Are 28mm tires wide enough for gravel?
09-18-13, 04:27 PM
#51
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on midwest dirt roads with loose rocks and potholes, id want something wider. texas might be similar. on west coast logging roads and roads to nowhere in the mountains, id go 32 minimum. i run conti cyclocross speeds for off road pursuits. those are 35's and have a nice round, file-ish tread in the middle and knobbies on the side. they run up to 85 psi so they work well for fast, crap weather commuters too. i did 20 miles of gravel logging roads on them saturday and rode through downtown portland on them this morning. https://www.biketiresdirect.com/produ...-clincher-tire
Last edited by pdxtex; 09-18-13 at 04:33 PM.
09-18-13, 04:43 PM
#52
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I realize this thread is old, but I actually put knobby 30's on an old powdercoated 80's Ciocc today and rode some rail trails. The front tire had a tiny bit of issue with clearance under the caliper so I put the 23 back on the front. It beat me up a little bit, quite honestly. I'm going to swap brakes and try it again, but just putting some bigger tires on an old steel road bike did not give me a "gravel grinder" that I'd be comfortable doing any sort of distance on.
09-19-13, 05:54 AM
#53
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FWIW, near where I live there are a number of gravel roads, a legacy of farmland I supposed. On some roads I do fine a road bike with 23mm tires but on others I have a really hard time on a MTB with 1.5" tires, actually on some sections it scared the crap of out me. So just saying gravel roads doesn't mean much until you actual try to ride them first.
09-19-13, 06:08 AM
#54
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That said I'd ride most gravel roads with a 28mm tire. Skinny tire road bikes are actually a lot more capable than most people realize. You can ride single track on 23mm tires
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09-27-13, 10:51 AM
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Thirty fours squeezed into a road frame and Shimano 105. Love these cheap tires for gravel and some technical off-road. To fit them, the only way to get them past the calipers is to have them deflated and then once in the frame, air up. I'll admit to always tweaking with the pressures depending on the conditions. Major difference in handling and do prefer low pressure on loose and high pressure for stone up to a number 8. Beats one up but love the light feeling and climb. Surprisingly, these don't growl on asphalt.
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texasdiver
Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling
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