Riding a short but fun gravel trail. Shown here is the DT Swiss G 1800 gravel wheelset.
Terrain here is gravel embedded in a hard dirt trail, with some loose sand on top.
With gravel tires at the appropriate low pressure, it is easy to ride fast on this trail.
A thicker layer of loose gravel can be found at certain parts of the trail. I find that a tire pressure of 32 PSI (front) and 38 PSI (rear) works well for me.
Super scenic shot with a great composition of colours!
This is a great place for taking beautiful pictures!
Here is another type of gravel, which is completely loose and goes quite deep.
Even though the GravelKing SK 700x35c tires are wide, the treads are not deep enough to cut through the gravel to find traction, and it will slide around on the surface.
Picture perfect gravel trail, completely deserted at this time of the day.
If not for the high rise buildings seen in the background, you would never guess that this location is in the middle of the city.
Where does this road lead you to?
These tires are not really suitable for riding in thick, loose gravel, but it is still manageable.
Venturing off-shore for more gravel action!
Going to the nearby island for some natural trails and some off-road tracks, completely free of vehicles.
Some stretches consists of hard-packed dirt tracks which can even be ridden with normal road tires.
Some sections of the trail are more muddy, but still manageable even with these tires.
Setup is predominantly Dura-Ace Di2, with a HG800 11-34T cassette and a GRX rear derailleur.
Full gravel setup, with a frame bag and a water bottle with cap.
It is really fun to ride off-road with a gravel bike, instead of using a normal mountain bike. It makes easy trails a bit more challenging, while the lower weight of the gravel bike makes climbing easier. When you transit to well-paved roads, you can ride really fast and smoothly like on a road bike.
Of course, there are limitations as to what a gravel bike can do, especially if the off-road sections are more technical. In that case, a proper MTB would be more suitable.
That said, I would like to use an even wider tire for a gravel bike, which is why I will be changing to a new frame that can accommodate wider tires. The Canyon Endurace is a great bike, and it has allowed me to try out gravel riding. Now, it is time for it to give way to a new bike.
Before disassembling the bike, I removed all the extra accessories from the bike, such as the bottle cages, lights, and etc.
This gravel setup weighs 8 kg, which is a decent weight for a gravel bike, although it can be even lighter by about 400 grams if a carbon gravel wheelset is used.
Hi, thanks for the info. How do you go about the 2 cassettes and 1 chain? Did you buy 2 new cassettes and 1 new chain before the setup or do you just use the same (used) chain on maybe 1 used cassette (road wheels) and a new cassette (gravel wheels)? If so, does it give problems when shifting? And 1 question about the tire clearance of the rear wheel. If a 35mm tire leaves only 2,5mm on each side, doesn't it rub against the frame when you stand up and put force on the pedals? Thanks !
ReplyDeleteThe chain length and RD B Tension has to be set based on the larger 34T cassette. Going to the smaller 30T cassette it works fine too.
DeleteThe RD setting between these two cassettes is the same so no issue.
As for clearance I did not encounter any issue. Probably because the frame is stiff, I'm not a super strong rider, and I almost never stand up to pedal hard when riding the gravel wheels.