HELP! For a 225km (140 miles) gravel event through the woods on paths like these. Which bike would you choose because both of them are not optimal (the gravel bike I want is not available atm). The heavy bikepacking-do-it-all Surly with slow 2.5inch tires or the road underbiking-but-fast aero bike with 30mm Gravelking Semi-slicks?
by vincentius02
24 Comments
My surly bridgeclub. Its the only bike l have
You will be fine on 30mm GK on this if you want to go fast. Our forefathers would have ridden 23c and corn cob cassette. Back when I was a kid….
The Surly for sure. Comfort is important.
I would throw away the front and back racks though.
I’m not sure where this is and how representative that photograph is of the whole course. But, based on that photograph, I would expect at least patches of softer surface and plentiful pot holes.
I personally would not want to do that long course on 30 mm’s. However, I understand your dilemma because 2.5″ is clearly overkill and I would really want to have a dropbar for a long event.
Do you know with certainty if the course has any sections that are more rough? If not, then I’d probably risk it with the 30 mm’s.
Have those bikes have sex and the offspring will likely be the perfect bike! 😂
Neither lol. If those were my only options, I’d probably borrow a bike from someone else. If that’s not an option, maybe tire swap on the Surly for something smaller and a little faster rolling?
This is the perfect surface for like 32-40c fast rolling tires imo
Bridge Club. But I’m a Surly whore like that.
That’s a pretty long distance for the ‘wrong’ bike. You’re going to feel every kilo of that Surly every time you go up a hill or accelerate by the end of that. And over that kind of distance, smacking some kind of rock and pinch flatting the road bike becomes more likely. Or maybe flubbing a turn or a soft patch or something because concentrating that hard for that long becomes tiring.
The Liv… because of the 2x
That tire clearance is sketchy even on smooth pavement. I’d go with the Surly. You may not win, but you’ll have a lot of fun, and the steel frame will make the ride more enjoyable.
The one in the first pic with the kick ass camouflage paint job
Anything will be fine. If ride drop bars. I just prefer having more hand positions.
As a fellow Bridge Club owner, I’d say to remove the racks, install inner bar ends & narrower tires
Surly, I’d have a way better time. You can spend money on making it faster but why bother, have fun!
Surly
Whatever bike is fine. Tire choice is probably more important.
Something that is fitted with 38-45mm fast rolling tires.
Drop bar hardtail mtb with 38-45mm tires would be my preference.
I’ve used 35mm on bikepacking trips w 50% pavement … it’s a bit too narrow on softer / looser gravel. Remember, you’ll need wider tires to handle your weight plus all your bikepacking gear as well (tent, stove …). So anything less than 38mm would be uncomfortable.
With narrower tires (35mm or less) you’ll have to pump up the tires to over 80+ lbs to handle the extra weight and avoid pinch flats.
The higher tire pressure gets uncomfortable very quickly. Like 10km into your trip.
You say event, are you racing? For vibes and comfort ride thee surly, for time and discomfort, maybe some washy turns take the liv
Derack the surly
Get a used 650b wheelset on marketplace to cram more meat on the second bike
If it was like 30-40 miles I would have said take the fast bike. Since it’s an all day thing you might as well be slow and comfortable, pack a picnic or few, and take the Surly.
The surly. But put some 2.2 conti dubnitals on there and get rid of the cages..
30mm will suck imo. Surly and a few beers
Surly Bridge Club is so damn versatile, hard to ignore for me
I’d put a faster 2.2 XC tire on the surly and go with that. Maybe throw some bar tape close to the sem on the bars for a more aero position to switch to. In a pinch I ran my XC hardtail like that for a gravel race last year. Worked * okay*