Originally Posted by ljkimmel

I recently upgraded to a Trek Crossrip 2 from a Dual Sport 8.3. I'm not into mountain biking but can't bring my self to own a bike as limited as a traditional roadie. I've felt that the speed and handling is good and an improvement over the DS.

I recently took a ride with a group of guys all with road bikes and clipless pedals. I have regular flat pedals. They all seemed comfortable throughout a 32mi ride at about 15mph average. By 18mi my quads were spent. The question is would clipless pedals help to keep up or is this just how a gravel grinder stacks up to a road?