You’ve already seen some of the Pinkbike
staff's mountain bikes, and the list isn’t too surprising given that we’re all
into mountain biking. Most of us prefer bikes that excel on the descents but can still pedal, with some nice unusual shiny bits. Those bikes will take us where we want to go without holding us back on the descents or dragging us down too much on the climbs. Those bikes are fun.
But there are bikes in the other areas of our lives, too. Brian has his dadmobile and a sweet gravel bike. Sarah, Levy, Daniel, and Seb all have gravel bikes, too. Kazimer and I chose to show off our town bikes. Henry says he has a road bike, though I’m left to fill in the details with my imagination, and Jason has a truck, which also falls into the category of 'not a mountain bike,' I guess.
Let’s take a look.
Brian Park | My dadmobile is a Trek Powerfly FS 9 Equipped. Our little guy loves cruising around with it. The core mountain bike audience wasn't too keen on this bike when it was launched, but to me the SUV category makes sense for eMTBs. It's like a Subaru Forester—not the ultimate off road machine, not the perfect commuter, but it'll move your kids around comfortably and handle most anything you throw at it. Honestly it's even pretty fun on Seymour once you get over the fear that someone might see you on a bike with a kickstand.—Brian Park |
Brian 3D printed those pedals himself.
Brian’s gravel bike is only a tiny bit less intriguing than the dadmobile. I love the dropper post solution.
| I got a gravel bike after I broke my humerus a few years back and wanted to get some winter miles in while I was recovering. It eventually turned into this thing. Niner RLT Steel, Stans carbon wheels, GRX drivetrain, etc. The SQlab mtb saddle got installed for zwifting but ended up staying on. I have it routed for a dropper (the left brifter pulls dropper cable), but only put the dropper on sometimes. Spurcycle bell, Apidura bags, Light & Motion headlight, King Iris cages and Garmin on an F3 Cycling mount... Hutchinson Touareg tires have been really good this winter, and I get along with the Pro gravel bar shape a lot. Oh and I stole Levy's nemesis SRM X-Power pedals to find out how much power I don't have.—Brian Park |
I agree with Brian here. SQlab saddles are the greatest.
Brian also wins for the best photos. The image quality and quantity in this article only deteriorates from here. Sorry.
Mike Levy | Mountain bikes will always be my first love, no doubt about that, but twenty-five years of pedaling has shown me that I need to be a versatile cyclist who can appreciate all sorts of machines, regardless of how curly their handlebar might be. Also, a string of annoying injuries over the last few seasons, as well as them being "work," means that sometimes I need to do anything but ride a mountain bike. And that's where Big Blue comes in. I love that I can slip into the sausage suit and cover all the miles, that it turns tame trails into a great time, and that I can explore all sorts of places that I probably wouldn't bother with if I was on a mountain bike. And while many riders only see Lycra, intervals, and zero fun, there are many days when I'm rocking baggies on the BMC, inside foot out and the rear wheel locked. Don't let the curly bars fool you; this thing is just a hooligan road bike.—Mike Levy |
Mike Kazimer | It's a 1970-something Sentinel that I've had for almost 15 years. When I lived in Colorado it was set up as a brakeless fixie, complete with the requisite baby blue deep dish Velocity rims, but I switched it over to a coaster brake setup after moving to Washington. Turns out it's helpful to have at least one working brake when dealing with steep hills and rain.
The Sheldon Brown sticker on the seat tube might be my favorite part, and the fact that it barely requires any maintenance is also a nice trait.—Mike Kazimer |
That saddle is so, so blue. I wish I'd seen it when it had blue rims.
Daniel Sapp | My Specialized Sequoia is my go-to for gravel and light trail use. I enjoy getting out on longer adventures with it and taking it on trails that push the limits of what could be considered a good idea. With 42c tires, I've gotten it down most of the trails in the area although there are certainly times I've found myself on foot. I like that I can cover a lot of distance and have a totally different experience than on a more capable mountain bike, even though it's quite a bit more sketchy in some situations. I appreciate the difference in pace. Plus, the drop bars make descending flowy trails really fun.—Daniel Sapp |
Seb Stott | This is my insanely sensible Canyon Grail AL6.0. It's my gravel/road/commuting/touring/shopping bike. I don't see much point in riding rigid drop-bar bikes off road (in fact over anything rougher than a well-surfaced logging road it's pretty torturous), but the Grail's 40mm tubeless tyres give it far better comfort and safety when riding poorly-maintained British B-roads. I don't think there's much of a speed sacrifice when compared to a proper road bike either.—Seb Stott |
Sarah Moore | I jumped on the gravel bike bandwagon since Levy and Brian (and every other cyclist I talked to) seemed to be having so much fun on them and replaced my road bike with a Salsa Warbird. Mostly, I just wanted a bike that I could put this sweet Rapha x Outdoor Voices bar bag on. I’ve gone on some casual carry-baked-goods-or-craft-beer-around rides on it a couple times and have some grand bike packing adventures planned, but to be honest most of the time I choose my mountain bike over the gravel bike when I’m heading out on a ride and the majority of the hours I’ve spent on the Warbird have been while it’s sitting on the trainer in my garage.—Sarah Moore |
Alicia Leggett | This is the least practical bike I own, and I love it for that reason. A friend gave it to me when another friend of ours gave him a different town bike. I gave away an old steel gravel bike of mine that day, too, so the free bike chain continued. The bars are about 100mm wide (give or take 400mm). If you knew how sketchy I feel riding it around with the narrow bars and perpetually-wrong gear, you'd be concerned to hear I ride mountain bikes.
This bike is not for shredding or for racing, but it does get me to farmers markets and friends’ houses. In a few hours, I’ll put my speedwing in the milk crate and ride it to the trailhead for my current favorite multi-sport routine. I’m comfortable leaving it places because I'll only be medium sad if it disappears. This goofy bike’s name is Hobbes.—Alicia Leggett |
I also have a gravel bike, but it’s dirty right now so I’m ashamed to show photos of it.
Henry QuinneyHenry didn’t send me a photo of his road bike, but he says he has one, so I'm including an interpretation of Henry's bike as I imagine it. His road bike, I imagine, has the perfect balance of sensibility and style. I also imagine it has disc brakes, a dropper post, and a 4000-lumen headlight. Why not? Henry can be his own sunlight. He didn't specify the material, so we can assume it's probably something new and mysterious that the rest of us haven't heard of yet.
| I have no good snaps of my roadie and it's currently sat in my parents house.—Henry Quinney |
Jason LucasDoes anyone have a sticker maker? If so, feel free to make Jason some stickers that say “My other bike is a truck.”
| My non-MTB is a truck.—Jason Lucas |
I would like to own one of those eyesores. With a kickstand.
Only three parts? PB is slipping with the milking content game with these rookie numbers.
-Kenny Powers, Jason Lucas, and me.
Edit: OneUp ninja edited some Taco hate out of their comment. Smooth....just like their bars.
Sheldon was a big proponent of fixed gear. I remember reading about how going fixed will get you in tune with rear wheel traction. Not to mention all kinds of Sturmey Archer fixed internal gear hubs.
He hated manufacturer spelling of derailleur and preferred derailer instead. He also hated manuals and wheelies due to stresses to the headset, and said that downhill is a fad.
He might be highly opinionated, but I still refer my newbie friends to his site for cold hard data sheet. Headset standards? Check. BCD patterns? Check. Tire sizing? Check. I actually find that 28 inch wheels is usually larger than 29 inch wheels there.
I challenge you to get a good gravel bike with proper fat tires (my rig runs 650b wheels and 2.1" rubber), do a ride that mixes in pavement, gravel, and flowy trail, covers 40 miles, and tell me you didn't have a blast.
Just my two cents. Sold my road bike and opted for the gravel rig and so happy. My other bikes are an xc race machine and an enduro sled. This is the perfect spread for me, but whatever works for you!
That said, when I finally get around to building a gravel bike, it's going to be set up more around road specs than an XC bike with fat tires and a dropper post. If it comes to riding single track, I'd rather be on a proper mountain bike.
then for the winter rides when everything is so muddy that you prefer to get only on the light trails in the woods. so easy to clean!
it's fast, doesn't put in the risky descents if don't want to - and because you can't.
it can be the perfect and comfortable adventure bike or the easy one on the cycle paths around town.
good 2nd bike when the roadie is offline or its to wet out there.
ah!! it makes gravel roads fun, where a XC or a Enduro bike would be just MEH. It slides and skids all over the place yeahhh
I don't think they're exactly limiting, one could argue they're even the reverse: they encourage exploration and in a world of super capable MTB's, it's kinda nice to ride a bike that you can really feel the limits of, without having to be going a zillion mhp or off huge jumps. I mean, you're not going to hit a black rated DH route (probably) but some gravel setups are more capable off road then you might think (off the top of my head, Evil's Chamois Hanger springs to mind). And if you're riding a variety of surfaces and over distance, like when it comes to mixed gravel backroads, access fireroads, or good/bad tarmac, then a gravel bike will dust a FS XC bike for the same rider.
Some people go bike packing, some explore their local woods. Some race or take part in distance events like the DK100 or Midsouth 100. Others will have replaced road riding with gravel miles for training rides. Some people live in areas (like here in rural OK) with poor tarmac and a lot of gravel routes on the door step, so a gravel bike makes complete sense for training (vs a road bike). Some just get out for a gentle tootle in the woods with family and friends, who knows?
To me it's a really useful and enjoyable N+1 bike. I've got mine setup single speed at there moment for simplicity/reliablity and it's fun off road in the right places and great for getting some training miles in, taking the dogs for a light off road adventure or just nipping put for a quick spin to clear the mind. The Midsouth 100 event last year (won by Payson Mcelveen of XC fame, in the Men's cat) was one of the best off road events I've done too.
I guess they work one way or another for a for whole lot of people, as evidenced by the huge rise in available bike models, brands and investments a whole from the bike industry into the gravel side of things.
Also depends on what is near you. The surrounding countryside where I live is very flat for 100’s of kilometres in every direction, but we do have a lot of decent gravel roads, forest paths and very easy trails that would be totally overkill on an XC bike. You need to ride some road to get out of the city and onto the dirt so a gravel bike is a perfect compromise in that scenario.
I’m an MTB guy at heart and always will be, but if I only have an hour or two to ride then I’m jumping on the gravel bike and will try and catch up with the MTB crowd when I can make more time to ride.
Fits 38mm tires, even bigger if you go 650B and is superior on both comfort and speed over regular rigid gravel bikes.
Rides like a road bike on road and you can still hit unpaved paths.
Unless you live in USA or some other country with loads of unpaved smooth roads, gravel bikes suck balls.
Go ride any trail with protruding cobbles or stones and your gravel adventure is not going to be any fun.
For smoother trails Roubaix is going to be as good or better but blow the gravel bike when you hit the road.
This makes gravel bikes least versatile because you have that narrow window of trails which feel good on gravel and you're severely limited otherwise (poor gearing for road, knobby draggy soft tires that don't last long on pavement, upright posture with loads of air drag at faster speeds).
With hardtail mtb you're not having much fun on road but can still ride any trail you like, jump, drop and ride aggressively without fear of dying unlike gravel where your need to plan a route not to hit rough sections of the trail...
There is no rust on the chain ring which leads me to the former but I gotta know.
#1amquestions
m.pinkbike.com/photo/20249330
I clicked on the staff rides tag and there actually aren’t that many articles on it. What about other people in the industry? What do the people at Cane Creek, RockShox, Fox, I9 ride?
Going down the rabbit hole, what are some of the other personal choices you pick? Pack? Gloves, pedals and shoes, glasses?
I’ve got two staff ride bikes to write up in the next little bit: both my RAAW and my Cotic are done-ish.
Personal choices for me: Specialized Ambush helmet, Five Tens for flats, Shimano for clipless shoes and pedals (want to try Lake soon though, for my wide feet), basic t-shirts rather than jerseys, NF pants (so good), Ryders Roam glasses do well in the dark forests we have here, currently searching for better gloves (RIP Fox Ascent) and knee pads (just bought some Chromags), generally prefer push on grips (currently have Hoders on the RAAW), and really like High Above’s hip pack.
I’m trying to do a more MTB version with M3 hardware and ti axles for maximum sketchiness.
But cool job to show those bikes that are often used but rarely featured everybike has his story and it‘s cool to show those sometimes.
It may look trivial and ugly but the rack and bags on a city bike are really handful to pack all you need without having to carry a backpack, which gets you really hot and sweaty in the summer.
Bar end plugs? $2 part. Install em and that way your bike will be setting a good example to the kiddies.
Because it's the law.
Not making any sense to me
Also: luuuve the truck.
Also: luuuve the truck.