markheus

A few years ago I bought a Trek Hybrid and have made a lot of progress as far as my endurance goes. I'm at the point where I feel it's starting to limit me on longer rides (20+miles). Now that he stomach is gone and the endurance is up I'm ready to make the transition to a road bike while keeping my hybrid as my grocery getter.

I've been happy with Trek so I went to the local dealer to look at some options. I've pretty much fixed on the Domane 2.3 because I like that it seems to be more of a touring bike for longer distances. I will do *zero* racing but I want something that will be "faster."

90% of the riding that I do is on paved surfaces but there is a route that I ride from St. Louis to Alton IL that requires riding on about 5 miles of crushed gravel. How would the Domane with road tires do on this surface? The salesman mentioned the possibility of the Crockett which would be ideal for this but since the majority of my riding is on paved surfaces I keep leaning back towards the Domane.

theextremist04

Throw on 700x28s (if you can fit them) and you should be golden.

hairnet

It's sketchy on 25mm tires (I see it comes stock with 25s) unless you're experienced and comfortable riding on dirt/gravel, still sketchy then. 28mm tires should work fine if the frame has room for them.

Bunyanderman

Go as wide as your bike allows, I would recommend some 700c x 33mm tires. 33m is getting really popular. 28mm will have an awful time with any small patch of sand.

bbattle

As long as the gravel isn't very deep, you can do it. Most of the gravel roads I remember in central Missouri were pretty hard with just a bit of loose gravel. Wider tires would be nicer.

I run across some stretches of gravel roads in southern Tennessee and my Domane does just fine with the stock tires.

I believe there is room for 28's but check with the bike shop to be sure.

thisisbenji

If you have not bought a bike yet, I would get the crocket and get tires to suit.

A gravel bike is essentially a road bike with better tire clearance. While the domane won't explod on gravel trails, the crocket WILL be more comfortable. As a matter of fact I even road raced my cyclocross bike for a few years and did just fine.

GaIslander

Buy the Domane. Find a different route. I would not be inclined to ride my Domane on a gravel road. Use you beater on the gravel.

Wesley36

I've done a number of gravel roads on a Cervelo S5 with 23s. It would be absurd to choose to ride a totally different bike for a short gravel stretch.

Wesley36

If you are planning on going for extended rides exploring gravel roads, on the other hand, some sort of a gravel grinder might be appropriate
However, a Domane with 28s would be fine for that purpose as well.

thisisbenji

I suppose, but major cool points for riding a Crocket vs a Domane.

af2nr

The Boone could also be an option as it is a lot like the Domane including the Isospeed decoupler. As bbattle stated the depth of the gravel would be more of an issue than gravel itself.

Wesley36

Didn't realize that (Boone also has Isospeed) - agreed on the depth of the gravel being a critical variable.

gerard2013

Almost all my riding is on pavement, but my Domane has no problem with occasional hard packed gravel roads with stock tires.

pdedes

hard packed dirt with occasional gravel would be alright. but extended travel on loose deep gravel would be zero fun.

gerard2013

That's true, I didn't read it carefully enough. I wouldn't take it on a crushed rock surface like an abandoned railroad bed, if that's the idea.

mcmoose

I have a Lexa S (similar to the Domane 2.3, but without the isospeed). It does okay on fairly packed gravel (with 25 tires... would be better with 28s); it's pretty sketchy on loose gravel.

One lesson I learned riding on DUSTY gravel... it addition to giving your chain a nice cleaning afterwards, clean and lube your pedals. Dust gets into the clip mechanism and can significantly change the tension need to clip in and out... not in a fun way.

mtalinm

My Domane takes a 30mm tire in front (Schwalbe Marathon Racer, also studded Winter) and a 28 Continental GP 4 Seasons in back. I went through a bunch of different tires and those were the widest I could fit.

robbyville

Lots of people already covered the basics. I would agree for the most part.

I would also say I ride my Domane a ton on gravel. We have sections of road and climbs that we do regularly in preparation for a Fondo with over 10 miles of gravel climbing. I use wide rims and 25mm tires (tubeless), and have never had a problem with ride quality.

Certainly a 28 may be more plush, but perhaps a little luggy on the pavement. While you can put 28's on, you would have problems if you wanted to run fenders along with them.

The Boone which was shown above is an absolutely incredible bike that I would be happy to own, but keep in mind that the geometry of both the Crockett and the Boone are going to be more aggressive than the same sized Domane. Head tube on the Boone 52cm as an example is over 2cm shorter than the same Domane.

That being said a part of me is thinking of ditching my Domane in favor of an Emonda and then getting a Boone for Cyclocross and Gravel/Fondo use

TheRef

why?

macca33

Having only very recently built up a Focus CX frame, my advice would be to look at a CX bike - quick enough on the road (even with 35mm tyres) and can do gravel / off-road as well.

cheers

Carbonfiberboy 

Riding buddy met met at a pass. I took the paved route, he took the gravel route, about 12 miles on his Roubaix with 23s. He said it rode nice. Of course wider tires would be nicer, but they sure aren't necessary. Several of our local randonneuring permanent routes have gravel sections, and everyone who normally rides 23s just rides normally. It's only a problem if the gravel is loose and you sink in. I once took my carbon Trek with 23s down a steep forest service gravel road with rocks the size of potatoes. Not my favorite ride, but it went OK. Probably would have been easier coming up. Back then I rode 140 lbs. all the time. Carbon is nice that way.

Thinking about it some more, I've actually ridden a fair bit of gravel on my road bikes with 23s and on our tandem with 25s. There are quite a few gravel stretches of a few miles that shortcut between paved roads. Mostly dirt and hard packed gravel, but some looser gravel, too. The nasty descent mentioned above had a long climb on dirt and hard packed gravel. Because of the low speed it was no bother at all. Very cool, really and traffic at all! One also encounters contruction, sometimes really terribly rough potholed gravel. What's one to do, phone the team car for a different bike? I don't think so.

GaIslander

I don't understand why you would ask that. Because I don't want to trash an $8,000 bike down a gravel road. The Domane is not an off-road bike. It is road racing bike with slightly massaged geometry and enhanced suspension characteristics. You can with yours if you want.

mike12

$8k is awfully expensive for a Domane 2.3

mike12

To the OP: I had a Domane 4.3 that I put 28's on and used on various gravel grinders in the area. I had no problem using the Domane in this manner whatsoever. I did however total the Domane in a crash on the road. I went with a Boone for the replacement b/c I wanted the option of CX racing and rougher gravel grinders. The Boone is likely over your budget though. Like others have said, consider the Crockett but know that the Domane will work just fine.

Others may be more knowledgeable on this, but my LBS said the Isospeed Decoupler on aluminum frames isn't as noticeable/useful as it is on the carbon frames. Maybe they were just using this to up sale???

dandypony

​IMHO, it isn't as much about whether or not a road bike can be ridden over short gravel stretches, it's about rider ability and comfort level with doing so. It took me a couple of years of riding a road bike before I started riding it on gravel. Now I have a bike with 28mm tires that I feel confident riding on any surface and regularly ride an all-gravel 10 mile stretch. Initially I rode only my mountain bike or cross bike with 35mm tires on gravel trails until I learned how to best control/navigate on gravel. Maybe @markheus might consider the CrossRip, as it has a more relaxed geometry that the Crocket, but can fit fatter tires and has a similar component package to the Domane.