Tried Riding Gravel ... Meh
#51
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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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Last edited by Trsnrtr; 02-25-20 at 05:47 PM. Reason: Minor profanity.
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#52
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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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#53
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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.
That stuff ^^^? Wasn't fun even on 40mm tires (that's Assabet, right?)
Loads of fun even on 28mm tires.
- 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.
Loads of fun even on 28mm tires.
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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
Last edited by rumrunn6; 02-21-20 at 12:33 PM.
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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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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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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...
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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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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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.
#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.
I understand why a road rider would not want flares as the advantages become disadvantages.
Last edited by u235; 02-24-20 at 08:14 PM.
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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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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.
Good that they give you plenty of space- that seems to be something thats fairly universal on gravel.
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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 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
this stuff is a lot less fun
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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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...
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...
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