How To Choose The Gravel Bike Size

Gravel bikes, a relatively new trend in recent years, have grown in popularity due to their excellent versatility, allowing them to be ridden almost anywhere, not just on gravel roads, but also for riding On mud roads, trail roads, and commuting road. The Gravel Bike combines some of the performance parts of road, off-road and mountain biking to create a lightweight all-round exploration bike that tackles rough terrain as happily as it does on paved surfaces.

But recently many brands have launched new gravel bikes with more targeted features, such as adding aerodynamics. So how do we distinguish them? This article will give you guide in choosing the best gravel bike and size.

Gravel Bike Geometry Importance

Flexibility or bluntness, simplicity or ruggedness, the way gravel bikes are designed can have a huge impact on how they ride. As the discipline has boomed in recent years, we've also seen more category in gravel, more models specifically designed for gravel racing or long traversal, or even aero gravel, like BMC's Kaius to the steel frame Cotic Cascade, they Corresponding to the flat road and off-road trail environment respectively. And people like the Salsa Fargo go for wider tires and more load capacity.

However, many gravel bikes frames still featured with more balanced, comfort, speed, and off-road ability. Such as the Giant's Revolt and Canyon Grizl,they can handle most terrain.

The difference between the geometry of a XC bike and a gravel bike

Although gravel bikes and XC bikes look similar at first glance, their geometry is largely different. XC bikes are designed with shorter, more intense competition in mind, they feature more abrupter head tube angles, shorter wheelbases, taller bottom brackets and tighter tire clearance. Combined theses design can supply riders feel more aggressive and sensitive handling, that helps riders get through narrow corners quickly.

while,Gravel bikes have longer wheelbases, lower bottom brackets and soft head tube angles for a more stable ride on rough off-road terrain. Most of these bikes tend to be designed with a more upright position in mind, making them more suitable for long outings and even multi-day bike trail adventures.

How do you choose the right geometry

Essentially, gravel bikes fall in between endurance road bikes and mountain bikes: from shorter, steeper, race-oriented, to longer, lower and slacker gravel bikes designed to be more More capable on challenging off-road trails.

What kind of road or terrain do you want your gravel bike to ride on, prefer to ride on roads with a few gravels road, or professional gravel tracks, or even more challenging off-road? All of this affects the choice of gravel bike geometry.

How does frame size affect geometry?

As the frame size changes, so does the geometry, not only for sizing, but also so that the same model to have a nearly identical ride experience from the small size to the large size. When you switch the frame sizes, certain angles will change: For the smaller sizes, the head tube angle tends to be a little slack, while the seat tube angle is a little steeper. Some brands bike use 650b wheels instead of 700cs to specify a smaller size to help maintain the same maneuverability throughout the range and reduce toes hitting the wheels.

Does gravel truck geometry vary by gender?

Like any other kind of bike, whether you need a women's-specific gravel bike depends on which brand you ask. liv is the only bike brand that produces a women's-specific gravel bike whose geometry is designed using women's bike data. Some other brands sell women's bikes with the same frame as their unisex bikes, but with different components such as the saddle and handlebars, with the Juliana Quincy and Canyon Grail WMN being represented.

Specialized and a growing number of brands believe that the setting differences between men and women are more from individual differences in fitting data, rather than broad differences between men and women. And these brands are also moving towards completely unisex models, offering more sizes in a single style to suit all riders and offering more personalized options.

How to choose the most suitable size?

It's important to make sure you get the right size bike, not only for a comfortable ride, but also for increased efficiency. So it’s best to go to a bike shop to get trained professionals and professional equipment to do the fitting. The shop professionals can help you find the most suitable size based on the fitting data, and may also allow you to test rides between different sizes. .

It is smart to get professional data before investing in a new bike, and with the right data in hand, you can buy a new car with confidence. If you already own a suitable bike, you can compare the geometry data to the bike you're interested in. But please don’t remember that the the geometry is different in different brands even if one the same size .