100 Mile Race MTB vs GRAVEL

It is currently 7 a.m. and I'm about to try and ride 100 miles off-road with over 3,000 meters of climbing to try and set a new fastest time. I'm not doing it alone. Fellow presenter Adam is going to be joining me. The one thing we can't agree on today is which bike's going to be faster, but all I know is it's really cold. Shall we get going? Yes, let's do it. Oh, God, I want to cry. The fastest known time that Adam and I are going to be taking on is the Cotswolds 100 starting and ending here in GMBN's hometown of Bath. It's 168 kilometers long with over 3,000 meters of climbing, so it's the perfect test for both bikes. We're going to start off together, but we've both agreed that if one of us starts flagging, we've given each other the go-ahead to just crack on and leave the other behind. The men's FKT we're aiming to beat is currently 7 hours and 52 minutes, set earlier this year by Daniel Sadomski. Because Adam and I are doing it together, we are aware that we won't officially qualify for the fastest time if we do beat it. However, we're doing this more as a personal challenge and are just keen to give it a shot. Anyway, while Adam's more than capable, I think there's a pretty slim chance that I'll be beating this time today. The thing is, I haven't rode this far in a long while. Since starting at GMBN, I've not been riding quite as much just as I've been adjusting to the new job. While I feel like I'm more than capable of covering the distance of the route, to actually get the FKT is going to be a real struggle. Because I'm representing mountain bikes here, I feel like a lot of pressure. I don't think they'll ever let me back in the office if I get beaten by a gravel bike. Adam's too humble to admit it, but he is super strong. He's more than capable of setting the fastest known time today, and it's really comfortable just sitting at 300 watts. I think I've got my work cut out. Breakfast, last-minute carb load. Just getting 100 grams of carbs, good to go. Time to beat was 7.52. Are we ready? Are we rolling? Three, two, one, let's go. We're just leaving Bath now. It's a lovely morning. It's literally straight up for the first 5K. Just to add to things, Adam has actually rode over from Bristol. Some warm-up there. Being dropped by Adam already. First gate of many, I'm sure. This is going to be hard on the gravel bike. I don't know if Adam's going to be able to ride this. It is literally a river. I'm going to wait for him because it's early into the ride, but I think he's really going to struggle on that. Just like a river bed, weren't it? Are you good? Do you want to check your bike? Good luck. I'm on a full set now. I probably should go a bit more careful. That felt much more controlled than when we wrecked. Last time we did it, we both came in about 10K an hour quicker. Legs are already a bit sore. Suspension's locked out. I think this last bit really kicks off. 40K in still. 130 to go. We're 21.9 average currently, so about 0.1 off there. FKT. It's very much a marathon, not a sprint today. This is the first rest bike we've had from riding away. Some proper chunky stuff, if I'm honest. It has been savage. I think Adam's been very much at the limit on a 45 mil tire. Let's go. Horrible climb going. I know there's more to come. Some actual gravel for you. Actual gravel. Let's go. Here is then my weapon of choice. It's my Orbea Oiz 120-millimeter full suspension mountain bike. Wheels-wise, I've gone for Reynolds' new Black Label XC309 wheels with their new asymmetric rim profile and proprietary MR5 carbon layout, but most importantly for me, they've now got a 30-millimeter internal rim whip. Paired with a 2.4 Vittoria tire, I've got plenty of comfort, but it's also great for rolling speed as well. I've opted for a SRAM XO groupset with a 10-52-tooth cassette and a 34-tooth chaining up front. I've got 170-millimeter cranks with Garmin XC Raleigh power pedals on there just so I can monitor my effort. Then for my contact points, which is really important for such a long ride, I've gone for an Ergon SR all-road saddle with Ergon's foam grips. This is my Orbea Terra race, and I've been very fortunate to spend a lot of time on this this summer, so I'm very comfortable on it, which is ideal when we're going to be riding 100 miles all day. Reynolds have very kindly sent us out some new wheelsets ahead of today's ride. I've got the All-Terrain Road Black Label wheelset in this. We've got a 42-mil deep rim with a 25-mil internal. Now, what that means is it's aero-optimized for tires between 35 and 45 mil. I'm running 45-mil tires front and rear. The only real difference is the tread on it. I've got the T30 on the rear. It's a little bit faster rolling, paired with a T50 on the front for a little bit more cornering bite. As well as this, I'm running Vittoria airliner light tire inserts in this just to give myself a little bit of peace of mind and a bit more protection when we are rattling down these descents given I've not got any suspension front or rear. As for the rest of the build on the bike, I was lucky enough for this bike to come with SRAM's XPLR groupset, which has got the 10-46 cassette on the back paired with a 42-tooth chainring. The gearing is not quite as low as James' bike, so when we do get to these really punchy climbs, I'm just going to have to press a little bit harder. Other build on the bike, we have got the Ergon SR all-road saddle paired with the all-road bar tape. It's a little bit thicker than the road tape at 2.5 mil, but what that does is it just pads it out a little bit more, helps reduce fatigue on the hands over a long day. As part of that SRAM red XPLR groupset, I've got the integrated power meter on that chainset, which is really handy for just keeping an eye on my numbers so I know I'm not overcooking it. I've whacked on some Crankbrothers trail pedals. Yes, trail pedals, not candies or egg beaters. I just like that slightly bigger platform given slightly larger feet. To finish off the build, I've slapped on some Topeak Ninja bottle cages. On this upper one here, it's got this little multi-tool here, really handy if you just need to access your tools really quickly and easily. Enough about the bikes though, let's get back to the ride. I've let Adam go on because on part of the route where there's a lot of road, I'm just suffering. Doing a lot of power on the flat just to stay anywhere near Adam. Yes, I feel bad. I think he could just crack on a lot faster without me. I know there's a few technical bits coming up, so hoping I might be able to catch him on those. 75K in, three hours 25, and a little bit behind the FKT, so I need to average 22K an hour. Currently only on 21.7. I seem to remember this bit being quite fun. This is where I think Adam might have struggled, but I can't see him yet. There he is. This is really tricky, this climb. Adam, I'll just crack on because my legs are dead on the flat, so I'm sure you'll catch me. Can't even do it on a mountain bike. I know what's coming. I wonder how Adam's getting on. If there is any hope of me catching Adam, I'm going to have to hammer every descent. We've got to go now. I'm 95Ks in, four and a half hours deep, and I think Adam's probably got a gap of about two minutes on me. I think what I'm going to do, my tactic is, it's pretty stupid. I don't know if I'd recommend it. I'm just going to see how long I can go without stopping for water. I've got 1.5 liters in my back chase vest, 750ml bottle, and a 600ml. Traditionally, that'd do me about six hours. This ride's going to be about eight. Probably a little bit stupid, but I think it's the only way I'm going to get any time back. I'm slogging along what must be this old railway now. I flipping hate riding on the flat, especially on a mountain bike, going the wrong way. You know things aren't great when your power number isn't much higher than your heart rate. 205 watts, 159 heart rate. Oh, God. 108K in, five and a quarter hours. I'm down on the average speed I was aiming for, but I've just got to get to the finish now. I've literally got half a 750ml bottle left. I think when I find a shop, I'll have to stop and get some water, maybe a coat. I'm about to go off-road now again. Pop this one. I'd be interested to know how Adam is getting on in regards to his water situation, because earlier in the ride on one of the rough descents, he lost one of his bottles. He might be struggling, but I'm wishing that on him. I obviously don't want him to struggle. We're on Nunnery Lane. This is one of the worst climbs in the world. FKT's aside, if I clean this, no dars will be happy. I'm already in my granny gear. You know that feeling when you press your gear shifter. It's going to a smaller gear and you're already there. Slow and steady wins the race up there. We're winching up this climb, but I don't know if you can see it. That view, love it. By the chance of us meeting on this, of all places, the worst climb in the world. Adam's just told me he took a wrong turn. I must have come past. I didn't see him. Wow, the saddle's not a good idea. Oh, God, I want to cry. Fair play, man. Nice to see you. You doing all right? Yes, I'm suffering. I get a little half an hour wince and then they go again. I seem to remember there might be a pub. Oh, I don't know if there's a pub. If there is, we'll fill up. When I imploded in three hours deep, I did not expect to see him again. I had a bit of a second wind and Adam- I took too many wrong turns. Took too many wrong turns. Probably paying for the decision to run the smaller Garmin. I've got the absolute unit on. I can't tell you how glad I am to have a bit of company. We're six hours in. We were just relieved to find a pub. Sorry, we are closed. Adam dropped a bottle, so he's completely out of water. The kind lady has offered to fill our water bottles up, even though they're shut. Shout out. The black horse in- The black horse. North Nibley. North Nibley. After riding together for a little bit, I said Adam can go ahead because on these road sections, I'm just slowing him down. He's got more to give. If he's got any chance of beating the FKT, it's easy to go now. I really need things to get gnarlier if I have any chance catching Adam. Oh my God. I'm so unbelievably cracked. I think all hopes of getting the FKT are gone. Five and seven and a quarter hours and 148k deep now. Currently doing 160 watts. Thirsty. I'm hungry. I really fancy some chocolate milk actually. The best recovery drink every little climb now is pure torture. Get me home. I think I've just had my first tailwind of the day-ish. I got 15k to go. It's greatly appreciated. The K team is official. I've unfortunately not done the FKT. I don't know if you can see that, but I've been riding for seven hours 52, which is the FKT. I've got a little over 9k to go. Close but no cigar. There you go. I'm glad that's over. As fun as that was, that was hard work. Across the line. Yes, mate. Last hour was one of the worst hours I've ever had on a bike. It's the next day. We just completed the FKT yesterday. How are we feeling, Adam? I'm feeling pretty cooked, if I'm honest. Definitely not fresh right now, but how are you doing? I'm absolutely knackered. It was a long old day. Adam actually rode to and back from the FKT as well. After you finished, how long was it for you home? Probably about another half hour. It's a nice little cool down. Fair play. We're just going to break down the ride yesterday effectively. We set off from the park and ride. Straight away, it was pretty hard out of Bath, wasn't it? We weren't hanging about. That's where we started to go off-road for the first time. We knew the trail was round there, but we could have done with recce in it, I think, because when we got to that first descent, that was possibly where the gravel bike struggled the most out of the whole day. Had we known about that, then maybe there could have been a couple of setup changes there. Even on the XC bike, it was pretty gnarly. I got to the bottom there and I was worried for you because I was like, is he going to have a flat tire or even worse crash? I think you had a small crash. Slight, slight over the bars, then climbed up and then we got onto the first bit of gravel, which was really nice. Yes. On the mountain bike, I was struggling a lot on the road just because the position. It's crazy. You ride a mountain bike all day normally and you're fine, but not having hoods, drops, and tops to change between and on the road, I was just really suffering. It was about three hours in, we got to this point where there's a few quite steep climbs, isn't there? I said to Adam, I knew from the recce that it was quite a gnarly, rocky descent. Adam had dropped me on the climb. He sat up a bit to wait for me and I shouted to him in the distance. I was just like, Adam, you crack on. I didn't think I was going to catch you, to be fair, because my legs completely fell off. Yes, how was that descent for you? Yes, I think that's where the big difference between a full sus XC bike and the gravel bike was. For most of the day, the gravel bike worked amazingly well. It's just when you got to these really chunkier downhill sections that, yes, having that 120-minute travel paid off. Yes, and it was even the climb afterwards. We did that really gnarly descent and it went straight up a harsh climb. You needed the full suspension for the traction, but also the mountain bike for the gearing, right? You had to ride so much harder on a lot of the climbs because of your gearing. Yes. What was it? 42, 46 on that and it just felt like you're doing squats for three minutes. I was really concerned. We were only three hours and 75K in and my legs had completely fallen off to the point where I was thinking, I've got another near enough 100K to do. For some reason, I kept making wrong turns. I think I've just been a bit eager and trying to be heads down, cracking on. I got to the top of this ridge, made a wrong turn there. As I was turning around, I saw this blue jersey go past. I'm like, oh, no, he's caught up. Fair play. Immediately, we were straight into this really, probably the punchiest climb of the day. Not the longest, but I think that's where I sort of crept up behind you. Then we just had to trudge our way to the top on that. Again, that 42, 46 gear, just mobile squat unit, basically. We then rode together for probably about an hour, give or take. We got onto a bit more of a road section and then just started to bite again. It was probably about 140K in, I thought the end is in sight, but Adam's on the flat, he's just an absolute animal. I was riding 250 watts next to him and I just thought, I've not got the facilities for this anymore. What was your time in the end? Moving time, 7.58. Unfortunately, six minutes behind the current FKT. Riding time? Riding time was 7.41. We had a look at Daniel's riding time and his was actually 7 hours 40. Riding time, Adam was actually a minute off. For me, I finished in 8 hours 14 elapsed and about 8 hours moving times. For how much my legs exploded, I was surprised I even finished. I had a look on Garmin Connectors, this really cool thing where it tells you how much is paved and how much is unpaved. It was about 100K paved and about 68K unpaved. For all the paved, obviously, you wanted the gravel bike, but then for most of the unpaved stuff, I'd say 30K of it was gravel bike territory. There's probably 40K of off-road stuff, which was definitely not gravel bike territory. I think it was a very representative of just gravel around here. I know it sounds obvious, but we don't have fire roads and forest to bat about. I feel like you're either on the road or you're getting into mountain bike territory very quickly, which is why on something like this, it's really hard to choose your setup. We're sort of extreme ends of, I think, what will work for the route. I think we both agree there's a middle ground that would have worked better. It's funny, we've come out of this speaking about whether the gravel bike or the mountain bike is better. I think we came to the conclusion probably a hybrid of the two. Everyone at Leadville and other events is now using mountain bikes with drop handlebars. We've probably said like an Orbea Alma with a drop handlebar because Adam didn't have a wide enough tire really in a 45 maybe. No, you had to be very mindful of where you're placing your wheels on these things and just hold back a little bit. Whereas as much as I had a 2.4, which is great, I was just on 100K of roads and even just with one hand position, I just felt so inefficient. It's definitely a fun day out. I think you're pretty keen to have another go. Yes, dead keen to have another go, build something up. If you want to see us do that, let us know down in the comments. Like this video so we do get to do more of this cool FKT chasing stuff and we'll see you soon. Cheers, guys.