Going down this route on your road bike could be a way to fit bigger tyres into the same space but it’s worth knowing that road bikes are not designed with this smaller wheel size in mind so there might be compatibility issues and it can impact the geometry, namely by reducing the bottom bracket height. All road bikes are designed around 700c wheels but gravel bikes are commonly being designed to be compatible with the smaller 650b wheel sizes, which offers the advantage of running a bigger volume tyre for more comfort and traction but the overall diameter being no larger than a 700c setup. Going to a smaller wheel size can also increase tyre clearance. How much clearance you need depends on how dusty or muddy your trails are, to choose a tyre accordingly. However, the downside is that a wider rim often means a tyre will be wider than the stated sidewall measurement, so you do need to be careful when choosing to ensure you keep a sensible amount of clearance between rubber and frame. The wider the tyre the wider the rim to provide a more stable base for the wider tyre and stop it squirming at lower pressures and through corners. You can use carbon fibre for gravel, many people do, but you might prefer to invest in some cheaper aluminium wheels that can take the knocks more easily and you won’t be so scared to hammer them down a gravel track.Īnother key consideration is the rim width. Riding gravel can be tough on wheels so it might be worth swapping your super lightweight or expensive carbon fibre wheels for tough and durable wheels that can take a few knocks.
If you’re feeling flush, with two sets of wheels you can easily switch your road bike between road and gravel setup. They also come in many tread designs but most are fast-rolling and will be ideal for converting a road bike to a gravel bike. If space is really limited on your bike another option is a cyclocross tyre as these are typically 32-33mm wide and will fit in a wide majority of road bikes. A fast-rolling design like a Schwalbe G-One or Panaracer GravelKing will ensure good speed on the road as well as grip on gravel. Gravel tyres come in many varieties from low profile semi-slicks for summer riding to chunky blocks for winter mud-plugging, so choose the tyre to suit the conditions. For rough gravel 32-33mm is the minimum width you want to fit if you want to get good control and comfort on gravel surfaces. Racier bikes max out at 25-28mm while endurance bikes commonly offer space for up to 35m and cyclocross bikes closer to 40mm. Gravel bikes are regularly specced with 40mm and wider tyres but you’ll be lucky to get anything like that on a road bike. If you want to ride rough gravel and woodland trails then you want to fit a wide aggressively treaded tyre that will give you maximum grip and control. If you’re riding well-groomed gravel, forest tracks and canal towpaths, a big fat slick tyre will suffice in the dry. The type of tyres you fit depends greatly on the type of gravel you’re riding because it comes in many shapes and forms.
The most important conversion to consider are the tyres.
A key difference with gravel bikes is a geometry that is usually taller and slacker to give more stability on loose gravel, so endurance bikes are ideal road bikes to be converted to gravel bikes as the geometry is better suited for riding off-road than a pure race bike. Most road bikes can be converted to gravel bikes but some make better candidates than others. The main difference between a gravel bike and a road bike comes mainly down to increased tyre clearance and slacker geometry on the former. Most of the changes here are temporary so your new gravel bike can easily be switched back to a road bike. Let’s take a closer look at how you can turn your slick tyred road bike into a gravel munching off-roader.
Endurance bike vs gravel bike how to#
How to convert a road bike to a gravel bike – at a glance: And that’s no bad thing riding off-road on a drop-bar road bike vastly opens up your opportunities to escape congested roads and get back to nature, and with the growing popularity of gravel events, bikepacking and micro-adventures, they’re the perfect tool for escapism.īuying a new bike is an expensive business though so you might be wondering if it’s possible to convert your current road bike into one that can tackle gravel? The answer is yes and no, but mostly yes. Riding gravel has become all the rage in recent years with just about every bike manufacturer rushing to add a model to their range to cater for cyclists that increasingly want to venture off-road on drop bar bikes.
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