Riding Gravel
1. Tires/Rims
What To Do: Run the widest tires your bike will fit—for most road bikes this will be 25-28mm tires. The bigger tires
will provide a larger contact patch, which will help improve traction
on loose gravel and dirt. The larger air volume will also let you run
lower air pressures to improve comfort without risking a pinch flat.
Look for a tire that features a puncture-resistant belt and a moderate file-type or Roubaix tread.
Hacks: Even if your
bike’s clearance is limited to a 25mm tire, you can get more air volume
by using a wheel with a wider rim. The wider rim gives the tire a wider
stance, allowing the tube to inflate more fully. Examples would be HED Ardennes, Mavic’s new Ksyrium 4D, or Zipp Firecrest.
If you bought a new Fuji or Diamondback road bike in the last two
years, you’re in luck. The Oval 500- and 700-series wheels spec’d on
most 2014 and later Fuji’s already feature a new wider rim profile, while most 2014 and later Diamondback’s come with nice and wide HED Tomcat or HED Ardennes rims.
Be Careful Of: While wider tires do have lower rolling resistance, that’s only true to a point. When I first got the Fenix SL
and was playing around with tires and rims, I was delighted/astounded
to realize it would clear a ~33mm tire. With rim brakes. The balloon
tires handled great on the gravel, but out on the road they felt
sluggish and slow. Realizing that Alpine Loop had only ~15 miles of
gravel, with 90-something miles of road, I opted to go for a slightly
smaller tire.
2. Tire Pressure
What To Do: For the Northern Classics like Paris-Roubaix and Ronde van Vlaanderen, the pro team mechanics consider tire pressure
to be their most closely guarded secret. Finding the right tire
pressure for gravel riding is about finding that happy medium between a
low enough pressure that the bike feels comfortable over the jarring
surface, but high enough to avoid pinch flats or rim damage. Finding the right pressure
will depend on your body weight, tire width, and rim width. There are
no ready-made solutions, so you’ll have to experiment to find what works
right for you. Generally, the best bet is to start at 20 PSI under the tire or rim manufacturer’s recommended max (whichever is lower) and then go down from there.
Hacks: Run your front and rear tires at slightly different pressures.
Run the rear wheel 5-10 PSI higher than your front, since it’s bearing
all of your weight and will be taking far more punishment. The front
tire can handle lower pressure, which will help reduce the amount of
vibration and jarring hits going into your arms.
Be Careful Of: Going too
low. Too low of a pressure will allow the tire to compress all the way
to the rim if you hit something hard enough and fast enough. This can
both cause a pinch flat (“snake bite puncture”) if you run clinchers,
and possibly lead to damage to your rim whether you run tubeless or
clinchers.
3. Bar Tape
What To Do: Even with big
tires, wide rims, and the right tire pressure, gravel can still deliver
a pretty rough ride. If you’ll be doing a lot of gravel riding, or are
looking at setting up a dedicated bike, you may want to opt for some thicker tape (in the 3mm thick range), adding some gel inserts
under the tape, or even double wrapping. This will provide more
cushion to improve comfort and relieve pressure on the ulnar nerves.
Hacks: Next time you wrap your bars,
you can get a little more padding by utilizing the extra tape. Most
rolls of handlebar tape will have more than you need, requiring you to
cut off the extra. Once you’re done wrapping
and have cut off the excess, unwrap the bars back to the lever, and
place the extra tape on the bars where you feel you need some extra
padding, then wrap back over it.
4. Torque Is Your Friend
What To Do: Most riders
will need to significantly gear down to ride gravel. A high cadence with
lots of torque is your best friend in situations where the gravel or
dirt gets loose and sloppy. The higher cadence will allow you to power
through situations where you lose traction, and allow you to stay on top
of the gear without having to resort to standing up—which is a no-no on
gravel. Depending on the gearing you already run on your bike, you may
need a bigger cassette, smaller chainrings, or both.
Hacks: Consider upgrading your rear derailleur to a medium/long cage model
(Shimano GS or SRAM WiFli). It will still work perfectly with your
normal cassette for every day riding, but will also give you the option
of running a huge 11-32t cassette when the time comes.
Be Careful Of:
Overestimating yourself. There is no such thing as too low of a gear on a
long ride with lots of gravel, especially if it’s hilly. I seriously
considered using a 52/36 on this ride, and only reconsidered at the last
minute after consulting with some friends. That would have been a
disaster, and I’m glad I listened to them. Too high of a gear will force
you to have to stand on a hill, which will unweight your rear wheel and
break traction. The wheel will spin out from underneath you, and most
likely you will crash.
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