Two Bikes, Two Boards: Road and Gravel Compared
A Scott Foil RC Ultimate for the road and a Scott Addict Gravel RC for everything past the tarmac. They go to different places, carry different zones and settle separately. This post is about choosing between them, or taking both.
brandmybicycle has two bikes because one bike does not go everywhere. The road bike lives in traffic and on fast descents; the gravel bike lives on passes and tracks. They are separate boards with separate zones, prices and goals, and this post puts them side by side so you can pick one, or take a zone on each.
The road bike
A Scott Foil RC Ultimate, aero road bike, carbon frame, electronic groupset, deep carbon wheels, size M. Scott lists it in Germany, and the road board links to the maker’s product page so you can read the spec yourself. The goal is that list price in dollars.
Where it goes: city centres, morning commutes, long climbs, descents at the speed of the traffic around it, cafe stops. The film on its page was shot from the handlebar on a real ride: tunnels, cars passing, the far side of a pass. That is the frame your logo rides in.
The gravel bike
A Scott Addict Gravel RC, gravel bike, carbon frame, wide carbon wheels, 45 mm tyres, size M. Same maker, same kind of link to the product page. Its board is at /mountain and its goal is its own list price, which is lower than the road bike’s.
Where it goes: mountain passes, forest tracks, village roads, gravel with no name, and after dark, lit by its own lamp. The film on its page is a night ride hours from any city. Out there your logo is the only advert on the road.
The zones differ
The road bike has 21 zones. The gravel bike has 24, because it has surfaces the road bike does not: a fork cargo mount, wider rims, a longer chain stay, a flared bar. The familiar zones exist on both, the upper and lower down tube, the top tube, the seat tube, the head tube, the stays, the fork, the rims, the bar and stem, the saddle and seatpost, the crank arm and the bottle. Each is priced on its own bike from its own print area and visibility, so the same zone name carries a different price on each board. How zone prices are worked out explains why.
Nothing carries across
Each board closes on its own when its goal fills, and each is refunded on its own if it does not. A zone on the road bike says nothing about the same zone on the gravel bike. The board on each page lists only that bike’s sponsors, and the money raised on each is counted separately. The one shared surface is the strip at the top of the site, which shows the latest paid claims from both bikes.
Which board for which brand
This is a judgement, not a rule, and the honest version is short. A brand whose customers are in cities, on commutes and at cafes belongs on the road bike, because that is where it rides. A brand whose customers are outdoors, in the hills, on trails or in the villages a long way from anywhere belongs on the gravel bike, because that is the only advert out there. A brand that wants both takes a zone on each; the FAQ on either page says the same thing.
Taking both
A zone on each bike is two separate claims, two separate prices and two separate boards. If one board fills and the other does not, the filled one prints and the other refunds; the two outcomes do not affect each other. Our post on choosing a zone applies to either bike, and the zone that suits you may differ between them: a down tube is a down tube on both, but the gravel bike’s wide rims are a surface the road bike cannot offer.
The same rules on both
Everything that is true of one board is true of the other. Prices derive from area and visibility. Each zone is sold once. The logo lands in the preview before you pay. The board shows every paid sponsor and nothing invented. The goal fills and prints, or everyone is refunded. The only differences are the bike, its zones, its goal and its roads; the mechanism underneath is the same, as how brandmybicycle works describes.
One film each
Each board carries a handlebar film of a real ride on that bike, with the sound removed. The road film is daylight, tunnels and traffic; the gravel film is night, a headlight beam and guardrails. Watch both before choosing; they are the plainest statement of where each bike goes.
Watching both fill
The two boards fill at their own pace, and a zone taken on one tells you nothing about the other. If you are deciding between them, the open-zone count and the goal bar on each page are the facts to compare: one board may be close to closing while the other is wide open, and a zone on a nearly full board is a zone on a wrap that is nearly certain to print.
Where to start
Open the road board and the gravel board, look at which zones are still open on each, and watch your logo land in the preview before you pay anything. Everything the two pages promise is the same promise: one bike, one wrap, for the life of the bike, or your money back.
Questions
Which bike has more zones?
The gravel bike, with 24 against the road bike's 21. It has surfaces the road bike does not, such as a fork cargo mount and wider rims.
Do the two boards share a goal?
No. Each bike has its own goal, equal to its own list price, and closes or refunds on its own.
Can I take the same zone on both?
Yes. The same zone name exists on both bikes and is sold separately on each, at each bike's own price.
Which one is seen by more people?
They are seen by different people. The road bike rides cities and commutes; the gravel bike rides passes and forest tracks where there is no other advertising at all.
Is the gravel bike a mountain bike?
It is a gravel bike, a Scott Addict Gravel RC. Its board is called mountain because that is where it goes.