Teach me on gravelenture bikes

[Lorenzzo]

Before taking statins, I would highly recommend somebody do independent and extensive research. There are lots of well-developed opposing thoughts. And, kind of like a lot of the depression drugs, what they do is mostly irreversible . . .

Yes..valid concerns. I'd been on them...more recently off. He's trying to get me to go back on. It isn't a simple decision given the balance of risks involved, dosage variances. incidence of concerning side effects and ability to test for and monitor some of them. Doc suggests periodic use at least at low dosage and then periods off.

Since heart disease is the no. 1 killer, with some family history as I have it's a balance. He thinks the relative incidence of unmonitoriible side effects and heart disease make the decision. When I read up and try to keep to credible sources I tend to agree....but still.

 

[tball]

I did my 20 mile Tour de Plutonium ride the other day on my Roubaix:
View attachment 13382

Sometimes I'll do that ride on my Roubaix, sometimes on my FS XC bike. It really depends on my mood and if I'm mixing in roads and bike paths, or a little bit of single track. On the gravel path, either bike is fine.

One thing to be aware of is the road bike with 25c tires needs a lot more attention and skill. Even on a groomed gravel path there are sandy and washed out sections that will take you down quickly. A mountain bike tire will just float over those. A 32c cross tire helps a little, but not a ton. You still need to be on your game.

I'd love a cheap hardtail 29er to fill that spot in my quiver. It's just hard to justify when I have two perfectly fine bikes already. Kinda like I want a 100mm ski when I already have perfectly good 85, 90 and 110mm skis. How much would I really use it? Yes, I'm aware of the OP's proclivities

I did that same mostly gravel ride again on my mountain bike vs my road bike. Pretty amazing my mountain bike was just 5 seconds slower (moving time):

That's a Specialized Roubaix road/endurance bike on with 25c tires on Sept 9th vs. a 26" Rocky Mountain Element (FS XC race bike) on Sept 15th.

I swear I really wasn't trying to match the times, just trying to put out a similar easy to moderate effort. It's remarkable the times were within seconds.

Unfortunately, I had my HRM upside down for the first bit of the ride on my mountain bike, so HRM data is screwed up a bit.

It's pretty clear it's more about the engine than the bike. If you put this slow engine on the fastest ideal bike for the conditions, it's still gonna be slow.

 

[skibob]

I did that same mostly gravel ride again on my mountain bike vs my road bike. Pretty amazing my mountain bike was just 5 seconds slower (moving time):

View attachment 13588

That's a Specialized Roubaix road/endurance bike on with 25c tires on Sept 9th vs. a 26" Rocky Mountain Element (FS XC race bike) on Sept 15th.

I swear I really wasn't trying to match the times, just trying to put out a similar easy to moderate effort. It's remarkable the times were within seconds.

Unfortunately, I had my HRM upside down for the first bit of the ride on my mountain bike, so HRM data is screwed up a bit.

It's pretty clear it's more about the engine than the bike. If you put this slow engine on the fastest ideal bike for the conditions, it's still gonna be slow.

Was one more fun, comfortable, less effort, less sore, etc?

Amazing how much this looks like my "usual" ride, except its on mostly road/bad bike path.

 

[Ron]

overall comfort really does play into this for sure. AND, I hate it when that HRM is upside down. I did that once and it said my HR was 235, I was wondering when I was going to fall over......

did I miss where you said which bike was in each column? I noticed the max speed was a bit different which shows up in the fastest pace

 

[tball]

The mountain bike is in the left column and the road bike is in the right column.

Max speed was 27.8 mph on the MTB and 20.9 mph on the road bike, counterintuitively. Those were both on the same big decent. I guess I'm just not comfortable letting the road bike run on gravel. Too fast for the slick skinny (25c) tires. That's on a perfect new groomed gravel path, too. Interesting.

The road bike is less effort. I think good HR data would show my average HR would be a few ticks lower on the road bike for the same speed. The road bike was more on and off the power as conditions and speed allowed, often going too fast for the conditions then backing off and coasting.

The mountain bike was more of a consistent effort not limited by conditions other than trail traffic. If I wanted to go harder, I could have on the mountain bike for most of the ride, but only in a few places on the road bike.

Fun is personal and relative. The road bike is more fun in a challenging.... er, trying to stay out of the ER way. If that's fun for you. My wife rides her road bike with 25c tires on these trails a bit, but as little as possible and only to get somewhere else out of necessity. She'd never do a 20-mile gravel ride on her road bike by choice, where I do it all the time. I think it's great for maintaining bike handling skills, especially through the long winter without any real mountain biking. My wife hates mountain biking... something about falling and getting bloody.

The mountain bike is more fun in a just go out and ride mindless way. It bugs me a bit, though, that I'm putting so many "junk" miles on my good MTB tires. When I (rarely) feel the suspension I also get annoyed. It's that feeling of not being on the perfect piece of equipment for the conditions, similar to most days skiing. I also miss the hand positions of the road bike. I think riding on a real mountain bike trail you are naturally moving around a lot more and it's not as noticeable.

It's worth noting both bikes have been professionally fitted, and I've done the Triple Bypass and 100-mile MTB races, so I'm very comfortable on both. (On the side discussion: those are probably not the best for my immune system, but nothing compared to having twins, especially when they started bringing home germs from preschool. )

After this discussion and experiment, I think a hard tail 29" XC race bike would be ideal for me on these trails. If you asked me previously I probably would have said a cross or similar gravel bike.

 

[scott43]

I use a 29er with semi-slicks and ride pavement, dirt road, off-road, whatever. It's a great multi-tool. Do I NEED 7 bikes?? Not really. Would 7 bikes mean I have a bike for every ride? Maybe..but..I'm not really winning any races these days..

 

[Ron]

So I have done 2 rides on our rural roads. yesterday was about 15 miles including a long 6-8% climb over a small pass. I think I am hooked... to get to this road, we rode on regular chip and seals with a a pretty good climb with lots of rolling, punch climb/descents. What I have learned was

1- 28 Pro One's don't fit my rear due to the brake calipers. I literally need 2mm. If BMC had placed the brake 5mm lower it would have allowed this. I do really like the 28's though. I did the ride by cheating the wheel on the drops which worked but not a permanent solution. The bike handled better and rolled just as fast as well as running smoother. I am going to run the 28 up front (which fits with plenty of room) and the 25 out back. The 28 set up at exactly 30, the 25 sets up at 27.5.

2- descending at 28mph when hitting ruts and washboard is "interesting"

3- I think a bike that can perform and climb decently on regular road is needed.

4- I should not demo Moots Routt 45's..... This is an amazing bike. I did a short Demo right after our ride. The feel of this bike is unique. The Ti frame is super stiff and yet with the Enve fork and wider tires (I think my demo had 38's) it felt like it had suspension. The bike is nimble yet stable and the geo is very comfortable and efficient.

 

[Ron]

BTW- this is a long video but its very informative. Explains the difference between cross and "gravel" bikes

 

[tball]

I am going to run the 28 up front (which fits with plenty of room) and the 25 out back.

Good plan. I have an old 12 speed with a 32c cross tire on the front and a 28c commuter tire on the back (widest that would fit). It looks funny but does the job. It's really the front tire where you want the max width to keep from washing out when you hit some loose/sandy spots.

 

[Ron]

this was the best compromise. The 28's are awesome. This was a road ride (chip N' seal) and the bike def' rolled faster today and there was less felt vibration. My friend that I ride with all the time said the bike was faster especially on climbs. I really wish I could get those 28's on the rear.

 

[givethepigeye]

^ If you liked the Routt - you should look at the Mosaic GT-1's too. I had a Moots, ride a Mosaic now. Even the Mosaic RT-1 will take a 28 easily (thats w/ Campy calipers). A lot of what I assume you like about that Routt is the material. Moots makes great bikes and they are local for you. I wanted an RSL level tubeset with threaded BB and some custom geo (really long legs, short torso). Looks like Routt is threaded though.

 

[Ron]

Yeah going to talk to moots And yes, theres a matter of owning a home-town bike but yeah that ride was pretty killer. Yes theeaded. I woyld get the base ultegra model with the moots seatpost , stem and a ck bb. If i go for it ill have it built out for a early spring delivery.

 

[Ron]

Soooo.... Moots recently released the Baxter. A 9'r with a modified geo, running on MTN bike groupset, 2.1-2.2 tires... Similar to a Salsa Cutthroat. This may be exactly what I am looking for.

http://moots.com/moots-baxter-answers-question-road-mountain-type-bike/

 

[skibob]

So, my project bike has stalled for a variety of uninteresting reasons. So I decided to put the tires (35mm Conti SportContact) and wheels (good Vuelta MTB wheels) on my Fuji Sportif. As the name implies, its a bit more relaxed geometry than a race bike. Chainstay is 415mm, about 10mm longer than a race bike. Taller head tube also. Almost identical geometry to Specialized Roubaix. Anyway, I had to take off the rear derailleur for installation, but they fit. Just barely! Ran em at 55psi rear, 50psi front. I think I could reduce those pressures slightly. AMAZING ride. I was surprised how much slower they seemed off the line, but plodding along mile after mile of uninterrupted trail, they were great.

N=1, but did my ride about 10 min faster (27 miles) than usual yesterday. Definitely felt the comfort in my butt and hands over the course of the ride. Will keep them on until I can get the project back on track.

It was wet yesterday. I promise I washed it when I got home:

 

[Tom K.]

Soooo.... Moots recently released the Baxter. A 9'r with a modified geo, running on MTN bike groupset, 2.1-2.2 tires... Similar to a Salsa Cutthroat. This may be exactly what I am looking for.

http://moots.com/moots-baxter-answers-question-road-mountain-type-bike/

Oh HELL yes!

Though with tires that big, I'd argue the benefits of a ti frame may not quite overshadow the cost premium.

Suggested spousal approach: "But ti frames last forever, honey!"

Except both of mine broke.........