Gravel Bikes Make for Great Road Bikes
As a mountain biker I never really thought I’d enjoy road riding. It seemed a bit boring and monotonous, sort of like long distance running. However, due to injury and also convenience I found myself wanting something for riding around town. I couldn’t really fathom actually buying a dedicated road bike because quite honestly I just didn’t like the idea of a bike that could only do one thing. So instead I decided to buy a gravel bike frame and build it up. Of course, this was at the height of the pandemic so parts were scarce but I made due. I also didn’t (and still don’t) know much about gravel bikes so I decided to go with a Surly Straggler. Surly markets the Straggler as a mountain biker’s road bike, so it sounded like a good fit. Also, I figured I wanted a steel frame bike that was comfortable and I could take for long steady pace rides. Well, the Straggler has fit the bill just right. It’s a great all rounder and it’s given me a glimpse into why gravel bikes are so popular.
I ride my gravel bike about once a week on a route around my hometown for about 15-20 miles. It’s not the longest of rides, but it’s about right given the time I have to ride on the weekends. Anyway, I’m not a “roadie” so I don’t feel comfortable riding on narrow shoulders of busy highways. I’ve done it before and I have to say it is scary and stupidly dangerous. So I needed an alternative route than the cycling routes used by the roadies. Enter the gravel bike. I figured out some routes around town that almost completely avoids busy highways and skinny bike lanes. However, to do so I cut through neighborhoods, ride on sidewalks(which is legal in my town), dirt paths, cut across fields, and more.
Now, this is what riding your bike around town should be about. Exploring new parts of town, new neighborhoods and finding new paths. Sometimes the sidewalk ends and you have to ride on a dirt path or cut through a field. Or sometimes the road is in bad shape and it’s nice to be on a bike that isn’t an ultra stiff, lightweight race machine with super skinny tires. I’ve even gone on some single track on my gravel bike, which made a green trail suddenly very challenging.
Riding around town on sidewalks and other paths is a great way to see the city and much safer than riding on many of the roads with skinny bike lanes.
One of the things I like best about this type of riding is that you get a really good feel for your local neighborhoods and towns. I think you get to know your area so much better when you’re weaving in and out of local streets and neighborhoods in a way that you don’t experience if you're just sticking to the main cycling routes. It’s something that quite honestly I wish more people would do instead driving their car around everywhere. It seems like we’ve become a society of destinations, just driving from one spot to the other ignoring everything in between. In a sense I think road cycling has done the same thing for biking because everything is focused on racing and winning your local Strava segment. It’s great to be on a steel gravel bike that can just go anywhere at a decent pace and be comfortable.
I don’t think that these town rides on my gravel bike will ever replace mountain biking. At some point the urge to get back out on the trail becomes too great. Once out there I realize how much I really do love mountain biking, but riding around town on a gravel bike is great fun as well. I think it is much more enjoyable than just road racing everywhere. This is just my opinion of course, and there are a ton of roadies in my area so I’m not hating on what they do. I just don’t think at this time that is something that I’d do. In large part because of the lack of safe infrastructure. So riding a gravel bike and taking paths and cutting through neighborhoods will
do just fine for me. Anyway I hope you enjoyed reading this and maybe it will inspire you to take a different path through your town other than the well worn Strava segments. So get out and see your town and have fun on a gravel bike or whatever you ride.
Thanks for reading.
