Why do you like gravel?

[Jeremy McCreary]

This video pretty much sums it up for me:

Additional reasons:
o Little or no traffic.
o Rode lots of gravel as a school kid 60-70 years ago.
o Love the sound of gravel crunching under my tires.

Back then, we just called it dirt, all bikes were gravel bikes until proven otherwise, and that crunch was the sound of freedom.

UPDATE: The perfect companion to this thread...

The Sound of Gravel

Anyone else out there who just really enjoys the *sound* of gravel? Not sure why… there’s just something supremely satisfying about that soft continual *crunch* I feel and hear on a great gravel trail. I’m not typically someone who pays a lot of attention to such things, which is why I mention...

forums.electricbikereview.com

Thanks to @DaveMatthews for reminding me about it.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

Gravel riding, mid 80s style... helmets optional.

 

[DaveMatthews]

Love it!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

This video pretty much sums it up for me:

Additional reasons:
o Little or no traffic.
o Rode lots of gravel as a school kid 60-70 years ago.
o Love the sound of gravel crunching under my tires.

Back then, we just called it dirt, all bikes were gravel bikes until proven otherwise, and that crunch was the sound of freedom.

I liked what the man in the video said. However, gravel cycling has many different styles depending on the country and the terrain.
The United States and Canada have more gravel roads than anywhere else in the developed world. It is the birthplace of the discipline—starting with events like Dirty Kanza (now Unbound Gravel)—so I completely understand why choosing gravel is the safer, more logical option there.
Where I live, on the other hand, we have plenty of low-traffic asphalt roads and bike paths. Here, we actually have to hunt for gravel, which usually means riding through the woods.

In Poland, we define gravel cycling:

• Ride anywhere except asphalt or bike paths (whenever you can avoid them).
• A true gravel cyclist is someone who occasionally crosses a paved road
• The harder the terrain, the less boring the ride.
• Group riding is big. It builds a sense of community, and it is always nice to have a riding partner to help if things go wrong.

Finally, there is a split between leisure and racing. Gravel cyclists love to go fast. While some compete in races and rallies for the podium, many others ride purely for the adventure (I'm of the latter type).

A friendly 3 people ride this Sunday. Not a wide American gravel road, certainly.

A big winter group ride. (Many riders chose MTBs for that day).

"Not boring at all!"

There are some regions of Poland with true gravel roads!

A sense of community.

 

[Gionnirocket]

The few biking areas near me aren't necessarily preferable as they are often dry and dusty with a very fine powder that's abrasive.
But gravel is great for landscaping accents, in an aquarium as a substrate or even as a filter medium and I use it in potted house plants at the bottom to keep the weep hole from clogging and as a surface layer to keep dirt from splashing when watering.

 

[6zfshdb]

The main reason I ride gravel is, there is no vehicle traffic to worry about.

 

[Aushiker]

The United States and Canada have more gravel roads than anywhere else in the developed world.

Australia would like to have a word

One of my shorter bikepacking rides - 702 km, 80% gravel


Which way? That way. by Andrew Priest, on Flickr

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Australia would like to have a word

Only 7th worldwide overall Australia may have the longest gravel roads though.

This year's UCI World Gravel Championships were held in Australia.

 

[Aushiker]

Only 7th worldwide overall Australia may have the longest gravel roads though.

This year's UCI World Gravel Championships were held in Australia.

Yes in Nannup. Only about 2 to 3 hours drive from me, so close by

 

[Stefan Mikes]

A huge country indeed! You are also a way closer to Europe by flight hours than, say, Sydney

 

[edobici_forza]

Sorry, no stats from me.
My top reasons for riding gravel:

- Access to beautiful views, away from obstruction
- Terrain diversity on a single ride
- Less vehicle traffic, though never devoid. But I have my rear radar.

Unfortunately, in my county, there are very few gravel or dirt access roads, double tracks, or farm roads. That said, e-bikes are not allowed on nearly all dirt trails or paths in my county, where regular bicycles are allowed. I have to say, in the video, those trails in British Columbia, seem endless! A beautiful area that I need to visit!

I had a pedal powered gravel bike before my Creo, so I was familiar with what was available for a gravel bike. Initially, with my first bike, some friends found places 30 miles away, but they moved away. So where I can ride my analog gravel bike is the same that I would ride on my MTB, so they are hilly and steep climbs. I found the Hakka’s gearing was inadequate, as were the tires for those trails. So the Creo helped solve those issues and gave me extra distance for reaching trails. But still true gravel is tough to find nearby.

 

[Chargeride]

Australia looks good, but there are issues.

 

[stompandgo]

For me, it has always been about the road. The whoosh of the tires on the pavement, the speed on a long descent, the thrill of leaning a bike over hard into a corner and giving it the gas coming out, that's what riding is about. All of us old road bike riders rode off the pavement at times, but having a bike that was designed for gravel was a game changer for me. I am admittedly not a confident off road rider. I am a novice at it at best. However, now I live where some of the more interesting and sparsely populated areas are on hardpack or gravel roads that I would not take a road bike on. Finding and riding these roads, which are at least 20 miles away from home, is a different kind of adventure than riding on the road, and I'm intrigued by it. The Allroad is essentially an electric gravel bike, with a similar geometry to the Grevil. It's the perfect bike for a long ride out and back with some gravel in between.

So, to answer the question, why do I like riding gravel? Because I haven't ridden enough of it to know, and I want to find out.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

For me, it has always been about the road. The whoosh of the tires on the pavement, the speed on a long descent, the thrill of leaning a bike over hard into a corner and giving it the gas coming out, that's what riding is about. All of us old road bike riders rode off the pavement at times, but having a bike that was designed for gravel was a game changer for me. I am admittedly not a confident off road rider. I am a novice at it at best. However, now I live where some of the more interesting and sparsely populated areas are on hardpack or gravel roads that I would not take a road bike on. Finding and riding these roads, which are at least 20 miles away from home, is a different kind of adventure than riding on the road, and I'm intrigued by it. The Allroad is essentially an electric gravel bike, with a similar geometry to the Grevil. It's the perfect bike for a long ride out and back with some gravel in between.

So, to answer the question, why do I like riding gravel? Because I haven't ridden enough of it to know, and I want to find out.

THIS. When on YT I would see those overly excited roadies who discover gravel like the GCN crew were a few years back, I'm always bemused, like oh dear somebody has finally let the cat out of the bag! I started with BMX early 80s got my first MTB (or ATB as they were then) around 84 and mountain biking with mates was my first love. One was also a triathlete (also a new sport) one a roadie and one loved dirt bikes and cars and we rode everywhere on our 15 speed canti braked 26" rigid machines, trashing them repairing and having the best fun exploring off road. From there I got into Triathlon (very short lived quickly discovered I hate running) and road racing which I loved. But at heart I'm still a mountain biker. When in the 2010s gravel became the biggest boon for bike brands since sliced bread, I was scratching my head - isn't this what we were doing 3 decades ago but now just with drop bars and an extra zero or two on the price tag?! Basically yes but then I saw, as Jeremy pointed out above, other benefits that was making roadies head onto the trails in droves- no cars - that's massive, exploring, and just loads of fun! And it's great to see the enthusiasm and adventures people are having. When I raced on the road in the late 80s cars were an issue, but there didn't seem to be half as many in the 80s as there are now. I did have a horrific encounter with a van on a club ride that stuck me in hospital for 3 months and it was my mtb that helped me get back cycling again afterwards. But the main difference for me was that by college I could mountain bike with friends camping and the like every weekend without peak fitness which you always need for road, forget about winning, you can't even stay with the bunch if you're not at top fitness. So I could get my cycling fix on my mountain bike without having to kill myself and just having the best craic - mountainbike up to a hidden mountain valley, set the tents, leave the meat and beers in a mountain stream under rocks to keep cool, head off on the bikes and then make a big stew or chilli under the stars. Get up next morning do it all again. Best times. And of course in the 80s and 90s Mountain biking was similar to what gravel is now, especially since gravel tyres recently & sensibly are now 50mm+ and the geo is slacker, because we had no suspension, no purpose built MTB trail centres, no designed single track other then sheep tracks and so on. We rode all day, gravel (mostly) then carrying bikes to the peaks, sandwiches, and then bombing back down. And we had the mountains to ourselves, never seeing another MTB, just the occasional startled hill walker!

I was on the ebike one sunny afternoon this summer, loving my ride and I caught up to two young-ish gravel bikers, they had all the snazzy instagram gear and expensive carbon fibre frames etc etc and I cheerfully said hello! - and just got a frosty nod back and then they turned away and I realised - suddenly like a lightening bolt - that I look old to them, some old fella, probably looking like a drooling half mad local moor dweller on a cheating e bike cramping our cool style doing this cool new sport we saw that cool influencer doing on Tik tok...Aw well, circles of life and all that.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

When on YT I would see those overly excited roadies who discover gravel like the GCN crew were a few years back, I'm always bemused, like oh dear somebody has finally let the cat out of the bag!

"I was a gravel cyclist not even before the sport was invented but also before asphalt was a thing"
/Bernard Newman -- a British intelligence agent and author -- "Pedalling Poland (1934)" and many other books/

 

[jameswilson]

This video pretty much sums it up for me:

Additional reasons:
o Little or no traffic.
o Rode lots of gravel as a school kid 60-70 years ago.
o Love the sound of gravel crunching under my tires.

Back then, we just called it dirt, all bikes were gravel bikes until proven otherwise, and that crunch was the sound of freedom.

Beautiful video, I loved it when he made that reflection about the excitement about not knowing where you will end up at the end of the day... That's something that even though we forget during adult life, remains inside of us, and every time that we remember that we do not any certainty of where we will end, that makes us feel alive because it gives a sense of freedom...And some sports, like cycling bring that feeling back to us

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Beautiful video, I loved it when he made that reflection about the excitement about not knowing where you will end up at the end of the day...

Me, too. Maybe it feels more adventuresome on gravel, but it also applies to pavement.

One benefit of having a web of good pavement and gravel segments rideable from home is that you don't have to plan rides at all. Just wish there were more gravel segments to choose from.

Love leaving the driveway with no idea of where I'm going. Just have to figure out a first target over the half mile to the neighborhood exit. After that, who knows?

 

[PedalUma]

In 1897 the Buffalo Solders road from MT to St. Luis before anything was paved.

 

[PedalUma]

It is interesting history. At least to me. The idea was that maybe bikes could be better than horses. For example they are quiet, don't eat, and don't scare. That first ride was 1,900 miles of off-road. I wonder if any of those bikes still exist. I did hear that some re-enactors used similar frames.

The Black Buffalo Soldiers Who Biked Across the American West

In 1897, the 25th Infantry Regiment Bicycle Corps embarked on a 1,900-mile journey from Montana to Missouri

www.smithsonianmag.com

 

[Stefan Mikes]

A comment to anyone saying "gravel was ridden well before the sport was even invented": It was not a discipline. Anyone could ride a regular bicycle on surfaces that were available at those times. It was not making it a distinct sport or distinct bikes or specific ethos. The same: anyone could ride in the mountains but it was not MTB.

Me, too. Maybe it feels more adventuresome on gravel, but it also applies to pavement.

One benefit of having a web of good pavement and gravel segments rideable from home is that you don't have to plan rides at all. Just wish there were more gravel segments to choose from.

Love leaving the driveway with no idea of where I'm going. Just have to figure out a first target over the half mile to the neighborhood exit. After that, who knows?

As I said, there are many styles or flavours. Unplanned rides for adventure? Fine! However, gravel cycling is the sports discipline most relying on GPS navigation. As a GCN presenter once said: 'The GPS navigation has totally changed the cycling. Now, you can ride for hundreds of miles never stopping, and you will always make the correct turn!' Fancy a group of several hundred or even a thousand of riders of both sex. They follow a 100+ or 160+ or 500+ or several thousand km course, and they are always on course (or are disqualified). It is often the SOLO category (where a rider is 100% self-supported and has to maintain a separation from any other rider except for the feeding zones). In the OPEN category, the riders can help each other but only can get any external help in the feeding zones.

Gravel cycling as a discipline means: "Ride far and ride fast. Be self-supported". The Ultra riders often use dynamos to keep their navigation and lighting (as well as the phone) working!

A girl on a 500+ kilometre course. The bike GPS computer is clearly visible.

Many gravel riders wear hydration packs (as well as carry extra water bottles). The GPS bike computer is even not optional!

Gravel cycling is very different from road cycling. In road cycling, it is a peloton. In gravel cycling, a group is only formed on leisure rides (coffee rides) or by several strong riders on the race. Drafting is very difficult in gravel cycling.

Lithuanian Express, or a team of three Lithuanian racers who once dominated the Staged Race format.

Unlike in road racing, there is a great sense of camaraderie in gravel cycling. Also, the "being self-supported" is the thing. Once, riding in cold, wind and pouring rain on a gravel race, I saw a man running with his bike in the mud! I, and several other riders stopped and had a chat with him in English. The Lithuanian hero had his drivetrain damaged beyond repair. He couldn't be helped so he was running with his bike in the dire conditions for 12 km to the finish line! And he had a podium in a 3-day Staged Race!

Anyone can present own youth pictures riding gravel on a regular bike. Anyone can flash some historical photos from the times asphalt wasn't even a thing. Nothing of that makes one a gravel cyclist. Participating in the sport does.

2026 UCI Gravel World Championships, Nannup, West Australia.