Because the temperature grows colder I search heat and respite upon the ruined carriage roads of the decrease Hudson River Valley:

Such seasonal detours require me to traverse irregular surfaces, and whether or not it’s the ragged roads themselves or the act of using a bicycle upon them, in as we speak’s parlance we discuss with all of it as “gravel:”

To trip gravel you in fact want a gravel bike–plus a gravel helmet, and gravel footwear, and even a gravel water bottle cage:

Presumably one must also go as far as to fill one’s bottle with gravel water–or because it was know, “crushed ice:”

However, I’ve not too long ago been doing my graveling on a so-called “cyclocross” bike–and a plastic one at that:

Sure, it’s heedless and foolhardy, however that’s what I signed up for after I agreed to be the Traditional Cycles Outdated Crap Check Pilot:

And when you suppose using a comparatively new (circa 2012) bike doesn’t incur the identical diploma of threat as using, say, a 48 year-old titanium bike you may actually really feel flexing beneath you, then I beseech you to suppose once more. Certainly, many an Outdated Crap Check Pilot has been lulled into complacency by the alleged superior reliability of recent componentry, solely to be taught the onerous method that whether or not fashionable or classic, catastrophe is at all times only a free fastener away. I used to be reminded of simply that when the drivetrain on the plastic bike’s drivetrain grew more and more noisy not too long ago, and a fast inspection revealed that the crank was working its method off the spindle:

I don’t typically make a behavior of carrying a 10mm Allen key with me, so I used to be unable to tighten it up on the spot, however luckily I used to be practically residence after I made the invention. Hopefully I didn’t do any injury to the interface whereas unwittingly using it in its loosened state:

I suppose we’ll discover out, and having since judiciously utilized a torque wrench to the bolt it would keep put, however within the quick time period I’ll carry the suitable instrument simply in case.

Technical difficulties however, I’ve been having fun with the plastic cyclocross bike, in addition to the irony of being a portly middle-aged bike owner astride the bicycle of an under-23 nationwide champion that weighs lower than my FUPA alone. Moreover, in using such a bicycle, it’s inconceivable to not ponder all the various types of fattish-tired drop-bar bikes obtainable to shoppers as we speak, what variations there are between all of them (if any), and whether or not or not we ever wanted any this crap within the first place.

There are in fact all types of versatile bicycles on the market that defy straightforward categorization, however in relation to extra mainstream choices the bicycle trade tends to group non-road racing drop-bar bicycles into three basic classes. You’ve received your gravel bike:

You’ve received your cyclocross bike:

And naturally you’ve received your endurance highway bike:

On the excessive edges of every class there are some variations that truly matter. For instance, apart from the refined variations in geometry individuals fake they’ll discover, a real cyclocross racing bike is constructed with options that make it simpler to hold, resembling formed high tubes and out-of-the-way cable routing…not less than that was the case when bikes nonetheless had cables. A real cyclocross race bike additionally received’t have provisions for fenders, or racks, or extraordinarily huge tires (the UCI limits tire width in cyclocross to maintain it distinct from mountain biking), and even water bottle cages–although in fact it wasn’t unusual for bikes marketed as “cyclocross” bikes to have some or all of these options anyway, since earlier than the gravel bike was invented plenty of individuals used to make use of cyclocross bikes for different stuff apart from cyclocross.

As for gravel bikes, that’s a bit extra ambiguous, for whereas the UCI has already inserted the lump of coal that’s gravel up its ass by establishing a Gravel World Collection, they’ve solely finished so not too long ago, and as such they haven’t but tightened their sphincters round it with adequate pressure or length to harden it right into a diamond:

So technically a gravel bike is any bike that’s not a tandem, recumbent, or time trial bike, however so far as the mainstream bike trade is worried it’s typically a road-ish bike with rack mounts and many tire clearance and the compulsory flared bars that allow everybody on the bike path know you might completely trip offroad when you felt prefer it. Additionally, it might or might not have suspension, relying on whether or not or not the proprietor intends to trip it in flannel:

And more and more it has a contorted drive-side chainstay to make room for its goofy single-ring drivetrain:

As for endurance highway bikes, that continues to be a catch-all for any highway bike marketed to individuals who haven’t but come to appreciate they’d be a lot happier on a Rivendell:

[Why indeed.]

However what a few common outdated highway bike? Aside from precise cyclocross racing, I used to make use of my Milwaukee for all of the eventualities described above:

So after back-to-back rides on the plastic cyclocross bike I figured it was time to place some fatter tires and mountain bike pedals on the Milwaukee and see how they examine:

I received these tires again in 2017 for the Milwaukee, however I discovered them type of sluggish in comparison with the Paselas, so since then they’ve been sitting within the basement:

Setting out on them as soon as once more for the primary time in a number of years I nonetheless discovered them type of sluggish, however they had been additionally quieter on pavement than the Tufos on the plastic bike, and so they additionally appeared to deal with just a little bit higher too, little question because of the smoother tread. Moreover, as soon as I hit the path, the sluggish sensation roughly disappeared, and whereas I took just a little extra care attributable to the truth that they’re clinchers with inside tubes they provided loads of traction. Additionally they cleared the medium-reach brakes with loads of room to spare:

I’ve stated it earlier than, however it bears repeating that the bicycle trade’s refusal to acknowledge the medium-reach brake is totally reprehensible. Certain, they may have geared up most highway bikes with these items, however as an alternative they only redesigned every thing for discs, which is the equal of giving a affected person and organ transplant when all that they had was gasoline pains. You may most likely even get a fender in there too when you had been so inclined:

Certain, they lack the mud clearance of the mini-vs on the plastic cyclocross bike, however they greater than make up for it in really feel. Plus, I’m not precisely on the World Cup circuit, so it’s not like I’m going to be using in situations that will pack up a brake anyway.

Gearing could also be steep by gravel bike requirements, however it’s received a wider vary than the plastic cyclocross bike, and it could be straightforward to go decrease if I had been so inclined:

Clearly you’d need the plastic cyclocross bike for the racecourse, and the Milwaukee received’t take the mountain-sized tires some individuals like to make use of on their gravel bikes, however in any other case there’s little stopping you from utilizing a motorcycle like this throughout your complete spectrum of spirited “sport”-oriented drop-bar biking:

They’ll preserve slicing and dicing up classes, however all you actually need is a highway bike.