Buying your First Gravel Bike

Let us know if this sounds familiar...

You've gone on a few gravel adventures off-road and maybe even made some modifications to one of your other bikes to see how the discipline suits you - and, no surprise, you LOVE it.

If this sounds like you, read on for some tips on what to consider when purchasing your first gravel bike!

What makes gravel bikes different from other bikes?

Gravel bikes are - unsurprisingly - specific to the discipline of gravel riding. Having said that, gravel riding itself is FULL of different terrain, requiring gravel bikes to be versatile and comfortable on any terrain.

A gravel bike can be ridden over normal asphalt roads to gravel trails and service roads and back home again without any trouble. Put simply, it’s a jack-of-all-trades.

Although gravel biking is a relatively new category, subcategories are already beginning to emerge. There are two main types of gravel bike:

Gravel racing bikes – more suited to fast, simple gravel roads used in popular gravel races like Dirty Kanza. “Other big gravel events include the Dirty Pig & Whistle, and the Gravel Giro in Warburton,” said Mr Giramondo. "The National Championship is on in Noosa in July.”

Adventure gravel bikes – more suited to technical singletrack, with wider tyres and dropper seat posts to handle harder terrain.

Road bikev Gravel bike

Where road bikes are made to be highly aerodynamic, with narrow and slick tyres, and are designed for straight-line speed. They cannot handle off-road surfaces and can struggle in wet conditions. A burly touring bike is closer to a gravel bike but is still designed with sealed roads in mind.

MTB v Gravel bike

You can ride a mountain bike (MTB) anywhere you’d ride a gravel bike, but you’ll have a harder time doing it. MTBs are heavier, less aerodynamic on open roads, and have flat handlebars that limit your hand positions.

How is a gravel bike different from a cyclocross bike?
Although they are built very similarly, cyclocross (CX) bikes are developed for short, intense races in all conditions and over a variety of obstacles like steep hills, jumps and stairs. Gravel bikes are made more for longer, slower days out on the trail, and can carry a lot more gear. CX bikes are more aggressive, with generally thinner tyres, while gravel bikes are more stable and comfortable.

Stay relaxed (and off the brakes)

Instead of fighting the bike, allow it to correct its path during forward momentum. When you stop fighting, you’ll notice that you will start to ‘float’ over tricky terrain rather than hang on for dear life. It’s also far less fatiguing to keep your hands and arms relaxed with bent elbows rather than maintaining a death-grip.

Like most vehicles, bikes are more stable at speed – especially on rough terrain. The slower you go, the more you’ll bounce. When you’re rolling, feather the rear brakes on the flats rather than slamming on the front brakes on the bumps.

During descents, place your hands into the drops, keep your elbows bent, shift to the back of your seat, and bend your legs to absorb the bumps. You can hover out of your saddle on particularly hairy terrain to avoid being jolted around too much, much like a horse rider during a trot.

Learn which techniques to use on different terrain
Gravel biking is infamous for its wide array of terrains. Different surfaces require different gear and speed choices to avoid wiping out or getting bogged down. Here are some particularly tricky tracks:

Washboard / Cobblestones – use a bigger gear at a higher speed to stay on top of the stutters rather than crashing into them

Sand / Silt – use a smaller gear at a higher cadence: your speed will drop but at least you’ll move forward

Climbs – shift around in the saddle to give different muscle groups a rest as you climb. Moving to the rear of your saddle uses your glutes more, while moving to the noise engages your quads. Always keep your heels low to take stress off your calves and use larger muscle groups to power your climb.

Singletrack / Descents – look as far ahead down the trail as you can to process what’s coming and find which line you’d like to follow. Stay as loose as possible to keep your ride fluid rather than rattled.

Rotate in some strength training
Strength training will help make your cycling more powerful and efficient, and less injury prone. Lifting 2-3 days a week will quickly improve your full-body strength and stamina. Focus on moves like squats, deadlifts and plank rows: these exercises target your glutes, quads, back and core, while increasing spinal stability. Push-ups are also an excellent way to work out multiple muscle groups at once. You don’t have to join a gym if you don’t want to: your backyard can work just as well. Just remember to regularly change your moves, weights, reps or sets to prevent your muscles from adapting and plateauing.