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I bought a cool book yesterday which is all about gravel trails in the UK. I had never heard the term gravel bike until reading it. Silly question but can I d

I bought a cool book yesterday which is all about gravel trails in the UK. I had never heard the term gravel bike until reading it. Silly question but can I do these trails on my full suspension mountain bike, or will I be mercilessly mocked and possibly chased out of town? I already have a mountain bike and a road bike so not keen to add a third!

protonbob 4y ago
You will certainly not be. At least in the US, mountain bikes for trails are still the norm.
namdnay 4y ago
A mountain bike is fine on a gravel trail, if you can lock the shocks
unklefolk 4y ago
> ... can I do these trails on my full suspension mountain bike...? Yes. It will be a bit more work on the pedalling front vs a dedicated gravel bike, but I doubt you will encounter any bike snobbery. I have gravel trails near where I live, and you see all kinds of bikes tackling them.
lukah 4y ago
If anything, you might be thankful of a full suspension mountain bike on some of our "gravel" trails in the UK. There's such a wide range from US-style back county roads all the way to bridleways with baby-head sized rocks that you probably wouldn't want to be riding on something typically sold as a gravel bike.
- Doctor_Fegg 4y ago
  Yes, this. There's actually not that much US-style "gravel" in England and Wales: basically a few Forestry Commission tracks in mid-Wales, Northumberland and places like that. Elsewhere it's single-track bridleways that dominate. Routes like King Alfred's Way, the Pennine Bridleway, the Great North Trail and West Kernow Way are sometimes marketed as gravel routes but they're probably more MTB than anything.
  - TrueGeek 4y ago
    I spent a month in the UK and was glad to have brought my CX bike instead of my road bike. Several of the routes (in Kent) that I had thought were going to be road routes suddenly turned into paths that we would classify as gravel here in the states. It was wonderful! So little traffic and not one F350.
MezzoDelCammin 4y ago
"gravel" is more of a mindset. Yeah, granted, it's been taken over by most marketing departments trying to push people into buying new gear, but ultimately, it's about being able to ride both paved roads and whatever tracks are there in the outdoors nearby. There's always the debate / meme of "are gravel bikes just 1990's hardtail mountain bikes with drop bars?" and ... the jury's still out on that one ;-) AFAIK a full suspension is an overkill, but if it's what You got, go for it. You'll just be a bit slower. If You're looking for some testing, perhaps try to just get yourself a new pair of gravel tyres that fit Your wheels. That's by far the biggest source of resistance. If it's fun, pick up from there. There are plenty of videos on youtube on how to hack into a gravel bike a cheap old frame (either hardtail MTB, or some CX / touring frames). Doesn't have to more than 100-200EUR / USD in the end.
wink 4y ago
It will certainly be more of an effort with the fully, but I don't see anything wrong there. I'm not even sure we have a lot of so-called gravel trails here (not the UK) but the norm is more: people ride on MTBs and sometimes there's a rider on a gravel bike or cyclocross. > I already have a mountain bike and a road bike so not keen to add a third! Why would you say that? :)
intrasight 4y ago
Any bike you ride on gravel is a gravel bike. All my bikes have been on gravel so they are all gravel bikes.
dev_tty01 4y ago
Yes! First, if you haven't spent much time on gravel, you will be more confident and sure-footed on the MTB. Second, you will have a much more comfortable ride. As others have said, it will be a bit more effort, but the improved confidence will probably do more for your overall speed than a skinny tire. I would however lock out the rear suspension, and probably the front too. The high volume tires at the right pressure will likely provide all the suspension you need for gravel and your pedaling will be more efficient. As far as being mercilessly mocked, that reminds me of an old adage. We spend our youth worrying about what other people think. In middle age we decide we don't care what other people think. As we get older, we finally realize no one was thinking about us.

protonbob 4y ago

You will certainly not be. At least in the US, mountain bikes for trails are still the norm.

namdnay 4y ago

A mountain bike is fine on a gravel trail, if you can lock the shocks

unklefolk 4y ago

> ... can I do these trails on my full suspension mountain bike...? Yes. It will be a bit more work on the pedalling front vs a dedicated gravel bike, but I doubt you will encounter any bike snobbery. I have gravel trails near where I live, and you see all kinds of bikes tackling them.

lukah 4y ago

If anything, you might be thankful of a full suspension mountain bike on some of our "gravel" trails in the UK. There's such a wide range from US-style back county roads all the way to bridleways with baby-head sized rocks that you probably wouldn't want to be riding on something typically sold as a gravel bike.

Doctor_Fegg 4y ago
Yes, this. There's actually not that much US-style "gravel" in England and Wales: basically a few Forestry Commission tracks in mid-Wales, Northumberland and places like that. Elsewhere it's single-track bridleways that dominate. Routes like King Alfred's Way, the Pennine Bridleway, the Great North Trail and West Kernow Way are sometimes marketed as gravel routes but they're probably more MTB than anything.
- TrueGeek 4y ago
  I spent a month in the UK and was glad to have brought my CX bike instead of my road bike. Several of the routes (in Kent) that I had thought were going to be road routes suddenly turned into paths that we would classify as gravel here in the states. It was wonderful! So little traffic and not one F350.

MezzoDelCammin 4y ago

"gravel" is more of a mindset. Yeah, granted, it's been taken over by most marketing departments trying to push people into buying new gear, but ultimately, it's about being able to ride both paved roads and whatever tracks are there in the outdoors nearby. There's always the debate / meme of "are gravel bikes just 1990's hardtail mountain bikes with drop bars?" and ... the jury's still out on that one ;-) AFAIK a full suspension is an overkill, but if it's what You got, go for it. You'll just be a bit slower. If You're looking for some testing, perhaps try to just get yourself a new pair of gravel tyres that fit Your wheels. That's by far the biggest source of resistance. If it's fun, pick up from there. There are plenty of videos on youtube on how to hack into a gravel bike a cheap old frame (either hardtail MTB, or some CX / touring frames). Doesn't have to more than 100-200EUR / USD in the end.

wink 4y ago

It will certainly be more of an effort with the fully, but I don't see anything wrong there. I'm not even sure we have a lot of so-called gravel trails here (not the UK) but the norm is more: people ride on MTBs and sometimes there's a rider on a gravel bike or cyclocross. > I already have a mountain bike and a road bike so not keen to add a third! Why would you say that? :)

intrasight 4y ago

Any bike you ride on gravel is a gravel bike. All my bikes have been on gravel so they are all gravel bikes.

dev_tty01 4y ago

Yes! First, if you haven't spent much time on gravel, you will be more confident and sure-footed on the MTB. Second, you will have a much more comfortable ride. As others have said, it will be a bit more effort, but the improved confidence will probably do more for your overall speed than a skinny tire. I would however lock out the rear suspension, and probably the front too. The high volume tires at the right pressure will likely provide all the suspension you need for gravel and your pedaling will be more efficient. As far as being mercilessly mocked, that reminds me of an old adage. We spend our youth worrying about what other people think. In middle age we decide we don't care what other people think. As we get older, we finally realize no one was thinking about us.