Any Gravel Riders Here?

[cantunamunch]

Could be a resonance thing..maybe bump the pressure up or down 20psi and see what happens. Sometimes funny things happen with flexy forks that can be..unnerving. I'm looking at you Kinesis!! Or poor geo..

It's going to have to be up - when I rode through at 60psi I got told I had a flat - twice

I have just about had it with this bike, not spending another dime (read: OK, maybe I'll spring for tires but they deffo won't be Compass) on it.

 

[slowrider]

Grew up riding gravel roads on an English racer. Got the scars to prove it.

 

[Ross Biff]

Which makes for a nice segue for a little problem I ran into.

Imagine a 5%-6% downgrade with 1-2 inch projections, spaced about 6-8 inches apart.

I can ride that downgrade on an MTB with 2.1 tires - and nothing happens, it just rolls over, even up to 40psi
I can ride that downgrade on a roadie with 28mm tires and it's a bit rough but not objectionable - at 110psi

I ride that downgrade on the cheapo pseudo-gravel pseudo-touring bike with 33mm tires at 70 psi - and the front end bucks sideways and diagonally. If there were such things as pygmy mules kicking the front wheel both up and into flopover - that's what it would feel like.

At 25mph+ it feels - well I can make an argument for 'deadly' . At 12-15mph it is just spectacularly disconcerting. At 10mph it's *almost* gone.

Tire, pressure or bike geo?

I recently changed from the stock alu fork on my merida speeder gravel build- up to a carbon fork. This tamed the harsh front end noticeably. Also went to a tubeless set up with schwalbe g one 37 mm tyres and the hole bike feels faster and more controlled. I didn't check the geo on both forks so there could be more going on than the material change but it feels much better.

 

[cantunamunch]

Sounds like you earned that login name in france?

 

[Ross Biff]

Sounds like you earned that login name in france?

Well spotted!

 

[wallyk]

Here in the MinnieApple we have miles upon miles of flat gravel "trails". To "conquer" these athletic endeavors, I have the original gravel bike: Bridgestone X0-3........Feast your eyes..

 

[Ron]

It's going to have to be up - when I rode through at 60psi I got told I had a flat - twice

I have just about had it with this bike, not spending another dime (read: OK, maybe I'll spring for tires but they deffo won't be Compass) on it.

Wait! No love for Compass tires? Love my Bon Jon’s @ 40/45. Def’ not a sharp stone tire but for packed they fly and even on chip n seal, they are nearly as fast as Schwalbe pro ones. (Ultralight version).

 

[cantunamunch]

Wait! No love for Compass tires? .

Oh lots of love for Compass tires, but no Compass-level love for this bike. I'm not sure it even deserves Conti-level love; if it gets cheapo WTBs from Perforated Romance/ Gnashbar it should feel lucky.

 

[cantunamunch]

Could be a resonance thing..maybe bump the pressure up or down 20psi and see what happens. Sometimes funny things happen with flexy forks that can be..unnerving. I'm looking at you Kinesis!! Or poor geo..

80 psi was unrideable. I have an idea though - dig a longer stem out from the parts bin and go back to 65-70psi.

 

[cantunamunch]

Oh lots of love for Compass tires, but no Compass-level love for this bike. I'm not sure it even deserves Conti-level love; if it gets cheapo WTBs from Perforated Romance/ Gnashbar it should feel lucky.

It got WTB Riddlers in a 37 and a 110 stem. It's not a night and day difference but I feel like I'm on the right track. Going to try a 120 mm next. I might have to change the post out too - I suspect the suspension one is somehow complicit in this silliness.

 

[CalG]

I have recently discovered the awesome world of gravel roads here in the Denver/Boulder area. I mostly ride road but have started to combine road and gravel more and more and honestly starting to prefer gravel riding for its serenity compared to road. Yes, I still only have my road bike with 25c tires but that will do for the next few weeks until my gravel/cross bike gets here.

Any other gravel grinders here?

I have no choice. The nearest pave is a mile. The "other ways", go on forever..... ;-)

 

[Tom K.]

Going to join a semi-organized 90 miler with 9,500 feet of climbing on Sunday.

Stay tuned for ride report, if I live through it!

 

[cantunamunch]

Going to join a semi-organized 90 miler with 9,500 feet of climbing on Sunday.

Stay tuned for ride report, if I live through it!

The rain on the pain is (mostly) in the plain!

 

[cantunamunch]

I seriously need like a full on swamp version of the Riddlers

 

[cantunamunch]

Gravel

 

[Tom K.]

Big one today, at 94 miles and 9,800 feet of climbing. Good day on the bike, but probably no need to pedal anything anywhere tomorrow!

The new-ish Trek Checkpoint performed flawlessly.

The ride was basically on the north and northeastern "shoulders" of Mt. Hood, beginning and ending in beautiful Hood River, OR.

 

[robertmoore]

Yes, I am here

 

[Ski&ride]

Going to join a semi-organized 90 miler with 9,500 feet of climbing on Sunday.

Stay tuned for ride report, if I live through it!

90 miles of gravel is not that easy to come by in the northeast. We’d had to mix in some paved sections here and there. Lucky you to have so much contiguous dirt roads.

 

[luliski]

Gravel

View attachment 52413

I would call those "packed babyheads."

 

[cantunamunch]

I would call those "packed babyheads."

The town of Alexandria calls those "authentic 18th century cobblestones". Fortunately they're smoother than the DC version - gah.