inadequate?
- Can I get away with SPDs instead of proper grown up pedals?
FWIW I'm about 6' 1" and assuming I'd be looking at a 58 frame size.
Any advice appreciated
Couple of mates of mine are roadies through and through. They have a couple of lunchtime ride routes which look great, and I tried one on the gravel bike yesterday. Really enjoyed it, but came away feeling that the gravel bike might not be best tool for the job (nothing to do with the fact my mates are clearly faster on the routes than I was. Honest!).
I will still remain a MTB-er at heart, as I'm too much of a coward to deal with traffic on a regular basis (seriously impressed with those of you who regularly do!), but am interested in a road bike.
- What should I be looking at for that balance of 'good enough not to need to upgrade instantly' v's 'not huge investment'?
- Brakes in particular seem to be rim brakes, is that standard road spec? Feels a little inadequate?
- Can I get away with SPDs instead of proper grown up pedals?
FWIW I'm about 6' 1" and assuming I'd be looking at a 58 frame size.
Any advice appreciated
Unless money is no object, why not start off by getting some road tyres/wheels for your gravel bike (assuming it's a drop bar bike) ? You won't lose out much compared to a dedicated road bike, despite what the bike industry will tell you about the need for an aero frame. Then get a road bike once you know you like it enough.
outnumbered said:
Unless money is no object, why not start off by getting some road tyres/wheels for your gravel bike (assuming it's a drop bar bike) ? You won't lose out much compared to a dedicated road bike, despite what the bike industry will tell you about the need for an aero frame. Then get a road bike once you know you like it enough.
This is what I do in winter. I have a set of wheels with 35mm road tyres on them. If you are looking for a upgrade then perhaps look at one of the many "All Road" bikes that have a much racier setup but still allow you to run 35mm+ gravel tyres on them. The Ribble SL R looks good value https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-allroad-sl-r...The new Specialized Roubaix will take upto 40mm gravel tyres but is a bit more spendy.
Mr Scruff said:
Wheels are definitely the most sensible option - for some reason hadn't thought of that!
Will take a look. If anyone sees any 700c quick release with shimano 'standard' freehub let me know. I checked eBay and got a headache...
(that said, that Ribble looks awesome...)
https://www.highonbikes.com/collections/road-wheel...Will take a look. If anyone sees any 700c quick release with shimano 'standard' freehub let me know. I checked eBay and got a headache...
(that said, that Ribble looks awesome...)
https://www.merlincycles.com/fulcrum-racing-400-lg...
Dont forget you'll need a cassette, tyres, tubes as well.
I'm a mtber, who has commuted for years on road bikes.
Disk brakes - night and day better than rim brakes. It can be quite scary is a layer of water has built up on the rim and they dont work when you need them too. I have 105 disks, which have been awesome so far plus no changing pads every 8 weeks and no worn out rims.
I would opt for an endurance road bike. You have to accept the geometry will be totally different to a MTB, but endurance roadies are a bit more relaxed and you'll probs find it more comfy.
I run MTB spds on my roadie (and flats on my MTB). They are a bit more forgiving than other clipless pedals.
Disk brakes - night and day better than rim brakes. It can be quite scary is a layer of water has built up on the rim and they dont work when you need them too. I have 105 disks, which have been awesome so far plus no changing pads every 8 weeks and no worn out rims.
I would opt for an endurance road bike. You have to accept the geometry will be totally different to a MTB, but endurance roadies are a bit more relaxed and you'll probs find it more comfy.
I run MTB spds on my roadie (and flats on my MTB). They are a bit more forgiving than other clipless pedals.
Assuming your gravel bike is a 2x then all you need is a 2nd set of wheels with 28c or 32c tyres. You'll need rotors and a cassette so you can swap them out quickly too.
I ended up buying a road bike as a 2nd bike. My Gravel bike is 1x with a mahoosive dinner plate rear cassette and 50mm mug hugger guards. It looked totally ridiculous running 28c tyres, and my fastest gear was a bit too slow for road
.
I ended up buying a road bike as a 2nd bike. My Gravel bike is 1x with a mahoosive dinner plate rear cassette and 50mm mug hugger guards. It looked totally ridiculous running 28c tyres, and my fastest gear was a bit too slow for road
. stargazer30 said:
Assuming your gravel bike is a 2x then all you need is a 2nd set of wheels with 28c or 32c tyres. You'll need rotors and a cassette so you can swap them out quickly too.
I ended up buying a road bike as a 2nd bike. My Gravel bike is 1x with a mahoosive dinner plate rear cassette and 50mm mug hugger guards. It looked totally ridiculous running 28c tyres, and my fastest gear was a bit too slow for road.
Gravel bike is a 1x running 11-40 cassette. Will be slightly ridiculous, but wheels make sense before investing in whole bike!I ended up buying a road bike as a 2nd bike. My Gravel bike is 1x with a mahoosive dinner plate rear cassette and 50mm mug hugger guards. It looked totally ridiculous running 28c tyres, and my fastest gear was a bit too slow for road
. My previous gravel bike had 105 groupset w 50/34 chainrings and was a great road bike as well as a v capable gravel bike - and doing decent distances on road was a cinch even with 38c tyres. The replacement gravel bike is also 2x for this reason, albeit slightly lower-geared, and makes for a relaxed cruiser.
If you want a road-specific bike, as already mentioned Giant Defy is the most logical and probably commonplace answer. It was joint top of my list as an endurance bike that could do firetrails - but I went for a gravel bike that could do roads instead.
The 1x set up you have might be a limiting factor for road riding though
If you want a road-specific bike, as already mentioned Giant Defy is the most logical and probably commonplace answer. It was joint top of my list as an endurance bike that could do firetrails - but I went for a gravel bike that could do roads instead.
The 1x set up you have might be a limiting factor for road riding though
My SRAM 1x gravel bike gets a set of 700c wheels and mudguards in the autumn and becomes a winter road hack. I run a 42 up front and 10-42 at the back for gravel (with 650b wheels), then switch to a Shimano XT 11-40 cassette for road in the winter. I find even that small change in ratios means a much more usable range for normal pootling and club social rides, even if I do spin out on downhills. That’s good old 11 speed; 12 speed would make it even better.
The point being that 1x is perfectly doable for road use if you pick your ratios carefully. I would have gone 2x if I’d set out to use the bike for both purposes, but this was a bit of an afterthought, so happy to find it works well.
p.s. I also stick with off road SPDs on road in the winter. My gravel / MTB shoes are far more winter friendly!
The point being that 1x is perfectly doable for road use if you pick your ratios carefully. I would have gone 2x if I’d set out to use the bike for both purposes, but this was a bit of an afterthought, so happy to find it works well.
p.s. I also stick with off road SPDs on road in the winter. My gravel / MTB shoes are far more winter friendly!
Edited by pete on Friday 6th December 23:12
pete said:
The point being that 1x is perfectly doable for road use if you pick your ratios carefully. I would have gone 2x if I’d set out to use the bike for both purposes, but this was a bit of an afterthought, so happy to find it works well.
p.s. I also stick with off road SPDs on road in the winter. My gravel / MTB shoes are far more winter friendly!
Yup, 100% with you there, this is a total afterthought.p.s. I also stick with off road SPDs on road in the winter. My gravel / MTB shoes are far more winter friendly!
Bought some wheels, will hunt for a cassette and see how I get on . Meantime can keep an eye for a used Defy
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff