“Should I go for a mountain bike, road bike, or a gravel bike? “

We will be discussing one of the most common trending questions in the bicycle world now.

“Should I go for a mountain bike, road bike, or a gravel bike? “

“Is gravel bike by system a marketing hype or is a gravel bike closer to a road bike or is it closer to a mountain bike?”

Yes, and that’s a very good question. And finally that the answer lies on how you would mostly use the bike for either commuting training or weekend rides and we are going to try to answer all those questions and tell you which type of bike might suit you the best.

So let’s start with the marketing stuff.

Gravel bikes are not the marketing hype, they are here to stay and they will have really a good place in bicycle market.

And now before we answer the rest of the questions let’s find the main differences between the road bikes, mountain bike and gravel bikes.

Road bikes – Road bikes are built for speed and are lightweight. They are designed for comfort and energy saving for long rides on the tarmac path.

Mountain bikes – Mountain bikes are built for toughness and have the ability to go through a very rough terrain.

Gravel bike –Gravel bikes are built for versatility, and are they closer to a road bike or the mountain bike? Let’s take closer look at the differences.

• Gravel bikes are more durable than a road bike and much faster than a mountain bike. Gravel bicycles present an interesting option for the riders who want to travel on and off road.

• The second thing is the tyres.  A road bike is designed to have the least rolling resistance possible, which usually means using a 23mm or 25mm slick tyre with a pressure between 90 to 100 PSI. This makes it fast on the road, but the rider will really feel any bump or imperfection in the road surface nicely while mountain bike tyres can handle rough roads and trails with wider tyres. On the other side, gravel bikes require more tread to maintain traction on loose, mixed terrain, and a 30- to 40-millimeter tyre at about 40 PSI does the trick. gravel bike tyres have an advantage on smoother terrain when compared to mountain bikes,

• The handle bars – We have the so called drop bars on both road bike and mountain bike. There is also an error extension on the gravel Where as you have only a flat bar on the mountain bike, so there is no so many options of  your position like aerodynamic and also comfort on your back on the flat bar.

• Finally the brakes – we normally have caliper brakes on the road bike which is just strong enough on the road, there are disk brakes on the gravel bike but still will be with the leverage like road type of the levers and on mountain bikes we have disk brakes with a typical mountain bike levers which are stronger which is much brake a bit tougher on hands. Especially if you are riding on the hoods. On the road bike on road bike or the gravel bike. So the strongest brakes, the toughest.

• Weight – A road bike typically in average weighs around 9-10 kg whereas an average mountain bike may weigh around 15-16 kg. A gravel bike weighs in between that of a road bike and mountain bike.

• Suspension – Suspension takes the edge off of the bumps and it will increase off-road comfort and control. Road bikes normally do not have any suspension as they are built for light weight and speed on tarmac, while most mountain bikes and gravel bikes have at least a suspension fork. The main difference between the suspension of a mountain bike and gravel bike suspension is that mountain bike suspension is heavier when compared to a gravel bike suspension which adds up extra weight to the mountain bike.

• Toughness –Gravel bike isn’t tough as a mountain bike, as mountain bikes have suspensions big wheels superwide knobby tyres its just super tough.

• Conclusion : So now you know the difference is, the gravel bike closer to ar oad bike because it looks like a road bike but would also resemble a mountain bike at some areas. I would say its in the middle, its not closer to any of these . It doesn’t have a strong front suspension like a mountain bike, so you are not going to be able to do jumps or go over really heavy . You can put knobby tyres on a Gravel bike to go through a forest train or not too steep mountain terrains., it would just do pretty well in the terrain but if you don’t mind walking very steep climbs then will be just enough for you, and then on the road the range of the gearing just enough on the descent road.

• Final verdict : If you need a bike normal commuting and  also weekend drives the Gravel Bike is the best, they are versatile,

If you want to learn more about purchasing a road or mountain bike, check out Products page or contact www.bicyclefix.ae

Have you used a mountain bike for gravel riding or a gravel bike on mountain bike trails? What bike do you choose and why? Let us know in the comments!