coppi Posted January 29, 2018 Posted January 29, 2018 Hi Hubbers Considering our bad state of roads and the added danger of sharing with reckless drivers, could one not consider a gravel bike for training / club rides on tar and switch to thinner road tyres for races ? That way the road shoulder can be ridden if necessary and tubeless would prevent far less punctures. Keep a spare set of normal road sets for your racing days. Is this a good option?
bertusras Posted January 29, 2018 Posted January 29, 2018 Prepare for a myriad of opinions and feelings. I have a gravel bike and I absolutely love it, for the exact reasons mentioned above. It's pretty fast everywhere except for rough gravel and technical off-road bits. If ever I'm riding on the road and I feel uncomfortable, I just hop off onto the dirt and continue on my merry way. As for racing road events with it, I'm sure it would work. Just two observations. The frame is designed for wide gravel tyres, so when you put a 25/28C road tyre in there, there's gonna be a lot of space between the tyre and the frame, which could look funny, but it is purely an aesthetic thing in the end (maybe a small bit of aero too), and weight. They are more sturdy than road frames, so there is a weight penalty of course. Mine comes in at 9.5kg in gravel trim. Oh and third, gearing. This depends on the terrain you'll be riding. I actually take mine proper off-road and up steep mountains, so I'm running a 36/42 CX Crank, paired to a 11-36 cassette at the back. You miiiiiight be found wanting when you're in a fast group. However, I've taken my bike out with some fast groups before, and it was quite fine apart from the downhill bits.
coppi Posted January 29, 2018 Author Posted January 29, 2018 Thank you for the input so far, gearing was a concern........ Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
coppi Posted January 29, 2018 Author Posted January 29, 2018 Prepare for a myriad of opinions and feelings. I have a gravel bike and I absolutely love it, for the exact reasons mentioned above. It's pretty fast everywhere except for rough gravel and technical off-road bits. If ever I'm riding on the road and I feel uncomfortable, I just hop off onto the dirt and continue on my merry way. As for racing road events with it, I'm sure it would work. Just two observations. The frame is designed for wide gravel tyres, so when you put a 25/28C road tyre in there, there's gonna be a lot of space between the tyre and the frame, which could look funny, but it is purely an aesthetic thing in the end (maybe a small bit of aero too), and weight. They are more sturdy than road frames, so there is a weight penalty of course. Mine comes in at 9.5kg in gravel trim. Oh and third, gearing. This depends on the terrain you'll be riding. I actually take mine proper off-road and up steep mountains, so I'm running a 36/42 CX Crank, paired to a 11-36 cassette at the back. You miiiiiight be found wanting when you're in a fast group. However, I've taken my bike out with some fast groups before, and it was quite fine apart from the downhill bits.
Eldron Posted January 29, 2018 Posted January 29, 2018 On One Bish Bash Bosh has to be one of the best bang for buck everyroaders at the moment!
Sitting slip Posted January 29, 2018 Posted January 29, 2018 got a cx bike with 42c tyres on for when i know i am going off road and a set of mtb wheels with road tyres on and same casette as cx wheels. works well.
Schnavel Posted January 29, 2018 Posted January 29, 2018 On One Bish Bash Bosh has to be one of the best bang for buck everyroaders at the moment! I'm looking at getting one of these when I go to the UK in July - best value for money I have seen, especially for a bike with Sram Force CX1
bikebloke Posted January 29, 2018 Posted January 29, 2018 this depends on your version of road RACING ....if you just enjoy taking part in road events then ride what you like (and where ) ...if you are going to try to be seriously competitive in road events then you are going to have to try quite hard because these "gravel" bikes even with other tires arent made to competitive in those divisions unless you ride like Sagan
coppi Posted January 29, 2018 Author Posted January 29, 2018 this depends on your version of road RACING ....if you just enjoy taking part in road events then ride what you like (and where ) ...if you are going to try to be seriously competitive in road events then you are going to have to try quite hard because these "gravel" bikes even with other tires arent made to competitive in those divisions unless you ride like Sagan 30km/h average in most road races is good enough for me..............is it possible?
bikebloke Posted January 29, 2018 Posted January 29, 2018 30km/h average in most road races is good enough for me..............is it possible? thats up to you and your legs some guys can do that on an mtb 1x
Eldron Posted January 29, 2018 Posted January 29, 2018 30km/h average in most road races is good enough for me..............is it possible?Yup. Get some "racing wheels" that are light weight with road slicks and some "training wheels" with fast CX tyres on them. That way you race fast and train fun. Walking paths also become doable on CX tyres- you'll discover tons more places to ride. Do it!
Big_Al Posted January 29, 2018 Posted January 29, 2018 Been on a gravel bike since the beginning of the year. Front chain ring: 42TCassette: 10 - 42TTires: 38C Panaracer Gravel King SK Would start spinning out at about 55-60km/h on a downhill. Probably about 3-5km/h slower on the flats or 5-10% harder at the 30 - 40km/hr zone. With slicks I don't think there would be much difference on the flats, only issues in a race would be top end and a slight weight penalty on the climbs. Best bike I have bought, and its steel!!
Schnavel Posted January 29, 2018 Posted January 29, 2018 Been on a gravel bike since the beginning of the year. Front chain ring: 42TCassette: 10 - 42TTires: 38C Panaracer Gravel King SK Would start spinning out at about 55-60km/h on a downhill. Probably about 3-5km/h slower on the flats or 5-10% harder at the 30 - 40km/hr zone. With slicks I don't think there would be much difference on the flats, only issues in a race would be top end and a slight weight penalty on the climbs. Best bike I have bought, and its steel!! Pictures or it didn't happen!
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