enwar3

I'm at college so I won't actually get to purchase a bicycle til I get back for Christmas break, but I'm biting at the bit to start biking and so I'm asking questions to quell the appetite. I'm wondering how off-road you can go with a normal roadbike. Gravel? Roughish roads? Sidewalks? Or just newly paved straight roads?

the beef

A normal road bike? Not very. Gravel is pretty much a hazard. Rough roads are okay, but quite uncomfortable. Sidewalks are doable, but watch out for cracks in the pavement that run parallel to your wheel - get that 700x23 stuck and you're in for a little tumble.

Yeah.. I'll go with paved roads.

ADlBOO

Depends on how smooth u are. When i go riding ill bunny hop over water, glass, go up and down curbs ( just lift the front wheel up and if ur clipped in hop up with the rear wheel)

Once when me and a friend were climbing we got to the end of a road where a hiking trail started which was mostly dirt, gravel so we started to explore on that which was pretty fun. Basically it comes down to the rider, just stay alert and try not to bash into anything i.e potholes, curbs cuz that could quickly lead to a wobbly rim.

el twe

I've ridden paved (but ****ty) fire roads, hard-packed dirt, and gravel on my road bike. Gravel is by far the scariest.

enwar3

When you guys say it's a bad idea, do you mean it could compromise the bike's frame, or just that I might fall and hurt myself?

And does going off the curb hurt the bike? No road bike I've seen has front shocks..

ADlBOO

If u dont know how to unload ur weight off the bike when goin off a curb then yes it could hurt it. Just depends, if you go down a fire road or dirt trail then nothing there is gonna damage the bike, but if ur hitting holes, stumps, rocks then you may damage the bike.

And no "road bike" will ever have shocks.

ridethecliche

Cannondale's silk road (route?) had a small front shock and it was a road bike, so sorry dude, you're wrong.

ADlBOO

Yeah, but theres a difference between "vibration dampeners" and shocks. I dont consider a 10-15 mm urethane bushing to be a shock.

Cyclist0383

RockShox also made the Paris Roubaix shock for road bikes.

https://homepage.mac.com/halaburt/bic...toAlbum17.html

ADlBOO

Ok u got a point there, even though it looks like its more set up for cross than road, especially with canti brakes.

Cyclist0383

^^^

That's just the first photo I could find, it was made for road bikes.

ADlBOO

Well i learn something new everyday. Now back on topic!

Cyclist0383

To the OP: a cyclocross bike will be more suited to your needs. It's like a beefy road bike.

EGreen

When I was a kid, after the tricycle, I never had anything but a roadbike. Far as I was concerned it was all terrain - gravel, grass, sand, whatever. OK, I grew up in NYC and my 'roadbikes' were at least 30 lbs but I survived without any permanent damage to my butt or the bikes that I can recall.

Get a roadbike and get some wide heavy duty road tires to go with it.

earleybird

no problem at all.

What do you think we all used off road in the 50's and 60's before ATB was invented ???

We just used over sized wheels and knobbly tyres (callled knobblies) and usualy short cow horns (bars ) b****y great fun. Naturally we never had clipins or used toe clips just large platform pedals.

Don't use a really lightweight frame for hopping and big `in the air' stuff or you'll probably break your frame .
Frankly there are plenty of cheap throwaway ATB's out there for the price of the wheels tyres and bars for your road bike. Peeps are always upgrading . If I were you I'd scrounge around for discarded bits from your mates and build your own bike . Learn a lot from that and it will cost nothing

cccorlew

Jeez. I used to do fire roads on my road bike. Mud is out, deep gravel sucks, but just rocky gravel you don't sink into is fine.
If you need to do both, think about a cross bike.

john bono

Depends on the bike, the trail, and the rider. A tri bike with 20mm tires and 16 spokes will collapse in a moderate pothole when carrying a clyde. A touring bike with 37mm tires and 40 spoke velocity deep Vs will go practically anywhere a mtb can go. If you are looking for a "go anywhere" bike, get a tourer if comfort is your priority, a cyclocross if speed is. If you are looking for a bike than go on hardpack trails, get a road bike than has high spoke count wheels and can accomodate a 32mm tire.

'nother

It depends more on your handling skills, and to some extent your tires, than the type of frame.

Flat gravel roads are not really a problem at all if you are marginally competent at keeping your bike upright. It requires some practice; you can't just ride gravel the same way you approach smooth asphalt. Rough roads are no problem either, you just need to pay attention to the surface and watch out for really bad patches. Sidewalks, well, there's a whole philosophical debate on whether you should ride on sidewalks, but the bike is certainly capable of handling it. Other surfaces I've ridden with my road bike include grass and (shallow) mud. It is all fine, again with the caveat that you need some handling skills to avoid crashing.

The places where I've had the most trouble are on steep loose dirt; my smooth road tires get no traction. Deep mud is definitely a problem for similar reason. Deep sand is not too great either. Singletrack mountain bike trails with lots of rocks and roots can be a challenge.

wanders

From Paris-Roubaix.

fredf

last summer I took my Trek 5200 with Racelite wheels with 23mm Conti GP 3000 to the Eastern Townships in Quebec for a 1 wk cycling holiday.
At 3 days days were mostly rough almost fire roads for 20 to 30km and some screaming downhills. My heart was in my throat as I tried to manouever around potholes and losts of gravel on the downhills.

When I got home my wheels were true and I had not had a single flat. The bike is just fine.

I wouldn't have done it on purpose but it worked for one week for me.

caloso

Not all roads are created equal. I've been on plenty of fire roads and levees that were a heck of a lot smoother than some of the "paved" roads around here.

Be light, smooth, and trust the bike to find the right line. You'll be fine.

MrCrassic 

Riding gravel on a road bike can be quite a scary experience.

I discovered that when I went on my vacation ride around Philadelphia's Schyukill River Ride.

Other than that, I guess it depends on the bike.

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bitingduck

Deep gravel like chipseal kind of sucks if you aren't expecting it, but you can do an awful lot on a road bike.

I regularly ride fire roads on mine, with the surface varying from hardpack through gravel to midsize rocks. The sharp rocks around here (SoCal) will cut up your tires, so it's good to have rubber on the sidewalls, too. Usually it's just with my 23 mm tires that I ride on the road.

It depends as much or more on the rider than the bike.

LIUser22

riding on cracked roads is enough 'off road' for me, a few experiences on gravel and it's not too fun, plus i can hear my paint being chipped off

MIN 

Cyclocross bike.