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622x23 road tire Vs. gravel road?

June 26, 2014, 6:06 p.m.
Posts: 15019
Joined: April 5, 2007

How likely am I to flat/rip holes in tires by riding my road bike approx. 200m down a gravel road to get to the pavement?

We'll pretend that I run 100psi+ and the tires are Michy Pro4s.

The road is very compact/smooth but does have the loose surface gravel on top

Why slag free swag?:rolleyes:

ummm, as your doctor i recommend against riding with a scaphoid fracture.

June 26, 2014, 6:31 p.m.
Posts: 402
Joined: Nov. 28, 2002

How likely am I to flat/rip holes in tires by riding my road bike approx. 200m down a gravel road to get to the pavement?

We'll pretend that I run 100psi+ and the tires are Michy Pro4s.

The road is very compact/smooth but does have the loose surface gravel on top

Very unlikely. I've run that exact tire on some pretty good stretches of gravel roads (10s of kms) without problem. I did flat it earlier this spring halfway through the 17km stretch of gravel dyke from White Rock to Tsawwassen, but it was a well worn (almost square!) rear tire that I later flatted on a paved road a week later. (I got new tires after that one).

Obviously you can puncture, but my experience is that they're tougher than you think.

June 26, 2014, 8:28 p.m.
Posts: 1738
Joined: Aug. 6, 2009

I regularly ride a ~300m section of loose gravel as a connector between two paved roads, and have never had a problem.

June 26, 2014, 8:40 p.m.
Posts: 15019
Joined: April 5, 2007

Good stuff.

Looking to relocate slightly off the beaten path. Doubt the road will even get paved. I guess I could always rake the side of the road as well.

Why slag free swag?:rolleyes:

ummm, as your doctor i recommend against riding with a scaphoid fracture.

June 26, 2014, 11:28 p.m.
Posts: 7707
Joined: Sept. 11, 2003

Just keep them inflated close to maximum pressure and you should be fine, assuming they are fairly durable tires (ie "training tires" opposed to weight-weenie throwaway race-tires). I'm 200lbs and ride several km a day on gravel chips with 700X25c tires and never had a problem. Riding a roadbike off road is actually a lot of fun.

June 27, 2014, 7:55 a.m.
Posts: 2
Joined: May 29, 2011

Road bikes on gravel. So hot right now.

June 28, 2014, 12:25 a.m.
Posts: 11
Joined: Nov. 20, 2005

25 [HTML_REMOVED] 23 If you're going full roadie, you might as well get some bigger tires. 23s are soooo last year.

June 28, 2014, 2:39 a.m.
Posts: 8242
Joined: Dec. 23, 2003

apparently wider tire at same psi rolls faster anyways..http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/03/bikes-and-tech/technical-faq/tech-faq-seriously-wider-tires-have-lower-rolling-resistance-than-their-narrower-brethren_209268

June 28, 2014, 6:32 a.m.
Posts: 11
Joined: Nov. 20, 2005

^ this. and soaks up the small things way better. Switched to 25s a bit ago and not going back anytime soon.

June 28, 2014, 7:10 a.m.
Posts: 8242
Joined: Dec. 23, 2003

im stickn to my 23's for aerodynamics….lol

June 28, 2014, 11:01 a.m.
Posts: 15019
Joined: April 5, 2007

25 [HTML_REMOVED] 23 If you're going full roadie, you might as well get some bigger tires. 23s are soooo last year.

Fawk!

Why slag free swag?:rolleyes:

ummm, as your doctor i recommend against riding with a scaphoid fracture.

June 28, 2014, 12:35 p.m.
Posts: 15019
Joined: April 5, 2007

So I likely should go Conti GP 4000 II in 25 rather than Michy Pro4s in 23s?

Why slag free swag?:rolleyes:

ummm, as your doctor i recommend against riding with a scaphoid fracture.

June 28, 2014, 5:40 p.m.
Posts: 7543
Joined: June 17, 2003

Unless durability is a major concern, always go for Michelin over Conti. Contis ride like crap.

"The song of a bird…We used to ask Ennesson to do bird calls. He could do them. How he could do them, and when he perished, along with him went all those birds…"-Return from the Stars, Stanislaw Lem

"We just walk around, and sometimes we go out and dance, and then we listen to the environment."-Ralf Hutter, Kraftwerk

June 28, 2014, 7:06 p.m.
Posts: 15019
Joined: April 5, 2007

Unless durability is a major concern, always go for Michelin over Conti. Contis ride like crap.

Hmmm. Well since I learnt that I need to run higher than ~40psi my flats have greatly decreased. Too bad I can't find the Pro4s in 25mm right now.

Am thinking about still picking up a set of Conti GT 4000 4seasons for fall/winter/spring though

My Giant tires have held up surprisingly okay, even with a slice in the front tire sidewall gorilla taped over. And bunny hops over speed bumps and riding off curbs.

Why slag free swag?:rolleyes:

ummm, as your doctor i recommend against riding with a scaphoid fracture.

June 29, 2014, 9:39 a.m.
Posts: 15971
Joined: Nov. 20, 2002

I went 25c quite a few years ago mostly because I found a 1/2 price bin of Specialized Mondo Pro (good tire btw) but the roads are not always the best up here and sometimes you need to ride slicks on gravel to ride a circle route, with 25c I can drop pressure a little from 125 to 90-100 and if they are slower than 23c I can't tell

the worst stretch of road for flats up here is the highway from town to the dump

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