First of all, I'm new here, been a road nerd for most of my life. But now that I own a cheap gravel bike, I have to admit… gravel is more fun. one of us, one of us, one of us!
A few months ago I came across this article https://theunpavedhub.com/resources/industry-standard-guide-to-gravel/ and it splits gravel into 4 categories. I have since seen other sources talk about those 4, and they all treat them kind of the same.
Looking at my local forest, it has me wondering if I'm abusing my bike. Apart from the main forestry road, nothing here is below category 3 IMO. I'd even go as far to say that many paths here don't even fit into cat 4, because some sources state it includes roads that can be driven with a 4×4 jeep. And frankly, the gap from car accessible (except those rock crawlers) to those washed out paths I have here is pretty big.
Now, I assume those categories are mainly used for racing, but I'm still surprised about how low they top out. Am I being too rough on my bike?
And what's the max you guys do with your gravel bikes (no front suspension)?
by UCIillegalSocks