The Bodensee Gravel Giro took place for only the second time this year, but has already exerted a magical attraction on fans of off-road racing bikes. The limit of 80 participants was reached after just a few days following the start of registration in spring, although there was no question of opulent advertising for the event. But the idea of Sören Zieher, who builds fine, customised bikes in Ravensburg under the VPace brand and sells them in his own shop, simply has charm: a pack of like-minded people, for whom the fun of racing bikes doesn't stop at the end of a smooth tarmac surface, troll along gravel roads, tracks, meadow paths (and a bit of tarmac) into the Lake Constance hinterland. There's no timekeeping, but it's still a sportive. The level of organisation is rather low, the fun of this unusual way of cycling is great. But to get to the point: Do you need a gravel bike for the Gravel Giro?
Let's put it this way: the Votec VRX was at least an almost perfect bike for the 105 kilometre gravel tour. You sit on the simply beautiful racer with its aluminium frame in such a way that your neck and shoulders don't ache even after five hours. The slightly upward-pointing stem brings the relatively wide, easy-to-grip handlebars to a comfortable height. A road bike with this geometry would be categorised as a "marathon racer".
With this design, the VRX differs significantly from many classic cross racing bikes, which are specialised competition machines or are derived from them, and force their riders into a very stretched, race-like position. However, as cross races are usually over after an hour, comfort is not a priority criterion for such bikes - in contrast to low weight, so that the bike can be accelerated at lightning speed and carried well.
Safe with disc
The Votec definitely can't score points with its low weight. It just scrapes past the nine-kilo mark. That would be quite a lot for a standard road racing bike - but that's not what the VRX wants to be. At a good two kilograms, the frameset is not light, but the disc brakes and wheels also - and above all - weigh a lot.
The equivalent value: the SRAM brakes from the Rival group, or more precisely the hydraulic disc brakes. Once you've ridden them, you won't want to be without them. They are powerful and can be controlled very sensitively. The fact that you feel very safe on the bike on tarmac, but especially on unpaved and loose surfaces, is largely due to these brakes.
The tyres contribute the other part. The 35 millimetre wide Schwalbe G-One (without inner tube, fitted with sealant) has a comparatively fine tread pattern with small, round knobs, but it is amazing what the tyre can do off-road. On gravel, gravel, sand and grass, it provides a lot of security and does not scare the rider by suddenly slipping. Even on steep climbs, the rubber clings to the ground; only when the ground gets really muddy does the grip disappear. On tarmac, the tyre rolls quietly and doesn't give the impression of sucking the power out of your legs. The same applies to the wheel weight. If you don't want to chase best times uphill, you can overlook the nine kilos with relative ease and instead enjoy the benefits of the bike's enormous versatility.
Single elevenfold
The Votec VRX also bears witness to an equipment trend in cross and gravel bikes: it is equipped with a 1 x 11 gear system. This means a single chainring on the bottom bracket and eleven sprockets on the rear wheel. This type of gear system sometimes triggers heated discussions among experienced, well-trained road cyclists. This is not so much due to the range of gear ratios, which is enormous given the eleven sprockets ranging from 10 to 42 teeth. On the route of the Bodensee Gravel Giro with a total of around 1,300 metres in altitude, spread over a longer and several shorter, also crisp climbs, a suitable gear was always available to master the terrain. The criticism is directed more at the larger jumps between the gears and the associated greater differences in cadence from gear to gear. Some well-trained road cyclists see this as a disadvantage of this type of shifting. Newcomers and less experienced or occasional cyclists are more relaxed about this; those who cannot make a direct comparison may not even understand the problem.
It is also a fact that where there is only one chainring, you don't need a second gear lever and can concentrate entirely on one gear when changing through the eleven gears. The aforementioned target group will see this not so much as a restriction of options, but rather as a simplification of operation. On the gravel course at Lake Constance, it was never a disadvantage or a shortcoming. The SRAM Rival is - let's call it that - an "80 per cent drivetrain". This means that it is suitable for 80 per cent of all requirements. Anyone who loves long, fast rides on flat terrain or often climbs for hours on end will certainly find something more suitable than the 1 x 11 drivetrain. But they probably don't want to ride a gravel bike either.
So who is the Votec VRX the right bike for? If you already own a road bike and are considering buying an off-road equivalent, you should consider whether a competition-oriented crosser specialised for off-road riding is more suitable or the much more versatile and uncomplicated, but less specialised gravel bike.
And if you don't yet have a racing bike but want to cycle in a sporty way, you could also consider a gravel bike - instead of a thoroughbred road racer. The gravel bike is an uncomplicated companion with which you can be (very) sporty on the road without having to commit to road or off-road. Both are possible. With different tyres, the range of use of the bike can be inexpensively shifted in one direction or the other.
Info Lake Constance Gravel Giro
The 105-kilometre ride with around 80 participants in a more or less closed group took place for the second time this year. There is no timekeeping, the route is not signposted, but documented via gpx track. The start and finish are in Ravensburg, the route runs in a loop over the Höchsten (837 metres) towards Meersburg, via Immenstaad and back again with a break for refreshments and a swim near Fischbach. The route covered field and forest paths, meadow paths, trails and gravel tracks, with around 15 per cent on tarmac. The riders were ambitious, but (almost) always waited for riders who had dropped out or had a defect. The entry fee was 20 euros, which included bars, gels and drinks.
OVERALL GRADE 2.2
Price 1,699 Euro
Weight of complete wheel 8.9 kilos
Info www.votec.de
Weight frame/fork/steering bearing* 2,078/431/73 grams
Frame sizes** S, M, L, XL
Seat/top tube/head tube 540/ 550/160 mm
Stack/Reach/STR*** 587/379/1,55
Drive SRAM Rival 1, (44/10-42 t.)
Brakes SRAM Rival HydroR (160/160 mm)
Wheels/tyres DT Swiss R23 Spline/Schwalbe G-One 35 mm (tubeless)
MEASURED VALUES & INDIVIDUAL NOTES****
Weight of complete wheel 8.9 kilos: 4.0
Steering head stiffness 118 N/mm: 1.0
Lateral stiffness fork 84 N/mm: 4.0
Bottom bracket stiffness 63 N/mm: 1.0
Seatpost spring stiffness 168 N/mm: 2.0
Spring rate fork 84 N/mm: 3.7
* Weighed weights.
** Manufacturer's test size bold.
*** Stack/reach projected vertical/horizontal measurement from the centre of the bottom bracket to the top of the head tube; STR (stack to reach) 1.36 means a very stretched, 1.60 an upright riding position.
**** Individual grades, which are weighted differently in the overall grade, are only partially printed for reasons of space. The grades are calculated with all decimal places up to the final grade; however, for the sake of clarity, all grades are shown with rounded decimal places.
