Gravel bikes and touring bikes are both designed for exploration and adventures. They are made for different types of riders. Touring bikes are ideal for long-distance, fully-loaded trips on mostly paved roads. Gravel bikes, on the other hand, are ideal for adventure riding on rougher gravel and dirt roads while carrying a lighter load. They’re perfect for exploring dirt and gravel roads, gentle mountain bike trails, and bikepacking. In this guide, we will outline the differences between gravel bikes and touring bikes. We’ll also list the pros and cons of riding a gravel bike vs touring bike. We’ll cover frame geometry, gearing, speed, efficiency, and much more.
I got into bicycle touring about 10 years ago. A few years back, I decided to get a gravel bike so I could give bikepacking a try. I’ve toured for thousands of miles on both bikes. In this guide, I’ll share my experience. Hopefully, this guide helps you choose the best touring or adventure bike for your riding style.
What is a Gravel Bike?
A gravel bike is kind of a cross between a road bike, a touring bike, and a mountain bike. Gravel bikes feature drop bars, a rigid frame, and a sporty frame geometry, like road bikes. They also feature wide grippy tires, wide and low gearing, disc brakes, and stable geometry, like a mountain bike. In addition, most gravel bikes also come with mounting points for racks and panniers, like a touring bike. Gravel bikes are sometimes called adventure bikes. The terms are interchangeable.
Gravel bikes are designed for riding a wide range of surfaces. With a gravel bike, you can ride gravel roads, dirt roads, forestry roads, bike paths, pavement, and some gentle single track and mountain bike trails. They are surprisingly capable off-road. Gravel bikes are also fast and efficient while riding on-road.
There is a spectrum of gravel bike designs. Some models are more road-oriented. These bikes are designed to be mostly ridden on smooth gravel and dirt roads as well as pavement. Some gravel bikes are much closer to mountain bikes. These models can handle more technical trails and single track but are less efficient on the road. Some gravel bikes are designed for long-distance bikepacking. These models are very similar to touring bikes.
What is a Touring Bike?
A touring bike is a bike that is designed for multi-day rides with racks and panniers full of gear. Depending on the distance and route of your tour, you may carry a tent, sleeping bag, cooking gear, clothing, as well as multiple days worth of food and water. With a touring bike, you could ride across your country, across a continent, or around the world.
Touring bikes look very similar to road bikes of the past. Most touring bikes feature a steel frame, drop handlebars, a long wheelbase, 700c wheels, wide-range gearing, and bar-end shifters. Touring bikes have wider tires than road bikes. Most touring tires measure 28-40mm.
Touring bikes have plenty of attachment points for luggage and accessories. Traditionally, bicycle tourists carry their luggage in panniers that mount to front and rear racks. The racks bolt directly to the frame and fork. For more capacity, some cyclists add a handlebar bag, top tube bag, saddlebag, and other accessory bags. Touring bikes also include mounting points for multiple water bottles, spare spokes, a pump, etc. Many touring bikes also come with mudguards.
Touring bikes are designed to be comfortable. They feature a more relaxed and upright riding position than road bikes. They also feature a stable geometry with a long wheelbase. This allows you to cruise along comfortably for hours at a time for days on end.
Touring bikes are also designed to be durable, long-lasting, and low maintenance. They feature heavy-duty steel frames and strong 36 spoke wheels. They need to hold up under the stress of heavy loads of gear and abuse from travel.
What is the Difference Between a Gravel Bike and Touring Bike?
Gravel bikes and touring bikes share a similar design. Both usually have drop handlebars, rigid frames, wide-range gearing, and disc brakes. They may share some of the same components. Both types of bikes use a mix of mountain and road components. They are also both designed for long-distance cycling adventures while carrying a load of gear. There are a few key differences between gravel and touring bikes.
One major difference is the tires. Touring tires usually measure 28-40mm wide. Gravel tires usually measure 38-50mm wide and have a more aggressive tread pattern. Gravel bike frames have more clearance to accommodate wider tires than touring bikes.
The gearing is also different. Touring bikes have a wider gear range and more gears than gravel bikes. Most modern touring bikes have a triple chainring groupset with an 8, 9, or 10 speed cassette for a total of 24-30 gears. Most gravel bikes use a 1X or 2X groupset with a 12 speed cassette.
Touring bikes are also built to be a bit more durable than gravel bikes. They have strong steel frames and 36 spoke wheels that can handle a heavy load. Gravel bikes often have slightly less robust components. As a result, touring bikes tend to weigh a few pounds more than gravel bikes.
The surfaces that both bikes are designed to be ridden on are also different. Touring bikes are designed to be ridden mostly on pavement with the occasional gravel or dirt road. Gravel bikes are designed to be ridden mostly on unpaved roads. They can also handle pavement and some mountain bike terrain.
Some gravel bikes and touring bikes blur the line. There are touring bikes with clearance for 47mm tires on 650B wheels. There are also gravel bikes with mounts for racks and fenders. Sometimes, the only difference between a gravel bike and a touring bike is the marketing.
Gravel Bike Vs Touring Bike
Tires
Gravel bikes and touring bikes use different types of tires. The tires play a major role in ride quality, traction, and handling, on different types of terrain as well as the bike’s efficiency.
Gravel tires are designed for riding on rough unpaved dirt and gravel roads. They are wider and more voluminous than touring tires. Gravel tires usually measure 36-50mm wide. The most common gravel tire widths include 35mm, 38mm, 40mm, 42mm, and 45mm.
Gravel tires also have a more aggressive tread pattern than touring tires. Most gravel-specific tires have a light file or diamond tread pattern. This pattern provides excellent traction on dry unpaved surfaces as well as pavement. Knobby gravel tires are also available for those who want to ride more rugged terrain, such as mountain bike trails.
Gravel tires are run at lower air pressure than touring tires. Most gravel riders run their tires at 20-50 psi depending on the terrain. The lower tire pressure improves traction and comfort.
The wider gravel tires have a larger contact patch with the ground. The lower air pressure allows the tire to deform so more tread touches the ground. This way, the tire creates more friction with the ground, which improves traction.
The wider and softer tires can also deform around obstacles and absorb some bumps and vibrations. This improves comfort while riding on rough surfaces.
If you want to ride in wet or rugged conditions with a gravel bike, you can install wider tires with a more aggressive tread pattern for even more traction. You can even install knobby mountain bike tires on a gravel bike, as long as your frame offers sufficient clearance.
