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Explore With Gravel Bikes

Ride Outside The Lines

Leaves flap in the cool forest breeze as you roll from pavement onto an empty backroad. Dappled sunlight and the crackling white noise of dirt flowing beneath your tires invigorate your cadence while the sounds of the city fade behind you. Set your course on a new horizon — this is gravel riding.

Road Speed with
Off-Road Capability

Comfortably Rugged

Gravel bikes have a snappy-yet-stable character that mixes cyclocross and road geometries. A relaxed riding position, longer chainstays, and larger tire clearance all contribute to a smoother, more comfortable ride.

Built For The Long Haul

To accommodate your needs on rambling rides, many gravel bikes include various mounts to attach feed bags, additional water cages, or lightweight bikepacking gear.

Presto Chango

New frame designs allow for easier wheelset swaps. Run your lightweight 700x25 set for spirited road rides, then switch to an off-road set for weekend getaways. It’s a savvy way to enjoy both riding styles with just one bike.

Why Gravel? Read this Q&A with gravel enthusiast Nate Burks.

Why Choose Gravel Riding?

It will get you fit faster and take you places you'd never imagine, all while see fewer cars and riding with some of the friendliest folks you'll ever meet. It is less monotonous than riding on the road, but requires less skill than mountain biking. For many, gravel roads are only a few miles from home. Adventure begins where the pavement ends.


How is Gravel Riding superior to Road? 

This answer will be different for everyone. For me, it frees me from expectations like road surface conditions, average speed, and worrying about traffic. Gravel riding is more than just riding on gravel roads. Routes often include dirt roads, two track, unmaintained roads, jeep trails, and singletrack. It is truly multi-surface. I go out on a bike that is ready to handle pot holes and washboard, chunky gravel and mud, steep hills and sketchy descents. It can handle all of this and is still relatively fast on pavement. When I am out on gravel and remote roads, I rarely see cars. In fact it is jarring to me now when I get on a busy road. 


What is your favorite gravel riding memory? 

A section of the Michigan Coast to Coast race rolls through the Manistee Forest. I happened to hit that section as the sun was setting, so much of the forest was backlit by the evening and night sky. A little ways into the forest, the Salsa guys were there with the Chaise, a photo-op stop during the race. The photographer was there along with the Head Story Teller, a big, friendly, burly dude who fit right in with the surroundings. (I wish I could remember his name.) I stopped for my shot and then continued on into the darkness, bike lights blazing, hitting more than a few sand traps on the single and two track before I finally made my way out. By that time, riders were very spread out, so I didn't see a soul until I was back out onto the gravel roads that led to our destination in Luddington. 


Where are your favorite gravel riding trails? 

The best place for gravel, jeep trails, two track, and singletrack within 2.5 hours of Toledo is the area around Mohican, specifically to the South and West. There are many gravel roads, unmaintained roads, and hidden "roads". It is always an adventure riding in that area. It can be a major challenge as well due to the rolling nature of the terrain. Many roads approach 15% grade and hills can be up to 500ft tall. 


How is a gravel bike different?

The biggest difference is that a gravel bike has clearance for wide, high volume tires. This lets you run lower pressure for more comfort and control on loose surfaces. Disc brakes and lower gearing are standard on most gravel bikes. Frame geometry is also different than a typical road bike.  The geometry places the rider in a slightly more upright position and the wheel base is often longer, trading some speed for comfort and nimbleness for stability on steep descents. Many gravel bikes evolved from a touring or adventure bike model, so there are often mounts for bikepacking gear.


Many thanks to Nate Burks for sharing his gravel bike affection.

Road Speed With Off-Road Capability

Comfortably Rugged

Gravel bikes have a snappy-yet-stable character that mixes cyclocross and road geometries. A relaxed riding position, longer chainstays, and larger tire clearance all contribute to a smoother, more comfortable ride.

Built For The Long Haul

To accommodate your needs on rambling rides, many gravel bikes include various mounts to attach feed bags, additional water cages, or lightweight bikepacking gear.

Presto Chango

New frame designs allow for easier wheelset swaps. Run your lightweight 700x25 set for spirited road rides, then switch to an off-road set for weekend getaways. It’s a savvy way to enjoy both riding styles with just one bike.

Where The Rubber Beats The Road

Ample rubber with tread patterns designed for riding fast on loose surfaces help you get the most from your gravel bike. This is one more detail that brings together road bike speed with off-road handling. Float over washboard, potholes, and other deteriorating surfaces that would otherwise beat you up while maintaining speed on smooth surfaces. The result is increased endurance and overall speed no matter where you ride.

Browse Gravel Bikes

Salsa Cassidy Carbon SLX
$4,999.00
Cassidy C SLX gives you confidence in your lines. The carbon frame tracks s...
Salsa Beargrease Frameset
$2,099.00
Beargrease pairs a race-ready carbon frame with the capability of fat tires...
Salsa Journeyman Apex 1 700
$1,499.00
The Salsa Journeyman is an all-road bike with the chops to fulfill a wide v...
Salsa Salsa Rangefinder Deore 10 29
$899.00
Rangefinder is Salsa's confidence-building trail hardtail. Built for riders...
Salsa Timberjack XT 29
$2,499.00
Timberjack is Salsa's aggressive trail hardtail. Its progressive trail geom...
Salsa Heyday! Advent Fat Bike
$1,699.00
The Heyday! Advent is a machine made with adventure in mind. 26 x 4.6" tire...
Salsa Blackthorn Deore 12
$3,499.00
Salsa Blackthorn Deore brings together performance and adventure. The alumi...
Salsa Warroad Frameset
$2,199.00
Warroad is Salsa’s endurance all-road bike built to perform on-road, while ...
Salsa Cutthroat Frameset
$2,599.00
The redesigned Cutthroat drop-bar mountain bike and gravel frameset offers ...
Salsa Blackthorn Carbon XT
$6,799.00
For an all-mountain bike with an adventurous side, Blackthorn C XT is the t...
Salsa Timberjack Deore 27.5+
$1,249.00
The Salsa Timberjack is a hardtail mountain bike that’s equally at home pus...
Salsa Salsa Rangefinder Deore 10 27.5+
$899.00
Rangefinder is Salsa's confidence-building trail hardtail. Built for riders...
Salsa Timberjack SLX 27.5+
$1,599.00
The Salsa Timberjack is a hardtail mountain bike that’s equally at home pus...
Salsa Marrakesh Alivio
$2,049.00
Every decision behind the Marrakesh Alivio was made with function and durab...
Salsa Stormchaser Frameset
$1,349.00
Stormchaser is Salsa's gravel bike for any and all conditions. Ample tire c...
Salsa Blackthorn SLX
$4,399.00
Blackthorn SLX is all-mountain with a side of adventure. The stiff and dura...

Test Ride A Gravel Bike Today!