Shocker… buying the *right* gravel bike is hard! There are a lot of… flavours. Race-y, singletrack-y, and endurance (read: comfortable). On this gravel bike ride in beautiful Bobcaygeon in cottage country (the last on a mtb, I hope, I’ll share my 7 tips, the most recommended bikes from our 50+ cycling group, plus a pro tip that’s helped seal the deal on my preferred bike.
▶ Subscribe and come along for the ride: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIXZQYOplcdMBDcloZ5ka9g?sub_confirmation=1
🚴 Connect with me on Strava! https://www.strava.com/athletes/18762442
🚴 Get this route on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9856080259
▶ Gear we use & recommend
Kelly’s favourite sports watch: Garmin Fenix 6 Pro https://amzn.to/3TAuBVp
Glen’s favourite sports watch: Garmin Fenix 6 Pro Sapphire https://amzn.to/42KXK4q
Recommended action camera: Insta360 X3: https://www.insta360.com/sal/x3?insrc…
▶ Who we are:
We are ex-digital marketing agency owners who love bikes and cycling and believe that The Second Half of Life can be the BEST half — fit, healthy, challenging, rich and full. What we’re told is “normal aging” isn’t normal! Let’s redefine what aging looks like together.
FYI – some of the links above are affiliate links meaning that we get a commission from Amazon or other sellers (without additional cost to you). Thanks for supporting our channel – we appreciate you!
#gravelbike #bikepacking #centuryride
00:00 Bobcaygeon, baby!
00:35 How boats from Florida get *HERE*!
01:12 The Quintessential Gravel Ride
02:00 Gravel Riding is SO Popular
02:38 Step one: tap the community for bike suggestions
03:53 Tip #1: what do you want it for?
05:12 Tip #2: Test, test, test
06:28 Tip #3: Bikepacking
07:46 Tip #4: Drivetrain decisions
09:04 Tip #5: Build Quality
10:37 Tip #6: Carbon wheels
11:29 Tip #7: Price $$$
12:25 **PRO TIP**
14:23 Top suggested gravel bikes
I’m on the hunt for a gravel bike. Everything I know about mountain bikes translates to gravel bikes, and the bike industry makes it so damn hard. Today, I’m going to share what I’ve learned and sort of the seven things that I’ve boiled it down to
What I’m looking for. So hopefully, if you’re on the hunt for a gravel bike too, it will help you. We’re in beautiful Bobcaygeon, about two hours northeast of Toronto, and we’re going on a gravel ride. The whole beautiful – oh, but I have to tell you about this body
Of water. This is the Trent-Severn Waterway, and it goes from Lake Ontario to Lake Huron. We’re in the middle of Ontario, in the middle of Canada, and yet we regularly see boats from Florida go by this dock from the Atlantic via the St. Lawrence Seaway. Boats from the world
Over make their way along the 385 kilometers of Waterway, navigating up to 60 Lakes and 44 locks, one of which we’ll end up at at the end of this ride. Come on, let’s go. I haven’t started yet, and I’m already thirsty.
So what I love about this ride, and it’s such a beautiful day, this is the quintessential gravel ride. There’s some pavement, there’s some legit gravel, as you can see now, a little bit of trail. We’re gonna go by some Lakes and into the farm country where there’s like such a good
Example of Rolling Hills workout, and then back to the locks. I call it the Tour de Bobcaygeon, hot Strava. I’ll link to it in case you want to ride it too if you’re in one neck of the woods. Maybe the one spot I think, what would this be like on a gravel bike?
Hey! Gravel riding has exploded in popularity. It’s so versatile. I mean, I’m really kind of getting excited about the adventures that we’re going to go on. It’s going to be fun. Last summer, we rode on our mountain bikes to Kinmount,
The town north of here. But next summer, on my gravel bike, I’m riding to Halliburton. Okay, I’ve said it. I’m doing it. It’s never as easy as walking into the bike shop and going, “I’d like a gravel bike, please.” It’s always so damn complicated, isn’t it?
So the first thing I did was reach out to the 50 plus cyclist group on Facebook with this: “Hi gang, I’m a 55-year-old mountain biker who’s discovered she also enjoys road and gravel biking.
On the hunt for my first gravel bike now. As a matter of fact, feel free to weigh in on your fave bike. I cannot take getting passed on the bike trails here in Toronto one more time. God, and hello to you, sir.” So I was hoping, you know, to get a few
Suggestions for a bike. Check out the response I got. It was crazy. Between me and ChatGPT, we organized them into a list, and I’ll share that with you in a bit. In order of popularity, there were so many bikes, it was almost overwhelming. I thought,
“I gotta figure out what’s important to me and find a way to get all this down into some focus.” Oh my God, this is so pretty through here. It’s called Nogi Nogi’s Creek. Oh, I love this little bridge.
Gravel bike tip number one: get clear on what you want it for. Of course, there isn’t just one gravel bike. There are racy gravel bikes, there are endurance gravel bikes. When you hear endurance, that’s more comfortable, like you could go longer. Even gravel bikes that are
Trying to verge into sort of trail-worthy. Some of those will have suspension on the front fork. I don’t want that. For me, my gravel bike, just for my purposes, is the Goldilocks bike. That’s what I’m calling it. I spend probably 60 percent of my fitness rides on pavement in the city,
So I want it to go fast so that we can go far. So we could go from Toronto to Hamilton if we wanted to up here. I want to be able to go on legit gravel and rail trails because we’ve got
A lot of that here. But where I draw the line is I don’t want anything that has any kind of suspension. I’ve got a mountain bike. If I’m going to be on anything like a trail, I’m going to be
On my mountain bike. So that’s my perfect bike, and I think you just need to get clear on that. Tip number two is test lots of bikes. Lots of bikes. We tested five bikes. I have to interrupt this gravel ride with an important update. I was just about to talk
About the importance of going to different bike shops and trying different bikes. All important, but things are moving fast over here, and I think I just unlocked a new level of the game. Let’s get back to the ride, and I’ll share that Pro tip with you momentarily.
Back to gravel. This is a pretty hard pack though. I can’t wait to feel what this feels like with tires that aren’t 2.4 inches wide. The only bummer is that you’re always buying too expensive mountain bikes, too expensive gravel bikes. It’s not built up around here at all.
Think about how much speed we’re going to carry down and then back up these Hills when we’re on skinnier tires, like 37 or 40 millimeter tires, and our bikes weigh 10 pounds less. 10 pounds. I used to skate on this lake as a kid. Yeah,
Sometimes it was nice and frozen. Sometimes it was a little mushy. On these bikes, a lot of them have these little attachment points, let’s call them nipples. No, we’re not calling them nipples. Okay, lugs. Little attachment points for bags and accessories,
Panniers, bottles. Bottles. I don’t know if I want to try bikepacking and loading my bike up with 50 pounds full of gear and camping by the side of the road. You know, going on overnighters. But I want the option, right? And a lot of them do. You say most.
So but that’s kind of a deal-breaker, I think for us, right? Yeah, I just, we might try it. I love this road. It’s so beautiful. Thank you, foreign. Skinnier tires. I know I’d be flying up that hill. So this is probably the perfect setup then to talk
About the kind of gearing you wanted. And I went into this thinking, “Oh great, gravel bikes have one-by setups just like my mountain bike.” So one sprocket up here and then a platter with all your cassette back here with all your different gears, right? So clean, so simple. You’re never changing
Gears up here. There’s not a shifter up here. Now I’ve kind of changed my mind on that, and I think I want a two-by setup, meaning that there are two chainrings up here and fewer gears back here. Imagine if your bike’s all packed up with bags, and you’re doing the bikepacking thing, and
You’re going up a big steep hill. You’ve got to have enough gears to get yourself up there. And so I’m on the side of thinking that it’s going to take a two-by setup to achieve that. And the other benefit of that is I think
That there’s no more nuance between the gears. So instead of the gear going from here to here, it’s going from here to here to here to here. So there’s more steps in between. So I think the fifth tip or category that you want to get clear on is what your bike must-have in
Terms of build quality, right? And that might vary if you’re in your 40s or 50s or 60s and you’re thinking about getting into cycling, it might be a little lower build quality until you know you’re committed. For us, these bikes are going to get a lot of use,
And we know that. Yeah, so there’s certain things we’re willing to pay for: a carbon frame. It’s better for vibration dampening, and if you think about it, if you’re on a bike for hours at a time, you want all the vibration dampening you can get. Yeah,
Especially since I’m not riding with padded shorts today. Hydraulic brakes, yeah, for sure. Not mechanical hydraulic. You know, we’ve had bikes with Shimano for our drivetrain and SRAM, yeah. I don’t really care; they’re both quality. But if it’s Shimano,
For example, we want the GRX or higher. Yeah, drivetrain. Do we need electronic shifting? No, recharge the batteries before we go for a ride. If that pushes the price point up even further, I could do without it. And I’m not even sure about things like,
You were talking about the battery. That’s mechanical; you just go and ride. It’s just one less thing you have to think about. Yeah, I’m fine with that. Yeah, so that brings me to the penultimate tip number six: splurgy things that if they came in
The package of a bike at the right price, yeah, fantastic. And that would be like carbon wheels, yeah. Wheels and tires make a big difference, right? I would love to get nice carbon wheels. On the other hand, though, if it adds a thousand bucks to the price of the bike and we’re buying
Two, I could go without the carbon wheel. How about a big electric motor? No, no. And so the center tip is pretty obvious, right? It’s price, and so all these are great guidelines, but it has to fit in your budget. I could tell you our budget has increased twice
Since we started this thing, but sometimes it makes more sense to pay a little bit more now, good to figure out. Next summer, I have the right bike. If you’ve got a hard budget, go down to aluminum. I’m sure you’ll be so happy. Make sure you don’t blow your brains out
Because, ah, test. I’ll go back to tip number one: test the aluminum version versus the carbon. Do you care, and how much is that money better serving you in your bank account? And back. So once you get clear on what you want your gravel bike for, and for me, it’s pavement and gravel,
Not racing, not trails, then it’s time to get to the bike shops and test as many bikes as possible. Here’s where my Pro tip comes in handy. But first, I need you to understand that those size
Charts that the bike brands publish are not to be trusted. More often than not, the size charts put me on a 54. A size 54 bike. But on, say, the Trek Checkpoint, which has a long reach,
I got on that bike, and I felt too stretched out, too Tour de France-y. And so I tried the 52, which felt better. So because I don’t ride a road bike, I needed a second opinion.
And finally, here’s the pro tip: when we’re at the Trek Store, I asked if the bike fitter was around, and they said no, he’s only in on Saturdays. So I went back on Saturday, and that’s when I met Ivan.
I asked if he’d mind eyeballing me on both the 52 and the 54 Checkpoint and give me his expert opinion, and he said sure and proceeded to take us to the bike fit room, put the bike on the rollers,
And told me to pedal. Before I got on, he guessed, “You’re a 54,” but after setting up the 52, he immediately said, “Oh no, you’re definitely a 52.” I know. Not only did it feel better,
But I got an expert opinion to say, “Yes, that is your size.” And that’s my Pro tip: try to talk to a bike fitter at the bike shop, and if that person is not there, go back on the day that they are.
And as promised, let me share the top recommended bikes from my 50 plus Cycling group. Music. Thank you. The hunt continues; we’ll keep you updated until we have a bike review. This is Sturgeon Lake, and this is Pigeon Lake, where we were this morning.
And as you come through the locks and go this way to Fenelon, you’re on your way to Lake Huron. And if you’re coming down through the locks, you’re on your way to Lake Ontario, 31 locks away. Today, if you’d like more ride-along videos, make sure you hit the like button or leave us
A comment. And keep your eye on the channels as the hunt for the perfect gravel bike continues. And finally, if you’d like to go on another ride with us, here you go. Music. Thank you.
40 Comments
What do you think about bikepacking? Is it a hard no? A hell yes? Or, “I’m keeping my options open, thank you!” What gravel bike do you own… or wish you owned?
Wow ,really informative guys!
Thank you for the tips and for sharing the top gravel recommendation. I feel better now about purchasing a Giant Revolt than the Merida Silex, even though it has better parts.
I was in same boat, roadie & commuter who wanted a gravel bike. overall I’m content with road & 90s mtb. bike fit a must. can be costly but worth it. besides you can outfit current bikes for bags & go on adventures. 👍🏾
I got the canyon grizl 2by and it’s a really good bike. It’s fast on the street and you can do single track with it
Get an Open U.P., Love love love mine.
LOVE THIS! This is EXACTLY what I needed! 53 yo MTB'r in New England. Love tech but am also looking for gravel FOR Gravel, have multiple MTBs but some days want to just pedal easy and far. My 34 pound enduro bikes just dont cut it any longer. Many thanks for this video!
(1) Always fit first & buy second & (2) I agree 100% on mechanical shifting, aka K.I.S.S. (3) & I've found there are some excellent non-carbon wheel options, e.g. HED and others.
As long its a flat handle bar, its fun
I just built up my Trek Checkpoint SL from a frame and did a 1X mullet setup, SRAM Force AXS 1X wide with a SRAM XO 12 speed 10-52 on the rear. Will give me all the range I will need and if I need to get lower, I can always choose a smaller chain ring to give me some additional lower gearing if I am bike packing in some higher altitudes. I am actually considering selling a couple of my bikes now as this bike gives me so many options and abilities.
You look like you’re 30!
question I would recommend this video by bike sauce as he explains what the actual difference is https://youtu.be/9BBN6NrDBx8?si=-fPj26_N9nJ-FL9A
Happy hunting!
A note of caution. Gravel bikes can have rather low gearing, eg riding in dirt, up hills, etc. I'd be careful having a 1 x 11spd, with a 36t chainring. I ride a flatbar with 35mm tyres, on gravel rail trails/country roads (Vic, Oz) for overnight trips, with conventional rack and pannier setup. 48'36'24t triple crank and 11-34t cassette. It has mounting lugs (bidon, mudguards, & rack) that MTBs often lack, and is easier rolling than an MTB (56mm tyres). Works fine. I'm 71y. A bike built down to a price will economise on wheels, tyres and saddle. Online bike e-retail sites are useful for researching/comparing bike components & may offer user reviews, too.
I went with titanium with my latest gravel bike. I wanted something that would stand up to the rigors of international travel and still have a fantastic ride. I also had to buy two!
This was almost eerie… I've taken interest in picking up a gravel bike because I'd been riding my Izzo more on longer mixed/gravel loops than the trails lately. I was toying around with getting a second wheel set with some faster rolling tires and swapping as needed but with my taste I was 1/2 way to a used gravel rig. Also been obsessing over the idea of bikepacking. Thinking it's time to get serious about the search for a second rig. Thanks for the video!
Before that, you should be SURE you need a gravel bike – perhaps you are better with a hard-tail MTB (assuming a urban / road bike has been discarded). You need a gravel bike if you do a bit of road but mostly flat tracks. Then depending of how flat or rocky your tracks are, you just need to decide between a speedy one (basically, wheels < 40mm) or a off-road one (wheels > 42mm).
You may also try "gravelizing" your road/urban bike, which is what I did with my urban one, by just changing sleak 35mm sleak tyres with 40mm gravel tyres + switching cassette to 34 teeth instead of 28.
Hi, I just watched your video and liked it a lot. I am currently evaluating a gravel bike as well and the one I really like a lot is the Orbea Terra, on which I have read so many good reviews. You ranked it rather low, so I'd like to ask, what are the weaker points you've identified and would be worth for me to have a closer look at? Would appreciate your comment
Fellow GTA rider here. Went down the exact same path a couple years back, settling on a Revolt Advanced 2 which has been absolutely fantastic. The 2x 48/32 is a great compromise for both road and gravel riding, and easy to swap wheel/tire combos for different rides if needed. That said, I picked up a set of carbon rims on sale this summer, along with Pathfinder Pro 42 tires and don't need to swap at all. Fast enough on road, excellent on gravel and light single-track. I'm also working in reverse to you, having just picked up an MTB as there's only so far one can take a gravel bike into the off-road world.
I bought a Lynskey GR300 titanium gravel bike with GRX 600 2x drive train and stock wheels for $3k during Covid. I've since bought 3 better alu wheelsets and can run road 28-32mm, gravel up to 40something and 650B at 47-50mm for "MTB" riding. Usually I run a Redshift flext stem and a Suntour flex seatpost because descending on trails gets Rough. But I love it! I may have $5000 invested by now but it's like 3 bikes in one; swapping the wheels is easy-peasy and it's the best bike I've ever bought. I still have a Ti hardtail MTB and full travel carbon Stumpjumper for seriously rough stuff. The gravel bike and hardtail Ti MTB are my favs. For climbing, the gravel bike excels, for descending , the MTB is better. Many Ti bikes are super expensive, but not Lynskey. Well worth a look and made in the USA!
So glad I found you video. Currently in the market for a gravel bike, and the Checkpoint is on top of the shortlist (not the only entry though) – currently bouncing between the 52 or 54 for sizing.
Thanks so much for such a practical, informative video. I'm glad to hear your perspective on gravel bikes. Definitely looking at one in the future.
I own two BMC gravel bikes. The URS One is more of a endurance gravel bike and is very comfortable. It also has a micro suspension in the rear that is just enough to smooth out the rough spots. My other bike is a BMC Kaius 01 Three which is essentially a race road bike with wider tire clearance and longer wheelbase.It also has SRAM electronic shifting. trust me. Once you go electric, you'll be done with wires. As for batteries, its not like a smart phone or watch. I've ridden close to 10K miles on my SRAM Force road bike and I've charged the batteries 8 times. And finally, I actually sell bikes and I have an unpopular opinion. Whether you buy a Trek, BMC, Specialized, Cannondale or Giant, at a given pricepoint, your essentially getting the same bike. Nobody has a secret formula. its all a matter of preference.
My mtn bikes are fully capable of riding on any/all surfaces 😆😎
Trek Procaliber for road and mtb in Ontario. Ive lived in the area and thats all you need unless you collect bikes. Even riding in the coast mountains where I am now it fine for a lot for trail unless you get into really steep chunky terrain. There are no real hills or mountains in the east so a well done hardtail with 2 wheel sets will be best for summer/winter.
I always size down on my gravel bikes, since the stack is usually taller and I want it to feel closer to my road bike, I go with the smaller frame. Plus, I have short legs.
I bought the Giant Revolt Advanced last year. The frame is 1 size to small, but with handlebar a bit higher its now perfect. I'm weirdly shaped. Those Giant Crosscut tires are terrible, and after I replaced them, I started loving the bike. First replaced them with Pirelli Gravel Hard40, and later with Tufo Thundero HD40/Tufo Speedero HD40. So bottom line: a bad gravel bike can still be tuned and become a lot better
I’m getting a 2nd gravel bike. Ritchey Outback steel bike. First gravel bike is the Cervelo aspero. Very racey. Got the aspero in the middle of lockdown and my size in my part of the world is hard to come by; 58. So I got the aspero cos it was there to be got. I’m 187cm with stoooooopid long legs. And even tho the “chart” sd 61, like u the reach was too much for my battle scarred back (2 slipped discs and facet joint syndrome). Aspero will be road and champagne gravel. Ritchey for anything beyond that. The ritchey outback also comes in a “breakaway” model…it disassembles into 2. But it’s gotta use “mainly” mechanical disc. Best recommendation is a Growly Zero something or other. This ramble is so u can have a look at a non cookie cutter gravel bike. Have fun in your search.
thanks for the tips. I've got a Decathlon road bike (48-34T chainring 11-34 cassette) and a Giant MTB (22/30/40T 11-34) and always wanted a mix of both worlds, the range of gears of a MTB and the nimbleness of a road bike. Thought a gravel bike would be it but I find most of them lacking either the wide range or the top speed. By sheer chance, as of recently I found my dream bike recently, the Canyon Roadlite 6. 1X drivetrain (1×12), 46T chainring and 10-51T cassette in the rear makes it the kind of bike I always wanted and didn't know it existed, the best of road and MTB (gears and 1X)
I crash up and down a railtrail between Cambridge and Paris Ontario on a 23mm kevlar tire at 85 psi. Yea, I need a upgrade and super glad to have found this video/CH.
The weather shut me down for the season and my chainring is beyond worn and just now sat down to look into a gravel bike.
It's hard not to notice the huge jump in price once you get into hydraulic brakes and light weight.
My road bike is 25 lbs and flys on a hard packed railtrail but it's a super rough ride.
Really enjoyed your video and the scenery is fantastic. thx
This is the first ive seen your channel, excellent content and story telling/ editing.
Water Water everywhere, we need paddle bicycles.
Bikepacking's awesome! My wife and I live on the east coast of Australia and we've done several small multi-day adventures in our region as well as The Tasmanian Trail last year (Hobart – Devonport). In 2020 we did NZ South Islands Alps 2 Ocean Trail including bikepacking up from Christchurch. In March we're returning to do the West Coast Wilderness Trail Greymouth to Ross. Those adventures we've done on a Specialized Fate hardtail and for me , a Cannondale Fsi hardtail, with a mix of custom bags by Australian company BikeBagDude and Ortlieb. We're now looking at using our gravel bikes for future adventures to mix things up (wife's Focus Atlas and my Bianchi Arcadex). BTW- I'm 61 and my wife's 58 so for any in our vintage out there thinking of getting into it – don't let age hold u back! PS: As someone who used to live in the Kootenay Valley (BC) love your area!
Can ride those roads on a roadbike with wide tire clearance. No need for a gravel specific bike if riding those roads. Btw, for about 5 years I lived on a 'true gravel road' which was best negotiated on a mtb with 2.1 inch tires.
Selection of bike in addition to paying for low weight is all about riding venue. If roads are true gravel roads, a mtb is best. If they are hard pack with pea gravel pressed into the dirt, a road bike can be used.
There is the concept of 'under versus over' biking that the public is largely ignorant of. Under biking is using a bike outside of its confort zone for a given riding venue…like a road bike on a true gravel road. Over biking would be using a gravel or mountain bike on a paved road which will cost the rider speed relative to exertion level.
Carbon frames, in general, are not what makes bikes more comfortable. It is true… they are non-metallic and do not have the harmonic "zing". However, most entry-level frames are super stiff since advanced compliance designs cost money, and bike frames in general are a bridge truss design (back to back triangles). Instead, the 40 to 55 wide, low-pressure tires are doing most of the heavy lifting when it comes to comfort. This often gets overlooked, and the frame material gets the credit. Where carbon excels is with weight bearing components (seat posts, handlebars, stems… even wheels) where the items are "cantilevered" and supporting your weight. Secondly, another negative of carbon frames for gravel is that the finishes (paint/primer) do not hold up at all. So if you like a pretty bike, you won't be happy with carbon. A third negative is that they can't be recycled, whereas aluminum, steel, and Ti can.
Also, a huge geometric to look out for is toe overlap. Pay attention to the "front center" dim on the geo charts. Be aware of how much the front of your shoes hang out in front of your pedals and do the math. Slacker head angles, shorter cranks, and smaller wheels (650B/27.5) will reduce this. Most physio experts say the bike industry punts with crank lengths anyway. They are most always too long for each bike size. You'll regret overlooking toe overlap the first time you climb through switchbacks or make a U-turn.
For 1by, the jumps between gears are only large between the climbing gears, which are the first 3 or 4. For the rest of the gears, the jumps are identical to 2by.
The main advantage of 2by is that you have gearing for climbs as well as gearing for downhill sprints. On my 2by road bike, I've never used the highest three gears even on downhill sprints where I go 60-70km/h. And for those, I don't pedal anyway and prefer to just aero tuck. I have no desire to go any faster than that. So for my gravel bike, I went for 1by.
Also, 2by bikes are cheaper because you need a higher end derailleur to accommodate a wide range of gears on a 1by. Whereas you only need two cheap derailleurs for 2by.
i bought a giant revolt. i dont know if you covered warranty i would say thats important as well.
Thanks for this! I would like to add another tip: check the maximum system weight of the bike. I am quite tall (1,93m) and heavy. But most of the gravel bikes have a quite low system weight (bike+rider+additonal weight) of about 115 or 120 kg. So if I want to go bikepacking with this I am out of the game… there are just a few with higher system weights, the Giant Revolt is one of them.
This is actually good. I was going your way in thinking about the gravel bike and you cleared the path with your tips!
Hubs and I have Trek Xcaliber MTB (Aluminium) hard tail for mainly winter riding and trails. Ribble CRG AL for road riding Autumn/Winter/Spring and hard compact Summer Rd/Gravel riding x2 by but upgraded the wheels to carbon, the speed is fab even though aluminium frame, (we’d rather pay extra for the wheels over electronic shifting) then carbon road bikes for Summer. It’s great we have all these options and are very lucky and fortunate. None of our bikes are electronic shifting and we aren’t worried about bike packing so opted for the Ribble over a x1 by gravel bike. Ribble CGR AL = Commute/Cross – Gravel – Road (Aluminium) it took us a year to actually decide for the Ribble but established it was more for road/autum winter spring with summer gravel either having the MTB for more off rd,trails, and muddy slop. Enjoy your gravel rides 🙌🏻
You may have already purchased your gravel bike. I have (4) bikes and have quite a lot invested but I use them constantly and they each have a different purpose. I ride my road bike the most (Trek Emonda), XC MTB (Trek Supercaliber) 2nd, MTB (Trek Top Fuel) 3rd, Gravel bike (Cannondale Super 6 Evo) the least. Even though the gravel bike is last on my list I did not want to go the entry level route because I simply would not be happy with the performance. The Emonda and Supercaliber are electronic shifting and the MTB and Cannondale are mechanical. I like the electronic better but it is not a necessity for me. Carbon frame and good carbon wheels are a priority and I have them on all my bikes. 2 or 3 pounds difference in bike weight makes a huge difference when going on endurance or group rides. In most cases it is cheaper to buy the bike you want with the options you want than to upgrade later. Good luck in your search and I hope you find the right bike! BTW, I followed you on Strava and look forward to seeing your journeys and activities.