Can You Use A Gravel Bike As A Road Bike?

Eagle eyed (no pun intended) viewers may have spotted the spec of the gravel bike was different to what I described at the start of the video - turns out the original bike was dismantled so slightly higher spec addict gravel (minus rival levers) was subbed in!
- francis

Now do a Can You Use a Road Bike As A Downhill Bike

I turned a titanium gravel bike into a road bike during covid and it works for me but there again I don't even take a watch and I don't time myself or even know precisely how far I go.

1) No

2) Of course you can

Dumb questions

I own a Trek gravel bike, Checkpoint SL5 2x 11. Curiously I asked this question at a Trek bike store in Florida: "What do you think of my purchasing a set of road bike wheels, and tires with the same cassette to swap out as needed?" I expected a hearty "Yes, you can (come right this way)" or "No, but I have this wonderful road bike that would fit you perfectly." Well I was half right. Two different people said "Not a good idea," and left it at that." No sales pitch, just "Enjoy your Checkpoint." OK they didn't try to take advantage of my willingness to believe them and buy, so chalk one up for honesty, but are they right? Maybe for the kind of riding I do, (In Florida mostly paved roads; up north a lot more off road) what I have is just fine and I should spend my money on other bike related things. Or maybe it's worth it.

Great video diving into the nuance between a gravel bike and a road bike. So many people think "Oh I'll just slap road tyres on it"... not exactly, your gears wont be optimal. The observations regarding the frame are also worth considering

As someone who owns both a Scott addict RC road bike and Scott addict tuned gravel bike, 12+months riding tells me the gravel bike is slightly heavier so slower uphill, but more comfortable on the road. What do I use in wet and colder weather - gravel bike with choice of tyres every time. Not rocket science

the editing is very confusing 🫠

Cheers! You guys have answered a lot of questions I've had regarding the differences between the two types. Looks like I mmmmight be in the game for some road wheels...

Good discussion, I agree with your observations. I just rode a (hired) Canyon gravel bike across the Pyrenees (10 days riding, 800km, 18,000m vertical). I chose a gravel bike for the low gears and put road tyres on it. The bike was great. I thought lowest gear would be good for a bail out only on some sections, turns out I spent hours in it on the steeper climbs. 28mm road tyres worked well but should have get better tyres with puncture protection as I got a couple of flats in the rain. Should have done some training on hills before the ride too...

This is such a great channel lads! Keep up the amazing work you do!!

I have one frame I use for both, and two sets of wheels. I ride the Ribble CGR SL, I have the mavic Aksium for gravel, and a set of 50mm carbon wheels for the road. The frame is great for both in my opinion, and it saved me a few thousand on a second bike. Loved this video. Thanks

I've got 2 wheelsets for my 3T Exploro, on Force AXS 2x. I've raced it on the road (with 700c/30) and it works well enough, the only downsides to it really is that the gearing that works so well for gravel (with a top gear of 46x10) leaves you a little spun out when the sprint trains wind things up. Basically it's my go-to bike for group rides, for gravel, for all weather- the only time I reach for my race bike these days is to go to actual races with it

Geometry of a bike defines what a bike is.

Those crappy 430mm chainstsys, high BBs, long wheelbases, slack head angles make a bikes slow cornering and boring.

Slower than a MTB and less capable than a roadbike.

This video just reinforces my idea im pursuing right now.

I'm refitting my old trekking cross with dropbars, rigid fork and a 2x11 system with a 34-50 crank system and got myself 2 sets of wheels - on with 11-36 and roady, still comfortably wide tyres and one with an 11-46 and more off-road, mountainbikish tyres 😊

Yes i use gravel bike as road bike and mtb..as non competative cyclist.. gravel bike is the best for me...classic road bike to gravel bike

Ive put 4300kms onto my gravel bike. Ridden exclusively with 650b ~48 tires.

I think about getting a second set of wheels with like a 35 ish tyre and maybe a diff cassette... But then i just ride my bike. And i never know where exactly id get the second set from. And id need another set of inner tubes.

So i jist ride my fat wheels

Best comparison - and there are many! Thanks guys!

Imagine a fully gravel bike, with 2.0 width tyres, inflated to 6 bars pressure, widescaled drivetrain 2by12 32T&52T/10T-52T. :D :D :D

Brilliant topic :) i'm a fat bloke was 145kg now 115k, on my way down, the road bikes usual don't cover my weight with the luggage I bring on my way to 100 mile Sportiv next month so gravel all the way, so seeing you struggle up the hill I know exactly how you feel! now looking into a new set of wheels and cassette as suggested.

Gravel shoes and gravel cleats are NOT mountain.
Gravel shoes use road cleats on mountain like shoes. Their pedals are like road but a bit weider as well.

You are making the same mistake as most when coming to aero. Is not 5 watts or whatever at 40km/h it's against a wind that travels at 40km/h if you ride at 20k and head wind is also 20k is already 40k
If you are climbing at 10km/h but you face a 50km/h head wind you have a 60km/h air penalty and aero wins, always wins even uphill

Get an aero gravel bike like the 3T exploro max and two pairs of tires and you are set.

Some of us can only afford one bike- so we make do.

Devinci Hatchet with a 2x shimano sora groupset. I run Gatorskins on the road and 50C Gravel Kings off pavement.

On my 16k test course, I am 3 minutes slower on a gravel bike than on a standard road bike and 5 minutes slower than on a TT bike. Sure, you can use a gravel bike on the road for fun or social cycling, but you will lose every race.

Depends on what your goals are? Sure, bigger tires are a good choice for many of us and provide better combort over over-inflated skinnies.

So if you are not pro probably a gravel bike is what everyone should have been doing for years or touring bikes so it’s more comfortable for average rider

Hmm wonder if such cassette exists? Maybe it’s 2x? 🤔

I have a road and a gravel bike (both geared) as well as a single-speed gravel bike for my commuting. I keep the single-speed tyres to a small width and am thinking of trying some 30 or 32mm slicker tyres.

If I were to have use just one bike for leisure riding, it would definitely be a disc-brake gravel bike with two sets of wheels, but I’d also make sure it was a 2-bar front chain-ring because I’d already thought about the wide gaps in the gear ratios that Jimmy spoke about. I’m thinking of treating myself to a decent quality bike for my 50th, and the plan is what I’ve described above on something with Di2 gearing, which I’ve never had and the others can just sit there for winter riding or during maintenance.

I use my gravel bike on roads too. I cycle mostly pavement. But I like 32c tires. That what Im using. Not that fast but not that slow. And durable parts too.

Got a question for you experts. I've got a Trek Checkpoint SL5 with two sets of gravel tires. However, I'm planning to do a cross country trip over the USA via the Southern Tier trail from San Diego to St. Augustine, which is totally on roads. Should I/Could I swap out my gravel tires for decent road tires prior to the trip and not experience too many issues?

Like the video style ?

How can you use two wheelsets with different gearing on a single chain? Doesn't add up, does it?

Where are your Lakes?

I bought a Trek carbon gravel bike 2 years ago. My Specialized road bike has sat in the garage ever since. I love it on gravel and it performs
incredible on the road, mostly because of the light weight, 19.5 lbs. It is fast enough on the road, more comfortable and safer. I am 70
and am tired of getting beat up on the road with the fragile design of a road bike. Besides I am not interested in speed anymore. I think the journey
is more important than getting to the destination quickly.

When you changed to the road wheel in the middle of "somewhere".
Do you use the Eagle RD with a road cassette? And have you adjusted the B-Gap?
I'm just curious, because it's not just changing wheels, when you have different cassettes.
That's actually my current problem with my upcoming gravel/road build…
same bike btw… you influencers 😅

42-31 11-40 full bike pack rig got me across states in the tabr

I won't bother watching: in short absolutely yes. Anyone suggesting otherwise is ill-informed and/or shortsighted.

Good to hear! As opposed to the many other only-extreme-aero-racy channels!

I just did a a blue and a small red trail on a 32mm panaracer gravelking

I ride my gravel on the road but I keep the gravel tires just because the streets are not the best in the world and I trust gravel tires more than slick road tires.

You can, but it is not ideal. Gravel bike gearing is a lot lower typically, even lower than road compact. If you aren't bothered by the differences in geometry and gearing, you certainly could do it. You might be a little hard pressed on certain group rides, depending on the strength of the group ride and your affinities for higher cadence.

Scott Addict gravel has one of the comfiest endurance geometries out there. Slap a pair of 32 mm tyres on it and call it good.

Couldn’t help noticing during the shoe portion how far mid foot the cleats are placed. Any reason for that?

Yes if you’re daft

I use my 2011 CAADX for bikepacking and road. Recently upgraded wheels and R8050 Di2. Works great for both.

Did I understand correctly? Running the same tyres there’s negligible difference in efficiency and speed between gravel, road and road-aero frames, unless you are doing 40+kph? A low position on road and road-aero make a perhaps worthwhile energy saving at speed?