I'm a 60 year old vintage mtb but also road cyclist based in southern New Jersey that has decided to check out the gravel / adventure scene. My first exposure to gravel came as a photographer at a local gravel grinder last year. Looked like fun. Also have shot several cyclocross races and was thus inspired to dive into a gravel/adventure build. So I found a Jamis Coda hybrid on FB Marketplace for cheap and have started modifying it. I'm using gravelmap.com to locate routes near me and am already enjoying myself. Questions:
1) What general advice do you have? 2) It's really, really flat here and I'd like to try some Gran Fondo's but the elevation gains (even for the shorter rides) have me wary. I'm in fairly decent shape but am NOT a fan of climbing, lol. Can you recommend any Fondo's that aren't crazy hilly (and relatively close to me)? 3) What's your experience with getting a bike fit professionally done? Only had one once, BITD, am now using my patented "Bike Fit By Accident" (BFBA) system of just jumping on and going for a ride to see how it feels, haha
[QUOTE username=kjarrett userid=9145713 postid=1334006904] 2) It's really, really flat here and I'd like to try some Gran Fondo's but the elevation gains (even for the shorter rides) have me wary. I'm in fairly decent shape but am NOT a fan of climbing, lol. Can you recommend any Fondo's that aren't crazy hilly (and relatively close to me)?
I cannot think of a single organized gravel event in the NE that is flat-ish. In fact, it seems that many organizers intentionally inflict punishment with needlessly steep climbs.
Thanks for the reply. I hear you! It's what I've found when searching thus far. Couple things:
1) I'd travel if needed, maybe up to a few hundred miles away, for the right event. 2) The real problem is I have no real idea how much road climbing I can tolerate, my only experience with elevation gain is off-road. 3) I just need to get out and do some miles and see how it feels, how much fun it is (or isn't, lol)
Also, there is a really nice event close to home, the Tuckahoe Gravel Grinder, but it's at the end of the year, and I did pretty well taking photos and selling them (donating half the proceeds to charity).
That said, I plan to do the shorter of these loops and work my way up.
Happy to help with the routes. Looking forward to posting my experiences.
Intervals? Ugh...but I guess ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
Gearing. I have a new drivetrain ready to install, same as I have on another bike, a 1x10 Deore with an 11-46t rear cassette and currently a 36t up front. Based on my gear charts, and the riding I've done with that setup on one of my MTBs, I think it should be fine, but won't know until I actually encounter real, sustained road/gravel climbs. Goals for next year!
60-year old rider. My first "gravel bike" was a steel hardtail 29r MTB with a rigid fork. I did rides up to 60 miles on it. Tires: Fast tires make a huge difference. Look for rolling resistance data. Tubeless has worked well for me. Gearing: Your new setup sounds fine. I need better than 1:1 for the hills here(NH/VT) because one usually can't stand on the steeper stuff due to traction limitations. Fit: A professional fit was one of the best investments I've made in cycling. Your routes really are flat! Where I am it's rare to have a route that has less than 1,000' of climbing for every 10 miles. Climbing: A lot of it is mental. With low gearing you know you'll get there -- it just may take a while on a long climb. Shift down, unzip, take a drink, and settle in to a pace you can maintain. IMO, that's the most important question to be asking yourself early in a big climb -- 'Is this a pace I can hold?" If not, back it down a notch. So part of training for that is doing intervals at efforts above your comfort zone to get a feel for what output you can hold, and for how long.
Angstrom wrote:60-year old rider. My first "gravel bike" was a steel hardtail 29r MTB with a rigid fork. I did rides up to 60 miles on it. Tires: Fast tires make a huge difference. Look for rolling resistance data. Tubeless has worked well for me. Gearing: Your new setup sounds fine. I need better than 1:1 for the hills here(NH/VT) because one usually can't stand on the steeper stuff due to traction limitations. Fit: A professional fit was one of the best investments I've made in cycling. Your routes really are flat! Where I am it's rare to have a route that has less than 1,000' of climbing for every 10 miles. Climbing: A lot of it is mental. With low gearing you know you'll get there -- it just may take a while on a long climb. Shift down, unzip, take a drink, and settle in to a pace you can maintain. IMO, that's the most important question to be asking yourself early in a big climb -- 'Is this a pace I can hold?" If not, back it down a notch. So part of training for that is doing intervals at efforts above your comfort zone to get a feel for what output you can hold, and for how long.
Outstanding. Thank you!
Fit question #1 (and I think I know the answer): say I get "fit" to one of my MTBs. Can I use those measurements on ALL of them?
#2: Riding position is clearly different for MTB, gravel and road. Ideally then I would need a fitting for each. No?
#3: How much different would a fitting be on an MTB vs. my adventure rig?
When I had my first fit I was mostly riding road, so it was on my road bike. My current gravel bike position is a bit more upright than my road position, but not by much. On the road bike I had been trying to drop the bars to be more aero. The fitter looked at my position and pointed out -- kindly -- that I was not a flexible twentysomething and would be vastly more comfortable in a more realistic position. ;-) I try to have the seat-BB-pedal relationship the same on all 3 bikes.
One more thought on climbing: I noticed that on steep climbs my lower back was complaining more than my legs. Adding some simple off-the-bike core work(single-leg bridges, planks, etc.)helped with all types of riding.
Angstrom: so much info in such a 'small' package! ;-)
I have an excellent workout app, Adidas Runtastic, that does those things - customized workouts, lots of exercises for every muscle group, etc. Need to get back into that!
I agree with Angstrom on climbing. It's mostly mental. When I lived in the PNW, every ride had at least a 3 mile climb, sometimes upwards of 6-8 miles. I embraced it and loved climbing. I used to push myself really hard. When I was training for an Ironman 9 years ago, my coach had me do some really tough workouts. One that I remember specifically is the 9 to 1 workout. Start with a warm up of 1 minutes, then 1 minute as hard as I could go, 9 minutes in recovery mode...then 2 minutes as hard as I could go, 8 minutes recovery, 3 minutes hard, minutes recovery....all the way to 9 minutes hard and 1 minute recovery.
That really kicked things into gear for me. I hated those days but man, did it ever make me strong.
Now that I'm 50 and have been riding my entire life, I don't push myself as hard as I used to. I find joy just in the ride itself. I look around more, enjoy the experience and so forth. My buddy who really just got back into cycling after a very long time off the bike, usually pushes harder than me and beats me up the hills on the gravel bike. I can see he pushes himself a lot harder than I do. Mentally, I'm just enjoying the ride and I'm ok that people beat me up the hills now.
Although, when we MTB, I tend to beat him as I have more techy skills....so it evens out. 😃
A_SingleSpeeder wrote: Now that I'm 50 and have been riding my entire life, I don't push myself as hard as I used to. I find joy just in the ride itself. I look around more, enjoy the experience and so forth. My buddy who really just got back into cycling after a very long time off the bike, usually pushes harder than me and beats me up the hills on the gravel bike. I can see he pushes himself a lot harder than I do. Mentally, I'm just enjoying the ride and I'm ok that people beat me up the hills now.
Yup. The world is full of people who are faster than I am on a bike. None of them are having more fun than I am.🙂
I try to never take it for granted that I have the opportunity and ability to ride a bike in a beautiful place.
Thanks, everyone. Great info and perspectives. I ride to enjoy the outdoors. The better shape I'm in, the more difficult rides I'll be able to enjoy. And since the last time I did any riding with elevation was, oh, 1996 or so, safe to say I need some more recent experience. So, that's what I'm focusing on for early 2023. Pretty sure the bike is ready. I am too, I just don't have (and don't wish to invest in) legit cold weather gear. Come on, warm weather...
John wrote:A drive up to New Paltz, NY and riding the Mohonk/Minnewaska gravel carriage roads should be on you list. This is word-class gravel riding.
Thank you, that is an excellent suggestion! I actually travel through that area frequently in the summer, I am the announcer for the Eastern States Cup downhill mountain bike race series. They have 10 races every year all over the Northeast and I’m constantly driving up that way. I could easily bring my bike with me either before or after one of those events. Definitely going to look into it. Thanks again!
TwoWheeler wrote:I may or may not know WTF I’m talking about, but that many headset spacers scares me.
Yep, that is way beyond what you would typically see. As it is a metal fork, there is almost certainty that the steerer is metal of some sort which helps but it is still more than an mfg would say is allowable.
OP: this allows you to potentially apply too much torque on the steerer tube when standing as the steerer is last supported at the top of the headset. Assuming you are going to get fit on this bike, I would suggest addressing it then. In the meantime, I would advise against standing while riding... One potential upgrade to that bike would be a carbon fork which typically would bring an improved ride quality. You would need to find someone who can assess the geometry to see if there is something available that works. If you were to go that route, you would really need to heed the typical 4cm max for spacers under the stem.
