[Closed] "aggro-gravel" - new bike category?

Anyone who used the term 'downcountry' to describe a bike went on The List. Anyone who uses aggro-gravel deserves nothing more than a hoof in the short and curlies.

I was half-looking at the Cortex, but (and I know this is stupid) marketing bollocks like this actually puts me off.

Has a sub-genre really been created, or has their copywriter just had too much coffee?

Would have thought that Evil gravel bike was an aggro gravel trend setter.

What happened to XC?

Monster cross?

Has a sub-genre really been created, or has their copywriter just had too much coffee?

There's a difference?

Bridle-slayer?

but (and I know this is stupid) marketing bollocks like this actually puts me off.

It puts me off too. Which makes me super vulnerable to the anti-marketing marketing techniques of companies like Surly, but I am aware of that so it is ok. Or is it...

Perhaps there is a lighter weight XC race bike on the way to replace it? That or the April Fool has been uploaded too early. 😆

This is like the 90s thing where you could add 'Real' or 'Extreme' to anything to create a magazine title. So 'Real Hamster'. 'Extreme Gerbil', 'Real Baking', 'Extreme Knitting' and so on. Create you own niche by adding the 'Aggro' prefix: 'aggro XC', 'aggro downhill', aggro gravel' etc.

I'm waiting for the launch of an authentic aggro up-country bike.

This is like the 90s thing

That's a good point, surely this is gravel-core, isn't it? Or Downcountry-lite?

It doesnt even make sense based on the bizzare existing naming conventions.

If Cannondale started calling that lefty-drop-bar abomination aggro-gravel I'd reluctantly agree with them. Ditto the hideous Evil thing that I was convinced was either a joke or a way for their sponsored athletes to train on the road.

But that sonder doesn't make sense.

Its got mtb forks, gearing, wheels, tyres, cockpit and seating position.

The only hint at gravel is the refusal to spec a dropper, even on the 2k model.

cockpit

You probably just went on IHN’s list

Its got mtb forks, gearing, wheels, tyres, cockpit and seating position.

Maybe it should be called an "all terrain bicycle" 😉

Down-Gravel?

Wasn’t Downcountry initially just a joke that Mike Levy made on Pinkbike that somehow ended up being used by the bike industry?

Monster cross

To me that is your old steel hardtail with rigid forks and drop bars but 2”+ tyres with knobs on.
If you leave the suspension fork on your old hardtail but spec 700x35c tyres and flared drops like I did briefly it’s hyper gravel.

Dropdown Country !

What's that? Suitable for aggregate and gravel?

Wasn’t Downcountry initially just a joke that Mike Levy made on Pinkbike that somehow ended up being used by the bike industry?

Yup, and I think he's rueing every minute 😀

My Spanish friend called my bike a countryside bicycle.
A perfect description.

I'd be interested in an aggro-e-cargo-bike.
Get rad, go shopping

Dropdown Country !

😆

Wasn’t Downcountry initially just a joke that Mike Levy made on Pinkbike that somehow ended up being used by the bike industry?

I love this!

Am I missing something or is that Sonder just a hardtail from 15 years ago?

I mean, I don't really want to even think about this but surely a gravel bike has drops no?

Maybe Sonder are responding to the Derbyshire CC 'repairs'?

You think bikes are bad for genres, don't ever go near Metal music
Heavy Metal
Speed Metal
Thrash Metal
Power Metal
Death Metal
Melodic Death Metal
Technical Death Metal
Brutal Death Metal
Slam Death Metal
Black Metal
First Wave of Black Metal (Blackened Thrash Metal)
True Norwegian Black Metal
Depressive Suicidal Black Metal
Symphonic Black Metal
Post Black Metal
Atmospheric Black Metal
Pagan Metal
Viking Metal
Folk Metal
Symphonic Metal
Gothic Metal
Glam Metal
Hair Metal
Doom Metal
Funeral Doom Metal
Stoner Doom Metal
Groove Metal
Industrial Metal
Modern Metal
Neoclassical Metal
New Wave Of British Heavy Metal
Post Metal
Progressive Metal
Avantgarde Metal
Sludge
Djent
Drone
Kawaii Metal
Pirate Metal
Nu Metal
Neue Deutsche Härte
Math Metal
Crossover
Grindcore
Goregrind
Porngrind/Shitgrind (Yes, those are a thing)
Deathgrind
Powerviolence
Hardcore
Metalcore
Deathcore
Post Hardcore
Mathcore

Lol at Pirate Metal

Anyway, that Sonder is guff is bllx

@kerley disappointed there's no genre involving fighting... Scrap Metal

Lol at Pirate Metal

You need some Alestorm 😁

Woohoo  so my 15 year old 26" Cube Acid is now worth more as I can sell it as an Aggro Gravel bike. I knew if I kept it long enough it would come back into fashion.

Lol at Pirate Metal

Off i go to Spotify to check out Pirate Metal!

That Dial looks like something Planet X / On One would knock out for £500 in the early 2010's.

Bridle-slayer?

Now this I like.

But I suppose "aggro gravel" is more marketable than "hybrid".

Code for "not a very good mountain bike"

http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/aggro-gravel-new-bike-category/#post-12198725

Yuba Spicy Curry

Dammit. I still can't work this forum properly.

You think bikes are bad for genres, don’t ever go near Metal music

Nedal "Not as fast as Bartcore, and a little cleaner than Krusty Punk”

Your occasional reminder that the bike industry in general and the off-road category within that industry in particular is fashion, branding and marketing led.

That Dial looks like something Planet X / On One would knock out for £500 in the early 2010’s.

Which in turn looks like something Planet X knock out for £1000 in the early 2020's.

Bike looks nice, it’d be on my list if I wanted a flat bar bike.

“Aggro-gravel” is clearly thunder****. It makes me think two things: firstly that someone has a dick approach to riding a bike (because I ride bikes to get away from aggro) and secondly that it’s probably been designed with piss-poor tyre clearance. There seems to be nothing on the site to confirm or deny the latter.

Pebble Dash?

Pebble Dash?

Wet chunder dasher.

Bridal-slayer?

Works for both countryside bicycles AND metal.

So: we have a winner!

Mods, you can close this thread now, thanks.

if I wanted a flat bar bike.

if I wanted a flatbar "gravel" bike (commuter, hybrid, whatever). It would have rigid forks, a top gear higher than 32x11, and probably chunnky 700C tyres rather than skinny 29ers. Someone will probably tell me this last point is rubbish.

if I wanted an XC Hardtail mtb, it would be 2 degrees slacker and have a short travel dropper. (The dropper is an easy fix, but is a notable omission on the expensive builds as I said above.)

This bike has failed at being either.

bridleslayer

Perfect👌

Bikes built to handle just a bit more gnarl than a cyclopath hardcore shops bike

Heavy Metal
Speed Metal
Thrash Metal
Power Metal
Death Metal
Melodic Death Metal
Technical Death Metal
Brutal Death Metal
Slam Death Metal
Black Metal
First Wave of Black Metal (Blackened Thrash Metal)
True Norwegian Black Metal
Depressive Suicidal Black Metal
Symphonic Black Metal
Post Black Metal
Atmospheric Black Metal
Pagan Metal
Viking Metal
Folk Metal
Symphonic Metal
Gothic Metal
Glam Metal
Hair Metal
Doom Metal
Funeral Doom Metal
Stoner Doom Metal
Groove Metal
Industrial Metal
Modern Metal
Neoclassical Metal
New Wave Of British Heavy Metal
Post Metal
Progressive Metal
Avantgarde Metal
Sludge
Djent
Drone
Kawaii Metal
Pirate Metal
Nu Metal
Neue Deutsche Härte
Math Metal
Crossover
Grindcore
Goregrind
Porngrind/Shitgrind (Yes, those are a thing)
Deathgrind
Powerviolence
Hardcore
Metalcore
Deathcore
Post Hardcore
Mathcore

Are you missing polyrhythmic metal e.g. typified by Fredik Thorndahl’s (Sp?) guitar work?

if I wanted an XC Hardtail mtb, it would be 2 degrees slacker and have a short travel dropper.

Yeah, but if I wanted one it wouldn’t, and I’m the one writing my list 🙂

I'll hang on for the mullet version.

I’m sure when it launched the Sonder Dial was called an XC bike, but apparently it’s now been (down graded?) to “aggro-gravel”, whatever that is!

How did it get from 'XC' to 'Aggro-Gravel' without stopping off at 'Hard-Tailings' along the way?

I've got an Enduro-Cross bike for bike packing on gnar, if that helps. Actually what happened to All-Mountain bikes (as opposed to Cross-Country) that used to be a thing.

Are you missing polyrhythmic metal e.g. typified by Fredik Thorndahl’s (Sp?) guitar work?

Also, by virtue of their lack of adherence to any genre, Primus.

Aggregate gravel seems more appropriate

Gnar Type 3

Bridal-slayer?

I'm pretty sure that one was coined about half a decade ago, possibly while collectively grumbling about the reinvention of CX bikes as "Gravel bikes"... Now look at the state of things.

But yeah, that is a "mountain bike" Not sure what an "Aggro-Gravel" is...

Not sure what an “Aggro-Gravel” is…

I think it is what is formerly known as "Gravel" in the same way "Aggro-Road" has replaced "Road" now that the highway code has been updated to hint that possibly cyclists shouldnt be considered targets and the right wing loons have got upset.

Am I the only person admiring the brake rotor shadow in that photo?

I'm building up a pas-ag gravel bike. Have I gone one niche too far?

a countryside bicycle

I like this. See also VTT.

So many painful terms taking off… often for things that are genuinely useful. This “agro-gravel”, a short travel head down hardtail, is ideal for most people getting into a bit of off road riding across most of the UK… but without a name (however much we hate the name) how do you let people know that? For the money, any longer travel full suspension bike would be far inferior to this for most people’s needs across whole areas of England in particular. So, now you have this type of bike (again), how do you describe it to people in a meaningful way? You can say it’s “just a bike”… but they all are.

I hate “downcountry”, but again, for a hell of a lot of people, those bikes are ideal for most of their riding. It’s a genuinely good category with an awful joke name. But what should they be called? You can say it’s “just a bike”… but they all are.

The term I hate most, and it’s applied to 2 of the most useful (for me) things to happen to bikes, the “Mullet”, really does my head in. But 29er front wheels rule… and don’t need pairing with 29er rear wheels to offer an advantage. What do you call this bike, if not the god awful Mullet name? And pairing road STi with MTB cassettes and rear mechs and 1x chainsets. Again, I’ve been running this for years, and for any drop bar bike you take off road on actual hills it transforms the bike… but it also uses that awful name. But what name would you use instead?

Ok. So a hardtail mtb is now called aggro graveling.

Maybe I'm getting old but the worst thing they ever did was to call this kind of ATB a mountain bike. Who uses this kind of bike in the mountains? Nothing wrong with a good XC bike though!

I think it is what is formerly known as “Gravel” in the same way “Aggro-Road” has replaced “Road” now that the highway code has been updated to hint that possibly cyclists shouldnt be considered targets and the right wing loons have got upset.

Groad

NSMB did videos on "Shit Mountainbikers Say", we need a series "Shit the industry comes out with"

I hate “downcountry”, but again, for a hell of a lot of people, those bikes are ideal for most of their riding. It’s a genuinely good category with an awful joke name.

The term itself is fine for me, it's just horrific when brands try to shoehorn clearly inappropriate bikes into the category to climb aboard the bandwagon. Like, erm, Cotic did with the FlareMax by putting a Sid on it.

😉

I believe the defining characteristic of downcountry bike should be that you wouldn't be giving up much if you took it to an XC race.

Aggro-gravel is a ridiculous name.

But do you think Alpkit/Sonder are some over-educated spotty teenagers sat in a marketing office in downtown Greyville, Oklahoma? No. They know what they're doing, and what you're doing, which is their marketing for them.

Like, erm, Cotic did with the FlareMax by putting a Sid on it.

Blame Guy Kesteven for that one!

He did the experimenting. And it works.

I believe the defining characteristic of downcountry bike should be that you wouldn’t be giving up much if you took it to an XC race.

Downcountry is an odd one. Should we listen to the guy who invented the term (as a joke) to describe riding modified XC bikes for fun and to deliberately challenge themselves technically in British Columbia, or has it transcended that, to just fit between trail and xc race because trail has got too fat and burly?

Just like gravel is no longer a collection of race series in midwest USA, but defines fairly specific but versatile genre of bikes.

Blame Guy Kesteven for that one!

I wouldn't be surprised if he was behind "aggro gravel" as well TBH. He's got form.

It might have ridden well but it was still an underforked trail bike.

But where does a "rough stuff" bike fit into this? Not the young lady up the road known for her loose morals and scruffy appearance by the way.

They probably called it Aggro Gravel to disassociate it with Mountain Biking which creates images of trail centre car parks and e-bikes now. Aggro Gravel is for younger riders who have the energy to ride for longer than an hour or so.

Aggro Gravel is for younger riders who have the energy to ride for longer than an hour or so.

And because 'adventure' riding now evokes images of dangle-mugs, plaid shirts and riding deliberately slowly 😎

Mathcore

Sorry what?

Re bike niches, I don't mind as long as there is a genuine difference. E.g. downcountry, that's an XC bike but with slacker angles than you'd expect which means it can do a little bit more a little more easily, and will be more relaxed to ride. I get that, it's a valid niche. I don't particularly care what it's called just as long as it's short and easier to type than the above entire sentence.