Pushing My Cheap Gravel Bike Too Far: The MTB Test
Trace Velo
2 novembre 2024
Will a cheap Chinese gravel bike with suspension and chunky tyres rival a mountain bike? Let’s hit some MTB trails and find out!
SIROKO CLOTHING – 10% off (automatically applied via link below):
https://srko.co/tracevelo
Since building a gravel bike a few years ago, I have been upgrading it with various parts from AliExpress to make it more capable off-road. When I first built it up, it was great fun. It was fast and nimble on tarmac, and rode well on some gentle forest paths, but on anything that could be considered “off-road”, the ride was too stiff and I was shaken to pieces.
As a result, I made a bunch of upgrades. Namely fitting some chunky 29x2.0 mountain bike tyres (which equate to 700x50c), and slapping on a gravel suspension fork. It instantly became a much more capable bike off-road, but just how capable was it, and could it now rival a legit mountain bike? In this episode, I set out to answer that question.
I took the bike out to Spain, and rode it on some MTB trails just outside Madrid. The bike did well on the more gentle rocky tracks, but on the really rough stuff, it definitely struggled, and so did I…
But are these upgrades even necessary on a regular gravel bike, and should I have just taken a mountain bike like everyone else?
Gravel suspension video:
https://youtu.be/5DHiPd3ROMo?si=C9uRF8UTZH9_ksYb
Gravel suspension fork:
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DEn...
Timestamps:
00:00 – Upgrading my gravel bike
01:23 – Flying to spain
03:06 – Day 1 MTB route
05:12 – Concerns with the bike
06:41 – Hitting the rough stuff
11:19 – First crash
13:27 – Bike discussion
17:34 – Day 2 MTB route
19:31 – Rocky mountain path
21:57 – Siroko sponsor
22:26 – The final climb and decent
24:02 – Is this a mountain bike?
28:15 – Bonus cost and parts list
Intro roll:
Created by Dev Joshi - http://www.go2dev.co.uk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tracevelo/
Email: tracevelouk@gmail.com
Keywords: Gravel bike vs Mountain bike,Gravel bike suspension,Gravel bike upgrades,Cheap gravel bike,Chinese carbon,Chinese carbon gravel bike,Gravel bike vs MTB,gravel vs MTB,1x gravel bike,cheap gravel bike upgrades,Aliexpress gravel bike,AliExpress bike upgrades,MTB vs Gravel,Mountain bike vs gravel bike
FourcheKOCEVLO Gravel Suspension fork Off-Road Damping Air Pressure Fork 700C Disc Brake Flat Mount Fork
Créé le : 20 septembre 2024Le critique discute d'une fourche à suspension achetée sur AliExpress pour 90 livres, qu'il a installée sur son vélo de gravier pour améliorer les performances hors route. Il mentionne l'avoir utilisée lors d'un voyage en Espagne où il a testé le vélo sur des sentiers de VTT. La fourche a un débattement de 40 mm et dispose d'un mécanisme de blocage. Le critique note qu'elle a aidé à lisser le terrain accidenté mais a touché le fond sur les sauts de plus de 3 pouces. Il compare les capacités du vélo avec et sans la fourche à suspension, affirmant qu'elle rend le vélo plus capable qu'un vélo de gravier traditionnel mais moins qu'un VTT complet.
Résumé IA
Pros
- Améliore considérablement le confort sur terrain accidenté
- Ajoute des capacités au vélo de gravier pour une utilisation hors route
- Abordable à 90 livres sur AliExpress
- Possède un mécanisme de blocage pour une utilisation sur route
- Aide à absorber les impacts des roches et des racines
- Rend le vélo plus polyvalent entre la route et le hors route
Cons
- Seulement 40 mm de débattement limite les capacités sur les sentiers de VTT sérieux
- A touché le fond sur les sauts de plus de 3 pouces
- Suspension insuffisante pour les sentiers de VTT complets
- Ne peut toujours pas égaler la suspension d'un VTT approprié
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