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Tried Riding Gravel ... Meh

Old 02-21-20, 08:35 AM
  #51  
Cypress
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Originally Posted by redlude97
are you going to buy an aspero next?
I have a friend that just got one. I gotta say, it's the cat’s meow in person. Seems like a very well-sorted bike.
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Old 02-21-20, 09:01 AM
  #52  
Cyclist0108
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I am going to go out on a rim here and suggest your tires are at fault. Too much air, and low thread count. A supple. compliant tire with as little air in there as you can get away with would drastically improve the ride quality. Also there are minor things like using your knees and elbows as a full-suspension system when needed.
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Old 02-21-20, 11:07 AM
  #53  
autonomy
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I like gravel. I don't ride a lot of it, but I have done my share, from unpaved roads in VT on 28mm tires, to rooty singletrack on 40mm tires. I find that a bike/tires will easily exceed most people's expectations; you can ride much gnarlier stuff than you expect to. However, the biggest question is - are you going to enjoy it? For me, I figured out that there are several factors that contribute to this.
- equipment setup and posture: wider tires, lower psi, stay relaxed. Big difference in feel between even 60 and 40 PSI
- adjust your expectations: you're not on the road, so go slower, accept that there will be some vibrations
- choose your adventure: opt for more packed/smaller size gravel. Even though my bike can totally handle it, I'm super unhappy on rooty, rocky trails with the ground trying to wriggle the handlebars out of my hands, so I stay off those.

Even with all that, on some of my rides I look forward to the moment when I get off the unpaved trail and onto smooth, fast tarmac.

Originally Posted by rumrunn6
this stuff is a lot less fun


keep looking until you find the really fun trails
That stuff ^^^? Wasn't fun even on 40mm tires (that's Assabet, right?)



Loads of fun even on 28mm tires.
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Old 02-21-20, 11:45 AM
  #54  
rumrunn6
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Originally Posted by autonomy
That stuff ^^^? Wasn't fun even on 40mm tires (that's Assabet, right?)
Southern New England Trunkline Trail & Air Line State Park Trail (Douglas, MA to Thompson, CT)

1st rode it with an old $50 hybrid w 45mm Riddlers (& a better hybrid w/ 40mm studded tires in a storm) was good but better on MTB w 2.25 Riddlers, especially on the rough stuff & over the soft stuff


https://www.bikeforums.net/northeast...ine-trail.html

https://www.bikeforums.net/northeast...rail-ct-2.html

you might also like the Mass Central Rail Trail (Rutland, MA to Barre, MA)

https://www.bikeforums.net/northeast...ail-trail.html

https://www.tkmaps.com/MCRT/GS2018sl...slide&point=66


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Old 02-21-20, 12:31 PM
  #55  
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Originally Posted by redlude97
are you going to buy an aspero next?
I would love to, but I don't want to spend the $$$. And I can ride everywhere I want on my C3, it's just more slow and deliberate sometimes. But that's fun, having to choose my line carefully. Plus the wheels weren't cheap and I like being on them.
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Old 02-21-20, 12:33 PM
  #56  
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Originally Posted by Cypress
I have a friend that just got one. I gotta say, it's the titties in person. Seems like a very well-sorted bike.
I need to get sponsored.

I've always loved the way Cervelos ride. They corner exactly the way I think a bike should. I've heard people call them twitchy, so it's definitely a preference thing, but the ones I've been on fit my riding style like a glove.
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Old 02-21-20, 04:57 PM
  #57  
Hypno Toad
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Originally Posted by rumrunn6


WTB Riddler tires?

My Breezer Radar Pro came with stock 700x45c Riddlers ... love them a lot. I'm up for new tires this spring, after about 3,400 miles.
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Old 02-21-20, 05:44 PM
  #58  
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Originally Posted by Hypno Toad
My Breezer Radar Pro came with stock 700x45c Riddlers ... love them a lot. I'm up for new tires this spring, after about 3,400 miles.
whoa seriously? They must be bald by now
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Old 02-21-20, 06:00 PM
  #59  
Hypno Toad
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Originally Posted by rumrunn6
whoa seriously? They must be bald by now
I like to think of them as 'slicks' 😁
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Old 02-24-20, 02:23 PM
  #60  
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Originally Posted by DaveSSS
Gravel riding is a lot like mtb. The bike logs most of its miles in or on your car or truck. There is no gravel where I live, unless folks are calling mtb trails gravel. You might find a short stretch somewhere, off a paved road, but it won't be very long and may be a private path to someone's home, where you are not welcome.

Bummer. I have a lot of dirt roads right out my door. Even though I often ride through one of the most expensive subdivisions in the country, they just don't like to pave their roads. Cheap-ass rich republicans I guess, lol. (that was a joke!). Actually, most of the state (Michigan) is like that - it just glows yellow on the gravel map website.
Ultimately my "gravel" bike allows me to ride on any road, smooth pavement, horrid patched asphalt, double track, single track, etc...


Originally Posted by Rides4Beer
And even when you do encounter cars on gravel, they typically either come to a complete stop and let you pass, or slow way down, def very different from road traffic. At least around here.
Wow, not here. We basically have no speed limit on gravel roads. Technically the speed limit on Gravel is 55mph, but that is kind of an insane speed on gravel. Its not like there is ever anyone to give you a ticket on gravel - so they go as fast as they want. ON the other hand they do give me a very wide berth. I've never had the close buzz on gravel I get on pavement.
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Old 02-24-20, 02:28 PM
  #61  
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Originally Posted by UsedToBeFaster
The gravel was sbkut the size of quarters so the degree of shuddering wasnt the issue just the constistency of it. It was like riding the chip seal roads they probably have in Hell.
Yeah, a lot of it is the bike, a lot the setup. Certainly with a stiff front end, there isn't a lot you can do. Still, running 40mm tires around 30PSI, or 50mm closer to 20PSI will do a lot to absorb the chatter. A nice compliant frame with a good compliant seat post makes a huge difference too (or if you are desperate, just use a little thudbuster).

10 years ago I tried gravel - and it was a nightmare. Washboard was miserable. But with my setup now I can do 20mph on washboard and not even realize how bad is its...
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Old 02-24-20, 02:40 PM
  #62  
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Originally Posted by chas58
Wow, not here. We basically have no speed limit on gravel roads. Technically the speed limit on Gravel is 55mph, but that is kind of an insane speed on gravel. Its not like there is ever anyone to give you a ticket on gravel - so they go as fast as they want. ON the other hand they do give me a very wide berth. I've never had the close buzz on gravel I get on pavement.
It's amazing how regional this all is. 25 to 30 is as fast as a car or truck could possibly go on a lot of the dirt roads I ride on. Potholes, short sight lines, and consequences leaving the road (trees, cliffs, etc) keep everybody going slowly here.
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Old 02-24-20, 07:06 PM
  #63  
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Wider flared bars on rough can make a huge difference compared to traditional road bars. They allow you to reduce the amount of death grip and still have control and be more relaxed and flexible. That adds up over time. For me at least, going to a flared "gravel" bar was a game changer and close to tire choice for overall long term comfort. I have everything setup for no compromise riding in the drops and I am in them all the time except for an occasional position break. One of the marketing claims of the GRX line of shifters was the increased reach and shape so in theory you could get great hood AND flared drop positioning. Marketing hype or not, that is an issue with traditional brifters. I haven't tried them yet.
I understand why a road rider would not want flares as the advantages become disadvantages.

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Old 02-25-20, 08:05 AM
  #64  
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Originally Posted by rumrunn6
haha yup they pull up the rails, ties & spikes & leave the rest. I have found pieces of coal tho, that was fun

In PA there is the Lehigh Gorge Trail. Six miles of it is rails with trails, meaning there is an active rail line next to it, though they are largely grade separated. (The Lehigh Valley and Central Railroad of New Jersey paralleled each other up the Lehigh River, sometimes occupying the same side.) The active line still serves the anthracite coal mining operations up that way. (Anthracite is used in industrial manufacturing.) I have several pieces at home.
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Old 02-25-20, 09:38 AM
  #65  
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Originally Posted by chas58
We basically have no speed limit on gravel roads. Technically the speed limit on Gravel is 55mph, but that is kind of an insane speed on gravel. Its not like there is ever anyone to give you a ticket on gravel - so they go as fast as they want. ON the other hand they do give me a very wide berth. I've never had the close buzz on gravel I get on pavement.
Probably 35 is about the fastest you can safely drive on gravel around me. And that is only at certain times/brief moments when the road is totally flat and in good condition. I cant imagine vehicles going fast on gravel here- thatd be a recipe to end up in a ditch.
Good that they give you plenty of space- that seems to be something thats fairly universal on gravel.
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Old 02-25-20, 10:38 AM
  #66  
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Originally Posted by Hypno Toad
hard to name a bike that's not on these races (ok ... no recumbents, no unicycles, and not penny-farthings)
It happens.

Not races personally, though for some even that. Big 36 x 2.25 tire typical of a unicycle built to cover ground really loves a good gravel path where the fines bind things together and survives some less improved ones with occasional rocks, roots, or larger pieces. If an organic soil is turned to mud and spinning out, then I tend to get off and walk but there are 26 and 29 wheels with knobby MTB or even fat bike tires others use for that right up to technical MTB trails.

Have a friend who does canal tow paths on a 43" wheel with solid wheelchair rubber tire and have been reading about a guy who likes to hit the C&O and similar on a penny...

Originally Posted by rumrunn6
I can relate. was having fun on unpaved rail trails until I reached large gravel for about .5-1 mile. quite unpleasant. I think the term "gravel riding" is quite broad. I've since found more pleasant places to ride, mostly dirt or smaller gravel w/ dirt mixed in. I also switched from a rigid fork hybrid type bike to a 29er w a cheap sus. fork

this stuff is a lot less fun
Indeed, it's less fun. Came off the quite nicely bound D&R towpath and crossed the bridge to facilities at Colonial Park, NJ last summer to find the drives up to the water fountain and restroom made of that. Charged into it and the unique sound it makes moving instantly took me back to childhood when we had a driveway made of this stuff. It works but when its loose like near your tire you have to be aggressive and it takes energy until it is embedded in the fines or mud as it looks to be getting a bit further ahead. Is the Airline trail spots of loose pockets where it's not yet embedded, or miles? (Have been thinking about trying to get out to it from a train to Hartford then get collected after a day's open-ended adventure)

I do think one thing the pictured stuff has going for it is the sharp edges that let it be a bit more self-locking than a rounded river gravel that moves too much under you.

Gaining a growing awareness that a good gravel path is often not simply a place people started driving or riding over the ground, but an engineered surface with a history, in many cases going back to previous modes of usage. And can need repair, too - for example canal towpath surfaces get scoured off in serious floods.

Missed a turn on a recent ride where a canal path was briefly following an old rail line on a well maintained surface and continued on what had probably been a maintenance road after the maintained route went back to the canal-side towpath. That degenerated a bit into more of a soil-mud double track where I ended up having to ride the median of it for confident traction and only encountered people walking, while looking across the canal at the nice towpath opposite for the next mile or two. Fortunately was able to follow it through until the service road turned into a parking lot at the edge of the next village rather than having to backtrack to the previous canal bridge and take the "correct" route.

Last edited by UniChris; 02-25-20 at 10:44 AM.
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Old 02-25-20, 10:55 AM
  #67  
Hypno Toad
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Originally Posted by UniChris
It happens.

Not races personally, though for some even that. Big 36 x 2.25 tire typical of a unicycle built to cover ground really loves a good gravel path where the fines bind things together and survives some less improved ones with occasional rocks, roots, or larger pieces. If an organic soil is turned to mud and spinning out, then I tend to get off and walk but there are 26 and 29 wheels with knobby MTB or even fat bike tires others use for that right up to technical MTB trails.

Have a friend who does canal tow paths on a 43" wheel with solid wheelchair rubber tire and have been reading about a guy who likes to hit the C&O and similar on a penny...
I haven't ridden with this guy, but he's in the circle of riding friends ... kinda shocked I haven't seen him on the gravel grinders round here with this set-up:

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Old 02-25-20, 01:54 PM
  #68  
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Originally Posted by indyfabz
Anthracite
oh interesting! I was wondering about the apparent "submetallic luster"
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Old 02-27-20, 04:44 AM
  #69  
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Originally Posted by UsedToBeFaster
I just bought 30 TPI tires which I run at 60 PSI. Will dropping to 40 really make a difference?.
It will make a world of difference. Gravel is very uncomfortable at 60 PSI unless it is very smooth gravel.
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