In A Couple Years...

[Razors Edge ★]

...I think there are gonna be a LOT of "gently" used gravel bikes for sale or gathering dust. 

Riding this weekend, I noticed the continued uptick in folks riding on gravel-ish bikes. I also noticed that a great deal of them are new or returning to cycling.  While I hope these folks do, in fact, stick around and engage with cycling, I'm more confident in my belief that it is a lot of folks jumping on a bandwagon, but unlikely to remain once the buzz dies down.  

I think the ones that will "stick" are the road and MTB converts who added a gravel bike to their quiver and are using it as a +1 or even as a primary bike. 

We will see.

[dinneR ★]

28 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

...I think there are gonna be a LOT of "gently" used gravel bikes for sale or gathering dust. 

Riding this weekend, I noticed the continued uptick in folks riding on gravel-ish bikes. I also noticed that a great deal of them are new or returning to cycling.  While I hope these folks do, in fact, stick around and engage with cycling, I'm more confident in my belief that it is a lot of folks jumping on a bandwagon, but unlikely to remain once the buzz dies down.  

I think the ones that will "stick" are the road and MTB converts who added a gravel bike to their quiver and are using it as a +1 or even as a primary bike. 

We will see.

That will be great for people like me who like to buy used gear. Nobody really needs both. A gavel bike is just a road bike that fit a wider tire.

[donkpow]

Paved roads are a lot smoother than gravel roads.

[Razors Edge ★]

3 hours ago, dennis said:

That will be great for people like me who like to buy used gear. Nobody really needs both. A gavel bike is just a road bike that fit a wider tire.

Nobody needs anything beyond food and shelter.

I think though that you will have a lot of used gear buying options in a few year.  Likewise, I think many of the road & MTB folks will shake out and either return to their road/MTB "tribe" or will decide they can make do with just one bike to rule them all.  If they have garage space, though, they'll likely be like me and keep their quiver at the new N+1 that the gravel bike added to.  I'm mainly thinking of the folks who "join" a trending sport but peter out over time.  Gravel is that hot spot for cycling, so we'll see if the overall cycling participation rate trends up over years or if it just stays the same.

[ChrisL]

I think it also depends on the type of bike the dabbler gets.  A gravel bike made for loaded touring with gobs of rack mounts/eyelets, 650 B wheels and super wide clearance may say, hmm this is way more gravel bike than I need.  Someone who gets a cross bike or a gravel bike not designed for packing may think, hmm I’ll put some 28’s in this and have a sweet multi purpose bike.

Like anything else the gravel segment is getting more specific and a lot of it would also depend on the type of bike they got.  

But yeah generally I agree with you

[dinneR ★]

1 hour ago, Razors Edge said:

Nobody needs anything beyond food and shelter.

I think though that you will have a lot of used gear buying options in a few year.  Likewise, I think many of the road & MTB folks will shake out and either return to their road/MTB "tribe" or will decide they can make do with just one bike to rule them all.  If they have garage space, though, they'll likely be like me and keep their quiver at the new N+1 that the gravel bike added to.  I'm mainly thinking of the folks who "join" a trending sport but peter out over time.  Gravel is that hot spot for cycling, so we'll see if the overall cycling participation rate trends up over years or if it just stays the same.

Years ago, I only had a mt bike, then bought a road bike. It wasn't for me so I sold it and bought a gravel bike. I'd much rather ride gravel than pavement. 

It sort of depends on what is available where you ride. My mt bike will be my first choice.

Gravel is hot for a reason. 11 years ago, I sold my road bike because of cars. You have a lot less traffic to deal with on gravel. The events are much more fun too. I have zero interest in road racing, but gravel is a blast. Events are cheap or free and most people are laid back. Road races just seem really uptight. 

[ChrisL]

3 hours ago, dennis said:

Years ago, I only had a mt bike, then bought a road bike. It wasn't for me so I sold it and bought a gravel bike. I'd much rather ride gravel than pavement. 

It sort of depends on what is available where you ride. My mt bike will be my first choice.

Gravel is hot for a reason. 11 years ago, I sold my road bike because of cars. You have a lot less traffic to deal with on gravel. The events are much more fun too. I have zero interest in road racing, but gravel is a blast. Events are cheap or free and most people are laid back. Road races just seem really uptight. 

My area of SoCal isn’t really conducive to “gravel”. There are trails but you have to link them with segments of road to get a ride more than 20 miles.  Now don’t get me wrong, there is a chit ton of dirt but it’s really steep technical up & down. Brutal on a gravel bike.

I think that’s why my set up is perfect for me out here.  My crosser is set up for light gravel & road with Maxxis ReFuse tires in 32 mm. Rolls nice on the road and enough grip for light trails.  Anything more gnarly and I’ll ride my Anthem.

[Razors Edge ★]

14 hours ago, dennis said:

Years ago, I only had a mt bike, then bought a road bike. It wasn't for me so I sold it and bought a gravel bike. I'd much rather ride gravel than pavement. 

It sort of depends on what is available where you ride. My mt bike will be my first choice.

Gravel is hot for a reason. 11 years ago, I sold my road bike because of cars. You have a lot less traffic to deal with on gravel. The events are much more fun too. I have zero interest in road racing, but gravel is a blast. Events are cheap or free and most people are laid back. Road races just seem really uptight. 

There are definitely plenty of reasons for a getting a gravel (or MTB or road or touring) bike.  Like I wrote, I have the garage space so I continue to bounce the N+1 option through my head.  I'm also fairly cognizant of my way of riding these days, and while the "events are fun" has been a large part of the buzz I see around gravel in the press, I know I do 1 to 5 events per year, yet I ride 200+ times a year.  I can't see 1-2% of my riding dictating the other 98%. I find non-race events to be quite enjoyable still even if over road routes I have done before or am trying again for the first time.  It probably is as much that the area I am in is pretty consistently paved with such a small percentage of roads still gravel, and if I want a good gravel ride, it isn't out my front door   If there was gravel 100' from my house, I would be on a gravel bike five years ago!

[donkpow]

That's what I was thinking. I don't even know where a gravel road is around here. Even the county roads are paved. If I lived in a more rural area, I would see more gravel roads. I wouldn't be riding a twitchy road bike, though. 

[Razors Edge ★]

38 minutes ago, donkpow said:

That's what I was thinking. I don't even know where a gravel road is around here. Even the county roads are paved. If I lived in a more rural area, I would see more gravel roads. I wouldn't be riding a twitchy road bike, though. 

The trail 100' from my front door is both paved and has a parallel gravel horse path.  It's a 45 mile rail trail that, if I head west 20 miles or so, WILL get me to the country and some gravel roads that are interwoven with country roads.  But that's the challenge to the justification of it as a sole bike in my quiver, since I can readily do fun road stuff local, or even if I ride to the "country" then I am out on the country roads having fun and still on my road bike.  Anyway, since I have the room and have the money, I can see adding another bike, but I'm not gonna sell the road bike when I do.

[ChrisL]

5 hours ago, Razors Edge said:

The trail 100' from my front door is both paved and has a parallel gravel horse path.  It's a 45 mile rail trail that, if I head west 20 miles or so, WILL get me to the country and some gravel roads that are interwoven with country roads.  But that's the challenge to the justification of it as a sole bike in my quiver, since I can readily do fun road stuff local, or even if I ride to the "country" then I am out on the country roads having fun and still on my road bike.  Anyway, since I have the room and have the money, I can see adding another bike, but I'm not gonna sell the road bike when I do.

Have you ever considered a HT MTB?  Something that could do more adventurous trails but also serve as a gravel bike?  

With your current stable & given the area/terrain and a desire for +1, a MTB might be a better option.