Road Bike Alternative

My first bike..real bike...the kind you get at a bike shop was a rigid steel frame mountain bike...that was a long time ago..my thought process back then was I knew nothing about bikes..had a pretty limited budget..new wife...new life...I had always owned some sort of a bike a pretty much rode one everywhere..when I was a kid I had all sorts of incarnations of bikes..as kids our bikes where like cars..we used them to go everywhere...so when I got my first real bike I carried on the tradition of using it as a do all bike for everything..pretty soon I got bitten by the bike bug and started doing long endurance rides on my steel frame rigid...not the best tool for that job...but did get in shape..

Next I got a road bike and the race was one...long rides..racing...I had morphed into a roadie..shaved legs and all..skinny tires equated to speed...aluminum and carbon equated to lightness and stiff harsh rides at time...geometry of the frames equated to sore shoulders and lower back pain sometimes..oh yeah it was awesome..

Several things lead me to the world of mountain biking...the first was the ever growing population of the DFW area..roads I once trained on in seclusion started to become crowed with vehicles...open fields I used to pass out in the country where now becoming neighborhoods...all these things equate to people..and safety on the roads started to become a concern at least for me...I learned to ride certain roads at certain times..low traffic times..I also found at times the rides where boring...long road rides..flat roads with a few hills here and there..same thing day in and day out...with trail riding I found challenges...met some cool people..and pretty much feel in love with mountain biking in the late 90's. I still was racing the road bike some and until the early 2000's still putting in the road miles..then it all changed and I strictly went to knobbies..where I stayed for years..the only downfall was having to drive to a trail..when places like Samson and Gateway are close it is really not a issue..but the other trails are generally 30-50 miles away..so other things come into play like gas and time..but I loved it so much I kept on going to all the local trails and did a few trips to New Mexico and Colorado to experience the trails there...

A few years ago I read where a new discipline in the sport was gaining in popularity..gravel grinding..taking cross bikes..mountain bikes that have been modified and riding long distances on gravel roads...this peeked my interest for several reasons..I remember back in the day training on my road bike and seeing a gravel road off of a paved road...I always thought it would be cool to ride down it to see where it went...for sure traffic would be less and most cars are not traveling at the speeds they do on pavement..but riding a road bike with 700x23 slicks down a gravel road is just an invitation for sitting in the ditch changing out a tube...having the ability to ride a bike pretty much anywhere seemed pretty cool also...so the research began for a decent cross bike...

I ended up buying a aluminum frame cross bike and road it for a season or so but decided I wanted to try a carbon cross bike and saved up and bought one..the geometry is a little like a road bike but more relaxed..the ability ro run wider tires also helps take up trail and road chatter..but the main difference is having the ability to ride down a paved road...hit a gravel road and follow it to see where it takes you...no longer limited by the beaten path but able to go off of it is a blast..I have used my cross bike on a majority of the trails around here except for Samson...maybe one day..maybe..

Since getting a cross bike it has pretty much been my go to bike for almost all riding...I can put 700x23 tires on it and presto...road bike..put the 700x35 tires on it and presto..grinding gravel and hitting some trails..plus when riding on trails with it you have to choose your lines..read the trail...and skill it through stuff...it has made me a better mountain bike rider in the long run..after riding the cross bike on trails I get on my mountain bike and the same trails do not seem like they did before.

There are all kinds of variations to cross bikes and the set ups only seem limited by what a person wants out of their bike..dudes are converting 29er mountain bikes into drop bar gravel grinders and trail bikes..bike companies are beginning to offer gravel grinding specific bikes and frames..the cool thing about these bikes are that one bike can suit the needs of many riding styles..it is kind of like having a Swiss Army Knife bike...

I still like to take my road bike out from time to time but since getting a cross bike the old roadie sits pretty lonely these days...I still ride my mountain bikes a lot..but if I get the chance to go hit some unknown gravel roads it just screams adventure to me..and who is not up for an adventure..