Classic & Vintage - Gravel Grinder Thread Inspired

As the heading says I was inspired by the "Show your Gravel Grinders" thread to build myself a gravel grinder. Actually I already have a couple of bikes that could be considered gravel grinders and truth be told, I'm getting some bikes ready for a swap meet in a couple of weeks and I did'nt want that inspiration to go to waste.

Bike was built entirely from stuff I had on hand and I wanted a to use a frame that I would'nt worry about getting chipped up from flying rocks. So I used an '89 Schwinn World that was hanging around with a Shimano Light Action RD and some Shimano barend shifters I wanted to try out. We're supposed to get some nice weather this weekend so hopefully I can get out for a trial run.

That's a very handsome bike! What tires are you using?

I agree greatlooking bike

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=237633&d=1329430787

Thanks...................tires are 27 X 1 1/4 Kenda gumwalls. I honestly don't remember where they came from but they look and feel new and have a recommended 90psi. Saddle is a Cardiff Touring that I was also wanting to try out. I still need to put some dust caps on the cranks and some toe cages.

27 x 1-1/4 should do reasonably well for gravel; that works out to about 32mm. For "gravel grinders", IMO the biggest consideration is in the wheelset and tires-- a strong wheelset with tires wide enough that you don't need to run them at high pressure, and they won't slide around a lot.

I did a 30+ mile ride on stone roads with 27 x 1 1/4 and they were just fine.

I ride a lot of gravel on 700 X 32 @90PSI. But I'm a fat bastid.

All my bikes get ridden off-pavement eventually, so I chhose tires accordingly. Currently in rotation are:

Vittoria Randonneur Hyper, 700 x 32 and 35
Continental Contact Extralight, 700 x 42 (measures 37mm)
Panaracer Urban Max, 700 x 32

The new bike will be shod with 650 x 42B Schwalbe Marathons.