So, you want to buy a gravel bike but aren’t sure where to start or you want to upgrade your existing bike but need some help? Deciding what type of gravel bike you want is the first step. Read review on websites like bicycling.com. Ask your friends—knowledgeable friends and Sorella ride leaders are indispensable resources. Manufacturer websites are also a good place to start to learn about gravel bikes.
Deciding what you want to use the bike for is the first step:
-General gravel riding/group rides
-Bikepacking
-Racing
-Double duty as a gravel & road bike
Sorella Gentle Gravel Grind-An All Levels Ride
Almost any gravel bike will work for general gravel riding including the Sorella Gentle Gravel Grind and Groovy Gravel Grind. Most gravel bikes fall into this category. You’ll want a bike with at least 38mm tires. Many bikes will come with 44 or 46 mm tires. There are a lot of tire widths, types of tires, and wheelsets. Look for a bike in your price range. Most big bike manufacturers like Trek (available at Atlanta Cycling), Specialized (Available at Peachtree Bikes, owned by Atlanta Cycling), Cannondale, Liv, Canyon, and such make a wide range of gravel bikes at several price points. $1000 seems to be the starting price and on up and up. Ride a few bikes and have the bike shop help you determine what would be good for the type of riding you want to do. Ask friends as well. Sorella gravel ride leaders have a wealth of knowledge they are happy to share!
If you want to bike pack, look for a bike that can hold wider tires. Some riders prefer a 650 (aka 27.5” wheel in mountain biking speak) wheel with wider tires and lower tire pressure. Others like the 700c wheel. Lower tire pressures will help the bike handling. You’ll need a bike with a lot of places to mount bags and racks, so look for one that can handle it. A race oriented bike won’t have enough rack mounts. You might also look for a bike with slacker geometry, which will provide a cushier ride. Suspension forks, stems, and seat posts can make the ride even more comfortable. Redshift is the brand of choice, and Cane Creek has some options. Lots of riders that do general gravel riding love these as well. Their affordable price point is a worthy upgrade.
Racing? Look for a bike oriented towards racing-a steeper geometry, less racks. You’ll most likely end up with a carbon bike with a 1x configuration of either the latest Shimano or SRAM 12 speed drivetrains. Disc brakes are standard these days on most bikes. A general gravel bike will also be good for racing as will a cyclocross bike that can take wider tires…although you CAN ride gravel on those 32mm CX tires.
Double Duty as a Road Bike—A lot of people do not want 2 bikes or don’t have the room to store them. Your gravel bike can double as a road bike. The easiest was to do this and not kill your nice gravel tires is to get a second wheelset. It doesn’t have to be expensive. If you want a nicer second wheelset look at something like the Boyd Altamont Disc Alloy wheels that can take tires from 25mm to 44mm. Read up on the differences between hooked and hookless rims and widths. Some wheels will only be able to accommodate tires of a certain size or width, so research that as well? Not sure where to start? Your local bike shop is a great place to go to.
Don’t want to buy a new bike? Do you have a mountain bike? Great! Use it for gravel riding! You might want to lock out the suspension if it’s a bigger travel bike. If you find yourself riding gravel a lot, consider a second wheelset with narrower gravel tires. That would work for any 27.5 or 29ner mtb.