Gravel Bike
Between the extremes of road cycling and mountain biking are a lot of alternatives and right in the middle is gravel biking. Best of both worlds. Lighter than a mountain bike, sturdier than a road bike, with tire sizes and tread meant to go quick on pavement and provide grip on loose dirt. A happy medium that provides a lot of versatility for the rider. Gravel biking (in my opinion) is less defined and restricted than other cycling extremes, there doesn’t seem to be a type of person out of place who is participating in it. It’s just the thing I was looking for. The other day I was able to leave my doorstep and ride 20 miles around Palos Verdes on paved roads and then turn off onto the mountain biking trails and get around them easier than on my mountain bike. Another 6 miles on steep dirt trails and I can go back to the road and comfortably ride the last 4 miles home. It feels like the right gear for the trip as a whole. Anyways, it’s just a lot of fun and opens up opportunities for different types of exercise and recreation without too much compromise.
The bag can attach where it is on the frame, or up on the handlebars (which is the better position).
There’s 3 water bottle holders, 2 of them carry water and the lowest one actually carries a spare tire tube and tools (the water bottle leaks so it was a perfect candidate for it).
The bike is also designed to carry more on the front and back if I needed to.
The drop-bars are what you would find on a road bike, except they are wider for better stability off road. The hand positions are more comfortable than the regular mountain bike flat bars.
The tires are narrow enough to still be fast and easy to pedal and they can vary in tread pattern to handle dirt trails. I have a wider and more aggressive tire on the front (because of the dry and loose trails I ride on) and a slightly narrower and less aggressive tire on the back.
