Off-road with Leo (Roadini)

[Jay]

I ride off-road plenty with my Roadini, but what I'm thinking about is a little different.

Leo's main wheels have 43mm GKSS.  These are great on multi-surface rides including pavement, rail trails, and small sections of dirt/gravel trails where I take it easy on the corners.

I have a trail system in town, mainly gravel, built through small forests connecting a lot of neighbourhoods with a creek being the constant.  The trails are up and down (steep as 19%); twisty, with some sharp, off-camber turns; sometimes the gravel is loose, and there are little ruts after rain storms.  It's as fun as MTB'ing on singletrack.  I ride a Salsa Fargo with 2.2" tubeless gravel tires on these trails.  I can fly through the 'course', however, that bike is about half as comfortable as Leo.  

Like a cat, Leo is light and nimble, playful, but if you push her, she's not happy.  My Fargo is more like a dire wolf, butting sitting upon him, I'm just not comfy.  And who doesn't want to be comfy.

So I'm thinking of outfitting Leo with some aggressive tread 45mm tires; lots of knobs, supple, confidence inspiring.  I would then take her end to end on my local trails and see how she compares to the Fargo.  Less volume may hurt, but maybe I can make up for that with work on my skills?

Alternatively, I give occasional thought to buying a Hillborne.  I want drop bars, I want as similar to Leo as I can get, I like the idea of fenders with some narrow tires (maybe) on one wheel set, with another maybe going up to 48mm.  I'm just now sure it's worth it.  But  if I can get it as comfortable as Leo, then I can dedicate Sam to the trails, shoulder season (roads more likely to be wet) with fenders and maybe winter tires.

[Ben Miller]

Jay,

I think Gravelking SK 45mm on the Leo might be a good idea. I ride urban SF Singletrack with those on my Hunq. I had had true MTB tyres on it up until recently, those being Schwalbe Thunderburts in 2.15". Going down 10mm I did lose a little confidence, but not much. I can still rip thru the Golden Gate park SS, which is pretty similar to what you described. In fact, Ronnie Romance came out and hosted a ride with Adam Skylar this summer, and it brought out a bunch of trailer rippers. I was mostly able to keep up with them, but I only blame my fitness and skills, not the tyres. 

I guess there is the question of riding the Roadini harder than it should. Definitely the frame of a Sam or Homer would be better designed for the increased loads of off-road riding. But a lot of it also comes down to your bike handling. 

[Andrew Joseph]

Jay,

Any pics of your present set up?

I was discussing running 45 knobbies on my Roadini with Will yesterday actually.  I mentioned how the 42 Rose tire tread was closer than I realized to the fork crown lug. After a small and unimpressive argument from me, I acquiesced that 44 slicks would be safer.  But I agree the Leo would feel really nice with aggressive 45s.  I will be watching closely and wholeheartedly support this endeavor.

- Drew

[Eric Daume]

I'm curious how the Fargo is "half as comfortable" as the Roadini. It seems if you get the rider triangle set up the same, it should be very close. And its mountain bike tires are a level above anything you could fit on the Roadini.

Eric

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[Jay]

Thanks for the responses.

Ben - I've had the GKSS and while they roll pretty well on most surfaces, I don't find them grippy enough (I've had them on these particular trails).  Good point about "harder than it should"; I think it would be okay as these trails are not littered with objects, just gravel, some dirt, and little transitions from pavement to gravel that I like to hop.  That is one vote for the Sam though, more stout tubing.

Drew - attached a photo below.  Only change is the saddle is now a B17.  Hoods are level or just above the saddle, and I find I'm comfortable using the drops on technical sections without being uncomfortable or lacking control.  Now you have me questioning whether a 45 with knobs would fit safely (e.g., Challenge Gravine; Continental Terra Adventure, or the 44mm Rene Herse knobby).  The photo below is one of the rare dirt sections on these trails; I love it and wish they were all like that, but a lot are small crushed stone, with some marble size thrown in there for fun (which is fine on straight sections, but hilly turns, not great with current tires).

Eric - I don't think it's anything wrong with the Fargo, it's just how comfy the Roadini is for me.  One thing I don't like about the Fargo with drops is that the stack is so tall and with the SRAM Apex hoods, I always felt like the bars were never quite right (same bars as the Roadini).  So I have VO Granola bars on there, not working well with my wrists/arms/shoulders/neck.  I'm sure I can improve things though, but I've tinkered a lot.  The tires, long stays, slack head tube are amazing on the rough terrain, it's the fit that I struggle with.

[Franco Rinaldi]

I have both. The Sam is a 57, roadini 54. Sam is built with wide range 1x, more of a dirt drop, and bigger tires. And flats instead of clips. There’s some overlap, but my roadini is built more for road. 

Franco Rinaldi 

c:  646.403.0661 

-Pardon any typos, Siri typed this message-

On Oct 9, 2025, at 4:57 PM, Jay <jason....@gmail.com> wrote:

I ride off-road plenty with my Roadini, but what I'm thinking about is a little different.

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[Jason Fuller]

There was recent conversation in another thread, and I'm forgetting the details exactly, but the takeaway was that the supple / high quality skinny tires were more comfortable off-pavement than the bigger tires - which surprised the owner.  This sprang to mind when I read this because the GKSS are actually not super comfortable tires for their size in my experience (and I've heard this from others, too).  Size is obviously a factor, but I think a knobbier and supple ~42mm tire could be the magic balance that leaves you not wanting more both on pavement and trail.  Lately I've been quite impressed by the Conti Terra Trail - they are fast and quiet on pavement beyond my expectations. Not as grippy as the RH knobbies, but predictable. Anyhow, food for thought. My TL;DR is that it's important to focus on casing quality as size, and going up in size will not be a benefit if the casing isn't as good or better. 

[Ben Miller]

Jay,

I feel the universe is drawing you to a Sam then. If GK SK's aren't grippy enough for you and you need a more aggressive tread, I doubt you can make it work with the Roadini. If the Utradynamico Rose 45's won't fit then I question whether a SK would even, but some more aggressive definitely wouldn't. And personally I wouldn't go lower than 45mm if I had to on the trail's you described.

[Jay]

Jason - haha that was me on the other thread surprised how the GKSS were not comfy, but the 30mm road tires were; what can I say, I have tires on my mind ;-)

Ben  - I was thinking that way until I rode this morning...

I decided to ride my local trails this morning on Leo with 43mm GKSS, but this time I would go as low as 'safe' (subjective) with tire pressure.  On mainly road rides I use 38-35psi, on mixed, as low as 30psi.  Today I went to 28R/25F.  Squeezing the tires they still seemed firm enough.  The ride was 90% off road.  The feel on the trails, and handling, were worlds better than 30-35psi; it made a huge difference going to that pressure.  The B17 was very comfy, and I felt great braking, in the drops, tight corners, etc.  Now I'm thinking I'll get the RH 42mm Hurricane Ridge tires; or something similar in size, as it should be better than GKSS I have, that are nearly bald in the rear.  That's an affordable next step; tire swap.  If I love that, can get a third wheel set.  If I don't, think more about Sam.

[Ben Miller]

Jay,

That sounds like a great plan!