![]() Yes, Enve wheels are expensive but this is basically my dream bike so I’m splurging. For a more tarmac intensive event I’ll ride the Enve AR wheels because the aerodynamics (also the winner of the 2019 Unbound Gravel) are definitely an advantage with road tires. Aerodynamics aren’t as important until you reach speeds over 15mph which I don’t do much on climbs. Gravel is slower and epic events usually have a good deal of vertical elevation where a premium is placed on lightness. The G23 is the flagship gravel wheelset worldwide. Switch to a 650b wheel with 2.1” tires and you can ride some gnarly stuff indeed. It easily holds a 40c gravel tire and, for a road ride, just swap wheels/ tires and go ride the tarmac. Also, at 16.5lbs, it’s not a heavy bike by any means. It’s fast enough for the toughest group rides/ road races and held it’s own at Unbound Gravel this year. However, if you put some road wheels and tread on this machine it drives like one of the best road bikes I’ve ever ridden. ![]() Even one of my friends who tests products for a living made a point to purchase this bike. I’ve ridden a number of gravel bikes and this one is head and shoulders above anything I’ve tested. The geometry is slack enough to allow for gravel but the dropped drive-side seat stay allows the tire clearance for a rear wheel to sit further under the rider which gives it more of a road feel. Open was revolutionary with their frame design. I’ve chosen to ride an Open UP and here’s why. While it may not be the best bike for you, at least I hope to introduce you to a different thought process about how to choose your bike and to help you break the constructs of what your bike is and should be. This bike is the best bike for me and for the reasons I’ll discuss. I’ve thought a great deal about this over many rides and a few beers with friends and I believe that my everything-bike of choice can really do everything I want while sacrificing nothing. But when your weekend adventure involves riding all of the above, what are you to do? A few years ago, we were led to believe that road bikes are for road, cyclocross bikes are for tame off-road, endurance bikes are for slower all-day rides, and aero bikes are for racers. Okay circling back, what is it that we as consumers really want out of our bikes? Cycling consumers want a bike that can meet the demands of their adventures in the simplest possible way. Gravel events allow and encourage each individual to utilize any innovation and any equipment available to solve the problem. Unlike a sanctioned race which restricts equipment allowed into the race. The event conditions and course present the “problem” that each athlete needs to solve. Each one varies in topography, road conditions, trail conditions, support, weather, etc. Equipment and gear are a primary drivers of readership and has provided for countless tech articles, podcasts, Instagram posts and employed numerous product testers and reviewers.įor all the talk of the importance of equipment choice in cycling, gravel events are truly the tip of the spear of gear choice and innovation. We use a chosen selection of gearing for the terrain on the wheels we want and we choose a certain tire with specific attributes and put our selected amount of pressure in it. Once our bike has been fit to us with specifically chosen parts, we all put on the best clothing for the day’s ride. But a gravel bike flirts with elements of road, CX and mountain bike courses. Mountain bike courses have far less variability in that you build the bike for the extreme severity of a rad off-road course. Cyclocross bikes only have one tire width available. Gravel events and gear choice is far more complicated than other disciplines. Therefore they are not restricted by any rules for equipment the likes of which are in the 49 page UCI equipment rules and regulations.īy any logical discussion, cycling is a “gear” oriented sport. Gravel bikes are not limited by any national governing body in any way. “When it comes to gravel, play it as it lies” - Joseph Schmalz
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