I’ve now done two decent gravel-road rides on my new off-road tires (see Getting Fat), so I have a few results to report:

  • The fat tires work very well for softening out the rough surface of gravel roads. Compared to the j-j-j-jarring r-r-r-ride I was getting on my 100 PSI tires, these feel positively cushy.

  • Riding on paved roads, I run my my middle chainring 95% of the time, except for big uphills or big downhills. For gravel roads, I need to be more willing to drop into the small chainring, and not try to muscle up the hills.

  • I didn’t really have any trouble climbing hills, as long as there was something of a rut for me to follow (and once I learned to gear down quicker). There’s always the chance of spinning out on a hill, but it hasn’t happened yet.

  • The recumbent seems to handle the gravel just fine. I never really felt in danger of going down, though control can get a bit squirrelly in loose small gravel or when there’s a solid layer of bigger stones. The worst section I found was a half-mile of fresh gravel – loose, with some fairly big rocks.

  • Speed is lower. On my first ride (15 miles) I had an average of about 12 MPH. On my second ride (25 miles), I had an average of 12.8 MPH. Then I realized that I’d forgotten to recalibrate my cyclocomputer when I swapped tires. I did a roll-out, and found that my front tire is about 4.5% larger than it was before. So I wasn’t quite as slow as I first thought, with revised speeds of 12.5 and 13.4, respectively.

  • The back tire can have some trouble with bigger rocks, kicking to the side once in a while as it hits them. Not a big deal, but it’s an odd feeling the first few times it happens.

  • I wonder about the bike’s durability over longer rides (and longer periods). Even with the softer tires, there’s still a fair amount of shock transmitted to the bike. Over time this may lead to component failures – wheels, spokes, the rack, fender, seat, and eventually the frame. Am I shortening the life of the bike by subjecting it to such a beating? Probably.

  • Would suspension help? It may be possible to swap out the rigid front fork for a suspension fork, but is it worth doing? Rear suspension would probably be more significant (since more weight is on the rear wheel), but that would require a new bike, as a retrofit is unlikely.

  • Less traffic: Sunday, riding about 20 miles of gravel, I saw a grand total of eight motor vehicles – three passing me, and five coming towards me.

  • Cars more considerate (or at least more careful): Most cars on gravel roads seem to move at a slower pace, and take care when passing, some are even considerate enough to slow down to minimize the dust they’re spewing.

  • Speaking of dust, there can be a lot of if. This will mean more care needs to be taken in keeping the bike clean and well-lubricated.

  • I haven’t ridden in the rain yet, but I imagine that it turns many roads into a soupy, sloppy mess, with ruts and rocks hidden by water, and mud coating the tires, frame, drivetrain, and seat (and probably the rider).

Overall, I see the ability to ride gravel as a huge plus. It should certainly make planning a route easier – not being limited to paved roads increases the number of possible routes by an incredible amount. In my immediate vicinity, perhaps 50% of the roads are paved, but the further out into the country you go, the amount of pavement declines. Why limit myself to just paved roads when I can have them all?

In the two rides I did last weekend, I never got more than ten miles or so from home, yet I covered roads I’d never ridden, or even driven, before. Imagine, finding something totally new only a few miles from my front door!