Road Bike Into Gravel Bike
But it s ideal to think of your safety and travel conditions.
Road bike into gravel bike. As usual the idea comes from the us where the countryside is crisscrossed by miles and miles of unused tracks designed to help fire trucks navigate around remote forests. Any road bike with relaxed geometry that accepts a 28mm tire will work pretty well thom kneeland owner of service course velo in medford oregon. I use a shimano 105. A road bike won t be able to handle rough terrain the way a cyclo cross or mountain bike would so you ll need to avoid potholes larger rocks and the loosest gravel.
Simply said a gravel bike is a combination of a road bike happy on tarmac and a cyclo cross bike happy on mud. It s possible that you can go off roading with your road bike without applying any changes at all. To make your mountain bike better for riding on the road you need to reduce the factors that make your bike suitable off road. Transforming a road bike into a gravel bike.
Riders convert mountain bikes because it s their only bike or to try their first granfondo road group ride gravel grinder or simply to commute. I build a 1x10 gravel cross bike using vintage road bike frame. Road bikes typically don t have suspension but some models have dampening built into the frame. Bees not essential.
3 reasons to buy a gravel bike instead of a roadie as the all road market booms bikes are becoming more capable and more niche the canyon grail cf slx 8 0 di2 photo. A gravel bike is often a little bit heavier than a road bike because it s built to be sturdier. There s an entire category of bike called the all road bike which overlaps with gravel bike and road bike at the same time. Did you know that you can actually turn your current bike into a gravel bike.
The ideal mountain bike for gravel grinding would be a fully rigid 29er. You don t need a gravel bike to go off road si talks you through the small modifications you need in order to get the most out of your road bike when riding gravel. So you might feel the difference riding with friends on the uphills but it shouldn t be a huge deal. Do you already own a road bike.
Try these simple modifications to turn your traditional road bike into a gravel munching machine.