dougphoto

The roads around me are total crap, I've been thinking of going to 28mm tires but I'm not sure they will fit my frame. I've also been thinking about going to a specialized Cg-R seat post. I'm so tired of getting banged around. Any experience with the CG-R?

SylvainG

Road over here are bad as well. I usually stand on the pedals when I'm about to reach a rough patch and coast over it. I had 35mm tires and switched to 28mm last weekend. A bit harder ride but raising from the seat helps. When on smooth pavement though, the 28mm makes a good difference.

Marcus_Ti

Most places I've been in the USA...the story is the same.

For road usage, you're better suited with a CX bike than a road bike, as the roads are that bad that regularly. Sure the roads get fixed from time to time, but a repavement job lasts maybe a winter or two at most.

gsindela

Here too. I found that airing down to 70/75 on my 25's made a good bit of difference. I'll take the comfort hike over additional rolling resistance any day.

exmechanic89

Awful roads around here, too. As others have said running lower tire pressure helps a lot, and I stand on the pedals when crossing really bad patches, helps a lot. Some areas are so bad I just slow down to around 5mph, which is better than trashing the bike and possibly getting thrown on the ground. I often think my times would be much, much better if I wasnt having to constantly adjust my speed for terrible roads.

Spoonrobot 

Sounds like you need an expensive, proprietary stem-mounted shock. Perhaps a shock of the future

jk bigger tires are the way to go. I've been on 37mm or 42mm tires for years now, they work great for smoothing out really rough stuff with only a little speed loss.

Bike Gremlin

I'd rather get a proper frame - longer chainstays and room for at least 32 mm tyres.

SylvainG

Any problem with 'snake bite' type puncture?

Carbonfiberboy 

Our tandem stoker post is a CG-R. Stoker likes it very much. It doesn't damp the big hits that much - one has to stand for that - but it makes the small stuff, like cracks and the like much less obnoxious. Worth the money. For the front end, I just keep my elbows well bent and it's no big deal.

One has to experiment with tire pressures to see what you can get away with and not pinch flat. Or get new wheels and run tubular or tubeless.

WhyFi

I remember seeing a test of shock absorbing seat posts, and the Spec didn't fare as well as a couple others - iirc, one with a split pillar design was the favorite.

edit: found it - https://www.bikeradar.com/us/road/gea...-gravel-46208/

jamesdak 

Hence why I sold my Madone and CR1 pro and went to steel. Tried everything I could to get the comfortable on our rough roads but they just couldn't compare to my steel Lemond. So picked up a few old steel bikes and am back to enjoying things.

No trying to make this a CF/steel debate though. I do have some steel that ride harsh on those conditions too. I tried a Domane and well, was not impressed. Why spend thousands on it when I could get a whole slew of old quality bikes to ride.

Design does help too. Relaxed geometry with room for larger tires at lower pressures. Soft thick bar tape for me too. And if it works for you a leather saddle can be blissful.

This is really comfortable and my favorite century ride. Give us pretty much nothing in the speed department at my pace:



And this was is running cushy 700 x 30 tires with room to go larger.

jamesdak 

I've found the FSA K-Force Light to work pretty well for comfort on a couple of my bikes. Wish I could afford it for more of them.

dougphoto

that's a great read thanks

DrIsotope

If you're not running on at least 700x28s, you live somewhere that the roads aren't that bad. I bought a CX frame specifically because inland SoCal roads are for the most part horrendous-- no rain and no freezing means the roads last. They last so long, there are roads here that have never been repaved. It's the same asphalt that went down in the 1950s. And some of it is just brutal.

The choice of tire makes more of a difference than anything. If you have the right tire at the right pressure, you'll never know if there's an overpriced suspension seatpost on there or not. I run (relatively) expensive, moderate-lifespan 700x32 tubeless because the local crap roads are constantly covered in debris and goatheads.

I can all but guarantee a 700x28 Panaracer Pasela will fit your bike-- I put a pair on my wife's 52cm road bike, and though they mount a bit narrow on her Mavic CXP22s, the added supple sidewall and softer casing make for a much smoother ride.

catgita

I designed a road bike for 38mm tires some years ago, long before wide tires or gravel bikes were a thing, and wouldn't you know it, they repaved all the streets and bike trails around me the week I built the darn thing. But since Compass introduced their tires, I ride much further and hit plenty of bad roads and unpaved stuff. 38mm is now the narrowest thing I run. Smooth ride on very stiff bikes.

sh00k

there is a 5 mile loop in my area and it's a mix of 50% newly paved/super smooth roads and 50% **** roads. do you have the option of mapping out a ride over only the smooth areas if you have smooth areas in your neighborhood?

i ride for fitness so simply ignoring the pothole'd roads works fine for me. just wondering if you can do the same.

PepeM

My roads are good. 23s for me.

Bike Gremlin

I prefer tyres (and wheels) that can take some beating - in case I miss to miss a pothole.

jeffreythree

Post your frame, I am sure someone here might know how large a tire might fit. Going up to 28mm tires was the best thing I ever did for comfort on nasty roads, and they absorb a lot of the buzz from chip seal. A couple of my local roads are so bad I call them cobblestone because the cobble sized pieces of broken pavement click and clink as you ride over them.

Racing Dan

There are non proprietary models that work on most road bikes too. I agree about fatter tyres.

gsindela

Not so far, but only have about 100 miles on them at that pressure.

bikebreak

Tubular wheels with vittoria 27mm Pave tires.
For rough roads and cobbles you can run 60psi without pinch flats. Good roads run 100psi