Is A Gravel Bike The Same As A Cyclocross Bike
In many respects it is, and you could ride a pure cyclocross bike on the road, no problem, and use it with your mates on that Sunday ride. The Canyon Inflite Is a prime example of a gravel come cyclocross bike that won the 2020 World Cyclocross Championships but with a unique set of tyres could easily be used as your road bike.
Cyclocross is a sport mainly seen in Belgium where a road bike style with bigger, wider tires and drop style road handlebars are used to compete in serious competitions to win real cash prizes and world championships..
Think Wout Van Aert and you are there. Probably the best all round biker in the world, and a cyclist who competes all year round, rather than train for ONE specific race a year.
The courses are normally short off-road dirt and gravel tracks through forest paths as they are fast and furious courses where the rider is at 100% max from the moment the bell goes until they reach the finish line. Normally under 2 hours long but unbelievably competitive.
If you have ever entered an off-road competition, you will know exactly what I mean about competitive. As soon as the bell goes for the start, you seem to hit max RPM on your heart rate monitor and do not seem to slow down until you cross the line for the finish.
Gravel riding is also a great way to get out into the fresh air and exercise to burn some fat. You can go flat out if you like or just ride through the hills, forests or on the road and get the benefits of being outside in the fresh air and losing weight at the same time.