Xc Mountain Bike Or Gravel Bike
Upanddown480 personally i would go with an xc bike if you don t feel like you are going to be doing strictly gravel just because of the versatility.
Xc mountain bike or gravel bike. Okay okay we admit it modern cross country mountain bikes might not actually be boring despite what we previously claimed. From the full faced helmet downhill mountain biker to the lycra clad cross country rider. The largest gravel tires available are still narrower than most mountain bike tires. In fact just how capable is an xc 29er compared to a gravel bike and.
The global mountain bike network is the best mtb youtube channel with videos for everyone who loves dirt. Mountain bike tires will have more weight and rolling resistance but offer better comfort and traction. Nate has actually put gravel tires on his xc mtb for certain gravel events as well so that s always an option if you do a gravel event. The epic is the quintessential xc bike and then there s the epic evo.
A hardtail offers more trail feedback but may get overwhelmed in rougher terrain. It s like the regular epic but after it s had a few vodka red bulls. Let s talk about the major differences between gravel bikes and mountain bikes so that you can understand which one is the best option for you geometry. Aren t gravel bikes just repurposed mountain bike technology.
If you are limited on the number of bikes you can have a versatile bikes is the way to go. We get this comment a lot and decided to compare geometries between the modern gravel all road bike and a 84 stumpjumper. The shape is tall and has a slick design. Full suspension bikes can be used as well but could add weight and price and would need to offer the ability to lock out the rear suspension to avoid energy loss in flat areas.
The majority of xc mountain bikes are designed to fit tires in the range of 2 1 2 4 wide for reference 50mm gravel tires measure about 1 97. The evo gains an extra 10 millimeters of travel in the front loses a degree in the head angle 68 5 degrees and consequently 10 millimeters in reach 446 for a large. A hardtail channels all of the rider s pedal power into moving the rear wheel along. A xc bike may be a hardtail meaning the rear tire has no suspension travel.
We also talk about reasons why we choose a drop bar style gravel bike over a mountain bike for the rides and events we like to do. Efficiency is the name of the game for a hardtail.