Convert Road Bike to Gravel

[Maherees]

HI all,

I have a Merida 2016 Ride Disc 500 which is pretty underused as I tend to use my MTB but there are few mountains here in the east midlands just tracks and trails and my mtb is a bit overkill for this so I was wondering if I just got a spare set of wheels for off-road stuff for my Merida would that work or are the frames just built for the tarmac?

 

[Drago]

The frame would probably handle it, but i'd be more concerned about clearances for decent tyres and BB height/clearance. You need some nice CX rubber if you're attempting to climb the north face of Mount Leicester, or the sheer cliffs of Nottingham. The rugged terrain of the Far Cotton volcano might demand a real MTB though.

 

[T4tomo]

Have you got enough fork and frame clearance for CX / gravel tyres? If you have, then no reason why, with some strong CX style wheels, that it won’t make a decent gravel bike. The frame geometry is relatively relaxed on the Merida I think, it’s not an out and out aero race bike.

 

[Cycleops]

You could certainly use it for gravel, as you could any road bike, the only limiting factor will be tyres. If you want to use it in muddy conditions frame clearance will preclude the use of heavier rubber. You might be able to go up to 32c or may be limited to 28 section. Id advise bringing the bars up a bit with a higher stem apart from that you should be good to go. There a few more tips in this video:

View: https://youtu.be/Mmob7Aq2IWA

 

[Maherees]

Thanks for the informative replies. I have actually fitted a 3T adjustable stem sometime ago as I wanted a more upright position due to being an MTB rider predominantly.