Does Riding on Hardpack Gravel Ruin a Roadbike?

[Lindenin]

One of the best trails that I have access to is a long, hardpack gravel trail. It is an old "Rails to Trails" conversion. NOw that I am riding a higher-grade roadbike, do I need to stay on pavement?

 

[artmichalek]

Most road bikes have no trouble with dirt or gravel roads. If you're going to be doing this a lot, I would recomend switching tires to at least 25-28mm just for comfort reasons.

 

[wilmar13]

One of the best trails that I have access to is a long, hardpack gravel trail. It is an old "Rails to Trails" conversion. NOw that I am riding a higher-grade roadbike, do I need to stay on pavement?

When I was in Uni there was an awesome mountian loop I loved to do, but it involved riding on dirt roads. Decending on a dirt/gravel road at high speed dodging rocks, etc. is no worse than rough pavement... like artM said, get yourself some bigger tires and it will be a little more comfortable, but the bike will have no problem... unless you are on a weight weenie ride.

 

[Cyclesafe]

Personally, I'd keep a high-end road bike on the road - a paved road. You probably won't be able to fit 28mm tires and with 25mm you just won't have the bite with your front tires that you need to make turns in loose conditions. Plus, with road tires and a stiffer road frame, you might not have much fun as you're inclined to feel every bump.

It shouldn't be a surprise that a bike optimized for asphalt might not be a good choice for gravel. Ruin the bike? Probably not. Be picking bits of gravel out of the sides of your knees and shoulders when you can't unclip in time? Undoubtedly.

 

[garage sale GT]

I ride road bikes through hardpack and loose-over-hardpack gravel trails a lot. The only thing I ever ruined was the rear axle on an old school freewheel hub. However...if you have expensive drivetrain components you may want to reconsider because they will get a lot more grit in them and will undergo accelerated wear. My sign-in name should offer a clue about why this factor doesn't concern me much.
Also, the bike will be much more prone to slide in the corners especially if you bounce a high pressure, skinny tire off a large piece of gravel.

 

[edp773]

However...if you have expensive drivetrain components you may want to reconsider because they will get a lot more grit in them and will undergo accelerated wear.

I agree with garage sale GT on this point. You should clean your chain, sprockets, brake pads and rims more often in these conditions. But that applies to any bike ridden on gravel.

Using lower tire pressure may help prevent flats with thin road tires. I would recommend around 90 psi.

 

[dbackmtg]

One of the best trails that I have access to is a long, hardpack gravel trail. It is an old "Rails to Trails" conversion. NOw that I am riding a higher-grade roadbike, do I need to stay on pavement?

If this is the Rails to Trails that goes up Pine Creek, I can say that I ride my road bike up it on occasion. It's actually pretty smooth. I've been down some roads that are much rougher. If this is the Pine Creek trail it won't hurt your bike. I know others with road bikes that ride it.

 

[artmichalek]

I ride road bikes through hardpack and loose-over-hardpack gravel trails a lot. The only thing I ever ruined was the rear axle on an old school freewheel hub. However...if you have expensive drivetrain components you may want to reconsider because they will get a lot more grit in them and will undergo accelerated wear. My sign-in name should offer a clue about why this factor doesn't concern me much.
Also, the bike will be much more prone to slide in the corners especially if you bounce a high pressure, skinny tire off a large piece of gravel.

Expensive being the key word. Unless you're running ultra light aluminum or titanium cogs, your drivetrain is all identical in terms of surface hardness as that of a mountain bike. Use a good lube that isn't going to hold onto the dirt too tightly, and clean it up when you get home.

 

[oldbobcat]

Years ago a buddy and I used to train by getting lost on dirt roads around the Massachusetts-Vermont border. We'd turn off the highway onto a paved side road that always went uphill and usually turned to dirt in a few miles. Then it eventually went downhill, the pavement returned, and we'd find state highways to take us home. ****** his wife off royal when we were late. But all done on tubulars and 42-21 or 22 gearing. Once, when we were trying to figure out where we were, a teen-aged girl wearing bell-bottoms motored by on some sort of campus 10-speed with stem shifters. She turned up the steeper hill, slammed the rear derailleur into a bigger cog, and chugged off into the woods. Cool.

 

[Mister C]

I ride road bikes through hardpack and loose-over-hardpack gravel trails a lot. The only thing I ever ruined was the rear axle on an old school freewheel hub. However...if you have expensive drivetrain components you may want to reconsider because they will get a lot more grit in them and will undergo accelerated wear. My sign-in name should offer a clue about why this factor doesn't concern me much.
Also, the bike will be much more prone to slide in the corners especially if you bounce a high pressure, skinny tire off a large piece of gravel.

Agreed. I have to ride a gravel-covered rails to trail path for a few miles of my commute. In addition to the above comments, I have noticed a few paint chips from gravel flying up and hitting my frame. I ride a steel road bike so fixing the paint job to prevent rust is something I need to do on occasion.

Then again, maybe I should just slow down on the gravel (20mph may be too fast for 23mm tires on gravel). Nahhh...love the speed too much.