Originally Posted by genrlz

Sorry for the long post, looking for some input. I'm new to gravel riding/racing and am contemplating changes to my bike.

I was riding my old tri bike on 25 treaded tires. It has 172.5 cranks with a 53/39 chainring and a 9 speed, 11-23 cassette. On the road with it, I can average 22+. On the gravel, I can average 17.9. Average cadence 80.

I bought a used Felt f65X that has Contintental 33 tires on it. It has 175 cranks with a 46/36 chainring and 11 speed 11/28 cassette. On the road, my best effort was 19.6 mph. On gravel 17. Average cadence 84.

I feel FAST on the tri bike and feel really slow on the gravel bike and not terribly comfortable. I'm thinking of switching it to 172.5 cranks with a 50/34 chainring set.

I also am trying to narrow down a new tire selection between the Override, X'PLOR MSO, Michelin Power Gravel, WTB Riddler and Schwalbe G-One All-around. I'm really leaning towards the Michelin or MSO.

I primarily ride hard pack, pretty smooth dirt roads without any drastic amount of climbing. Any opinions on the crankset swap? I'm tired of feeling like I'm working extra hard, yet going slower.

Thank you