00:00My first gravel bike was rubbish. My first gravel bike rides were rubbish. After a fair bit of
00:07trial and error, they are now regularly my favorite type of bike rides. Here's the shortcut
00:13to enjoyable gravel bike rides and seven things that I wish I knew when I started gravel cycling.
00:21Something that I learned the hard way is not to copy your road position when riding off-road.
00:29You need A, a shorter stem and B, wider bars. There's no point being aero on most gravel. Yes,
00:39there's a few people who like gravel racing and there's plenty of brands selling things like
00:44aero gravel wheels and stuff like that. Actually, I do have a set. They're very nice. Your position,
00:51you need to be confident on descents and over rough stuff. Otherwise, you're going to have a pretty
00:58crap time. Some people come to gravel cycling from mountain biking and then others of us,
01:04like me, come to gravel cycling from the roadside. After years of wearing skin suits and narrow skinny
01:13handlebars, I thought that I had to do that off-road as well, but I've been a lot happier since
01:20I
01:21changed my bike fit on my gravel bike to be a bit higher at the front end, a bit shorter
01:26at the front
01:26end. I also, this one's going to be controversial, put my saddle height down a little bit. Now, you can
01:33let me know if you disagree or agree with me with that down in the comment section below, but I
01:38like
01:38to think of my saddle position as not a set point, but a golden zone. Even on the road, that
01:45zone
01:46changes slightly, whether you're climbing or time trialing or crit racing. Gravel, I think that zone
01:53moves ever so slightly down. Gravel is less about solid state efforts and more about, well, attacking.
02:05Tip number two, tire clearance and tire width is everything. Look, I'm practicing what I preach.
02:12Have a look at those. They are mighty wide. Now, admittedly, you don't need to go that wide,
02:18but there's a hell of a lot of bikes still out there that I think don't offer enough tire clearance.
02:24They haven't caught up with the times. My first gravel bike was seriously limited in where I could ride
02:32it because of the tire clearance. In fact, I tried to fit a set of 38s and wore through one
02:39of the
02:39chainstays when it got a bit muddy, which I wish I'd learned that lesson a little bit sooner because
02:47it was a lovely bike. It was technically a cyclocross bike, which was the main issue. Now, if I'm looking
02:54for
02:54a new gravel bike, I would look for at least 45 miller tire clearance. You can get away with 42s
03:03on some well-graded gravel if that's where you want to ride, but I don't think there's much disadvantage
03:09to going wider and wider. If you want to see a video all about using wide tires on gravel,
03:15then click the link up there and we'll pop one in the description below. I'm watching there. Make sure
03:20you subscribe to the channel. Tip number three, tubeless is a must. Now, I learned this the hard
03:28way as well. There's a gravel event that I like to do down in Devon. It's called Devon Grit. It's
03:33not a
03:33race, but I like to go there with my mates and it normally gets a bit competitive. Now, the first
03:41year I
03:41went and did it, I double flatted. I had inner tubes in my tires and hit a rock on a
03:48descent and pinch
03:49flatted both of them. Ever since then, I've used tubeless on gravel. Now, say what you want about
03:55tubeless on the road. On gravel, it actually works. The pressures are lower. You're more likely to be
04:02riding over thorns and things that will puncture your tires. Many a time have my gravel rides been
04:08saved by tubeless. Also, you reduce that risk of pinch-flatting, which is a positive. That leads me
04:19on to another tip, which is to always take more spares than you think you need. Gravel cycling
04:25is wonderful because you get to see places where you wouldn't normally get to see. You get to ride
04:32off the beaten track and get to explore some really remote areas. What that means is it's much harder to
04:39come and pick you up from the side of the road, so you need to be a little bit more
04:44self-sufficient.
04:45What I carry is I've got some bacon strips. They are like, well, they look like bacon strips,
04:54and they plug your tube. If tubeless doesn't seal a hole, then these you can plug your holes in your
05:01tires. I always take some spare tubes as well. I've got them packed neatly under my saddle. Also,
05:08a spare quick link from a chain because there's a lot of torque involved in gravel cycling and also
05:13sticks and things that might get in the way of your derailleur. It's always helpful to be able to
05:19put your chain back together if something does go wrong. What else? Always take enough food. Food's
05:26important. Also, some patches for my tires as well. Point number whatever we're on now,
05:35hydraulic disc brakes are so much better than cable pull disc brakes, and I will take that to the grave.
05:43Yes, hydraulic disc brakes cost more, but I really think that this is a case of buy once, do it
05:49right.
05:50My first gravel bike had cable pull disc brakes. They worked all right when they were brand new,
05:58and then as soon as you introduce a bit of a bit of muck, a bit of dirt, and inevitably
06:05ride through
06:05quite a lot of puddles, the cables rust, and then they don't work as they should, and they just don't
06:11release. They made me hate gravel riding because every single ride you had to meticulously clean
06:19every single little part of your brakes, and you spent longer doing that than actually out enjoying
06:26your bike ride. Hydraulic disc brakes, for me, are a must. My final point, if you are going to,
06:34if you are looking at buying a new gravel bike, or you are looking at going on a gravel bike
06:39ride,
06:40then bear in mind that gravel is an absolutely massive category. A BMC Caius is a very different
06:48bike to this Lauf Segler, and this Lauf Segler is a very different bike to a Surly with a million
06:54mounts on it. They're each designed for very specific purposes. Yes, there's gravel racing,
07:00there's also multi-day bikepacking adventure gravel riding, and the right bike for you will depend a
07:08lot on what type of gravel riding you want to do. Let me know anything that you've learned whilst gravel
07:13cycling down in the comments section below. Remember to like, hype, and subscribe to the channel,
07:18and we'll see you next time.
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