MTB over Gravel. Any regrets?

[NotAGolf]

I'm looking to get a bike for a bit of light off-roading. I've currently got a road bike, so I think a gravel bike would be a more 'natural' move, BUT I'm worried that some of the routes I'd take wouldn't be suitable for a gravel bike, or would certainly be more comfortable on an mtb.

Around 50% of the rides would be with the kids, so comfort will be more important than speed on those. For the non-kid rides, I'd likely be spending most of the time up and round the South Downs Way, which I think might be a bit too gnarly in places for a gravel bike.

So I was thinking of going for something like a Grand Canyon AL7 over a Canyon Grizl 5. Just wondering if anyone had any words of advice? Especially from those familiar with the South Downs Way (primarily the area between Petersfield and Arundel).

 

[fez]

From what I have done around the South East of England, there really isn't that much gravel that suits a gravel bike. There are bits and bobs but unless you are wanting to do specific off road routes or mix up light gravel sections with loads of road cycling then I would personally get a hardtail mtb. They are so versatile and outside of road cycling they are as fast/faster than a gravel bike most of the time.

 

[SoliD]

In the past I'd agree with fez, having ridden my cx bike with 38mm tyres over many thousands of miles around the south downs I had to pick carefully which routes to take, but riding the ones I avoided on my full sus 29er wasn't challenging, but With gravel bikes being able to take 2" tyres now you can pack a nice rugged mtb tyre that'll cope with horrible flint, yet roll OK along a road in between. Hence the reason I'm wanting to get a giant revolt x to fill the gap between my cx bike and my mtb.

 

[UTmaniac]

Given the state of the lanes these days between Petersfield and Twyford, I'm so glad to finally have a gravel bike this year, albeit an electric one... Just recently I was shocked about the state of Harvesting Lane climb and especially the North Lane descent since I last rode them in '21, back then they were ok on my road bike with 25/32mm GP5000s, but I was so glad of the extra rubber with 35/40mm Marathon Supremes a week or so ago (so potholed)!

In eight years of riding the South Downs, I've still yet to visit QECP, so I've no idea how a gravel bike would fair on it.

It will come down to where you want to ride, an MTB will open up more route choices, at the cost of a bit less speed when you're on tarmac.

Like Solid wrote, some gravel bikes come with great clearance these days, not far off MTB clearance, the Revolts can take 53mm slicks iirc. My Bolt can take 47mm, but I've not tested that extreme yet, I'm more tempted to try 32mm GP5000s because I almost always stick to tarmac and I'm curious how much more efficient they would be at keeping me above the 15.5mph motor cutoff (enabling me to potentially do longer duration rides on the small 248Wh battery).

 

[grudas]

Gravel with 45c+ tires

 

[NotAGolf]

Are chunky tires alone enough to cope with the rougher terrain?

I know you can get gravel bikes with suspension on the front, but my budget is ideally around 1k, 1.5k tops, so I think I'd struggle to find a gravel bike with suspension in that price range.

 

[radderfire]

Just get a mountain bike, they are way more comfortable to ride, and generally more capable. You won't regret it.

 

[grudas]

Are chunky tires alone enough to cope with the rougher terrain?

I know you can get gravel bikes with suspension on the front, but my budget is ideally around 1k, 1.5k tops, so I think I'd struggle to find a gravel bike with suspension in that price range.

I’ve done some proper rides on my gravel and no issues. Have a look at gcn YouTube they do cover a chunk of gravel and honestly it’s fine. Way better on road too.

I enjoy it for a simple fact that I can go where ever. Jump on road.. fine, do 40mph down a hill. Jump into a forest and fine I can deal with that too. Mtb is better off-road but will be rubbish on.

 

[Begbie]

Goth a gravel and a mtb, and while the gravel is awesome. It definitely has flaws when it comes to some rougher parts where a mtb would be a lot quicker. But its the overall package that makes it great. Slower than a road bike, slower than a mtb but it'll cover the ground of both of them. If your planning on fully off road and a lot of rides are wirh the kids, id go for a mtb.

 

[Invertigo]

Absolutely agree with Begbie above - albeit my MTB is a full sus electric job so it's really hugely different to the gravel bike. 2.6" tyres and 150mm travel and a motor to remove the slog vs 40mm tyres isn't really comparable

 

[silvagti]

I have a gravel bike I regularly use for commuting to work. It’s great for that purpose as it’s lighter/quicker than an MTB and takes a rack/ mudguards unlike many road bikes.

However, it’s useless for anything other than really smooth forest paths and even then only in a pinch as it’s pretty uncomfortable on bumpy terrain.

MTB for sure if you’re planning on going off road IMO.

 

[arknor]

Ground clearance, wide tyres, thick treads, huge rotors, suspension all comes in to play as the wetter weather and winter approaches.

some of those nice scenic trails, are more like hardcore terrain in winter... massive puddles all over, pot holes in the paths from tractors etc

It's like riding up a slow moving muddy river at times.

Gravel bikes are for summer posers.


you know when you see that path and it's just a sheet of water for about 10-20ft and you can;t see anything underneath....

on a MTB with fat tyres, huge wheel diameters, you can just roll over bricks, huge gnarly tree roots, whatever, no worries about falling off.

mud sticks to the tyres like crazy though, like a 1-3inch coating so you'll need some legs if your not electric.

never see gravel bikes doing this

 

[grudas]

You lot make it sound like he’s going to do some expert level hard core downhill trails.. with his kids behind?

 

[Dano]

In eight years of riding the South Downs, I've still yet to visit QECP, so I've no idea how a gravel bike would fair on it.

The main routes through the park itself it'll be fine for but I can't see the proper MTB trails being much other than frustrating on my Current, I mean some of it will be okay and then there will be sections that will be absolutely horrid lol. I keep meaning to ride some of it on my way back from Petersfield but I'm usually pretty knackered by then and just wanting to get home

 

[arknor]

You lot make it sound like he’s going to do some expert level hard core downhill trails.. with his kids behind?

who do you want to be

or option 2

Gravel bikes are fine but in winter most places people would ride them literally get terrible sloppy messes or coated in puddles.

.
They already have a road bike anyway, gravel bike is basically the same thing with slightly wider tyres, probably as wide as hybrid tyres? probably even the same 700c wheels hybrids use.

They may as well get a MTB even if it's just a hard tail, should still allow wider tyres than most gravel bikes probably can fit.

 

[Kelt]

Do what I do, get one of each!

 

[Martynt74]

I'd probably be tempted by a hardtail mtb. If you get an XC focussed one, then the tyres shouldn't be too bad and still offer decent rolling resistance without it being a huge drag. Least it gives the opportunity to go on rougher stuff if you ever wanted to.

Also depends on the length of rides, i used to get some hand fatigue on longer rides on my hardtail and appreciated the range of hand positions on drop bars

 

[arknor]

Also depends on the length of rides, i used to get some hand fatigue on longer rides on my hardtail and appreciated the range of hand positions on drop bars

hard tail and gravel probably use the exact same 700c rims and almost identical width tyres.
probably roughly the same size rotors etc.

the only real difference is going to be riding position and how nimble the bike feels, gravel probably feels a lot more nimble.
never had one but I did used to have a cyclocross bike which was basically a gravel bike before they existed albeit with a shorter wheel base and more extreme geometry.
Since moving onto an enduro EMTB I have came to appreciate how good that bike was at blasting through those traffic calming measures on cycle paths.

My current bike with 29er wheels despises them entirely I have to slow down to like 5mph to get through :/ , with a hybrid I don;'t think I had much problems with them though.

if you get fatigue on straight bars then the grips are likely wrong for your hands, the ones that came with my bike made my hands ache after 10miles, they were way to narrow for how big my hands are.
I replaced them with some ergonomic ones and ordered the correct ones for my palm size, never had issues since even on 40mile rides that last like 3hours

 

[Martynt74]

if you get fatigue on straight bars then the grips are likely wrong for your hands, the ones that came with my bike made my hands ache after 10miles, they were way to narrow for how big my hands are.
I replaced them with some ergonomic ones and ordered the correct ones for my palm size, never had issues since even on 40mile rides that last like 3hours

I did try some Ergon grips and measured palms as you say, however just never felt quite right. Ended up with some Surly Corner bars for the best of both worlds which works awesome for me. Just didn't want to suggest that to the op.

 

[grudas]

who do you want to be

or option 2

Gravel bikes are fine but in winter most places people would ride them literally get terrible sloppy messes or coated in puddles.

.
They already have a road bike anyway, gravel bike is basically the same thing with slightly wider tyres, probably as wide as hybrid tyres? probably even the same 700c wheels hybrids use.

They may as well get a MTB even if it's just a hard tail, should still allow wider tyres than most gravel bikes probably can fit.

ridiculous comparison ?

gravel bikes these days take 2.1" tires, same EXACT tires that MTB's take, so the traction/grip is pretty much the same, latest ones even come with suspension forks? how extreme do you want to go. Yes an mtb is better on big fat off road downhills and trails. Gravel tho, is better as an all-around bike.