UCI gravel worlds

[wooglin]

Pretty fun. Haven’t watched the men, but the womens race is good stuff. Needs more motos to cover the chase groups though, and helicopters over the race rather than the finish.

 

[wooglin]

Update. Men’s race is a yawner. Ugh.

 

[cantunamunch]

Update. Men’s race is a yawner. Ugh.

Yes. And the coverage is pretty cr@p.

Of course, any race that is preferentially raced on a Paris-Roubaix bike doesn't actually deserve the name of gravel.

Send the Italians down to Absa Cape Epic to learn about gravel AND TV coverage.

 

[wooglin]

Yes. And the coverage is pretty cr@p.

Of course, any race that is preferentially raced on a Paris-Roubaix bike doesn't actually deserve the name of gravel.

Send the Italians down to Absa Cape Epic to learn about gravel AND TV coverage.

Yup. Amateur hour for sure. Course looked fun in a weird sort of way I thought. Definitely not a US gravel course.

 

[cantunamunch]

I still think embedded camera e-bikes are absolutely brilliant and should be used just about everywhere.

I think I see what you mean by fun in a weird way - it connects roadways, ag roadways and grassy walks in a sort of unexpected perspective.

Know what else does that? Inline skating routes. That course would be absolutely perfect for 150mm wheeled off-road inline worlds.

 

[Primoz]

I didn't watch a second of it, so no idea how it was or how the course was, but e-bikes with some of top roadies on more or less road bikes, probably won't work. Cape Epic is still mtb where speeds are different, but on gravel I would assume it's more like slightly different Paris-Roubaix, and for that, I don't think there's anyone who could keep up on e-bike with top roadies.

 

[cantunamunch]

on gravel I would assume it's more like slightly different Paris-Roubaix,

... and that is exactly the bigger problem.

Gravel shouldn't be like slightly different Paris-Roubaix. Gravel should be doing what XC hardtails did 10-15 years ago.

Keeping gravel racing in its current pseudo-road-racing niche is shortsighted in the extreme, and makes gravel extremely vulnerable to takeover by roadie institutions.

 

[Primoz]

@cantunamunch I honestly still don't really get all this gravel hype. I'm sure I'm missing whole bunch of things, but for me it's pretty ridiculous and more or less pure marketing to sell yet another bike. Especially when looking that more and more gravel bikes are getting front suspension, and some even flat bars, which for me looks pretty damn close to well... HT mountain bike For me, mountain biking is also xc, something what most of people don't consider as PROPER mtb anymore, as for proper mtb you need 160+mm suspension, 65 degree fork on bike with which you are not capable to pedal at all (or worse, it needs to be moped), otherwise you are not proper mountain biker. And if you consider xc as mountain biking, then gravel doesn't really make much sense anymore. Especially when with xc you mean more like XCM not XCO, which I still think majority of people who like to pedal ride, as I doubt majority of people really ride 2 or 3km XCO endlessly.
So with this in mind, gravel for me would really be sort of same as road biking, just on gravel roads, which means more or less Paris-Roubaix with less/none asphalt sections. If it's more then this, it's XCM. But that's just me, and I'm sure I'm wrong with this

 

[scott43]

@cantunamunch I honestly still don't really get all this gravel hype. I'm sure I'm missing whole bunch of things, but for me it's pretty ridiculous and more or less pure marketing to sell yet another bike. Especially when looking that more and more gravel bikes are getting front suspension, and some even flat bars, which for me looks pretty damn close to well... HT mountain bike For me, mountain biking is also xc, something what most of people don't consider as PROPER mtb anymore, as for proper mtb you need 160+mm suspension, 65 degree fork on bike with which you are not capable to pedal at all (or worse, it needs to be moped), otherwise you are not proper mountain biker. And if you consider xc as mountain biking, then gravel doesn't really make much sense anymore. Especially when with xc you mean more like XCM not XCO, which I still think majority of people who like to pedal ride, as I doubt majority of people really ride 2 or 3km XCO endlessly.
So with this in mind, gravel for me would really be sort of same as road biking, just on gravel roads, which means more or less Paris-Roubaix with less/none asphalt sections. If it's more then this, it's XCM. But that's just me, and I'm sure I'm wrong with this

You are revealing too many secrets. The black helicopters are coming for you!! I would simply like a road bike that can take 38c tires and doesn't handle like junk. But if you go gravel you also get lugs for fenders, bags everywhere, racks... Because I do ride mixed roads like gravel and asphalt.

 

[Primoz]

@scott43 ok when you go for bikepacking it's different thing. I was thinking more of "normal" few hour rides, and then of course racing. I agree with that what you wrote though. If you ride asphalt/gravel mix, then I'm sure road like bike is better option then ht mtb, so sure for that it's all good. But I understood that this WCH was sort of like that, but everyone who were watching it (not just @cantunamunch) were complaining that this is not "proper" gravel.

 

[cantunamunch]

@cantunamunch I honestly still don't really get all this gravel hype. I'm sure I'm missing whole bunch of things, but for me it's pretty ridiculous and more or less pure marketing to sell yet another bike. Especially when looking that more and more gravel bikes are getting front suspension, and some even flat bars, which for me looks pretty damn close to well... HT mountain bike For me, mountain biking is also xc, something what most of people don't consider as PROPER mtb anymore,

That's exactly what I'm saying. XC is not considered proper MTB anymore so why not put 'gravel' events on old XC courses?

It's like the bureaucratic mind wants to keep drop bars with the other drop bars and flat bars with the other flat bars and never the two, not ever, should overlap - even after the technology moves on.

 

[wooglin]

why not put 'gravel' events on old XC courses?

Too short. 12hr and 24hr races are bad enough.

 

[martyg]

Gravel shouldn't be like slightly different Paris-Roubaix. Gravel should be doing what XC hardtails did 10-15 years ago.

Not in our neighborhood, at least. Our riders were defining the sport and were cleaning the gnarliest of trails on HYs.

At least one of our riders competed in the Gravel Worlds. I haven’t seen her on local rides yet, but am eager to learn more about the event.

 

[Tom K.]

@cantunamunch I honestly still don't really get all this gravel hype.

Same, and I own an awesome gravel bike.

But my featherweight HT with a suspension fork is more fun and faster in almost every instance.

You are revealing too many secrets. The black helicopters are coming for you!! I would simply like a road bike that can take 38c tires and doesn't handle like junk. But if you go gravel you also get lugs for fenders, bags everywhere, racks... Because I do ride mixed roads like gravel and asphalt.

New Domane hits the mark.

I kind of want ONE of those, instead of a gravel bike and road racing bike.

 

[scott43]

New Domane hits the mark.

I kind of want ONE of those, instead of a gravel bike and road racing bike.

My thoughts exactly...

 

[wooglin]

Y'all need to go back to cantis. Skinny tires, a rigid fork and crappy brakes on a~40 mph dirt road downhill is more fun than should be legal.

 

[cantunamunch]

I kind of want ONE of those, instead of a gravel bike and a hardtail.

 

[scott43]

It's funny, when I was 14 I'd ride down to Bloor Cycle and ogle the Cinelli masterpieces, with my $8/hr job. Jealous of anyone who could afford and ride such lofty machinery. HAD to have one, couldn't afford it, rode home on my cheap Peugeot.

Fast forward 40 years..I make ten times as much and still ogle and envy. Scheming ways to cannibalize and sell bits and bikes to get my one perfect ride. Not much has changed, still broke and just old..

 

[cantunamunch]

Talking of drooling, have you popped down to Blacksmith Cycles yet?

 

[scott43]

Talking of drooling, have you popped down to Blacksmith Cycles yet?

I have not although they are quite close to me. I don't want to punish myself overly...