Gravel Girl

Funny you say that when I first started riding my tcx it had a very short stem which made the handling terrible. It was so twitchy. I didn’t realize it at the time l,but I put a longer stem(110),changed to S works power saddle and it’s so comfortable and the handling is great now!Just need to sort the wheels out now.

Yes the 2016 is my bike! Thank you so much your info is exactly what I needed. I also love my bike and found it was the best value for what I was looking for. Will look for a set of road wheels for it as I’d rather have gravel specific tires set up for gravel races,at least now I have an idea of how wide I can run them. All the advice has been so helpful!

Mine also has 700x40c,tubeless. Was wondering what the max was that it could take…have seen some people mentioning 45c? I’m trying to work out what year model mine is,what color scheme is your’s? Mine is the red,black and white one.

I am aware that it’s a CX bike😊I imagine for proper roadies and people far more experienced than me who are used to carbon bikes,it’s probably quite heavy. But for me,especially since I had a road bike as well that was very heavy(10kgs +),I really enjoy this bike and it’s fit for purpose,or at least mine. We live in an area that is interconnected by district roads,so it’s quick on and off the tar.Also,being a newbie I was nervous of buying second hand carbon as I don’t know enough to know what to look for,so I stuck with the aluminum frame and got the best group set I could. Perhaps that better explains where I’m coming from,it’s not a touring bike,it’s for 2-3hour rides/races and my indoor trainer.

Thanks so much for all the advice/info. Much appreciated,I was leaning towards getting a second set of wheels with road specific tyres and this has confirmed it’s the best option!

Hi all…some advice would be greatly appreciated as I am fairly new to cycling,only been riding about a year.I have a giant TCX(my precious),currently has Ultegra 11 speed 50/34 with 11/32 cassette at the back. I have Maxxis Rambler 40’s on it as we’re on a farm and I ride it mostly on district roads and then on and off the tar. It’s great and I love riding it. Next year though I would like to get more competitive racing road and gravel,my question,especially for those who have experience with this,is to what extent would the fatter tyres slow you down in a road race? Would it be better to get another set of wheels with road specific tyres? I have done some research on the rolling resistance etc and yes they are faster but I’d also just like to hear from those that perhaps have 1 bike with 2 sets or just ride their one bike and maybe have a gravel tire that’s suited to both gravel and road?(if that’s possible as I want to race both). Thanks guys!