Gravel bike? Humbug, Scotland needs proper All Terrain bikes

Rain stopped, so off for a short road ride (20km, and actual road).

First thing was to get it up a decent hill. Was kinda tough on my aged body, the bike has a 63" gear, but it got up this hill out of Dingwall ok. Only problem was the tyre rubbing against the chainstay when it flexed. That's not a flaw, it is to be expected of a bike designed for derailleurs, flexy chainstays for a compliant ride. I thought I'd have more of a problem with its slack HA (compared to what I'm used to) but I quickly adapted.

The rubbing could be cured by using a slightly narrower tyre, I'm running close clearances. Alternatively forego the singlespeed and succumb to gears. I'm sure I have a spare set of gears somewhere, one of Sturmey-Archer finest 3 speeds. Of course, I could use narrower tyres, but they wouldn't roll as nicely as the Super-Motos.



Handling was ok, no nasties, a bit ponderous (again as expected). It doesn't flick like a road bike, but I quickly realised it didn't have to because the fat tyres just steamrolled over stuff that I though would rattle my fillings. Downhill at speed it felt secure, max about 33mph according to the speed limit sign flashing red at me.

Next step is try it on some dirt.

EDIT:
Hey Velo, is a 25 ½" Dawes Galaxy frame any use to you? I know someone who is stripping one down for its parts.
 
Looking and sounding very good! Look forward to seeing it :)

See if I was cool I would have ended that with .....in my mirrors :) :) :)
but alas I am not cool so I will see it on a ride with cake soon ;)

Jamie
 
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A couple of years back I'd bite your hand off for a 25" plus Dawes Galaxy frame but the reality now is it would never get used :(

My cycling days are reducing significantly with my chronic fatigue. Mainly I just tinker in my shed with beat up old wrecks of bicycles and cycle 5 ish miles so a tourer would be a waste.

Thanks for offer Brian but alas not for me :xmas-wink:
 
Been taking it places. Thought it was time to get it dirty.

On Thursday I took it on the same ride as the other day so I could check it again on the climb. Went up much easier. The rub is sorted although still minimal clearance.

On the way back I thought it was time for some rough stuff and diverted offroad into the woods.

Trouble was I kept losing the track, too many leaves. Did manage to find assorted potholes hidden under them though. Didn't fall off despite some comedy corrections, so bike must handle ok.



Yesterday I thought I'd try a bit harder, so went out avoiding all that horrible black stuff they put on top of what could be perfectly good dirt roads.

Just up from my house is a castle and it has an ancient track running from it all the way to Fodderty. It was a bit tricky because under that carpet of leaves is a rocky track and it was slick from the leaves. Even more interesting were the huge piles of dung from horses and cattle.

Seeing as I had no mudguards I took it canny. There was the odd sideways slip from the rear wheel, but nothing concerning, the handling remained predictable.



The track becomes a green lane later on, and unfortunately the horse traffic has churned it up a bit. This was tricky to ride on slicks, the wheel would sink in and then spin as I tried to keep going. I would have walked if I wasn't wearing my sandals - I don't mind getting my feet wet, but this was shite filled mud.



Once I crossed the railway line, things improved.



Then it was out on the road for the stretch to StrathPeffer, but I got bored and decided it was time to do some proper rough stuff, after all that what the bike is for.

There are the remains of an old track up to saddle of the hill at Cnoc Farrel. The first half is reasonable short grass because the sheep keep it down, but the track is heavily eroded. It's very steep though, 400 feet climb in just over half a mile.

Not much of it was rideable, but a good excuse to try out some hike a bike. It balanced well on my shoulder (that's an advantage of pre-compact frame geometry IMO) but I started to wish it was lighter.

The views improve as you get up though.



However from that point on it was through thick dying bracken.



Some of it was rideable (barely), ie on the bike, off the bike, carry the bike, push the bike. This portion took about 3 times longer than the first part of the climb.

This is where single speed pays off, there's nothing to drag or catch in the undergrowth except the pedals.



But a climb always has its reward.



Problem was daylight was disappearing fast, and I had a bit of a sprint to get to the way down, a 600 foot descent into Dingwall. The bike handled the hurtle down ok - nothing technical, just a rocky track morphing into a tarmac road about halfway.

It was a good opportunity to properly check the brakes though. I'm impressed with the Tektro 720 cantis, they never felt lacking in braking power - although I grimaced at the grating sound on the mud scraping the rims.

Then it was boring tarmac all the way home. Unfortunately I have a somewhat steep hill for the last bit, about 150 feet climb, and my SS gearing is a bit high for it, so I arrived home gasping.

Conclusions so far:

I like the way the long chainstays make make rear wheel side slips handle predictably.

General handling is good, although I think a bit less offset on the fork would add some more trail to slow down the front end on mud.

The bike needs mudguards for the dung tracks.

The rear wheel clearance could be better. I'll attend to this over winter. Either dimple the stays or use narrower tyres.

I dislike the grinding sound of alloy rims with rim brakes. I might try build a set of steel rimmed wheels - it's how I solved that problem when I was a lad. Did anyone make stainless steel 26" rims?

Edit: Oh, gearing. I think I need to dingle speed it. Lower gear for offroad, and a slightly higher for onroad.

There's two more tests it needs now. A lap of the StrathPuffer track is a good way to find flaws in a bike. The other is a proper long haul on a gravel track.

In short, so far, so good. :)
 
Re:

Make sure those steel rims have a milled or dimpled surface or have been roughed up with grinder. Otherwise your first run will be your last in your damp environs. You don't bounce like you used too Santa :xmas-big-grin:
 
Re:

That looks and sounds perfect for our usual rides Brian.
Nice choice of testing track too :).
Am not long in from town but about to head back out on the Big Dummy for the Adventure Syndicate challenge to match the miles, ride a hill, cross some water etc and then get a riding sunset photo to return home and log in for the 7 pm premiere of their new film.
Keeps me on the streets ;)

Jamie
 
Re: Re:

velomaniac":2eno6wll said:
Make sure those steel rims have a milled or dimpled surface or have been roughed up with grinder. Otherwise your first run will be your last in your damp environs. You don't bounce like you used too Santa :xmas-big-grin:
Don't worry, I learned that long before I was dropping presents down your chimney. :)

I have a nice set of SS 700c rims, but none in 26".
 
Oh man. Looking at the pictures of the scenery and the bike, that's what it is all about.
 
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