Riding Road Bike On Gravel

Riding on gravel can be hard when you re used to the road.

Riding road bike on gravel. Gravel riding is less about getting from point a to point b. With frequent steep rises and loose surfaces gravel riding often blurs the line between road and mountain biking. Gravel riding offers all the adventure enjoyment and effort of road cycling but with a wilder edge and without having to worry about dangerous and oblivious drivers. A versatile bike setup is an important element to surviving and even thriving with gravel s unique physiological demands.

While gravel specific bikes are becoming more and more common the cool thing about gravel riding is that you don t need a dedicated gravel bike to do it. So you might feel the difference riding with friends on the uphills but it shouldn t be a huge deal. Gravel bikes and road bikes are very similar. A gravel bike is often a little bit heavier than a road bike because it s built to be sturdier.

Gravel riding began in the us where long remote stretches of fire road bridged the gap between the worlds of road mountain biking and cyclocross. So what exactly is the difference between a gravel bike and a road bike. There s an entire category of bike called the all road bike which overlaps with gravel bike and road bike at the same time. Whether you re riding on sand pea gravel grit or rocks simon shares his golden rules to ensure you get the most out of your riding.

But there are some minor distinctions such as the frame design brakes tires and bike. We provide a full gravel events calendar forum reviews and resources to help you get on gravel. You can use almost any kind of bike whether it s a mountain hybrid cyclo cross or even a road bike. The biggest problem is that the skinny tires will not handle loose gravel well at all.

Ordinary limestone gravel is not particularly hazardous to tires though gravel composed of say crushed volcanic rock might be a problem. But it has also opened the door for outfitting road bike style frames with much wider surefooted tires. A road bike is best fit for traveling on paved paths while the other is built for comfort and can handle all sorts of terrain.