It’s no longer the occasional performance. Gravel bikes are now consistently winning some significant ultra-endurance South African events that initially began as mountain bike events. Does it really matter? Well, yes, of course it matters.
By Sean Badenhorst
When mountain bike events began to gain popularity in the early 2000s, most of us were riding 26-inch mountain bikes – primarily hardtails. Even rough gravel roads and jeep track routes were challenging on those bikes.
Endurance-mad South Africans were drawn to single-stage ultra-distance races like Trans Baviaans (230km with a 24-hour time limit), The 36ONE MTB Challenge (361km with a 36.1-hour time limit); and The Munga (1100km with a 5-day time limit) and others. These races span more than one day and include night riding. In the case of The Munga, several nights. All of these races have now been won on Gravel bikes, with new records to boot.
It’s not the events that have changed, it’s that Gravel bikes are becoming increasingly capable and they’re blurring the lines and changing traditional mountain bike endurance events into gravel races. Yes, a large portion of the entrants are still participating on mountain bikes, but they don’t get the media attention that the winners do. And media exposure shapes the perception of a race.
“The big issue with mountain bikes is that you cannot fit a big enough chain ring,” said Keagan Bontekoning after winning the 2025 edition of Trans Baviaans with Insect Science teammate, Arno du Toit. Bontekoning and Du Toit were on Giant Revolt Gravel bikes and shaved more than three minutes off the record they had set when they won the 2024 edition, on mountain bikes.
“You end up spinning out on the gradual descents. We felt the difference on our mountain bikes. We had to basically do a 150 cadence at 500 watts to keep up with the Insect Science guys at times,” said Tristan Nortje, who raced a mountain bike and finished second with Imbuko ChemChamp teammate, Lood Goosen at the 2025 Trans Baviaans.
“The gravel bikes were just more efficient. I could see how much harder Pieter [Korkie] was having to work when we rolled from descents straight onto climbs and on the flats too. Over 360 kilometres, those repeated efforts add up and avoiding them helped me stay a bit fresher,” said Dan Loubser, winner of the 2025 36ONE MTB Challenge on a Specialized S-Works Crux. Loubser crushed the previous record, set in 2022 on a mountain bike by Drikus Coetze.
Coetzee himself has also benefitted from Gravel bike superiority. Riding a Curve Big Kev, he broke the record at The Munga in 2023 by a significant margin, slicing 2 hours and 53 minutes off the previous mark that was set on a mountain bike.
We tend to focus on the men’s results when discussing the Gravel vs MTB topic, but it’s also worth noting that women are beginning to enjoy the benefits of Gravel bikes in these races. Yolande de Villiers won the 2025 edition of The 36ONE MTB Challenge on a Specialized Diverge Gravel bike and broke her own record by almost 11 minutes. Her previous course record was set in 2021 on a mountain bike.
Women’s victories and the record at The Munga and Tran Baviaans are still held by riders on mountain bikes, but it’s surely just a matter of time before that changes.
Granted, those wins and records have been in dry, favourable weather conditions. Add rain and mud and the mountain bike could be faster, but not definitely. Most of these events are scheduled to be held in the dry season, so wet conditions are rare.
Two key aspects of Gravel bikes have improved to make them a viable option for these events: increased comfort and better puncture resistance. Puncture vulnerability was a big challenge on Gravel bikes until as recently as 2023. But this has changed – and continues to change – as engineers solve these challenges with rim and tyre development.
Those who have ridden – and raced – gravel roads for hours and hours on Gravel bikes will agree that comfort isn’t a word normally associated with Gravel riding or racing. The leading bike brands have made progress in frame and cockpit design and materials to cushion some rough surface feedback. But essentially, the geometry, gearing and weight of Gravel bikes makes them faster than a mountain bike over any dry, non-technical terrain.
It’s not just about the bike though. Rider conditioning (strong core, neck and hands) and the good old ability to suffer and soak up discomfort, play a key role too. Also important is bike handling ability and race craft. It’s one thing being able to pedal a Gravel bike fast uphill, but in order to be successful, you need to be able to descend fast too. Or at least not lose too much time on rough or fast descents.
The nature of the three events mentioned here is such that they are likely to always attract a large number of participants on mountain bikes, which offer superior comfort and control. But based on the current trend, there’s definitely going to be an increasing number of entrants on Gravel bikes on the start lines in the future as Gravel continues to gain popularity.
Are we okay with this blend of bike types at mountain bike races? We have to be. Change and progress are inevitable. So far, we’re just dealing with two different types of bikes at these races. Looking at the bikes ridden at the 2025 edition of the Leadville 100 in the United States, many of the pros fitted drop bars to mountain bikes, including winner, Keegan Swenson. We need to be prepared for even more line-blurring…
