slipknot0129

Have you ever ridden on gravel roads? How much harder do you think it is compared to paved roads?

For me I did 20 miles on paved roads. I can only do 5 miles on gravel roads. Seems like the 5 miles on gravel road do alot more work on my legs than 20 miles on paved roads. Might be because I enjoy riding in town more.

It seems I lose alot of efficiency riding on gravel roads.

I am getting better at riding. I use to only be able to ride on 5 mile ride on gravel roads in a week,Now I did it 4 times in a week. I also use to walk up hills,now I ride up all of them.

Machka 

I've ridden bicycles for 37 years. Have I ever ridden on gravel roads ... what do you think? Of course I've ridden gravel roads!! I'm not fond of it ... I try to avoid it ... but I've done it. And yes, of course riding on gravel, especially thick gravel, is harder than riding on pavement ... basic physics.

martianone

slipknot-
I ride on gravel/dirt roads - a lot.
What type of bike & tires do you use to ride on the gravel ?

pwdeegan

the type of road gravel also makes a big difference. roadies fear gravel. but all off-roadies suffer it (or delight in the suffering—same thing really) because they all know the truth: unpaved roads go to better places. just ask Robert Frost.

xtrajack

Almost any surface is harder going than being on asphalt, well packed dirt isn't too bad, loose sand is the pits.
When I did my pie ride, a good portion of the trail turned out to be loose sand, wound up walking a good part of it.

DataJunkie

Incorrect on all accounts but thanks for playing.

pablosnazzy

riding on gravel road is 35.679% harder than on paved road. (*note: i made that number up. the actual amount i have no idea, but yes, gravel is more difficult than paved).

and congrats on the improvement. the more you ride, the stronger you will get, and the farther you will go and the more fun you will have. keep at it.

slorollin

"because they all know the truth: unpaved roads go to better places"

Not in Jersey City. There you're better off avoiding roads less traveled.

knobster

I ride them frequently. Where I live, if I decide to leave from my house, most roads are similar to this: pavement, dirt road, pavement. You just can't avoid it. So, what I do is if I know I'll probably encounter the odd dirt road, I take my rain bike. It's a cross bike setup with what Specialized calls it's "free road" tires. 700x32, knobbies on the sides, slick in the center. I use the puncture resistant model (Armadillo version) and have found they are fairly quick on pavement and do an exceptional job on dirt/gravel roads.

fietsbob

If it's on the way to where you need to go, you deal with it..

JohnDThompson 

A loose surface is always harder to ride on than a paved surface, but wider tires and lower pressure can mitigate a lot of the problems.

Cyclist01012 

We hunt them out, its even better when you can find a dirt road that dosn't show up on a map.

XR2

I run 700 X 32 Marathons and ride gravel/packed dirt 2 or 3 times a week. I enjoy it on easy days. Where I live it's difficult to avoid them and many are in better shape then the pavement.

steve0257

Gravel's not to bad as long as you don't hit the road the day after they layed down fresh gravel

wahoonc

I ride gravel on a regular basis, because the cars avoid them. I also don't own a bike with tires under 35mm wide either, most are in the 40mm range.

Aaron

indyjanie

I think the type of gravel makes a huge difference. Loose gravel seems to be just as bad as loose anything else, loose sucks.

Size of the gravel makes it different too, gravel that's actually gravel (a decent size or smaller) seems a more enjoyable ride/workout than giant pieces that are really just rocks pretending to be gravel....

I always wonder this though when plugging in my workouts and trying to find calorie burns. 5 miles on gravel or uphill cannot be the same as 5 miles going flat, yet there is no option for "worked my butt off" or "nice easy coasting" in the calculations.

pwdeegan

and thank you for continuing your as-ever insightful contributions. would you care to elaborate (for my own edification) on how the post was incorrect?

DataJunkie

Point 1: roadies do not fear gravel.
Point 2: breweries are located next to roads.

Ergo you are incorrect. Better?

pwdeegan

a. that would not be incorrect on all points.
b. not all breweries are located next to paved roads.
c. some unpaved roads/single tracks will get you to breweries faster.
d. Robert Frost is still spot on.

DataJunkie

a. I suppose you had three points originally. One being the self aggrandizing "mountain bikers love the suffering" statement. I assume that could be correct depending on the person.
b. name one
c. name one
d. so?

pwdeegan

a: lexically it's not 'self-aggrandizing', it's 'sarcasm', since being enthusiastic about suffering is generally not considered healthy behavior; it's also not 'self' because i never implicated myself either in favor or against self-imposed suffering. an aggrandizing statement would be something like: "mountain bikers are God's gift to bicycling, and the salvation of wanker roadies." i'm not sure any MTBs would agree with me, and i can't personally vouch for the statement's accuracy, not being a self-proclaimed mountain biker myself. (i'm a pure opportunist of all rideable surfaces.)

a2: i never actually mentioned mountain bikers.

b: a few examples: New Glarus Brewing Company, Skookum Brewery, and a good number of zymurgists in my area of the Willamette valley (many of whom also produce private vintages of wine). you might find some in your neck of the country if you took the time to look for them, which would require getting off the paved roads.

c. see 'b'. not to mention, it's often faster to ride across the lawn of a park to the brew house than it is to take the busy road.

d. because it serves to remind us why an unpaved road might be a better path, and it's a great poem by one of the US's most influential poets.

and... let's not forget that a perfect ride can start at home, ride paved for miles on miles, ride some spectacular unpaved roads, return on the paved roads, and end at a pub. which in my world means that sometimes the best route to a pub is necessarily via unpaved surfaces.

DataJunkie

I do believe you are taking this a tad too seriously.

DataJunkie

You made a set of inaccurate generalizations and I responded.

Elkhound

Gravel can be fun, as long as you have the right machine for it. Wide, low-pressure, knobby tires and (perhaps, although this is debatable) suspension will make things a lot easier. And an internal-hub drive so that your gears are protected from the debris the wheels will kick up, and fenders to protect yourself.

Thomas O

I ride gravel to make me a stronger rider. My friend has set up a 32 mile, very hilly course that we ride. I use my mountain bike though. I would never ride gravel with my road bike, but thats just me...