masteryehudi

I'm a total newbie, to biking and this forum, but would appreciate any advice.

I have a Specialized Sirrus Elite bike (think it's 2012 model). It's fitted with slightly thicker, more grooved tyres than the ones that come with the bike, I think.

My commute includes about one mile of off-road: it's flat, mostly light gravel and small stones.

My question is: Will doing this bit of off-road on the Sirrus bike every day ultimately ruin the bike? Is there anything I can do to protect the bike?

Appreciate any pointers

andrei_r

If you're able to squeeze some fenders in with those thicker tires, they're going to protect your drivetrain and the frame from the shooting stones...

king_boru

Meh, you will be fine.

masteryehudi

Many thanks. Is there a specific fender (mudguard?) you'd recommend for this bike?

andrei_r

Your bikes's a 2011 BTW. As for what fenders, look at what these people have done:


Specialized Sirrus Elite 2011 | Bikeshd London
The ad is recent, so you could try contacting the owner and inquiring on the model and tire clearance.

FS: 2011 Specialized Sirrus Elite medium hybrid « Singletrack Forum
This other one says that in his case, anything over 28mm tire wouldn't fit. I wonder how god of a job this shorter version does anyway.

Craptacular8

No, that should not ruin your bike. I use similar bikes on gravel rides, no issues. Can always throw on a set of SKS downtube mudguards, and x-tra dry rear mudguards. The downtube ones seem to keep the worst of the rock chips at bay, and keep down some of the mud builddup. The rear one is almost exclusively just to keep the crap from being splashed up your back...not the bike.

NormanF

Any bike that can fit at least 35c tires is an adventure/gravel road bike.

That's the minimum I would recommend for sure-footed stability on loose terrain. Wider is your friend.