halfspeed

Why would I bother to deny any such thing?

I would be wrong if I had suggested any such thing.

Let's review. This is the "road cycling" forum where we discuss cycling on roads. Cycling on gravel roads is road cycling therefore relevant to this forum. There's no rule about which marketing category bike you bring.

halfspeed

I gave up Marlboros almost 20 years ago. Sorry.

BarryJo

Some of my most memorable rides involved my road bike, good friends, gravel roads and 420.
This thread deserves more love!

rjones28 

I'm converting my old road bike to single speed for dirt road riding.

buffalowings

I would ride my cyclocross bike on all sorts of terrain, gravel, dirt, road, you name it.

halfspeed

Anyway, here's a road bike with just enough clearance for 32mm tires that I used to use on gravel. You can tell it's a "road bike" because it has dual pivot calipers.

Myosmith

OP, don't make the same mistake I made when I first came here and assume that "road" cycling is any use of a bicycle on a road. Roadies are a pretty exclusive bunch and God forbid anyone call a CX, touring, or hybrid a "road" bike.

There have been several gravel grinding threads in the CX forum. I did bring up one time that if beach cruisers, BMX, MTB, fixies and touring needed their own subforums, how about gravel grinders? No movement on that front yet. It seems that, while gravel grinding is as old a cycling itself, it is just now coming into its own as a sport and is having some trouble gaining acceptance. How some people can consider it a "fad" when people have been riding unpaved roads since the dawn of two wheeled transportation is beyond me. I took up gravel grinding last year in addition to my road riding and touring. I find it significantly different that CX or "road" riding and deserving of its own identity, but that's IMHO.

Ghost Ryder

Theres more threads for GG in the CX subforum.
Sure it's not exactly the same, but if you're looking for tire suggestions you'd be better off in the CX section.

I ride some of my CXers with 28mm Armadillos, they're fine on dirt gravel, but get sketchy on sand, & grass.
Rock gets a bit technical too. Most CX tires geared for dirt, sand will work for GG.
Can't comment on sidewall durability, but the compound on most of these tires are on the soft side so tread wear is not great on pavement.

Check out the "darkside"/CX subforum, we bite your head off for asking road bike questions.
Most of us do both road, & CX.

shelbyfv

"Gravel" riding here in middle TN is mostly dirt roads, lots of creek crossings with rocky bottoms, short steep climbs up the ridges that separate the creeks. I've done several rides on and old HT mtb with fat knobbies. Seemed like overkill. I've now built up an old Cannondale ST and will hopefully try it out this weekend. I have Vittoria rando pros that are 37 nominally but actually measure 32. I was a little disappointed to find that this is as wide as I can fit on the ST, chainstays being the tight spot. I have a Sugino triple with a 26t small ring, nine speed cassette with 28t large cog. I've ordered an 11-32 cassette just in case. Should be interesting.

rjones28 

Living in rural New York many of my road rides are "gravel rides". I don't have a special bike for it.

CbadRider

Moved from Road to Cyclocross.

MileHighMark

Every bike can be a gravel bike.

Free your mind, and your bike will follow.

rjones28 

Do gravel races have barriers? Runups? Mud? Waffles?

fietsbob

Old classic races were run before the roads were paved , or if paved , the pavers were stones..

The Paris-Roubaix and Ghent Wevelgem and other road races include cobbled sections as a homage to the old days.

the Roman Empire type road. hand set stones .. shaped to be squarish .

LesterOfPuppets

Cyclocross?

rjones28 

Tour de France.

BluesDawg

Some day bikeforums will have a dirt road/gravel subforum. Just because cyclocross bikes are one kind of bike that can be ridden on dirt roads, it is not cyclocross. I have been hosting a series of dirt road rides in Middle Georgia (the monthly grind) and we get riders on mountain bikes, cyclocross bikes and old school road bikes with wider tires.

Andy_K 

Welcome to the cyclocross forum!!

This forum has always been kind of a mixed bag anyway, and since cyclocross racing got moved to the racing subforum area it's been even more lacking for identity. There is no such thing, really, as non racing cyclocross riding, so this is as good a place as any for gravel grinder threads.

BTW, check out this link for a semi-organized gravel ride on the Oregon's Perry Roubaix route (as seen on velodirt.com) that's happening Feb. 23 -- https://goo.gl/PzOGYC

I rode that route last month and it's some sweet gravel. I used a CX bike (gasp!) with 700x35 Marathon Supremes (i.e. semi-fat slicks). Something with a little tread would probably have been better, but most of the roads have a bare swath through the gravel. I'm thinking about breaking out my new Clement LAS's for the Feb 23 ride. Some friends did it with Clement USH's and those looked just about perfect.

pdxtex

barriers....do large potholes and cattle grates count?

runups? no, why would i want put my feet on the ground and carry my bicycle? up steps??

mud....yes!


waffles...only if you are buying....

Ghost Ryder

All the above...
Barriers/run ups = rail road tracks, fallen trees/stumps.
Here in the PNW, we often use single track trails as our gravel routes.
Not necessarily always on our MTBs, I like riding them on my CXers.
Waffles = honey stingers in my jersey pockets.

Edit: I see we ended up in the CX section.
Thx Cbad!

pdxtex

apparently gravel riding is the red haired step child nobody wants....like a young weasley child left on the platform. the more i get into it though, the more i like it. i think my next bike is going to be a modified all city nature boy with some big, bouncy inner city cruisers like those specialized crossroads armadillos....something to handle gravel and those smashed bottles of mad dog on the mean chinatown streets....

BarryJo

Why this was moved from the road forum to cyclocross is beyond comprehension. A road is a road is a road be it paved or gravel - there are many "roadies" who enjoy riding our road bikes on the dirt and gravel as much as, if not more than riding paved roads.
Cyclocross was, is, and always will be about racing.

Ghost Ryder

I totally agree with this...
But as the popularity of CX grows, so does the offerings all the major/minor bike companies.
You can buy a commuter friendly CX from most companies, & people have realized CXers are the prefect blend as a "do all" bike.
IMO its what hybrids should've been. Theres many people who own CXers who don't race, & probably have no intention of doing so. But they like that they can navigate paved/non paved road, even light trails with ease, & not have to worry about messing up their prized carbon race bikes.
I find riding with dropbars much more comfortable, & I don't ride anything else.
IMO gravel grinding morphed from CXers, & MXers/monstercross.
To say GG does not belong here is wrong IMO.
Just my $0.02.

Plus the fact the CX season being as short as it is, we have to find better things to do with our rigs!

Niloc

+2 BarryJo and Ghost

Interesting thread. I was confused by some of the comments until I realized that this thread had been moved from the Road to the Cyclocross forum. I agree there seems to be some need for a dirt/gravel road sub-forum or something. Are some of the those in the "Road Cycling" forum offended that anything but riding on hard smooth surfaces be discussed? As folks pointed out here, many of the most famous road races in cycling were and in some cases still are run on dirt or gravel roads. To me cyclocross refers to a specific type of racing, not a type of riding. To my mind "gravel grinding" harkens back to that earlier era of road racing and has much more in common with traditional road racing or touring than it does with cyclocross which is a type of goofball obstacle course criterium racing. It has a lot more mud than dirt or gravel. I love it, I'm not being insulting but it doesn't have much in common with road racing, dirt or otherwise.

Is it only in North America that cyclocross bikes are being marketed as everything bikes? Seems that non-racers would be better served by more of a touring type frame. Of course some of the manufacturers are moving their offerings that way and calling them Cross something because it's faddish at the moment. My 'cross bike, set up for racing, is good for that and for mild XC style mountain biking, and it's not much good on the road. There are better options.

I'm doing the Gran Fondo Ephrata in March. https://rideviciouscycle.com/events/gran-fondo-ephrata/ 80 miles of remote roads with lots of dirt and gravel. I could use my 'cross bike I guess, but I think I'll be better served on my road bike with its lower bottom bracket and wider gearing (particularly more top end). I emailed the organizer and he agreed that a road bike with relatively narrow tires was the speed way to go. Fortunately mine is not an overly constrained racified frame so I can put 700x28 or 32 tires on and call it good. Cantis not needed thank you (and thank god).

So I vote we move this thread back to the Road Cycling forum!

Niloc

Bingo! (This comment was from when the thread was in the Road Cycling Forum)