Turn Your Road Bike Into A Gravel Bike | GCN How To

You don't need a gravel bike to go off road, Si talks you through the small modifications you need in order to get the most out of your road bike when riding gravel. (Bees not essential!🐝)

Ever wanted to take your road bike off road and explore some trails, but been unsure about making any changes to your set up? From tyre width to frame tape Si discusses the small changes that will make your road bike ride like a dream when hitting the gnarmac.

Have you made any changes to your bike in order to ride on gravel? Let us know in the comments below 👇

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Leave us a comment below!

[gcn]

Have you modified your road bike to go off road? Let us know 👇

[waltergiangreco]

It's unbelievable, this channel covers every single doubt and curiosity that came to my mind 🚲

[NikeonaBike]

When Zipps are your "second less expensive wheels". FeelsBadMan.

[dlp]

But I thought the whole reason for riding gravel was to buy yet another bike....

[davidbierbaum]

Kudos to Si for getting through your exposition. All those flying critters zooming by, and landing on me, would have driven me bonkers. Your new title: Lord of the Flies.

[rene]

4:28 Si says "Invest in a second less expensive set of wheels" and then pulls out a set of Zipp 30 wheels. Less expensive... right... :P

[tomhood]

Great advice. A gravel or cyclo-cross bike can be even more versatile. A bike can do anything if it has enough tire clearance. I have a Lynskey Cooper CX with 4 sets of wheels: Stan's Iron Cross 700c with 40mm tubeless tires for gravel and 'cross, 700c carbon rims with Schwalbe Pro One 28mm tires for road, Stan's Crest 650b for MTB trails and gravel and some tubed 700c wheels for loaded touring. I have done a road century, gravel grinder and MTB trails all in one weekend. It's fantastic. One bike to rule them all! Oh, and the new Ultegra R8000 mid-cage (GS) rear derailleur will handle any cassette from 28t to 40t when paired with a 46/34t chainrings. Those are the combinations I run.

[mattytorques]

I did this to my flat bar Boardman Hybrid and I now ride it on CX tyres off road via my local country park to work. I even ride it around Sherwood pines on the red route (which is tame for a red). I dont ride road tyre setup quite as much now because its more being able to switch terrains easier. And when on the road with intermediate tyres (Kenda small block 8) it's still quick off the mark and handles well on tarmac. Highly recommended.

[TheBerndtPeter]

6:37 Si's riding over a MEADOW screaming :D

[robotics]

I always use MTB pedals and shoes on my road bike. Much easier to clip in, much easier to walk around when taking breaks.

[andrewpintar]

Si, such a roadie...those are the tightest "baggie" shorts that ever existed 😂

[kentmemories]

My Bianchi Infinito CV.. With SRAM force 1, 40 T chainring and long cage RD.. I have 2 wheel sets.. Dura Ace C35 wheelset with 11-28 and Conti 25mm tire for road cycling.. And Campy Sharmal Alu wheelset with 11-40 and Pana Racer Gravel King 28mm tire for adventure or high mountain road climb.. I use MTB pedal all the ways..

[Stuartrusty]

As always, I do it the other way around, I use a crosser on the road with 28mm tyres, MTB pedals and shoes, then gravel is no problems, road no problems and walk no problems, without forking out for road bike stuff too.

[rplawrance]

Hey Simon, you'd also need to lengthen your chain if you were jumping up on the cassette size, otherwise some serious gear crunching is coming. The best solution though would be to increase your road setup to a 28 or 32 and then keep the gearing the same for both setups.

[LGBhull]

WOW those 35's fit with room to spare! The Domane is such a beast

[laurentlandry]

My favorite video of the channel yet. I will be doing two centurys in two days on gravel this fall and this video filled with humor and quality content helped me out quite a bit!!!

[gogocro]

Great upgrade for road bike to gravel conversion is a Canyon VCLS 2.0 seatpost and carbon handlebars that have flex in them. They absorb bumps and vibrations much more than alloy parts. Also they are much less expensive than whole carbon fibre frame, but offer much more compliance.

[geoffgovey]

I converted my trashed Hybrid into a Gravel Bike. Stonking 700cx42 tyres and wide dropped bars make a fantastic off-roader.

[franklumpycounty]

Si, you're skipping over the obvious solution. Build or purchase a gravel bike in secret and have a pool of lies at the ready to explain the irregular rides.

[IQstrategy]

If clearance is a problem due to fork height or rear triangle, then go for 650B w/ disc instead of 700c. This works as the diameter of the wheel is smaller = height is reduced. This does NOT work when with of the fork or rear triangle is too narrow. I can fit pretty much 2 inch plus 650B when anything bigger than 700cx35mm will not fit on my bike.
Also, notice that the smaller diameter of wheel+tire also means the gearing ratio is instantly easier/lower as well. Solves two problems with one wheelset & cassette!