People well acquainted with road or mountain biking would find gravel biking to be different from both of these styles. As Steven Rindner mentions, anyone new to cycling is likely to end up discovering that gravel biking is much harder than it looks in all the cool photos. While gravel biking, one is likely to find themselves facing soft sand patches, ruts, rock gardens and many other challenges that riders are unlikely to find on pavement. Good gravel bike handling skills would be required to deal with these challenges.
Steven Rindner talks about a few pointers focused on honing gravel bike handling skills
When riding a gravel bike, one must try their best to be relaxed. After all, the bike shall also need enough breathing room to freely float beneath the rider. This should allow the bike to correct its path and maintain forward momentum when one is moving through sketchy terrain. Gravel bikers need to wrap their hands around the top of the cycle bars, and keep their elbows bent and arms relaxed. This would help the body to soap up the bumps.
On rough descents, gravel bikers would require more shock absorption and stability. Hence, they should move their hands into the drops when descending, while having elbows still bent and relaxed. This would lower the center of gravity of the rider. They may shift their weight to the back of the seat, as well as bend the legs to use them quite like springs that absorb the bumps and help the bike to continue tracking in a straight line.
Any person who has tried to track stand or done a slow-speed race, would know that a bike is likely to be far more stable at speed. This is doubly true when riding on a bumpy terrain. If the speed gets too low, then the bike may break traction and start bouncing, and it is not at all easy to control a bouncing bike. Hence, when gravel biking; it is better to go easy on the breaks. The front wheel of the bike particularly should be free to roll. Otherwise, the riders may run the risk of washing out and losing control.
As Steven Rindner points out, efficient and smooth gravel biking require proper weight distribution. This is particularly true when one finds themselves negotiating technical terrain that includes chunky climbs and descents as well as the occasional rock garden. On such terrains, the tires of a gravel bike must be properly weighted to keep contact with the ground, and effectively respond to braking and turning. The riders would want to shift their weight to the back to allow the front tire to get up and over an object, and shift it forward immediately to give the back tire room to move. Curbs would be a good place to practice this.
Gravel bikers should maintain a forward-facing posture with their chin up and eyes focused on the terrain ahead, in order to search for the smoothest paths. It is crucial to avoid unnecessary zigzagging on the road. Making minor adjustments can help the riders to remain on stable surfaces and steer clear of deep gravel piles that could cause the front wheel of the bike to lose traction.
