Gravel Article

[scott43]

Thought this was worth the time..

The gear I used to ride gravel roads and famous cols from Torino to Nice

My body took a beating after the 400 miles and 58,000 feet of climbing along the France-Italy border, but my equipment passed the test

www.velonews.com

 

[cantunamunch]

He opens with: ‘Is that your bike? It must be really slow.’ Needless to say the “conversation” was doomed to begin with. This guy needed to tell me everything and ask me nothing; he already hated gravel bikes and did not give a shit about the type of riding I was doing. So much for conversation with a fellow bike-loving traveler!

Trying to win the Internet while not online, typical.

The icing on the cake of my bike is the drivetrain. I got my Hakka just before GRX debuted, so I scored with an XT derailleur paired to a big ole 11×46 cassette.

Wolftooth tanpan or Jtek Shiftmate? Inquiring nerdy minds...

 

[scott43]

You picked up in the bits I liked best... Like the guy who asks me which computer he should buy then tells me for fifteen minutes why I'm wrong...

 

[cantunamunch]

You picked up in the bits I liked best... Like the guy who asks me which computer he should buy then tells me for fifteen minutes why I'm wrong...

It was probably worse for her tho ... the person chatting might well have been french

3 frenchpersons = 5 political parties, eh

 

[Tom K.]

Killer article. Thanks for posting @scott43.

A route I'd love to do -- perhaps not in the middle of August.

Wolftooth tanpan

The tanpan is one of those things that looks like it will work poorly, and be prone to stiction and contamination, but...

It works flawlessly.

I believe @chris_the_wrench has had similar luck?

 

[cantunamunch]

Yeh, I can say I am not as big a fan of the Jteks as you are of the WT, but *shrug* maybe it was the installation.

 

[crosscountry]

It was probably worse for her tho ... the person chatting might well have been french

3 frenchpersons = 5 political parties, eh

And obviously a guy talking down to a woman.

That said, I once had a woman telling me that my bike could be a lot faster if I put skinny tires on! (That was a group ride in the lowest level of the club. It was a Sunday after I just finished a pretty long ride with lots of climbing on Saturday and in need of a recovery ride)

To be fair, every cycling enthusiast goes through that process. First, buying a first "good bike", loving it and wondering why everyone else isn't on the same or better. Then realizing the lightest bike can't beat a "well-tuned engine". Moreover, sometimes the weight of the bike isn't the be-all-end-all characteristic.

I try not to burst their bubble (of loving their first "good bike").

 

[Tom K.]

Moreover, sometimes the weight of the bike isn't the be-all-end-all characteristic.

Sadly, this is understood by few, esp in the mtb world.

OTOH, don't get me started on 35 pound, Minion-clad, 160 mm travel chunderbeasts being pedaled along smooth green trails.....

 

[crosscountry]

Sadly, this is understood by few, esp in the mtb world.

With respect, I would say that misunderstanding is far worse than in the MTB world.

At least with MTB, the suspensions makes a huge difference that just about everyone can tell within 15 yards of the trail head. Whilst for road/gravel, the "ride characteristic" is far more subtle...

 

[cantunamunch]

OTOH, don't get me started on 35 pound, Minion-clad, 160 mm travel chunderbeasts being pedaled along smooth green trails.....

I make zero apologies for having been a vigorous part of this travesty on dates (and not just first ones either)

#allisfair

 

[Tom K.]

With respect, I would say that misunderstanding is far worse than in the MTB world.

At least with MTB, the suspensions makes a huge difference that just about everyone can tell within 15 yards of the trail head. Whilst for road/gravel, the "ride characteristic" is far more subtle...

Agreed. I wasn't very clear. Just meant to say that so many people put bicycle weight up on some pedestal above every other attribute.

Example: I recently raced a rugged 50 mile mtb race on my 24 pound (23?) Supercaliber. I would have been faster on my 26 pound Fuel EX.

 

[crosscountry]

Agreed. I wasn't very clear. Just meant to say that so many people put bicycle weight up on some pedestal above every other attribute.

What I observed in the MTB world, the opposite is more prevalent: I frequently see people riding full suspension bikes with long travel fork on trails I ride my gravel bike on!

Yes, within the same TYPE of bike, people are of course hyper-focus on weight. I'm more willing to forgive them. As most mountain bike trails do involve considerable climbing. The weight is felt in every feet of elevation gain. I've learned that lesson by way of many broken pieces of "light" components!

 

[cantunamunch]

Agreed. I wasn't very clear. Just meant to say that so many people put bicycle weight up on some pedestal above every other attribute.

Perfect example of

McNamara fallacy - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[scott43]

Perfect example of

McNamara fallacy - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

#analytics

 

[cantunamunch]

In other 'gravel' content: Watch for the parallels to the TdF.