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Gravel rides?


jhawk

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Unfortunately, too broad a question.  The answer could be every thing from a 225# WR250 to 650# GS1200 with panniers for two-up riding.  Or from a $1500 DRZ400 to a $25,000 Ducati Multistrada S Touring....or a BMW S1000XR.  If I was looking to do some mixed exploring on sketchy pavement and non-technical trail riding, I'd look at the Suzuki DL650...Oh wait, I already got one!  Reliable as a 24 oz framing hammer, only just a bit heavier.  But there's Tigers, a variety of KTM models, Yamaha Tenere, Honda Trans-Alp....the list goes on.  Bike weight and tires are the biggest determinant--beyond basic riding skills--that will limit your exploring on gravel.

 

Talk to Danimal.  He seems to love the new Chinese DS bike he bought and he's put a metric shit-ton of miles on it without much drama.

Edited by Bubba
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Holy crap!  I just realized this ENTIRE THREAD is about pedaling....WTF.

In the words of Emily Litella, "Nevermind."

Same 3 things apply to MTBs:  rider skill, weight, tires

Edited by Bubba
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I primarily ride a Salsa Warbird when cycling.

Ohio gravel grinders on facebook is very active with rides nearly every weekend. They are usually within an hour of columbus, so I havn't met too many of them. 

If you are buying new and not interested in cross racing I would suggest getting a gravel bike rather than a cross bike. Most have better clearance for the comfortable 40mm tires and a geometry designed more for long distance comfort rather than tight handling. I have been to a couple gravel races and many of the riders are on cross bikes with quite a few on hardtail MTBs. A guy on a road bike with 25mm tires took 3rd in the last race I ran. 

Gravel is a nice way to cycle as you seldom encounter autos and the scenery is often great.

20150626_185558.jpg

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Nice Warbird! It is on my list. Others on the list are Niner RLT 9 and Specialized Crux.

I don't care to do any CX Races, but gravel races have me interested!

Thanks for the input, when we doing OR ride?!?!

 

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Check out Pink Bike for good prices on used Mountain and Crossovers.

Had two friends buy a Kona and Transcend which are very well equipped bikes (Fox Air and Ohlins) equipped bikes for under a grand apiece.  Both were like new and the Transcend is a $10k bike as equipped.

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On 5/11/2016 at 3:23 PM, Idiot said:

I understand not wanting to do CX races  :-)  But the bikes themselves are really well suited to a wide range of terrain.

I've been lucky enough to get to follow some of the local bike racers around for the last few years, taking pictures.  Here's an album of pics from last years Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships down in Louisville KY.  If cyclocross is sometimes viewed as a semi-insane offshoot of "real" bike racing, then single speed CX is a totally insane offshoot of cyclocross :-)

https://flic.kr/s/aHsk5J1zsr

 

Pretty cool....wish I was younger.

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