Road Tires On Gravel Bike Reddit

Gravel bikes used to be a mixed bag of road racers on fat tires and mountain bikes with drop bars but snagging an all terrain ride that s fast on the street and over soil is easier than ever.

Road tires on gravel bike reddit. The pre 2018 diverges are more comfy road bike capable of taking a gravel shortcut. Ordinary limestone gravel is not particularly hazardous to tires though gravel composed of say crushed volcanic rock might be a problem. Lots of variation in the road surfaces including rain wet leaves tree debris tree roots pushing up asphalt and concrete pot holes steel trolley and light rail tracks street marking paint gravel broken glass steep hills etc. That s if you re riding 100 in a suitable area for the easier bike aka being overbiked.

Road tubeless has been around for a while now and response from riders including many of us at bikeradar has been lukewarm at best but if those roads are dirt and gravel i am all in on. The new diverges are full on bikepacking gravel bikes so really designed to have 35 45mm tires. Once you start actually using those gravel tires it s game over for the road bike. The all new grade is the revised version of gt s original gravel bike but now features a new frame design and geometry that offers more compliance with performance.

The biggest problem is that the skinny tires will not handle loose gravel well at all. Suspension tires gearing and position. There are two alloy versions starting at 1 000 and three carbon versions that range between 2 000 to 3 900. You have to consider ride comfort over that distance too so the roadie might be faster for those 6 hours but the gravel bike may be comfier and allow you to go 7 8.

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. That said many of the gravel bikes i have reviewed or ridden trend towards a more relaxed position typically the headtubes on many bikes are a little longer to encourage a more upright position etc. 305g 30mm as tested highs lows. A road bike other than the most lightly built can handle a well packed gravel road trail with minimal loose gravel.

However i prefer a more aggressive position meaning lower front end etc so my setup may not work for a lot of people. You may as well enjoy the comfort on that bike it won t be the tires slowing you. You can go plenty fast on that bike if you re fit enough. Easy to setup versatile all road and light gravel tyre only available in skinnier sizes.

I replicate my gravel bike setup as close as possible to my road bike.