Aerodynamics of Gravel Bikes
I am an out of shape former racer who has ridden his bike 10 times in the last two years.  I have a dad belly and rarely work out at all.  I recently did The Rift this summer - a 200km gravel race here in Iceland that people come from all over the world to race.  I did it on a carbon cyclocross bike from my racing days with file treads.  I felt like the light weight of my bike outweighed just about every gravel fad that&#x27;s out there right now.  I was flying past people on the hills, and while the ride felt very rough on the high speed flats, I was still going fast.  If I were in my racing shape of a few years ago I think I would have been in the top 5-10% of racers, largely because nearly everyone was on giant heavy gravel bikes with massive tires loaded for friggin bikepacking from the look of it.  My wife has a purpose-built gravel bike, and she commented on just how slow it felt going uphill (she is a former state cyclocross champion).<p>With the exception of the absolute professionals, most people &quot;Racing&quot; these events are just there to finish them, and the pros?  It&#x27;s basically just a road race.  Gravel offers no significant challenge in handling your bike, and any reasonable set-up can win if it&#x27;s light enough and the rider is fit enough.  The Aero arms race certainly matters in time trials, but I remain unconvinced there&#x27;s enough benefit for the actual racing.  I know US Midwest gravel races are effectively flat, but acceleration is greatly improved with a light bike too.