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welcome back you lovely bunch thanks for tuning again I hope you’re all doing good as you can see I have my very lovely Marine Gest out here and the plan for today is to turn this winter road bike into a summer gravel bike so people often ask can you use a gravel bike as a road bike can you use a road bike as a gravel bike and the answer is kind of like you can pretty much get away with using a gravel bike as a road bike just by switching the tires over so I would call this a dual purpose or a multi-purpose bike at the moment in its current setup it’s perfect for winter ride it’s got full mud guards it’s got some nice Aero Carbon wheels on there but obviously in its current state it’s no good for gravel so my plan is to switch to Wheels put these 650 BS on they’ve got a BP set of WTB curo tires on there so these wheels should turn this into a very nice aluminium gravel bike so I’m lucky I have multiple road bikes gravel Bikes mountain bikes track bikes are bikes for every situation but some of you might not want to buy like multiple bikes you might not be able to afford multiple bikes so can you get one bike that can pretty much do everything well the answer is yes this is an aluminium frame obviously you can get higher end like carbon frames that do the same thing so I listen to a lot of cycling podcasts and a while ago on the Chris Miller podcast they were talking about jaw purpose bikes and multi-purpose bikes and it kind of triggered me it came across as very elitist and one of the problems I think with cycling is it’s a very elitist bort it is it’s very expensive to get into so myself as a cyclist that has a YouTube channel I want you guys to know that you don’t need to have the highest end stuffff in order to enjoy cycling you can have an awesome ride on a bik that cost 3030 pound or a bike that cost £10,000 so I don’t agree with this whole attitude I don’t think you need a bike for each discipline I think if you’re riding at the highest level yes you need a really good road bike if you’re racing at a high level of gravel or mountain bike or downhill obviously you’ll have the best of the best but for most people you can get away of a bike that does everything and that’s what we’re going to do today so I asked Chris if I can post the clip and get your guys’ opinion on it so I’m going to the clip here and you guys can watch it and then whilst I’m doing that I’m going to take these wheels off switch over the rotors and you guys can let me know in the comment if you agree with Chris and Jesse I’m going to get this bike ready for some gravel shredding right so cue the clip and I’m going to stay quiet this bike radar bike of the year they announced for 2023 was this Vitus venon who’s this for is someone really going and doing a crit and then changing the wheels and going and doing a 4-Hour gravel ride is this cuz to me it makes no sense I would never use this i’ never heard of this bike brand ever in terms of someone talking to me bike there are customers that come my store that say I want to start biking and I want to do triathlons and also road bike and maybe gravel and I’m like that’s not possible so what do we think do we agree with Jesse and Chris and the guy from The Bike Shop do we need to have a bike for each discipline or can you ride a bike that does everything so I’ve ridden a few time trials I don’t have a time trial bike I’ve ridden my road bike I’ve ridden my track bike you can ride anything on a time trial yes if you want to be a world-class time trial athlete you ride a really good time trial bike but this whole like well that whole attitude that attitude that you just saw and I’m sorry like I respect the amount of work those guys do on their podcast and their YouTube channel but that’s the Eli snobbery that like plagues the cycle industry I’m sitting there with like Posh set of carbon wheels a few years ago these hyper Wheels by winds space people kind of scoffed at them because they weren’t zip or Envy or any of that sort of stuff you know and again like they didn’t cost like as much as other higher end Brands so therefore they’re rubbish and you see this like the wheel top group set some carbon bars I put these carbon bars on they’re from China they were like £50 everyone’s like they’re going to break you’re going to lose your teeth and you know what they’re fine I think the cycle industry especially in the current state could do a little bit l snobbery and we could get more people involved in cycling by kind of dropping that whole attitude and if you want to buy a cheap road bike you can go and do a crit on it you can do a time trial on it if you get a disc break one you could fit 650 BS like a light gravel Tire to it and there’s no reason you couldn’t do a light gravel ride or a bit of a gravel event on it I’m not going to give it too much Focus but yeah it just kind of annoyed me especially cuz I’m about to turn this bike into a gravel bike I use it for Road and I could happily do like a 200 mile road ride on it and then a day after switch the wheels and do a gravel ride anyway back to the build I could very easily put a set of gravel tires on here but I do want to use these wheels with this Frame set and another thing I’ve got to do is I have to change the bars on this I want to use the arrow bars from here on this build So the plan today is to get the mud Goods off the wheels switched then I’ve got a pop to Dan later cuz he’s going to help me do the brakes I just need help with brakes I’ve decided I can’t do brakes so I’m going to invest the help of a professional so Dan’s going to help me switch the brakes from these Road bars onto a set of gravel bars which will more suit this build then I can use these rad bars for this bike and potentially set up the wheel toop disc brakes at the same time enough waffling let’s get this mud guard off rotor switched over wheels on get to Dan’s house change the bars and then I’ll show you this bike in its final form let’s see what this looks like as a gravel bike right let’s crack on [Music] oh no here we go I hate to say I don’t you s when your life is in between everything is like a dream oh no here we go I hate to say I Told You So when your life is in between everything is like a [Music] dream what do you think I’ve just got back from Dan’s house he switched over my bars some massive thanks to Dan for helping me out see so now I have some gravel bars on this they’re a lot wider than the old bars that were on there I feel they’re a lot more suited to like a multi-purpose bike like the other ones were narrow they were racy they looked awesome but they are definitely definitely better for my road bike than a gravel stroke road bike so my winter road bike has now been converted into a summer gravel bike this is what I particularly love about gravel bikes they can be anything you can turn it into a bit of a road machine for like bike packing or whatever you can use it for off-road you can put 650s on and use it for more aggressive gravel I’ve got a very aggressive Tire on here I do want to switch it to like the Venture which is a slightly less aggressive 650 but it’s still wide it will still take out a lot of the bumps but it’ll be faster rolling on the road but still good off-road it’s no surprise that people don’t always agree on the internet and within the cycling Community I I’m all for supporting the cycling Community but I think that in this sense like the guys on the podcast were wrong you know if you want to use a bike to race crits at the highest level yes you’ll need a specific bike for each but if you’re just starting out and you want to do a time trial ride your road bike ride your gravel bike ride whatever bike you want to ride so this can be a gravel bike or a road bike is it the best road bike in the world no but is it good enough for long-distance ride sport all that kind of stuff yes could I then switch the wheels or the tires and go and ride a gravel event the next day yes and would I have fun doing it I sure would but that’s just my opinion I want to know what you guys think do you think I’m stupid doing this kind of thing should I have one bike for each purpose I mean I know I do but for the sake of this video Let’s Just Pretend This is my only bike now I have a bike that’s good on the road and good Offroad for me win-win looking forward to taking this out for a bit of a shred seeing how the aluminium frame does Offroad I I think this spectacular honestly and I also must point out that this is not Marin’s most expensive frame this is not the highest end frame set they make this is their entry level aluminum do it all all Road frame and it’s very much does that it does everything you can have it as a road bot you could run it as a two bike you can run it as a gravel bike you can run it for whatever you want so I strongly believe that multi-purpose bikes are amazing I think they’re very much needed they’re very useful not everyone wants to buy 15 bikes let me know what you guys think down in the comments thank you as always for watching remember to like comment and subscribe and let me know what you think of this beautiful bike right I’ll catch you all later bye
50 Comments
I don’t think they are off the mark but that’s from my perspective as a road racer. I would propose that at three Conti/Cat 1 level which Chris and Jesse compete at, it would be a substantial disadvantage to do a stage race on a converted gravel bike. For an entry level cyclist, that do-it-all is perfect.
Also remember that Jesse is running an 8 year old TCR with a midtier spec, he’s anything from elitist when it comes to racing. He can be blunt but he’s not elitist. Chris, can get a little elitist but he seems to be aware of it.
well said mate, far too much snobbery around…and yep that spotty Marin does look rather nice in that build config, great that you can change up a few things and get a different bike more suited for a different task and then swap out the wheels and bars, boom, off road too 🙂 bikes are great – let people say what they want and just enjoy what you ride
I went from a gravel bike with two wheelsets to just one wheelset and set of tires (Pathfinder Pro). Gravel is just an extension of road and I like being more minimal with my equipment. Embracing the all terrain road ethos and calling it a day!
Exactly 👍
The marketing of the cycling industry is aimed at getting consumers to part with the maximum amount of money when the reality is the smallest percentage of people actually need to spend more than say £3k. Gravel frames can be used for almost any discipline just by swapping parts as you’re demonstrating, bike snobbery is a blocker to increasing participation.
I went on a bike camp recently. It was just fully of willy wavers that thought they were so pro. There are too many cycling snobs out there that give cyclists such a bad name. Get a bike, go ride it, have fun and ignore the twats. Besides, most people are better off on an endurance / gravel bike than a slammed race bike thats all about show.
If you look at capability, a 29er hardtail or a gravel bike give you the best bang for the buck. No, the hardtail will not have the greatest speed except in the dirt, and the gravel bike gives up some off-road capability for more road-bike speed. But look at the spectrum of what and where you can ride with either of those bikes. My road bike was down for the Tour of the Moon in Grand, Junction, Colorado. I rode my 33 lb steel hardtail, with hybrid tires. All 63 miles (~100km). Was my time horrible? Sure. Did I ENJOY myself? Absolutely. The often mocked 44-32-22, 9-speed triple and 11-34 cassette made the climbs a pleasure, and the mountain disc brakes were fully appreciated on the descent. I just bought an aluminum Topstone, with the Sora drivetrain and 46/30 crank. I wonder-if I put 32mm road slicks on the gravel bike, will it be any slower than my 13-year old road bike? I'm willing to bet "no."
I totally 100% agree with you Dave. There is too much snobbery these days in cycling, people should be encouraging everyone to 'just ride bikes'. I never ride with those snobs, I would rather ride with a bunch of people that embrace and support everyone.
Chels
It's not fucking expensive to get into. I bought a 5yo top end bike for $1400 second hand with upgraded bits too. Sure if you are buying the latest thing it's going to be expensive….just like a $2500 iphone. People happily buy second hand ones of them….but buying a second hand bike isn't ok? I've got op shop kit for $2 for a race fit top, $10 for knicks. Yeah ok…not everyone wants second hand knicks, whatever.
People that bitch about things being expensive are entitled prats. Just because you want something doesn't mean you deserve to be able to afford it with disposable income.
FYI, my 10yo bike now outrides a lot of boys on their 15k bikes. Why…because it aint all about the bike. Helps sure…but nothing beats doing the work. A pro on a $10/pound bike will outride any muppet on a 20k bike.
Go buy a bike you can afford and ride. Less time worrying about affording the gear that's not meant for the every day person and more time riding the bike you can afford.
Then, in a few years when you can afford a bike or can justify the investment, you'll be a monster because you've been busting your arse on a 'heavier' 'less compliant' ' less stiff' 'less aero' bike.
Amen 🙏 hyper-optimisation is so not rad!
Lmao that Vitus used To be like my dream bike
Regular guy here who is sometimes fast but more often slow.
Imho one bike and a couple of wheelsets with different tires is all you need!
If you compete maybe different story?!?!
I share your opinion. A lot of people would love to have a bike for each category, but often time money and space play a big factor into that decision. I would prefer having to change/pay for 1 component(it being the tires) since it's the most important one in my opinion. They need to realize that for a lot of people it's just hobby.
Can’t stand the snobbery, especially on other YouTube channels talking about ‘piece of s*** wheels and stuff it makes me want to puke, everyone is an expert as well, my bike is functional to get me from A – B, 20 miles a day I do, it is not a hobby ‘toy’ for me, these mugs speeding around Regent’s Park only when the weather permits in their aero helmets and Lycra, I laugh at them
I just really like high end,over-engineered,nice quality stuff. BUT..TOTALLY agree with what you are saying here Dave.yep,the bike scene has always been thus. I started riding in the 1970’s..road racing. TT. cyclo cross. Was decent rider. In 1980’s worked with couple of friends in bike shop in Oxford..we were one of the top Mountain Bike Specialist shops in the U.K. pioneering mountain biking in its early days. Won a few races and was brilliant. One Day a few of us headed over to watch a National Level Road Race near Oxford. (I was in the Oxford City Road Club at the time…) on our Mountain Bikes,wearing back then probably pink rock climbing tights and T shirts. NOBODY spoke to us..just ignored us. Fact that,at the time I could have ridden most of the guys hanging around off my wheel just made me laugh. Yep Cycling is ‘Elite’…
The main thing I love about your content is that you are honest and use equipment that is not stupidly overpriced. You have proved that you don’t need to spend 10k on a bike and have 100% inspired myself in to a good quality budget build. Keep it up dude
My favorite thing about cycling has always been it can be anything we want it to be. Many grass-roots bike races celebrate the weird and the wacky, If you want to be an elitist snob, go for it, a dirt bag mountain biker, cool, a gravel racer or an adventure rider, so be it, ride one bike for all these things, sick!
I agree I think it’s possible to have 1 bike does all . I ride my Crockett for most things . I got rid of my “ winter” bike years ago . I do have a road bike which I use for a really hard session ( chaingang ) . I think the industry convinces us we need everything . They keep reinventing things and giving them different names . I was “ graveling” on my tracker bike as we called them then 40 years ago , cow horns , 1 gear . Then later on , on a mountain bike with no suspension . Those bikes got me everywhere. If you can afford it great . If not it doesn’t matter . Enjoy riding your bike
Cycling has become so clicky. I see people on my road bike and they say hello. See the same people on my mtb and nothing. People are all about image whilst achieving nothing. Crazy
Yup, Chris and Jesse are race focused, they are only just touching the world of gravel… and touring… hmmm… no not yet… Very cool bike, nice summer shredder.
I agree cycling is becoming such a wank especially the road scene in Melbourne. Too many Insta influencers ruining the sports
Well said Sir, we can't all afford a bike for everything. I think people should take the bike they have and just enjoy it, not everything has to be a competition.
I got my steel four corners that I'm gonna use to go everywhere. Well, aside from downhill singletrack, there my skill level would let me down before the bike did though.
Totally agree, just ride what you have, and enjoy it. At a push adapt it too suit your needs, gearing ,bars , tyres no matter what you do, the engine remains the same.
Totally agree a lot of cyclist are elites. I personally ride a discounted to £800 ribble Hybrid I have used it as my version of a flat bar gravel bike fore two years now. It’s my only bike. I have been cycling since a child (I’m 50 now)and never been without a bike so wouldn’t consider my self a novice, but I’ve really enjoyed riding this bike. Its perfect for what I ride gravel. Cycle paths wooded section. Again you don’t have to spend a fortune to enjoy cycling and bikes can do multiple disciplines. 👍
I think the snobbery exists in all sports, in my experience it almost always comes from insecurity in some form or another.
Ride what you want and the main thing is to enjoy what you do, worrying about what people think is pointless and judging others from their choices of bike / clothing raises a lot of questions about you rather than them.
Chris and Jesse on the whole do a decent job on their podcast but they do talk some rubbish sometimes, I’ve found they don’t often research their subject matter very well either, they certainly appear to look very much within their own bubble instead of the wider picture.
Bikes are for riding, what bike style of bike is irrelevant the important part is the engine and thats us the riders, without us bikes are just a useless pile of metal or an unused tool, the engine gives the parts purpose, enjoy the ride not the bike
It's not about the bike…. more riden, less tossen.. get out and ride.
Yes agreed mate, this is why the 'cycling industry' is in deep brown stuff.
I had 4 bikes 2 years ago. Road, mountain, fixed and commuter. I now only have a gravel bike and it's all I need and does it all with no probs. I ride every day. I do kinda miss my fixed gear Cinelli a bit but being in the over 50's club now my knees can't take it like they used to!
The 'traditional' round tubes and double triangle of the Gestalt/Headlands is very much an 'up your' to elitisms. Love it! Not to mention that paint job.
"i wouldn't do this" well then don't 😐 not everything is for you and neither does it have to be.
I'll never get people trying to make it so there is less options available lmao that sounds really stupid to me, like if something is not to my taste well too bad for me, but it'll be for someone else and that's great. Why always try to make it so there's only one way of doing things???
Anyway sorry for the random rant lmao i just totally agree with you
I totally agree. I've been riding for 40 yrs & I have seen a lot of bike snobbery. If you race & want to be competitive then yes you probably do need specific bikes. But that is very expensive. If your're on a budget or ride for fitness & fun then a all road/ gravel bike is probably the best option. It doesn't need to be a high end one & probably mid range components as going off road can damage them. Runing high end stuff is crazy expensive to replace. A gravel bike with a geometry thats inbetween race bike & adventure bike is ideal. 650b's with as wide as the frame allows for off road. 700c's that don't need to be super lightweight or expensive for road duties. If you want to dabble in TT's or triathlon then add some clip on aero bars. For 80% of cyclists this would probably be the ideal 1 bike for all, if you just ride for fun or fitness.
I share your opinion!! Too much snobbery in cycling, mostly to get people buying expensive stuff they don’t need- i tweaked my ‘HYBRID!😱🤣 bike into a multipurpose bike and I love it- all i need is a change of tyres to suit my needs!! Your Marin looks rad in its ‘gravel’ form🤘🏼
People are trained from a young age to buy things they don't need …
At a price they can't afford …
To impress people they don't know.
I saw that vid with Chris and Jesse and when that guy said that he hadn't heard of vitus i was a but shocked especially as he works in the bike industry
How does that guy run a cycling podcast and have no clue about Vitus?
Finally aomeone talking some sense over here. Cool bike and enjoy the 700c-650b game
Marin's awfully humble about the capability of the Gestalt, but I run a Gestalt 2 with 55 deep dish wheels, only use it on the road, slammed extended stem, aero carbon seat post, and have outran almost every pedigree high end aerobike you could name no problem at all, this bike is incredibly fast.
The bike is on the heavy side though and suffers on climbs, but you could absolutely race crits on it.
I even suspect that Specialized studied specific features of the Gestalt and implemented them on the Tarmac SL8, i.e. super deep front fork and head tube, round format tubing, and added standover clearance, but just a sneeking suspicion 🔥
If you have an SUV and you go on holiday, you don't now need an MPV to stuff everything in. You pack compact and take the trip.
It's the reason I think bike prices have gotten so high, marketing just gets you to believe you need a road bike. You just need a bike with drops and you can make changes to it as and when you please.
I unsubscribed from their elitist nonsense chat, I just want to enjoy my bike and I want to do that my way.
I agree with you Dave. My first new bike purchase was a steel CX Raleigh which I bought in 1990, and used for all sorts of riding, including with a baby seat when we had kids. In 2011 we moved to Texas, where I got into road riding, and regular sportives and charity events. I still rode my by now vintage Raleigh CX bike on those events, albeit with road tyres. I am back in the UK now, and have gravel tyres on that same bike, for gravel and trail rides. So this bike has had multiple uses for me over the past three decades!
Even owning a bike in each discipline I'm still for stretching bikes to see what they can do. We haven't found a right way to bike yet. Thank goodness.
I have lots of bikes, nothing really high end. but my road/gravel was $700. I have 15,000 miles on it. And I have switched tires on it more than anyone would ever want to. Anyone telling you your bike isn't good enough needs to take the seat post out of their rear end…
Hi Dave. Just wondering is this a custom paintjob? Cheers mate
A fun comment. I'm in my early 30's, I ride several times a week on road and gravel. My 72 year old dad beats me any day, using his gravel bike, while i'm on my road bike. He has cycled consistently almost every day os his life, ridden all the tour de france stages, on vacations in france. Since i was a kid i was indoctrinated to watch him ride up L'alpe D'huez, Mont Ventoux, road trip to the Pyrenees etc. He is 72 now, i'm in good shape, he is in good shape. He will beat me any day riding his gravel bike, while i ride my roadbike. There is some things about semi elite motionists, that just makes them differ from the rest of us. I should have his genes, but only 50% of them.. He can just keep pedalling, when my legs are totally empty. I can sprint away from him in the start of a ride, no problem, but he will catch up. And after 100Km+ he can easily sprint away or just keep the pace and lose me. Its never 100% about the bike as you say.
I agree with you Dave, i would add it is about cohesion too. I ride/race gravel bike fitted with 11s rival/force. I specifically chose this because it worked well with my 3 wheelsets.
I run 700c with 11-42 cassette and 36 chainring for CX
I run 650b with fast rolling race king tyre 11-46 and 36 chainring for gravel
I race XC with 650b barzo 10-46 cassette and 32 chainring
If I want to ride road, i go for 700c with 11-42 and 40or42 chainring
Or I run 11-46 with 50chainring for flat course.
Point being gravel frames are versatile and depending of the wheel/tyre and the transmission, within 1hr setup/servicing, the bike can be transformed/specialized to a given terrain @ less cost and storage room
You are 100% right, Dave, and you bike is beautiful! Next video: Dave learns to set up brakes 😬❤️
I agree with you 💯
Your so right mate.
Your defo right it’s just snobbery