Quote:
Originally Posted by Kybosh
A buddy of mine is trying to convince me to get a gravel bike for some gravel rides/races in Alberta. I'm game to get another bike but I'm a bit unclear on how beefy a bike I might need or want. I've been looking at the Canyon Grail & Grizl but I'm not really sure what way I should go based on the terrain we might be on (gravel roads, maybe some single track etc.). I have a dedicated road bike, so I'm leaning towards a 1x beefier gravel bike like the Grizl but I'm curious to see what folks might recommend.
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I’d say try to be really honest about what you want to do with the bike. Especially with gravel that encompasses a wide range of use cases.
If you want to do races, and want something that can go fairly fast, then get something closer to a road bike with room for big tires. If you want to bike pack, or ride single track, then that’s a different type of bike.
Getting a heavy beefy bike with suspension, then realizing you enjoy racing but it is holding you back would kind of suck. Same thing the other way of course, if you get a fast bike that isn’t good for bike packing or riding single track.
My checkpoint I am happy with, and it is a fairly flexible on types of usage. Fairly fast, but still has the ability to add a bunch of mounts. If I bought again I’d probably move farther into the racier bike though, as I don’t have any desire to bike pack.
I would suggest to get a bike with room for at least 45mm tires, including for a fast racing bike.