bennybenny

Getting into gravel rides using my 29er, which I enjoy riding. After this summer of gravel riding, I have an eye for some longer rides in 2017, maybe even the Dirty Kanza 200.

Question: when I look at some of the ride photos, most riders have gravel specific bikes. Is my 29er too slow to enter in some of these longer, competitive races? I don't care about time or my 'place,' but I also don't want to be at a huge disadvantage.

Are gravel bikes comfortable? I couldn't stand the aggressive geometry of road bikes.

Thanks for any info.

Benny

unterhausen

you don't have a location on your profile, which makes this question harder to answer. I think the Dirty Kanza is probably worst-case for a 29'er given the relatively flat terrain and possibility of headwinds. Even here in the mountains of Pennsylvania, headwinds can be a factor on a long ride, and our gravel roads are almost never flat. But it really depends on what kind of bike you are comfortable riding. If a drop bar bike is not what you ride, then you are stuck.

NormanF

If you want to ride faster, a gravel road/adventure bike is lighter and faster than a 29er over hardpack/gravel.

My flat bar gravel road/adventure bike is lighter and faster than my rigid urban 29er.

The endurance geometry of the gravel road/adventure bike is much more comfortable than the race geometry of the typical road bike.

My GT Eightball feels a lot more comfortable to ride than my old Lemond Zurich road bike.

If you haven't tried the new generation of do-it-all bikes, now you should.

bennybenny

So the geometry of a typical gravel bike is not as aggressive as a road bike? I like the 29er but I sit so high, I feel like a giant sail fighting the wind at times, not sure how it would work for a really long gravel ride.

Do gravel bikes offer tires that are less prone to flats as well? Thanks for any info.

Benny

NormanF

Its more stable than a road bike and less aggressive than a 29er/CX bike because the bottom bracket isn't as high.

Whether you get a drop bar or flat bar version, you'll have an easier riding into the wind simply because you ride a lighter bike.

I run threaded file tires on my flat bar gravel road/adventure bike - mine has 40 c folding bead Schwalbe Marathon Dureme tires and they're light, fast and durable. I haven't gotten a flat yet.

flargle

If I were doing DK, I would ride a rigid 29er with tires in the 40-50mm range and some sort of trekking bars, like the Jones H-Bar, or maybe even a standard MTB flat bar with aero clip-ons. I would tweak with the saddle and stem set-up to try to find a good compromise between comfort and aerodynamics. And I would put a lot of long rides in on this setup, to make sure it's what I wanted.

Some people think that drop bars automatically mean more aerodynamic, but it just isn't so. That's especially true with dirt drop bars, which splay your arms out. AFAIK DK allows aero bars, so why wouldn't you allow yourself that comfort and aerodynamics? That said, you want to be on your brakes when you are pacelining, so make sure that works for you too.

Spoonrobot 

I've been riding my hardail 26" mountain bike with 2.2 tires during this year's gravel series. Last year I rode a aluminum cyclocross style bike with 40mm tires. I've been generally faster this year and have also noticed I'm fresher at the end of the races.

IMO you won't be at a huge disadvantage but the psychological effects can be pretty great. During my first few races I had this nagging feeling that I was giving up something by being on an MTB but after seeing the results, for me at least, there's probably a slight advantage to having wider tires and a suspension fork. I'm usually within 15-20% of the winner's time and that hasn't changed by switching bikes.

Around here (Atlanta, GA area) the top 5 usually have at least 1 29er. Our "gravel" races are pretty technical. Lot's of 2"-4" sized stone sections, loose/freshly poured .5-1" sections, washboarding and usually some singletrack. We don't have a lot of smooth "dirt."

FWIW for the flattest, fastest gravel race I'm going to ride a drop-bar gravel bike mainly because it's the only event I've done on gravel that I rode in a paceline the entire time. So I guess if you expect to be in something like that it might be best to plan accordingly. Twist is that the fastest dude in the paceline and the guy I lost the sprint to was on a full-suspension 29er so what do I know?

I think you'll be fine and have fun with your 29er but it may behoove you to try to adapt to a lower racing position by dropping your bars or getting a negative rise stem. My gravel position is fairly high but still about 2.5 inches lower than my MTB position.

Refreshing

The 2014 winner of the dirty kanza raced a Niner Air 9 with drop bars. You can read about it here:

Dumping, Flatting, Sprinting, Roller Bombing and Horizon Hunting: A Dirty Kanza Half Pint Race Report?? - Cyclocross Magazine - Cyclocross News, Races, Bikes, Photos, Videos

I know this doesn't answer your question perfectly but it does prove that a frame with MTB geometry is adequate for gravel racing. It is also the reason why I decided to convert my Karate Monkey to drop bars instead of selling it for a gravel bike. It was a good decision.

Spoonrobot 

Thought this post from the LD forum was interesting as well.

https://www.bikeforums.net/long-dista...l#post18769516