Can a 90s mountain bike beat a gravel bike?

Comments · 467

• RI

  @RideLooseBikes · 1 year ago · pinned

  If you like this style of video let me know! Went out on a limb but had a lot of fun putting this together.

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• IR

  @irish223 · 1 year ago

  The best bike is one that is used frequently and enjoyed. I have moved from aluminum and carbon fiber to steel bikes since I hit 65 years old. I enjoy the steel bikes more and , with a gear changes, I have made a bike I just love to ride. I am now 75 and still go out four to five days a week on trails and gravel. Ride the bike that makes you happy ... you are never too old to have a happy childhood.

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• AL

  @alicearmen5601 · 1 year ago

  I appreciate your honesty on the topic. It has bothered me how some YouTubers dump on 90’s mountain bikes. They are everywhere and cheap. They make a great platform for a whole host of creative bikes. I guess it’s hard to sell expensive gravel bikes when so many of us love them.

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• PH

  @phillipcowan1444 · 1 year ago

  I have a '96 Trek 930. I sank some money into it I'll admit. It's a drop bar conversion with Junebug bars and Gevanalle shifters. The fork was replaced with a Carver to get rid of the 1 1/8 quill stem. It has 10 speed Microshift gearing, 46/30 GRX cranks and RH Humptulip Ridge tires. I liked it so well I had it powdercoated. I hate to admit it but this bike absolutely humbles my Bombtrack gravel bike. Even with the money I threw at it it still cost half what the Bombtrack did. All this is a long winded way of saying that there's a lot of marketing hype that tries to make us think that you have to have the latest and greatest or you aren't shite. Not so! Great video.

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• DA

  @Darkknightofthehalvezool · 1 year ago (edited)

  Riding a 90’s rigid atb vs modern gravelbike is quite a different commitment/experience and requires a different riding style. Bar ends can help with ascending and letting a bit air out of the front tyre can help with descending. Also being relaxed and a bit more out of your sadle with descending can help against fatigue. So using your legs a bit more as suspension. Cantilever brakes dialed in perfectly can work really good/more than good enough.<br><br>Loved the video and the one before this!

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• EK

  @ekims_echoes · 1 year ago

  I liked this format, time, and how you did the test. I appreciate that you didn&apos;t just say one bike is better because it was faster as there are myriad factors in making one bike better than another for a non-race capacity.

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• KO

  @konishiwoi · 1 year ago

  I&apos;m taking the 90s MTB over the gravel bike for that route<br><br>But not without some adjustments like switching to v-brake, different tires with smaller but denser knobs, and a different cassette. Maybe some bars end but that might be more for nostalgia/hipster points than true utility :p <br>If the sketchiness of the brakes and the discomfort of the gearing can be solved, it would make it the most fun per dollar bike of the two

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• DE

  @denisminigarage2030 · 7 months ago

  i have a 1996 Raleigh Max Ogre rigid mtb with a step through frame and i pretty much use it for everything. cycling to campus and back, going shopping, riding in the the gravel trails near by. its all original so it REALLY feels like a 90s mtb. the steel frame makes it heavy but its in good condition so the wheel bearings and the drivetrain have very little resistance. being a broke uni student this bike cuts my feet off the ground very reliably and i couldnt be happier. i loved the comparison with a modern equivalent bike!

• RE

  @redstar956 · 1 year ago

  Great video, very honest and clear. I&apos;m really happy to spot this so early :glasses-purple-yellow-diamond:

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• ED

  @edwardsjohnpaul · 1 year ago

  Even v-brakes would improve the MTB a lot.

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• CH

  @chrisridethatbloodything2044 · 1 year ago

  I&apos;ve converted a 2010 Cross Bike to some kind of Gravel Bike. <br>It has front suspension, hydraulic disc brakes, 3x10 gearing.<br>Costs 400 Euros.<br>And I&apos;m loving to ride it 😊

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• RI

  @riskyrax · 1 year ago

  Great realistic perspective many don’t grasp. 👌

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