Pushing My Cheap Gravel Bike Too Far: The MTB Test
Trace Velo
02 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
ForcellaKOCEVLO Gravel Suspension fork Off-Road Damping Air Pressure Fork 700C Disc Brake Flat Mount Fork
Creato: 20 settembre 2024Il recensore discute una forcella ammortizzatrice acquistata da AliExpress per 90 sterline, che ha installato sulla sua gravel bike per migliorare le prestazioni fuoristrada. Menziona di averla usata durante un viaggio in Spagna dove ha testato la bici su sentieri da mountain bike. La forcella ha 40 mm di escursione e presenta un meccanismo di blocco. Il recensore nota che ha aiutato a smussare il terreno accidentato ma ha toccato fondo su salti oltre 3 pollici. Confronta le capacità della bici con e senza la forcella ammortizzatrice, affermando che rende la bici più capace di una tradizionale gravel bike ma meno di una mountain bike completa.
Riepilogo IA
Pros
- Migliora significativamente il comfort su terreni accidentati
- Aggiunge capacità alla gravel bike per l'uso fuoristrada
- Conveniente a 90 sterline da AliExpress
- Ha un meccanismo di blocco per l'uso su strada
- Aiuta ad assorbire gli impatti da rocce e radici
- Rende la bici più versatile tra strada e fuoristrada
Cons
- Solo 40 mm di escursione limitano le capacità su sentieri da mountain bike impegnativi
- Ha toccato fondo su salti oltre 3 pollici
- Sospensioni insufficienti per sentieri da mountain bike completi
- Ancora non può competere con le sospensioni di una vera mountain bike
MyBikeParts
