Gravel bikes
In 2019 the hot new kind of bike was the gravel bike. They have big tyres, about 30-40mm, drop bars, disk brakes and lots of gears. They usually have a rigid fork. Some are easy to fit racks and mudguards to.
The idea is that you can ride along unmade roads, often surfaced with gravel, hence the name.
A bike that can be ridden on poor roads is nothing new. The first bikes were like this. There's nowhere you can go on a gravel bike that you couldn't go on a Roadster, Tourer or Hybrid. All that's new is the marketing hype.
What determines the surface you can ride on is the tyres. Narrow 20 to 25mm racing tyres are no good on loose surfaces. 32mm and wider are fine. To illustrate this here is a picture of a six year old girl happily riding a gravel road on a 1960s-80s bike with 37mm tyres.
The idea is that you can ride along unmade roads, often surfaced with gravel, hence the name.
A bike that can be ridden on poor roads is nothing new. The first bikes were like this. There's nowhere you can go on a gravel bike that you couldn't go on a Roadster, Tourer or Hybrid. All that's new is the marketing hype.
What determines the surface you can ride on is the tyres. Narrow 20 to 25mm racing tyres are no good on loose surfaces. 32mm and wider are fine. To illustrate this here is a picture of a six year old girl happily riding a gravel road on a 1960s-80s bike with 37mm tyres.
To make a bike that will do all a "Gravel Bike" can, find a 1990s steel hybrid and fit drop bars.
This "Gravel Bike" has the added practicality of a square taper bottom bracket and takes proper mudguards.
