Dumb question: what do roadies do when they hit dirt roads?
06-23-07, 07:57 PM
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Dumb question: what do roadies do when they hit dirt roads?
So I'm riding on my trusty hybrid, mulling over my first road bike in 30 years, and then the road suddenly turns into one of those part asphalt, part dirt, lots of gravel things. On the hybrid, of course, no problem. And of course on my fantasy road bike (coming soon, maybe) I would slow down, obviously. But is that enough? Would a proper roadie look at a dirt road and simply turn around and stay on the nice asphalt?
I assume that this isn't actually a problem, but when I had my old road bike the wheels seemed to bend so easily it took a lot of the fun out of riding. So I was wondering what the cool people on hot bikes would do in a situation such as the above.
I assume that this isn't actually a problem, but when I had my old road bike the wheels seemed to bend so easily it took a lot of the fun out of riding. So I was wondering what the cool people on hot bikes would do in a situation such as the above.
06-23-07, 08:06 PM
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Turn around. We're PAVED roadies.
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06-23-07, 08:09 PM
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Depends on the dirt road. I go over some short sections fine, but turn around if I think it's gonna be a long time.
06-23-07, 08:14 PM
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Don't buy into the myth that your precious road bike will twist itself into a pretzel if ridden on anything other than asphalt. Gravel/dirt roads are fine. A road bike is a lot tougher than most people seem to think. A lot tougher than most people, anyway.
Oh, except carbon fiber bikes. They will melt if exposed to dirt roads.
Oh, except carbon fiber bikes. They will melt if exposed to dirt roads.
06-23-07, 08:18 PM
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I have ridden dirt/gravel roads on my *GASP* carbon fiber Giant OCR. I figure if the pros can ride those cobbles in Europe at 20+ mph, I can handle a little dirt/gravel fine.
And so far no flats.
-D
And so far no flats.
-D
06-23-07, 08:21 PM
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uhhh... ride over it? Go slow, keep pedalling, you'll be fine. I've done several miles of gravel roads on road tires no problem.
06-23-07, 08:21 PM
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Originally Posted by derath
I have ridden dirt/gravel roads on my *GASP* carbon fiber Giant OCR. I figure if the pros can ride those cobbles in Europe at 20+ mph, I can handle a little dirt/gravel fine.
And so far no flats.
-D
And so far no flats.
-D
06-23-07, 08:25 PM
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It depends on the surface. If it is hard-packed, no problem. If there is deep, loose gravel, skinny road tires may sink into the gravel and make the bike unstable; possibly causing you to take a spill.
06-23-07, 08:25 PM
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See Paris Roubaix
06-23-07, 08:31 PM
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Be light on the saddle, shift your weight towards the back wheel, and keep pedaling through...
Real roadies keep don't let a little disruption like dirt and gravel get in the way of the ride.
Real roadies keep don't let a little disruption like dirt and gravel get in the way of the ride.
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06-23-07, 08:40 PM
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If it's not too sandy, I ride it.
No big difference between cross bikes and road bikes aside from the tires. Cross bikes go just about everywhere.
No big difference between cross bikes and road bikes aside from the tires. Cross bikes go just about everywhere.
06-23-07, 09:24 PM
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What do roadies do? They keep going.
06-23-07, 09:36 PM
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Depends on the tires... and whether the road surface is dirt or coarse gravel. Dirt is ok.
My experience, a bad gravel road is almost guaranteed to cut the casing threads on the sidewall of a skinwall tire. I'm good to go on rough roads if the tire has some rubber on the sidewalls. My tubular road tires stay on the paved roads.
My experience, a bad gravel road is almost guaranteed to cut the casing threads on the sidewall of a skinwall tire. I'm good to go on rough roads if the tire has some rubber on the sidewalls. My tubular road tires stay on the paved roads.
06-23-07, 09:39 PM
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what do roadies do when they hit dirt roads?
In all seriousness though, the comments about Paris-Roubaix are spot on. It's also worth noting that it has only been fairly recently that all of the mountain roads in the Giro and Tour were paved. Up through the early 80s it wasn't at all uncommon to see people racing road bikes on dirt roads. It even seems to me that I saw a dirt road mountain-top finish in a pro road race just within the last few months, although I may just be hitting the pipe a little too hard these days.
06-23-07, 09:41 PM
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No problem riding on dirt roads. What bothers me is the dust grinding the chain, cogs, derailleur, etc. - or the thought of it.
06-23-07, 09:46 PM
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dont worry.. your components can handle a little dust..
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06-23-07, 09:49 PM
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I haven't had any problems with the roadie holding up on gravel/dirtish roads.. Main concern would be the lack of traction imo.