MTB vs Gravel Bike | Which is best for Bikepacking?

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Bikepacking Q&A EP:19
In this video I answer a great question from Joe about Gravel or MTB for bikepacking.

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Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro
00:14 – The Gravel Bike?
02:30 – The MTB?
06:69 – Which is best for bikepacking?
08:06 – Summary and Q&A Reminder

#bikepacking #gravelbike #mtb

Hello and welcome to another bike packing Q&A video in this video we’re going to answer a very simple question that I got in from Joe he’s wanting to start bike packing and he basically asked which one should he get a gravel bike or a mountain bike so let’s start

With the gravel bike and I’ll be honest this is usually my preferred option out of the two I’ve taken this bike all over the world in all conditions pretty much other than deep snow and the reason I love this bike so much is it’s very versatile and out of the two over most

Terrain it is the fastest because you’ve got a lower riding position you’ve got the drop bars you’ve also got the AA bars on mine it just means you can get lower and therefore more Arrow so you can go faster but I also have smoother tires and skinnier tires compared to the

Mountain bike which just means the rolling resistance is lower the gearing is also better for going faster that coupled with the fact I’m in a lower riding position means on the whole this is the faster of the two as well as being the faster of the two typically

Over most terrains anyway the gravel bike is actually pretty tough it’s tougher than you think it can handle pretty much anything in moderation the reason I say in moderation is if you are planning on hammering it over really rough stuff it’s probably not suited to that but handling a little bit of that

Mixed in with some gravel and Road and cycle bridleways it is a really good option I actually run Two Wheel sets on my gravel bike at the moment I’ve got 650 BS but I also have some 700c which is a slightly larger wheel the 650 BS

Allow you to fit bigger tires so if you are planning on doing more off-road stuff I would consider that as an option having two Wheel sets really allows you to go pretty much anywhere I swap the 700 C’s on for the summertime or if I’m doing a road SL bridleway canal toe path

Sort of tour where I don’t need really rugged tires and that allows me to go faster over that sort of terrain and as well as that gravel bikes tend to come with rack mounts as standard so I’ve got a p rack on there like old school and as

A result I can fit my top peak MTX trunk bag on there which is my go-to set of Piers for all my filming equipment now modern day gravel bikes tend to also have Fork mounts and other fancy mounts as well which means that you can take

Quite a lot of stuff now you don’t really need rack mounts if you want to just use bike packing bags if you’re going to go minimal but for me I like lots of stuff so I like to have that as an option based on that why would you

Want a mountain bike for bike packing cuz the gravel bike can pretty much do anything thing right well not exactly let me run through the reasons why you might want a mountain bike over a gravel Bike by showing you my mountain bike this is what I use for certain bike

Packing trips over the gravel bike which I’ll explain now the first reason you might want to consider a mountain bike is they are pretty indestructible bombproof in fact as a result it means you can pretty much take these bikes anywhere and they’ll be able to handle

It no problem it also means that you can carry more stuff as you can see here I’ve got this bike in Winter bike packing mode which means I’ve got this massive dry bag on the front fork bags frame bags paer bags as well and they’re all full of important stuff that I need

To take when I’m going bike packing in really cold conditions I’ve got my winter sleeping bag Arctic sleeping bag in fact in there and all of my other stuff to keep me comfortable now you don’t have to pack loads of stuff of course but I just have that reassurance

When I’m going winter bike packing or somewhere where any loads of stuff using the mountain bike cuz it can handle much more weight without causing damage as well as being able to carry more stuff and being virtually indestructible they also come with suspension as standard

Most of the time now you can get bikes with rigid forks and things that are Moun bikes but most of the time you’ll find you get at least some front suspension but you can also get rear suspension as well which means that if you’re going over really Rocky stuff or

Just jarring gravel that extra bit of cushion really makes a difference even if you go as small as 100 Mil travel which I have here on my bike I’ve recently got back from the Canary Islands and there was one particular stretch of riding I did in fua Ventura

Where it was like washboard gravel it was so uncomfortable but I could feel my front suspension doing the work and I just thought to myself every mile I was on that awful section of the route If I Was Here on my gravel bik now my hands

Would have gone numb it was that jarring I could feel the suspension doing its work and that was only with 100 Mil of travel so if you’ve got a bike with even more than that even more cushion you are going to be thankful for it over that Rocky and rough terrain most mountain

Bikes also come with flat bars mine are slightly bent but they’re not drop bars like you get on gravel and road bikes that means you can carry a bigger front bag or a bigger dry bag like I’ve got here without having to squash it in between the drops like you would with a

Gravel bike so even if you haven’t got loads of rack mounts on your mounted bike it just means you can take more stuff in the front without having to do anything different at all speaking of comfort even though travel bikes nowadays do have pretty good Tire clearance you’re always going to get

Better Tire clearance on a mountain bike as a result you can fit bigger tires I’ve got 3-in tires here on my 27.5 wheels and run them at a lower pressure which just adds to the Comfort adds to the grip as well and just makes the ride a little bit more comfortable and

Because you can fit bigger tires and run them at lower pressures that is the main reason I use this mountain bike over my gravel bike in the winter I want to go bike packing all year round in the snow in the ice and I don’t feel confident

Doing that on a gravel bike with skinnier tires this bike has been to Arctic Norway with these exact tires on in winter with a couple of feet of snow at times and it was absolutely fantastic I know for a fact that I got the grip

When I need it and the confidence to go through the snow without fear of slipping you don’t have to go to the extreme of going to Arctic Norway even here in the UK I go up to Scotland most Winters to do some bik packing trips and

Even then I’m glad of having these fat tires for the grip and finally probably the biggest selling point of having a mountain bike for some people is the gearing you have really easy gears nowadays as standard on most mountain bikes this has got a 52 to sprocket on

The rear and a 36 to up front that means I’ve got a really easy gear going up pretty much any terrain I’ll be able to handle it having easy gears isn’t just for people who are out of shape or getting on a bit it’s actually really

Useful if you’ve got of stuff you’ll be surprised when you go bike packing how heavy your bike becomes and if you have those really easy gears you’ll know that you don’t have to get off and push pretty much at any point so Joe which bike should you go for probably both

Having both is a luxury and it’s a nice luxury to have it means that you can plan which bike packing trip you’re going to do and decide based on the planning and research that you’ve done which one you want to go for but I am a realist and not everybody can have loads

Of bikes in their garage so if you’re the sort of person who just wants one bike packing bike you’ve got budget for one you just want to try it and see how things go then you need to think about the sort of riding that you’re going to

Be doing from my point of view if you’re going to be doing 50 to 75% of your riding on roads or cycle paths then the gravel bike is the bike you should be going for I mentioned before that the gravel bike can pretty much handle anything that you throw at it in

Moderation so if you’re only planning on doing a small amount of riding on gravel or off road then it will probably be able to handle it especially if you can stretch to a couple of Wheel sets like I do it just gives you that flexibility if however you’re going to be doing less

Than 50% of your riding on roads or you want to go bike packing in All Seasons then the mountain bike is probably the option I would go for there you know that it’s bombproof and it can handle the road of course it’s going to be slower on the road than the gravel bike

But if you are going to be doing some really rough stuff or going out in the snow or ice then you’ll be really glad to get something like this that you can depend on it’s a Workhorse and you can rely on it time and time again let me

Know which bike you think is best for bike packing in the comments section below and make sure you tell me why as well I’d love to hear from you give this video a thumbs up and subscribe if you’re not already and I’ll see you in the next video