Gravel riding is becoming more and more popular, but what draws people to it? Gravelling converts Blake and Anna decided to go for a spin and work out what the ‘Spirit of Gravel’ is, and why they find it so much fun.

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    Have you ever tried gravel riding? What do you think is ‘The Spirit Of Gravel’? Share your thoughts below 👇

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    46 Comments

    1. 😂 I just don‘t grow enough beard for „the spirit of gravel“ but what Anna did, riding into random routes, getting lost and somehow finding back out is pretty much what the spirit of MTB was for me when I started out.

    2. I think gravel biking is for the roads where you get boared on your mountainbike. I probably get board on these roads whirh a gravel bike too. 😂

    3. bugger the 35mm forks, get a proper29er fork in there, 100mm, sag it to 30mm still leave 70mm of travel and lots of neg travel to keep that tyre in contact. weight won't be much more

    4. I just don't get the gravel concept. I mean, if you want to ride on dirt or "gravel", just freaking ride the bike that's meant for off-roading and at a faster pace…. the XC bike. Again, this just another pointless bike category that the industry spun up to sell more bikes. And if your argument is "but I can also ride on road!". Ok, but so can XC bikes. I've got a light XC (Scott) that I hit the pavement on.

    5. I don't know about gravel bikes, I am not sure about the riding positions, I will stick with the mountain bikes, BMX's, dirt jumper and cruisers for now. I reckon that would be a fun video, Blake and Anna do comparison tests of their XC bikes vs their gravel bikes on a set route. Which bike do they find feeling better for the job.

    6. I took a gravel bike for a test ride to see what it was like. The only advantage I found was the ability to sprint over smooth roads. I prefer a hardtail for comfort, stability, and fun.

    7. I just bought a gravel bike this week – Marin Four Corners. The best investment. Before that I had a mountain bike and a road bike. The gravel bike is a road bike with just enough off-road capabilities. I'm normally not the kind of person who rides mountain bike trails… road bikes are the fastest but you always get stuck in off-road sections.

    8. Just riding trails . Laughing , having fun . Seeing things you wouldn’t see on the road . Finding places that you never knew existed . Wearing whatever you like . Having a bar bag . Taking way too many pictures . Enjoying that freedom . Jumping from road to trail to canal to woods all over n one ride . Feeling 12 again

    9. Gravel bikes are especially nice for bike fishing, got my rig hooked up nicely to handle any terrain and look forward to hooking up the front carbon forks equipped with salsas low rider front racks packed with Ortliebs petrol blue sport rollers with gear up to 7 1/2 kg on each side.. sick. "

    10. Bought into the hype, bought a gravel bike, thought it was great for a while until I realised that for everything except tarmac a hardtail is better. Gravel bike gathered dust for a while until I sold it.

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