Jiggle

That's disappointing considering the bike's design goals. It should have been made to take 32mm tires front and rear.

Lanceoldstrong

I ride my Roubaix SL4 Expert on gravel roads very often.
The longer wheel base and taller head tube of bikes like mine and the Domane make them well suited to all roads.
These type of bikes are designed for paved roads, dirt roads, gravel roads, and even cobblestone roads.
This is why they are called road bikes, if it is a road, you can ride on it.
When Bicycling Magazine tests this type of bike the reviewers always evaluate how the performance is on all surfaces.

I ride mine on Conti GP4000S tires in 23 and have no problems.

grolby

...you're worried about trashing a frame that professional racers ride at 30 mph over dirt roads in the Strade Bianchi and extremely rough cobbles in Paris-Roubaix by toodling along a gravel road? Oooookay.

It seems people have an extremely narrow view of what a road bike is actually capable of. Most gravel roads are in fact actual roads (it says so right in the name) and are therefore at least sufficiently civilized to not destroy a bike merely by being ridden upon. The biggest trick is that "gravel road" is too broad a term for the variety of surfaces you could fnd yourself on. Some dirt or gravel roads can be ridden at speed on standard 23mm tires. Others are basically impassable on that kind of equipment. Most fall somewhere in-between. Deep gravel will be challenging even on relatively wide road tires, but the bike itself isn't going to be damaged. The occasional flying bit of gravel might put a chip in the paint here and there, but that's how you know a bike is actually used the way it should be - for riding, not for display.

TheRef

I thought you were referring to the bike's (in)abilities to handle gravel. But I forgot people buy expensive bikes just to look at them and not ride.
There is no way in hell I'd change my route so as not to trash my bike.

Capt Overpacker

Hello,

I fit a set of 700x28 Continental Grand Prix 4-Seasons on my Domane. The fit does not look too tight:



However, I am getting some frame contact, apparently from small bits of debris being picked up my the tire and knocked off in the brake arch:



You can see that the brake caliper is getting scratched, too. I do not ride off-road or on gravel roads. This is just "regular" gravel as one would expect to see on the roadside. I'm told the Bontrager 700x28s are a tad shorter and can clear fenders. However, I don't like the way they ride and prefer the more supple feel of the Conti's.

I'm not sharing this do discourage you from mounting 700x28s. I just wanted to share my experience. I love these tires and won't go back to 25s. FWIW, I'm about 225-lbs dressed and often carry extra gear on the bike. So I find the 28s to be a need.

Good Luck,

Scott

tigat

I'm running 32 front, 28 rear on my Domane for the winter, both Bontrager AW 2s, although the wider Aoelus 3 rims might help with the fit. Over the summer, I did a fast century that had 20 miles of gravel, firm dirt, and washboard, with 25s on the same bike. Although it didn't bother me at the time, the bigger tires would have been better, particularly on the descents.

GaIslander

Take a look at the above poster's pictures. Enough said. Trek didn't pay for my bike, I had to.

GaIslander

Wow! This Bike Forum is tough crowd! This is the first time in a lifetime of cycling I have been insulted not once, but twice for not having a passion for cycling. This year I have logged 5,000 miles on the Serotta/now Domane, 1,500 miles on the Trek FX, and 700 miles on the Townie. Just for display? Just to look at and not ride? Grolby and Theref are pretty sanctimonious in their comments.

markheus

I did look into the cross rip but again, with the majority of my cycling on pavement and as one poster mentioned it doesn't make sense for me to buy a bike for just one section of the trail.


I've ridden this trail many times on my Hybrid but I haven't ridden on a road bike since my early 20's and I'd rather not experiment on an $1800 bike. I wish there was a way to bypass this section but the only option would be to ride on an incredibly busy state highway.

Death by gravel or death by truck. I know which one I'd pick!

Perhaps I'll rent a road bike on a weekend when the weather is nicer and see how it goes. I also may look into getting different tires but I'm trying not to compromise the pavement riding.

Thanks for all the advice and discussion. Hopefully the weather will clear up one weekend and I can experiment with a road bike.

BarryJo

To the OP, a bike is going to get nicks and scratches over time no matter where you ride. I think the Domane with 25 tires would be the perfect bike for someone who plans on riding the bike on mostly paved roads with a small amount of gravel sprinkled in.
I've ridden my Giant TCR, with 23s, on many rides that involved long stretches of challenging gravel, and never had a problem. I'm sure I do more damage to the frame riding on New England pavement in the spring than I ever had riding on gravel.
Good luck with your purchase!
(edit, I posted this before I saw your last post)

markheus

Thanks for the information and pictures. I weigh just under 220 so I would have a similar experience.

markheus

I saw a couple of posts regarding the gravel type. This part of the trail is called the "Madison County Confluence Trail." I don't believe it's a former rail bed but I would say the gravel is packed pretty hard. Next time I go up there I'll pay more attention to how deep my current tires sink in though from memory they didn't really sink at all.

markheus

Thanks - I checked on the price. I couldn't even afford the frame

grolby

Did you skip the pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving because you didn't want to see fork marks in it? That's relatively minor wear to the finish in a relatively inconspicuous area. Certainly not something to be worried about. My bike has the same thing. Running big tires when clearances are a little tight does lead to this kind of thing, but as long as the tire is not actually making physical contact with the brake bridge, it's not a real problem and certainly shouldn't be considered "trashing" the bike.

grolby

For the record, I didn't say you didn't have a passion for cycling (cause I could give a crap about that), I suggested that you have an overly delicate notion about what a road bike can handle. As for sanctimony, as the fellow pulling out the fainting couch and clutching his pearls over a couple of people suggesting that you are being over-delicate, you might want to consider looking that word up in the dictionary.

mtalinm

32 up front? I haven't tried an AW2, but 30 was the biggest I could fit in Schwalbe.

mtalinm

indeed, I have the same tire in back. 28 Schwalbe (Marathons) would not fit there. clearance must be closer to 27 as the Contis run a bit narrow. read somewhere that Cancellara rides 27s for cobble races

Capt Overpacker

Hello,

As Grolby pointed out, my damage is very minor. In fact, I suspect its just scratches in the paint and caliper finish and not enough to actually damage the CF beyond micro-scratches. I'd feel a bit differently if my bike was steel and subject to rusting from this "damage." Instead, it's CF and the damage is bound to be inconsequential.

Scott

markheus

Just to update this read... I picked up a brand new Domane 4.3 disc today. I got am awesome deal at my LBS ( maplewood bicycles). I think with the disc brakes I'll have more clearance to possibly fit a 28mm tire of the stock 25s don't do well. Regardless, most of my riding is paved so I don't anticipate an issue.

2 years ago I was almost 300 lbs and now I'm riding a carbon fiber racing bike.

The times they are a' changin'.

Thanks for all your help and advice.

softreset

I've been running 28s (Continental 4 Seasons & now Hutchinson Sectors) for almost 2 years on my Domane, zero issues with regards to clearance or premature wear on the frame/brakes.

Fiery

Jiggle

27mm FMB tubulars

jsigone

that set up seems to work...from this past weekend doing some BWR training, buddy on tubeless 28c tires, A23s on Ck hubs

indyfabz

There is one way to find out.

markheus

I took the Domane out on the Katy Trail last week which is a rail train here in Missouri. The bike just *flew* down the trail and it was super comfortable. More comfortable, in fact, than my hybrid.

One concern I had was rocks kicking up against the front of the down tube causing massive cosmetic damage and eventually becoming a structural problem. I'm sure I'm worrying about nothing but still...

Anyway, I went to my LBS for a new saddle for my girlfriend and during the course of our conversation I mentioned my concern about the rocks causing down tube damage. He hooked me up with this piece of "Trek Carbon Armor" and it fit perfectly on the down tube with just a little bit of trimming. It fit so well that it could have stayed there without the straps holding it on but I went ahead and put them on to prevent rocks and debris from getting under the "armor" and mucking things up.

Anyway - I think it looks pretty cool. Can't wait to get back on the road!