Originally Posted by
Bad Lag
P.S. - from what I've read of the event and experienced riding in the area, you might want larger than 24T in the rear. I ride 42-24 as my low gear and can master some pretty long grades but not on dirt/gravel. Also, you may want a tire with a bit of tread (gravel can kill tire cords).
Depends on which ride. The shortest route is up and down the coast, a corncob would do just fine. All three of the other rides go over some very steep climbs on gravel roads. A 42-24 would mean walking a good portion of it for just about any rider. Even TdFrance riders are using 42-28 nowadays in the mountains, and they're all paved.
The gravel on Eroica California doesn't need any tread, IMO, and I've done it twice on 700c x 33 1/3 Jack Browns. As a matter of fact, up here in the PNW we ride gravel without knobs, and tread is limited to minimal file pattern. And we've got a lot of gravel roads to ride up here.