# Questions about gravel road riding



## mm9 (Jul 20, 2009)

For the riders who do a good bit of gravel road riding, what are you finding is general drop off in average speed for a paved route with similar elevation gain? - just pure curiosity.

How about the difference in average speed by using a mountain bike vs. a drop bar bike on gravel?

For those of you who've ridden both mountain bikes and drop bar bikes on gravel, which do you prefer and why?

For those who ride drop bar bikes on gravel for significant miles (as opposed to a small portion of a route), what tire sizes are you using?

Thanks


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## dgaddis1 (Sep 27, 2008)

Depends. There's a huge range of conditions for non-paved roads. I've ridden some clay roads that had no gravel at all, but were rock hard and smooth and faster than the local pavement. You could ride 23's with no problem.

I've ridden some gravel roads in the mtns on my MTB and wished I had more suspension because they were so rough.

At Southern CX it seems to alternate every year whether the winner was on a MTB or a CX bike.


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## bubba117 (Aug 20, 2012)

average speed depends on the gravel but its usually 5 mph less than smooth pavement and road tires. Im running cyclocross legal 32c tires tubeless and works well. I have a nice mountain bike as well but I never hesitate to ride my cross bike on gravel over the mtn bike.


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