The Gravel Bike Encyclopaedia (6): Gracer, Tire-Buzzer, Underbiking … what’s that?

““Do you speak Gravel?” – Gravel jargon instead of a foreign language: our glossary sheds light on the jungle of terminology and gets you up to speed in no time for your next chat.

1 Gracer

The term is a fusion of Graveller and Racer. Whilst some people meditate whilst walking on gravel, enjoy nature and slow down, others know Gracer Nothing but constant competition. If no fellow rider is up for a duel, you simply race against the stopwatch or the power meter. There’s constant tension on the chain; the freewheel takes a back seat, because forward momentum is the only currency that counts. Fittingly, the Gracer prefers to ride on a Gracer: Racing bikes in the ‘Race’ or ‘Speed Gravel’ categories, which have but one goal – speed.

2 tyre buzzers

A Tyre Buzzer is the loud consequence of excessive hubris when buying tyres. The noise – an unpleasant mixture of scraping, grinding and a constant squeaking – is produced when chunky rubber knobs rub relentlessly against the frame or fork. Either you’ve blindly followed the trend for wide 50- or even 2.2-inch MTB tyres, or the mud has finally clogged up the clearance. If you want to spare your bike this constant friction, it’s best to check the manufacturer’s maximum tyre width before making a purchase.

3. Underbiking

Underbiking describes the art of tackling extremely challenging terrain with radically inferior kit. For example, when you take your gravel bike on bumpy tracks that everyone else tackles with enduro-style suspension. Spotted recently on the Würmtrails. Suddenly, a gravel rider whizzed past in an under-spec bike, relentlessly battering his fine Bianchi over thick root tangles and boulders. One can only marvel at this classic case of ‘underbiking’. Pushing the limits of riding physics without any suspension travel is spectacular, bloody bumpy and requires a fair bit of courage. And, to be honest, sometimes a fair bit of masochism too.