Anyone with experience in "gravel grinding" events?

[franklyn]

There is a featured video on NYTimes.com on gravel-grinding cycling events in the Midwestern states. This particular event the Dirty Kanza 200 sounds interesting. I was wondering if anyone has experience with these events, especially using bikes with 650b fat tires. Given that the course is probably relatively flat (at least compared to a hilly double century in Northern California), would a bike with fat and high-performing tires like the Hetres make it an enjoyable event. Are tires like hetres too flimsy for this type of events?

best,
Franklyn

[David Pertuz]

I've done a few of these sorts of things (on Hetres, too), and had a great time. My next-door neighbor has done the Dirty Kanza, but I have not. I do not have a competitive bone in my body, and am not particularly fast; I do them for fun. Mostly I just like riding dirt roads in the country, and for me something like the Lowell 50 is a good excuse to go to Grand Rapids for the weekend to see a friend. The Gravel Metric in Dekalb, IL is a short drive from home. First time I did the Lowell 50 the course went right by the family home of one of my girlfiend's old friends, so I even had my own cheering section.

A lot of people are doing these competitively, with bikes, clothing and spirits to match. There are, nonetheless, always people like me who are doing it just for fun. Bikes tend heavily towards CX bikes and some mountain bikes, so tires are usually CX tires or knobbies on the MTBs. I've done all events on my Rawland cSogn with Hetres. I air them down from their usual 50/55 psi to 40/45 or so. I wouldn't bomb big downhill sweepers on these surfaces, but this is the midwest so there are no big downhill sweepers to bomb. Road surfaces, in my cases, are generally dirt, usually a bit harder-packed than seen in the video, sometimes the same. I've ridden all sorts of surfaces on Hetres and I find that their limits usually arrive when there is a lot of moisture and soft stuff. Or railroad beds with big gravel, where the only thing that doesn't totally suck are huge tires at low pressure. I think a bike like my Rawland, and 650b fat tires more broadly, are perfect for this kind of thing. If you want a little more secure-feeling handling at higher speeds on dirt or gravel, something like one of the new Vee Rubber offerings would be a very good choice, I think.

David
Chicago

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[Rick Johnson]

If you're not too far from Oregon there's an easy one coming up that you can try:

http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/black-butte-mirror-pond-bike-ride

Rick Johnson
Bend, Oregon
 

[Ryan Watson]

Hetres are my all-time favorite tire, but I don't like them off pavement at all. 

Others seem to like them just fine, so you'll just have to try for yourself. 

See my post from yesterday about the Vee Rubber Speedsters, that's probably what I'd choose. 

Ryan

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[somervillebikes]

I discovered "gravel grinding" only recently, a couple of years ago when I did my first D2R2 ride (115k version) in western MA.  I had built a bike around Hetres just for that event, and returned again a year later, and pretty much decided I would return each year (it's really beautiful out there!).  Since then I've ridden other mixed-terrain events as well, from smooth, packed dirt to flinty rocks to rooty fire trails, and have never been let down by the Hetres-- which are my only point of reference for any type of non-paved terrain, so I can't really compare them to anything else.  After two years and probably a 1000 miles of non-pavement, my only flat wasn't even from riding off-road, but was when a tire picked up a thorn after having to walk the bike through some thorny bushes. The only time they've felt less than optimal has been when there was soft, wet mud or deep sand.  That's when they get squirrely and lose traction. I imagine that having some tread there would help in those situations.

I'm building up a new bike for gravel grinding, and that one's going to get the Extra Legere Hetres... I hope they hold up as well as normal Hetres.

Anton Tutter

Somerville, MA

[franklyn]

There is no lack of mixed-terrain rides in the Bay Area. San Francisco Randonneurs, the club I ride with, has a series of mixed terrain events--Mt Tam 200k, Cazadero 300k, and the King Ridge 400k. But none of these rides are virtually all on gravel (not just dirt, but gravel). Also, the rides in the Bay Area have lots of climbing, which has its own fun, but I was fascinated by a flat gravel 200-mile ride. I might have to try to Oregon ride next year (thanks Rick for the suggestion).

best,
Franklyn

[Leslie Bright]

You do read Guitar Ted? http://g-tedproductions.blogspot.com/

[Jon Doyle]

Hetres are probably the ideal tire for such an event. I'd be hesitant to use the Extra Leger around sharp objects; I'm weary of the thin sidewalls. The standard Hetre is plenty durable.

I mostly ride in New England, so I can't offer a direct comparison to Dirty Kanza-type events, the terrain differs. But the eastern equivalent rides (D2R2, Green Mountain Double, Detour CT, Kearsarge Klassic) can be hazardous to tires. I have great results with Hetres on these 100–200mi unpaved rides. 

I occasionally use Quasi-motos, but their tread is superfluous in non-technical riding situations and buzzy on the road. I use them once or twice a year, to gain a little suspension and traction. If I'm not too lazy to mount them.

Jon

Shuns pavement, loves Hetres

Watertown, MA

PS: If anyone's interested, there's a Flickr and gGroup called New England, Unpaved 

[William Lindsay]

Franklyn

kind of far away, but check out these free gravel races. 120 miles on gravel? That would rule!

http://healthyhabits.myshopify.com/pages/xgravelganza2