Can Our £200 Bikes Survive An Epic Gravel Ride?

Conor Dunne and Alex Paton have just shown up for their gravel ride with the cheapest bikes they could find—a beach cruiser and a budget road bike modified for gravel (or cyclocross, to be exact!). With the aim of having fun, it seems like they’re off to a good start—but will punctures, mechanicals, and mud ruin the ride? Will they actually make it to the finish? 😳

⏱️ Timestamps: ⏱️
00:00 Can our cheap bikes survive an epic gravel ride?
00:57 The route
01:30 Gravel is about having fun!
01:55 Our bikes
04:44 Time to ride!
06:05 Mechanical 🛞🙄
06:36 Back on our way
08:49 Best gravel section of the route?
10:01 Is Conor’s bike cooler than Alex’s?
11:44 Another puncture?!
12:23 Conor’s Schwinn Corvette beach cruiser
14:42 Cyclocross bike VS road bike
16:20 Has this been a success?
18:06 No need to spend loads to have fun!

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we’ve been given £200 to buy the best bike possible gravel is serious competition these days but it’s certainly not lost its fun factor and today we’re getting that fun factor in bucket loads to prove it we’ve got a pretty class route close to gcn HQ and we bought these bikes we’re not just buying them we’re riding them we’re going to we’re going to 80 km some of the best gravel that the UK has to offer I’m absolutely buzzing about it let’s get on the bikes we’ll tell you a bit more about them later let’s get into it fist love hang oh oh s is getting Bo to the Limit merry m Christmas I probably shouldn’t have acted that out should our route is a brilliant one and one I’ve read of many times before a mix of Road and gravel paths with the occasional puddle and of course a bit of mud essentially we’re traveling around the perimeter of the ssur plane which is an area rich in history and Heritage oh and there’s a posh Farm shop at the end for lunch and the last one there pays in my opinion you can’t compete with us gravel and for us Europeans the prospect of big open roads into the Kansas Prairie feels like a far off dream but you can still find Brilliant gravel close by gravel is super competitive these days but its roots are also mainly about having fun on bikes and sharing an adventure no matter how big or small of course we all love the latest tech but sometimes we all need a reminder that cycling is about having fun forgetting the serious side is part of why the gravel seene boomed and you can buy a heck of a lot of bike for 200 or dollars apparently including a beach cruiser what’s this all about well I bought a beach Cru got this £50 it was a nod to a couple of Legends that completed Unbound this year on beach cruisers it’s a beautiful bike suspension seat post nice high volume tires it’s going to be comfy under budget by £50 so I’m doing well looking forward to this two things from me one you were absolutely robbed at £50 and you’ve also missed the coolest part about it that it’s got a kickstand well I was going to say that but this is the sort of bike which you have fun on and for me that’s what that’s what gravel is we’re not on a California Beach you you to me you haven’t got the bike designed for fun of course it is You’ got you got the classic Alex the bet you try to you try to optimize every little step of your setup pause a second let me tell you about my bike right this is the cheapest road bike you can buy new on the internet in the entire world I know that for fact because Dan found this bike on the internet and here is the tightest guy I know okay I first and foremost I’ve seen a few upgrades you done on this bike so where did you find these and how much were they the bike just under1 my tires3 each that’s £60 okay um a couple of bits I had spare at home carbon bottle cage my Mountain B pedals oh and I put um Woo’s latest supercomputer on the bike which now means the bike is worth about 5 and a half times its original value where did you find that in your parts beenin yeah it was just obscured by some jous cranky about and Jak’s aside this is the epitome of what gravel is all about it means anything it’s basically what most people want out of gravel is something like Road cycling just a little bit off road yeah we’ve got a road bike with off-road tires job done no fair play mate I mean it goes to show as well you can fit those in the bike oh he’s could going in come on all right hold on let me just get my kicks turned up right time for some gravel let’s do it okay you might have noticed there’s a third bike here with us but only two people and I know it’s small but we’re not going cycling with a small child this was the bike that Hank chose and unfortunately he’s sick today he’s not made it often on these challenges he doesn’t buy the best bike let’s face it yeah this time he’s he’s actually bought a really good bike but he’s not here to hear it this is proper cool front suspension it’s actually quite light when you pick it up old style Rim brakes plenty of Gears tires are in good condition solid bit of tread I mean he’s done well but just don’t tell him down yeah moment of silence to remember Hank back to the gravel he’s not died well he’s just not here with us I mean I’m kind of glad he’s not riding it because he just absolutely ruined it wouldn’t he [Music] yeah oh this is nice this is nice I feel like I’m literally riding an armchair I feel like you’re going to be lacking in the speed Department [Music] yeah there the gravel commence I feel cursed with gravel on gcn there’s always it always rains this is proper gra though isn’t it yeah feel like I’m back at Unbound okay first bit of offroad so far my 33 mm tires are starting to shake my teeth out somewhat how’s it going for you I’m doing pretty well I’m feeling super comy I mean it’s mostly downhill so the bike’s rolling along nicely I’m yet to try and go uphill and I think that’s not going to be easy we’ve actually got quite a big hill to go up halfway around this road like I think I almost don’t even got any chance of riding it w right to the gravel [Music] bit bouncy on the [Music] seat just had a mechanical H I think I’m just letting more of it out I’m going to keep warming the bus while you figure it out mate yeah just let me know if you need help changing an inner tube no I got it 20 30 km maybe less should have spent some that spare cash I had on It upgraded inner tubes I probably shouldn’t have acted that out should I right shall we Y come [Music] on some of those cycle Speedway bikes that oh so the route is being brilliant Grable so far obviously slightly more challenging in Winter compared to Summer in terms of the mud and the moisture but it’s not flat and that has been a Whopper of a climb behind me I’m just under geared on my poor beach cruiser it’s its only weakness that I’m admitting to and you kind of just have to get off and run bit hiker bike it’s part of it this is gravel Alex has been chuing on though pretty well to be fair despite his early Mechanicals so we’re getting to the top of this big one and pushing on but that is a beast of a section just completed better get back to it speaking of that riding this route is not going to ride itself oh that’s right oh oh s is getting boost the limit big dropper oh [Music] [Applause] stuck it’s actually stuck oh my gosh I was a normal depth we’re hitting the mud Merry mry Christmas [Music] my head unit is telling me I’m getting good drafting effect sitting behind you really [Music] [Applause] [Music] yeah okay so we’re a good way in we’re coming to what Alex is saying is like the best gravel section of the route we’re really getting into it now feeling like we’re leaving civilization behind after a spell on the road but we are having a series of Mechanicals um not for me I may add although I don’t want to be too confident in this statement because there still a lot still to ride so Al’s got a bit of a front puncture not sure if it’s a puncture or maybe a slow or we’re working on that one but we got a bit of a shifter loose shifter issue so yeah luckily we know what to do on these challenges all the spares got get this into there it’s so far back in there how loose is it I be right with that it’s going to fall off you’ll be all right with that now the B tap hold it in place I don’t even know if it’s a loose shifter I think you’re like bars are just so flexy got to say I’m loving the cruiser it’s a lot of fun as I’ve said not greatest uphill but just cruising along the name’s Jess brilliant love love how the bike handles it’s like it’s like you’re carving it is like you’re carving on the road it’s just a nice fluid motion that I’m really enjoying anyway let’s get back to it see you on the [Music] gravel oh I done it we’ve cressed come on come on come on the Corvette I hate to admit it but I think your bu is a lot cooler than thanks [Music] M well weather’s taking a bit more of turn it’s getting pretty bleak up here pretty dark we’re we’re chucking on though been having good chats and I must say I am starting to get pretty close to my to my beach cruiser it’s just chugging on it’s never failed me gears clicking into place the wheels are taking a beating they feel super comfortable going down some of these descents um it’s been it’s been a ride it’s been a ride different to usual as much as I don’t want to admit it I completely agree with everything that you’re saying and I’ve had more problems and issues than you my bike is clearly faster but I’m not really enjoying it quite as much just those wide tires man they rolled and roll the last time I actually rode one of these was I was traveling through Costa Rica and it was very very hot different weather to this but it’s just it’s just a different experience when you ride so upright it makes you slow down and enjoy the view a bit more I feel enjoy the view a bit more do you want to know so funny this way it might make you laugh it might not make you laugh I looked at the weather forecast for today do you know what it said what like to missed yeah that’s pretty that’s pretty much what we’ve got isn’t it um right come in we cruise on I’m going to be driving home naked because all this mud look at that bottom lovely lovely [Music] bottom so we are out in it and we’ve had to stop the punctures Pro too much Alex is busy changing tubes in the mud I’m feeling quite smug CU um Cruis is cracking on just a 20 P dinner tube from a 90 bike right back on my mattress sprung saddle one thing I won’t be getting today is Saddle saws I love it I love it thought it’ be a good time to explain a bit more about the bike I’m riding so as I said it’s a beach cruiser it’s a Schwin Corvette it’s actually a limited edition one too now Schwin has got quite a lot of history really old company actually started in the 1800s it made the most of the bicycle boom in America in the early 1900s so there was huge demand for bikes at one point I think they had 30 factories in the US making over 1 million units per year so absolutely booing but then it suffered as the car industry took off people really about say are getting into automobiles the thing with beach cruisers they were designed to be super robust so these really volumous large tires kind rolled over anything which to me makes them quite well suited to gravel riding as that’s essentially it like most of it it’s easy enough but you do get some rougher sections and just getting over that that loose stuff really beneficial now the demand for these drops off a bit as the racing bike road bike started to be produced but they’re so comfy to ride the saddle of mine it’s got that suspension it literally you literally bounce on it it’s lovely it’s like a on a mattress and these really wide Ball Horn bars you have that upright position really synonymous feature of this bike is the split top tube so got a bar either side I really like it it’s incredible how far for the bottom bracket is compared to your saddle big Canter L brakes which actually work quite well but these bikes are not designed for going up here let’s face it that is their weakness and I’ve noticed that come on beach cruiser long way from Miami now and anyway when you’re out here taking in the views taking in nature taking in the quiet that is what this bike allows you to do love it right I better find where Alex is cuz I think he’s starting to wait for me at times go get some speed up on the old girlo come on okay let me tell you a little bit more about my bike no doubt Connor has tried telling you his is the best choice of budget gravel bike but I disagree you see this is where everything started road bikes which eventually evolved into something called cyclocross bikes the idea for those were to give Road Racers something to do in the winter essentially a cyclocross bike is a road bike with slightly tweaked geometry extra clearance and nobbly tires which equates to something like this ground this is very much a budget version but it’s essentially doing the same thing from the sross bike evolved what we kind of know as today the gravel bike which has moved to using disc brakes more relaxed geometry clearance are even wider tires and actually talking about tires that’s probably one of the big downsides of this bike is Tire clearance 33 mm is the biggest I could fit in here which is okay but by gravel bike standards and modern standards pretty narrow gravel riding doesn’t have to be expensive and no matter how much you spend or what type of bike you have you’re always going to have fun anyway it’s enough waffle around my bike trying to go catch Connor up he’s pretty bloomish slow cuz he chose the wrong bike it warms me up the most you can tell I can’t talk properly my mouth’s got so cold tell me you bought the wrong bike without telling me you bought the wrong [Applause] [Music] bike now I know we haven’t quite finished this miniature epic yet but Conor what are we thinking are we counting this as a success yeah mean I think this is a success we had some minor hiccups at the start yeah but you know we’ve completed the route nearly One S FS ago yeah on our bikes on our cheaper fines our budget builds and it’s been a lot of fun okay maybe in the summer this route will be more enjoyable but for gravel cl to home i’ I found it really nice w [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] oh we made it yeah we made it that some descent that is a that is a warm warm sight we made it we finished we completed the route we’re pretty cold and Frozen is basically dark now so we only just got it by the skin of our tee yeah but um yeah it’s been absolutely pretty epic I know might not seem like we enjoyed every single moment of it but I actually have done and I think the most important thing for me is that we’ve proven that you don’t have to spend loads of money to have fun yeah exactly and you get I think you said it when we’re riding it’s that feeling of accomplishment of taking on a route like this getting to the end it’s tough at times you have a mad old Adventure on the way and yeah just enjoy it and you get to the end and you really do feel like you’ve you’ve accomplished like this epic ride well you’ve earned your food and hot chocolate that’s for sure I’m definely chocolate hope everyone at home has enjoyed our little cheap bike gravel Adventure um if you have get involved in the comments section down below and also share this video far and wide with all of your friends so that you can prove that gravel biking and cycling in general doesn’t have to be expensive yeah and please send us some love for Beach cruises in the comment section down below thanks for watching everyone we’ll see you on the next one bye