Gravel bikes

[TAV]

Hi are there guys or girls doing audaxs on gravel bikes with 1x groupsets with large tyres or will they be a bit slow with the larger tyres on?

 

[Cycleops]

No experience of doing Audaxes but a bike with fatter tyres, say 35c - 45c are always going to be a bit slower than something on 28c. Always going to be.

 

[TAV]

Yeah I know I've got 47mm on mine great for the cycle trails but I think I'll have to go down to maybe 35mm for the long audaxs

 

[Ajax Bay]

The key thing for these wider tyres is their construction: are they made for the average hybrid or have they got racing pedigree eg GP5000, which you can get in 32mm. At the right pressures these will give you relatively low rolling resistance.
https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/specials/grand-prix-5000-comparison
And have a good poke round that site.
Bear in mind the various qualities people look for in a tyre for long rides eg randonnees varies (do you value robustness or low rolling resistance more?)
I have shod with 4000s (and have a few in stock) but also Michelin Pro4 Endurance.
Wider: Rene Herse and these 44s: rene-herse-snoqualmie-pass

 

[cougie uk]

Hi are there guys or girls doing audaxs on gravel bikes with 1x groupsets with large tyres or will they be a bit slow with the larger tyres on?

The wheels I have on will take my 25mm GP5000s as well as my 38mm knobblies.

If I'm doing a long road ride - I'd just fit road tyres unless you want a really good workout.

I don't know what your roads are like but 35mm is on the wider side of things.

 

[matticus]

I don't know what your roads are like but 35mm is on the wider side of things.

Yeah. Although:
- I've done rides [with 25s] on surfaces that beat me up so much [mainly 600k+], I would have been just as fast overall on 35c.
France? Welsh A-roads? go Narrow.
South of England, or Ireland, or anywhere you know there will be some pavé? Go a bit fatter

- Rims that take 44mm *might* not be compatible with 28-30mm.

 

[TAV]

I've emailed the wheel manufacturers and they said I could fit 32c on them.

 

[Ajax Bay]

What are the rims, do you know? The internal rim width is the critical measurement eg 17mm. Sheldon says you can go up to twice that dimension in tyre width, quite safely, without any effect on handling (in corners).
As I said, choose from a combination of tread depth, sidewall thickness, rolling resistance, weight, cost. I had 4000s on for LEL and PBP. But others think Continentals are the work of the devil.

 

[iandg]

I've done audax on a Long Haul Trucker with 35c tyres. If you can maintain the required speed and finish within the time limit it doesn't matter what you ride.

 

[TAV]

I've got 650b wheels and I can't find any narrower than 40mm which I think is to big and tubless I've got on at the moment I'm not sure.

 

[Cycleops]

That is a problem with a size that is primarily aimed at mountain bikes.

 

[TAV]

Yeah I've guessed that I've put it up for sale on this site hopefully I can shift it on as gravel biking isn't for me. I'm going to build my audax bike back up with the money and get back on the road

 

[matticus]

Malmesbury?

 

[Ajax Bay]

Malmesbury?

Looks very like it.

 

[TAV]

Yeah it was my first audax from Cardiff to Malmesbury and back me and two other guys were the last in. What a ride I was in a world of pain coming in it was raining and dark.

That was my first and last I thought but I want to give it another go it was in March this year not really a good idea for my first.