Hey Nick. Really enjoyed your video. I had the same problem. I had a Trek Emonda SLR in 2021 that I sold to get a Checkpoint SLR. Reason was that I felt that I wanted to compete in gravel events here in California more than road events and I thought that the Checkpoint would be my only bike and I would just swap gravel tires and road tires when necessary. Well, selling my Emonda was the worst decision in my cycling career haha. I do enjoy gravel but I ended up riding more on the road and I eventually swapped to road tires on the Checkpoint but the feeling was not the same as a road bike and it will never be. I eventually sold my Checkpoint and now I just have my one and only bike which is a Giant TCR Advanced Pro. Love the bike and if I ever want to get a gravel bike in the future I would probably go with an aluminum gravel bike since I realized that I just enjoy riding on the road more and occasionally go on gravel and gravel events. Cheers!

Any light road bike that fits 30mm tyres is ok for light gravel too.

its an interesting take but in my humble opinion. it all comes up to the bike. most prebuild gravel bikes are indeed not suited for both. if you build and pick every part yourself it will be way easier to combine this. the cannondale supersix evo SE (cyclocross bike) has the same geometry as the road supersix and it fits up to 45mm, same with the trek boone, crockett (my personal bike). the modern gravelbike geometry is not suited for road. while the decades old cyclocross geometry is nearly 1;1 from roadbikes.

Go for a Giant Defy. you can put 40 mm Tires on it if you want to do a light gravel tour.

I just dont understand what the fuss about gravel riding.

Hey Nick, thanks for the video! Helped me with my next bike decision, too. The "problem" with the Grail isn´t the weight or the material. The major problem ist the different geometry. Especially regarding the steering angle, the Grail istheaded towards MTB geometry, making the front a lot slacker than a roadbike would be. This is good for gravel racing, but not so good for roadbiking. Cheers from Germany and good luck with your next bike!

Did you sell the bike as is or keep the wheels?

are you getting another canyon?(OOPS NVM you mentioned you WILL NOT be buying another direct 2 consumer bike at the end).

Gravel bikes are not fitted for gravel roads. Just having gravel tires doesn't make a bike to be a gravel bike. Gravel bike means MTB with suspensions on back and front. Naming a road bike a gravel bike just because it has gravel tires is kind of silly. Even road bikes need some kind of suspension for the front at least, heaving none on "gravel bike" is just wrong. Road bike for asphalted roads and MTB for rest. There are some stem shock absorbing solutions (even from China some cheap good one) on the market and some for saddle. Check them out, your joints will thank you.

Agree about living in NY and owning a gravel bike. I find I always like a road bike better here, and they can usually fit 32mm tires, making them good for gravel as well. What bar bag was that with the orange rope that you were using?

Most road bikes will now take wider tires now. You can always do light gravel on something with 30mm or more tires

For what it’s worth I have a Scott Addict RC and I also have a Colnago G3X which i love as well. The Colnago does a great job on the road and I have to say although not as light as the Scott I end up taking it on longer 70+ rides more and more in the road. It’s a solid bike and snappy as hell for a gravel bike. Not too heavy either. The bonus is I can go on gravel rides if I pop on som 40mm tires and keep the 30 or 32 for road. Just a thought…

I did the same 2 yrs ago. Bought a Trek Checkpoint thinking I was going to ride gravel with a little bit of road and ended up putting road tires on because I never road gravel. Decided to trade it in and got the Madone and I haven’t looked back. Great videos man keep them coming

I ride this same route from Maria Hernandez, if you want to do more of these rides I'd love to join you

nice video. appletree market on 120th and amsterdam is pretty good and just a few blocks off riverside drive.

Can you post a link to the Strava route?

Finding peace in the middle of chaos. 👍🏽

Nice!

hats off to you, esp. for doing it all outside

Loved it mate. Can't wait for more videos!!

Well done, I finished it for the first time since 2018. Riding through the traffic would freak me out. Enjoyed the series.

I enjoyed all your videos especially this last one riding through Brooklyn. It was great to see the surrounding area and your commentary. I’d like to see more videos of riding in Brooklyn. Ride safe. And thx much.

Great job! Thanks for sharing. Anchored Inn is an awesome spot.

Awesome Content Nick. Found your Channel and i enjoy your Videos. Greetings from germany

Nice!!! I think I saw you around the pier.

Great ride.

kzbin.info/aero/PLORcVL7u4dOl_4XXStWFn6ePCpxPRCqkj&si=uN_cGjGol39UTnfZ

Must've been cold 🥶

Nice job covering the uptown portions of the ride and great cycle around the NYC loop. I have been up the Hudson River Greenway, Harlem River Greenway and South County Trailway on my commuter hybrid bike. I definitely agree, the Empire State Trail is an amazing scenic ride. You'll definitely enjoy the north county trailway heading towards Ossining if you go further north past Elmsford. For the portion between Van Cortlandt park and Brewster, there is so much history to the trail as it traverses along the right of way of the former New York Central Railroad's Putnam Division.

New Sub. 🚴🤙🏽

Sometimes, the brain overrides the body. Sometimes, it doesn't.

Might want to consider mounting your camera on your helmet. No straps.

Good job man! did not know nyc had so many bike paths. Congratulations on the festive 500

In the winter with all of the salt on the road, do you wash your bike after each ride?

Looks like some nice undisturbed cycle paths you got round there...

Baffled how you ride in what has been 30-40 degree weather without gloves.

Great video! What bike is that?

Great video production. I ride a lot in Westchester. Can’t imagine doing your ride out of the city. Braveheart!

Which Go Pro do you have? Vid looks great!

Awesome video. The bike paths and parks are great.

Everything you describe is known.

respect! good job. qq: what's in the bottles? ever since i started putting 40-60g sugar per hour in my bottles my energy levels and recovery times have been so much better.

What route is this?

Love the Bianchi!

Really enjoying these, keep them coming. As an Arizona boy, it's wild how you ride in the city. I'd be scared out of my mind.

Really enjoyed watching this. Nice editing, too. I am 62 yo and live in Nebraska. I commute to and from work year round. The challenge is above my fitness level, but is something I aspire to, someday. Great stuff. Looking forward to watching more of your channel. Might be some inspiration ahead. Happy New Year.

FELICIDADES, muy bonito tu video, en verdad te esmeras mucho para compartir algo de muy buena calidad, EXCELENTE la calidad de la imagen GRACIAS. Por mostramos esos paisajes tan hermosos de tu bello país, recibe un cordial saludo desde el sureste de MÉXICO, ten un buen inicio de año, un abrazo hermano, DIOS te bendiga. Me suscribí a tu canal , en realidad es un buen canal ,sigue ADELANTE

Wow I didn’t realize how lucky I am to Shirley right by my house. I need to throw gravel tires on, as I typically do flat laps of the perimeter

That constructions caught me by surprise on the west side highway as well but I like the route 😊

Dude. You did 65 miles in 30 degree temps. No apologies needed. There are so many places that you could have stopped at/in while traversing upper Manhattan. Good luck with the rest of the Festive. See you on 9W, PP and CP.