Gravel Bike Vs Road Bike Speed

On the slopes of the epic jebel shams climb in oman ollie and si looked to settle the battle once and for all with this gravel bike vs road bike race.

Gravel bike vs road bike speed.

My gravel bike is 1 or 2 kmph slower than my road bike with 32mm slicks on it mainly as its more upright in position over a 50km or so ride. If you are a road bike racer then a gravel bike probably won t work as your primary bike. Difference between gravel bikes and road bikes. Gravel bikes can be thought of as the fusion between cyclocross bikes and road bikes.

As usual the idea comes from the us where the countryside is crisscrossed by miles and miles of unused tracks designed to help fire trucks navigate around remote forests. A gravel bike has a large clearance for tires. What is a gravel bike and why do i need one. My long low road bike with aero wheels and 28mm compass tires is materially faster than my gravel bike with a more relaxed riding position low gearing and 700 42 compass tires but they are both great at what they are designed to do and without trying to perform like the other.

Gravel is faster than trail maintaining an average speed of 25 km h 15 5 mph on a mountain bike over rocky and technical terrain would put you in a very elite category. Road bikes will also have a longer reach and shorter frame stack and head tube to facilitate a longer lower more aero position while gravel bikes are shorter and more upright. Gravel bikes can handle more wear and tear than your common road bikes. It is great that road bikes and gravel bikes are good at different things.

And they can reach speeds way higher than that of a mountain bike. Many gravel bikes these days have a 1x single chainring set up in the front. Here are some fast facts. At first glance not that different from a cyclocross bike gravel bikes are actually distinct and often closer to an endurance road bike.

Simply said a gravel bike is a combination of a road bike happy on tarmac and a cyclo cross bike happy on mud.