Road Bike or Gravel Bike? Can One Bike Do It All?

[@brankoradic2749]

Once you put a gravel wheel set on your bike you are obligated by UCI to grow some kind of facial hair 🥸😂

[@klein-concept]

Hahahahahahaha so i guess it will have to stay for winter 🤜🤛

[@brankoradic2749]

Another great video! I'm riding primarily gravel in Sweden, also did it back home in Croatia. Right now I'm testing a pair of Pirelli Cinturato Gravel H tyres in 35mm with and I'm playing around with the pressure's because of all together diferent kind of gravel. So far I'm impressed with them. A gravel build sounds great! I upgraded my group set to a GRX820 and it's the best I ever ridden!

[@klein-concept]

@@brankoradic2749 thanks a lot. I guess you re on tubeless with that width? Also what did you ride before the GRX upgrade? Am wondering if i could keep my Ultegra setup or if I should swap the rear derailleur for a GRX then?

[@brankoradic2749]

@@klein-concept no tubeless for me. TPU and before that old school tubes. I had an 2x10. Tiagra 4700 with a FSA Gossamer MegaExo 50/34T crank. You could just swap the rear derailleur for an GRX one and it'll work with an Uletgra setup no problem. But would definitely recommend a rear derailleur with a clutch for gravel no matter how hard or fast you plan on pushing it.

[@klein-concept]

@@brankoradic2749 thanks a lot 🫶

[@GeorgeD1]

75 psi is not low for these gravel tires, I would even say that it is on the high side. You don't seem to be a heavier rider either, so try 60-65 and I'm sure you'll be even happier with the ride quality :) I keep my 28mm *road* tyres at around 72 psi and I weigh 80 kg.

[@klein-concept]

Thank you. Do you think it is also possible to ride that low pressure with TPU inner tubes without risking pinch flats?

[@r.d.vaughan4541]

I completely agree with you I think he needs t check an on-line tyre pressure calculator like the one Silca has. Heck I run 32mm GP5000s and with my weight (73kg) and it is recommended to ride 61psi rear and 59.5 front for medium quality tarmac. I suspect the calculator would suggest even lower for gravel surfaces. I'm also using RideNow TPU tubes as tubeless never convinced me that the mess was worth the risk to my condo's carpets. Also RideNow sells MTB TPU tubes which are likely more robust if puncture became and issue.

[@klein-concept]

@r.d.vaughan4541 thanks a lot. Will take a look at the pressure calculator. Dont know why i thought 75 is already on the low side 😂😂

[@rand_kk]

@@klein-concept Riding 30mm tyres as 90kg rider with latex tubes on 62-66psi. All great

[@GeorgeD1]

@@klein-concept Definitely! I am also a TPU tube user and I've never had a pinch flat. Also good to remember that gravel tyres have a thicker side wall, which supported by the inner air pressure is quite a bit stronger than a typical road tyre, and therefore minimizes the risk of pinch flats at lower pressures.

[@MrDox123]

Great videos always! What you’re doing is possibly something that many others who are now buying “endurance all-road” bikes probably have in mind - one bike to ride tarmac and “gravel” with two different wheel sets. Having only a road bike at the time, I decided to do exactly this in 2020 by appreciating the potential of a donor Al frame from one of my University coops (I live in Canada). I studied the, new to me at the time, gravel bike concept and decided what kind of gravel bike I wanted to build out of the frame. Fast forward 2 years (it was hard to source parts at the time) and I’ve now been riding my “custom” aluminum frame with carbon fork (both also painted by myself) and overall finishing kit for over two years. While it’s arguably a Frankenbike and a brain child of my own imagination, today it might be seen as a rather conventional setup being done by dozens of companies. There are no longer any external shift or brake cable bosses and my rear brake hose runs through the TT and down to the caliper through a couple of eyelets on the chain stay. Getting to the point, it’s possibly the best bike I’ve ever ridden (I’m a little older than you) and while it’s not as outright fast as my road bikes, I just ride it a lot more as it’s so comfortable and versatile. In Summer I mostly ride it with 28/30 mm road (Pirelli Race/Conti 5K/Vittoria Corsa) or 32 mm slick gravel tires (GravelKing SS) on 80-90% tarmac. It’s setup as 1x with SRAM Force (46T | 10-33/36) and it’s fast enough to keep up with the roadies on our F1 track (it wasn’t always while running 40T | 10-44). 😄 In Fall and Spring I have wheels on which I have slightly wider tires mounted that still allow quite a bit of speed on tarmac as there is some city riding to get to the mountain and its gravel trails. I also run 10-36/44 gravel cassettes with those wheels. I’ve been running both the Pirelli Cinturato H (hard) and Conti Terra Speed both in 35C. The Conti’s mount a little narrower than the Pirelli’s on same inner width rims. I think I’m a little over 35 mm on the Conti’s and around 37 on the Pirelli. I run these in the 50 PSI range with 2-3 PSI lower on the front. I am a taller heavier (90 kg) rider and still don’t run my “road” 32’s at 75 PSI (another vote for the Silca calculator). While I started running TPU’s on the Pirelli wheelset (DT GR1600) at first, it took one unremarkable flat to decide to go the tubeless route and I’ve never looked back. Both wheels and tire sets are running TL and it’s been 100% trouble free for 2 years. The Conti’s are mounted on Elite Marvel 35 depth gravel wheels. Inexpensive and flawless albeit noisy freehub. I’m on the bridge as to which tire set is faster on tarmac but they’re both surprisingly fast despite the non slick treads. They both wear “fast” (price one pays for performance) but I venture I can get 3 years out of them each riding them half the year with about 50% of that on tarmac. We can’t ride such tires in winter here as we’re often up to our knees in snow. In short, it’s a very rewarding experience to be able to swap wheel sets like this for different weather, ride conditions and mood. The results were so surprisingly good that I ended up building a second bike with an identical frame, component concept and finishing kit albeit with a MTB flat bar and single AXS thumb shifter. Still 1x. I liberally swap wheel sets among the two bikes and am able to share several items such as saddle and TT bags as well as water bottles as all is setup using the excellent Fidlock system. I use this flat bar bike mostly as an urban bike but also when I ride with my kids who are also on flat bar bikes. Last summer I ended up building a third bike with the same concepts and frame geometry for my son. Full custom paint job (that’s the easy part, the stripping is a Bi…!) per his design and 1x SRAM Rival. He loves it. Especially as he can use any of the wheels we have. The cost of the three frames combined has been less than $100… As you’re venturing into the world of building a gravel bike this winter, I hope this offers some inspiration and perhaps will be of some help/insight in your own process. Last thought would be to spend some time learning about gravel tires as there are many to choose from and I’d say they make more of a difference than road tire choice. There are tires that are appropriate for many different types of gravel riding but seeing what you might have close to home in Berlin, I think the two tires I mentioned might work as well for you as they do for me. However, you may want to go slightly wider and I’d say the 40-42C width is the sweet spot for this type of riding. I am just “old school” so 35C feels huge to me and they keep the friction lower on tarmac.

[@klein-concept]

Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful story of your bike here. Really managed to build some great do it all setups as it seems. And now you even got your son on board. That is amazing. I will keep this in mind when building my gravel bike in winter 🫶

[@EugeneCh-i3l]

As several others mention, it will make a huge difference to go lower on tire pressure. The general rule of thumb is to go as low as possible without getting pinch flats. That might even be as low as 3X psi. Try to bring an extra tube, and tire pressure gauge and so some experimenting 😉 btw love your videos. Keep up the good work ✌🏼

[@klein-concept]

@@EugeneCh-i3l thanks a lot. Thats a good idea to experiment a bit this way 🤜🤛

[@kovenant7]

Seems like an awesome feature!

[@klein-concept]

🤜🤛

[@MB-qj8yo]

That 'stach needs a matching mullet 😀. PS: the avian canary works superbly! Thanks for the tip.

[@klein-concept]

@@MB-qj8yo haha thanks a lot 🤜🤛

[@cfinnoe]

Magnum PI of cycling KZbin. Keep it!

[@klein-concept]

Hahahahahahaha. Best one so far. Can not argue with that. For now looks like it stays 🤜🤛

[@Dmxravin]

75psi is really high for a 32mm, you have already mentioned this. I run 75-80 front to rear psi with tpu tubes in my 25mm tyres haha. Even though it sometimes feels like I am dragging sandbags my average speed went up dramatically because the tyres conform over inconsistencies on the road rather than bounces of against them. My pressures are based on 85kg with bike+baggae+rider weight. I would also experiment with the different pressure calculator from SRAM, Renee Herse, and Silca.. I'm not sure which one it is but one of them always recommends ridiculously low pressures but time and time again the lowest pressure setup gives me the highest average speed with the most comfort. Having said that I will try 80-85 next. *Addendum: I like the beard

[@klein-concept]

@@Dmxravin thanks a lot. Yes seems like its a bit high but didnt want to risk pinch flats. Looks like lowing a bit lower will still be safe 🤜🤛

[@Bathi666]

Nice video as always mate

[@klein-concept]

Thanks a lot 🤜🤛

[@Bathi666]

@@klein-concept love to go for a ride with you once I am in Germany 🙂

[@klein-concept]

@Bathi666 ping me when you re here 🤜🤛

[@chris1275cc]

I do about 50/50 road and gravel, the roads where I live are basically a series of short to medium length hills often with grades getting into double figures for short periods, which I do love (being a 55kg natural climber), but it does make base/Zone2 training and recovery rides almost impossible as I will just run out of gears. But 90% of the Gravel near me is old coal mine railway and mostly flat hardpack dirt, so I built a Carbon gravel bike 2x (LT-Woo Erx) with kind of semi-subcompact Stone Chainrings (46/32) on a Magene PES 505 power meter crank, 11-34 11s in the back (but will probably go 11-36 12s when the Cassette dies) now targeted zone work is much more manageable outdoors. As an added bonus because I didn't go too high with the gearing or too rugged with bike in general it really is a "point and go" bike, so If I'm carful with the route I can take it out on the local roads without having to go far outside of my Target Zones on the climbs or loosing too much average speed. Tyres are currently PANARACER Gravel King SK in 38 tubeless, I've been playing with pressure recently but low to mid 30's for pure gravel and close to 40psi if I'm doing mostly tarmac.

[@klein-concept]

That sounds like a really great setup especially for surrounding. Glad to hear the panaracer sk are doing a good job for you. Especially at that tire pressure. Guess i might have to switch back to tubeless at least for the gravel setup to run these kinds of pressures 🤜🤛

[@valmorell]

Same experience as you with tubeless so now also TPU. During the winter I switch to shallow ally rims due to the higher winds. Generally more comfortable ride than deep carbon. 32s at about 50psi. One small point, gravel tyres throw up way more water and mud than slicks so maybe a minimum rear mudguard like a Win Wing might be in order. Cool way to keep riding year round. .

[@klein-concept]

@@valmorell thanks for the hint. So you ride 50ps with TPU? Ok i thought this would be too low and might bring you pinch flats. Regarding the mudguard I agree. Already have one ready here 🤜🤛

[@valmorell]

The bigger volume tyres seem to mitigate against pinch flats. None in two years of riding. Guess now I've said that I will catch one tomorrow😮

[@klein-concept]

@@valmorell haha thanks a lot. Will give it a try then 🤜🤛

[@TheRickysee]

I have 2 high end mountain bikes and I’m really into cross country mtb. I bought a new road bike because I love road too and am a member of 2 clubs. I enjoy the long group rides on Saturdays. My friends made fun of me for buying a BMC Roadmachine with a double chainring because it’s not gravel. I knew with its tire clearance and my tubeless set up I could run some gravel tires on low pressure and be fine. I tried the specialized first but later went to a WTB BY WAY 34c that blows up to 35 and fits my bike. I run them at 38 PSI and I’m good to go. No way do you want 1x on my road bike. Not for me. So I was right. I can gravel just fine.

[@klein-concept]

You have a nice bike garage there. Glad to hear you re happy with your Roadmachine. Beautiful bike 🤜🤛

[@gg-xs3nu]

I am also riding pathfinders (42C) but i found that slick strip rather bad for the German fall season. especially on wet leaves/grass and steep sections with fine gravel I have like zero grip. will now give the pirelli cinturato in 45 a try

[@klein-concept]

@@gg-xs3nu interesting. Thought this strip will be a good thing 🫣

[@unpaidintern5331]

If you‘re interested in doing some rides with luggage / bikepacking you should definately look into steel frames and maybe a mechanical grx. it‘s just too simple to break. also 650b wheels will get you around or below 2 bars of pressure. if you are worried with sand: i‘m using pirelli gravel H in the back and gravel M in the front and have yet to meet a sand-/mudpit that forces me to stop.

[@klein-concept]

I m not planning any backpacking yet hehe but your tire choice sounds very interesting. Will have a look into that 🤜🤛

[@bengt_axle]

Have you tried a knobby tire (gravel) on the front and a slick (road) on the back? It may give you the grip you need on the gravel while not slowing you down as much on the road. The weight on the rear tire gives it more traction. Personally, on a gravel section like the one you're riding, I just ride a road tire (Conti Gatorskin 28mm) and hope for the best, slowing down on the descents if it is sandy or loose. That's all I got, and with a steel frame, its actually not that uncomfortable, because of the spring of the frame. When you get to a smooth, flat gravel section, I'd say it is faster than a gravel bike.

[@klein-concept]

That is a good idea. Thanks a lot will give that a try 🤜🤛

[@thedownunderverse]

Cyclocross been doing it for years… 700x33 for gravel is 👌🏻

[@klein-concept]

Sounds like i need another bike 🤜🤛

[@XXXENOWRAITHXX]

Check out silca’s tire pressure calculator

[@klein-concept]

Will do. Seems like i should be able to ride lower than 75 psi haha 🤜🤛

[@flexxx222]

I converted an old Focus alu "Trekking" frame. You know that typical german commuter bike. MTB Groupset with a carbon copy of a Surly Corner Bar. Was fairly chat and now barely fits Conti Race Kings in 55mm. Less than 2 bar of pressure tubeless works great for now. Oh and i put a suspension fork on it😂.

[@klein-concept]

What a dope setup. Great idea 🫶

[@Jaredstthomas]

I want these just for the wider profile, would be ideal for 30-32c road tires

[@Jaredstthomas]

The wheels that is

[@klein-concept]

@@Jaredstthomas yes i m certain they are also great as regular road wheels given thats what they are actually designed for 🤜🤛

[@Jaredstthomas]

@ okay I 100% got these confused with the elite gravel wheels. I actually want to do the opposite of your setup with road tires on gravel wheels 😅

[@klein-concept]

@Jaredstthomas haha. Why would you not use these Helix with road tires?

[@toddmcdonough]

Depending on the space you have in the frame and fork, sometimes you can fit 650b wheels and get away with a few extra mm in tire width.

[@klein-concept]

Hm thats an interesting idea. Will measure and see if it could make sense 🫶

[@ThomqsMNielsen]

I run around 80 psi on 25mm (widest my frame allows) GP5000 with TPU tubes on my road bike. In the winter I run 2.1" (53mm) Vittoria Mezcal XC Race at 25 psi on my gravel bike and in summer 45mm Challenge Strada Bianca PRO at 30ish psi. Both are tubeless

[@klein-concept]

Thank you. Wonder how low i could go with TPU tubes

[@ThomqsMNielsen]

@klein-concept definitely lower than 75 😉

[@klein-concept]

@@ThomqsMNielsen will keep trying to go lower

[@dcv9460]

KEEP! KEEP! kEEP! 💯💯💯

[@klein-concept]

Thanks 🫶

[@deviant324]

I've been riding gravel all along and will be trying to get some more km out of my Revolt X before it gets too cold. I'd rather switch to Zwift once there's a legitimate risk of ice patches because of how cold it gets at night, that's cost my dad half a season some years ago, I do have a Waltly rebuild of my Revolt X currently in manufacturing that will hopefully arrive in early december and I have the rest of the year off work after december 10th so if the weather allows it I'll ride the hell out of that thing once it gets here. I'm already riding a suspension gravel bike and kind of went all out for the Ti one. Rudy ultimate, XX Transmission in the back and Red XPLR up front, AXS Reverb (steeper descends can get a bit scary with how high up you're sitting on gravel, I'm used to riding my routes on a hardtail). I've also ordered some Elitewheel Drive SS 45s and opted for Cinturato 45-622 RC tyres.

[@klein-concept]

That sounds like an exciting setup coming up. Do you already know when your Waltly will arrive? You current setup sounds pretty legit as well tho 🤜🤛

[@Elijah-Garcia]

What jacket are you wearing? :-)

[@klein-concept]

It is the Assos Mille GT Ultraz Winter Jacket 🤜🤛

[@Elijah-Garcia]

@ thaaanks, sieht Baba aus 😮‍💨

[@mikekow_]

I think you need to build another bike with bigger tire clearance. Between 34-38c :) what tires did you run on the Pfadfinder?

[@klein-concept]

I also think so haha. I used the Panaracer Graveling SS

[@AMehta-ok5pf]

I would not be happy riding gravel with 32mm tires - not at least American gravel. The move here is to basically mountain bike tires - 50mm and higher. I will tell you that a bike with road bike geometry - 73/73 angles but with room with bigger tires - 700X 50 is a heck of a lot of fun!

[@klein-concept]

@@AMehta-ok5pf thank you. Another reason to build another bike 🤜🤛

[@BrunoZuber]

+1 for mustache 🙂

[@klein-concept]

Thank you 🫶

[@SamuelBlackMetalRider]

But also I’m running 34c Pro One on my SWORKS VENGE and I would never consider this to be Gravel. Put some 36c slick on my KONA Cyclocross and again, NOT Gravel friendly. Currently running 40c slick (Strada Bianca Pro) at 40PSI and still not Gravel. 40c with knobs under 40PSI is where Gravel begins

[@klein-concept]

@@SamuelBlackMetalRider it seems to work tho to a certain limit. Will try lowering the tire pressure a bit and see. But yes I agree for proper gravel it needs another bike 😂😂

[@SamuelBlackMetalRider]

@ that Ti frame doesn’t accept 35c tires? The Continental Terra Speed in 35c woulda been great

[@klein-concept]

35 could still fit but 38 was too much. Might give them a try 🤜🤛

[@SamuelBlackMetalRider]

Moustache always 💯

[@klein-concept]

Haha thanks 🤜🤛

[@DawaiMulders]

Try 45psi you will like it. ✊🏽

[@klein-concept]

@@DawaiMulders even with inner tubes?

[@DawaiMulders]

@ no with inner tubes keep it between 55 and 60 psi.

[@klein-concept]

@DawaiMulders thank you

[@pv_hl]

Standert has some promos on off road frames now

[@klein-concept]

@@pv_hl yes seen that. So i m close to getting one of theirs. Even tho a titanium one would also be good for the extra wet season 🫣

[@pv_hl]

@@klein-concept Stichsäge looks cool :)

[@cooltwittertag]

No place quite like berlin, recognized it in 5 seconds 😅

[@klein-concept]

Hehe good eye 🤜🤛

[@PatrickLino]

Shave that ish haha - EDIT: Steel spokes is making a comeback.

[@klein-concept]

Haha thanks for the vote buddy 🫶

[@gino4434]

keep it

[@klein-concept]

@@gino4434 thank you. So far the votes are looking good 🤜🤛

[@wuzihuzi]

Moustaches are very vogue in the Melbourne cycling scene

[@klein-concept]

Hehe hope to get some Melbourne subscribers in the future then 🫶

[@lucarusso7915]

Keep it

[@klein-concept]

Thank you 🤜🤛

[@cosinus_square]

For winter I'm using a 26" 90's mtb

[@klein-concept]

@@cosinus_square also a great alternative 🤜🤛

[@grekk95]

shaving

[@klein-concept]

@@grekk95 oh first shaving vote coming in hot. Thank you 🤜🤛

[@chrisjong8412]

Great video's, where is your 'Super Like' button ?😮

[@klein-concept]

@@chrisjong8412 thanks so much mate 🤜🤛

[@zombwalker]

Movember

[@klein-concept]

@@zombwalker 🫶

[@ChristianHerbert-h2z]

Rasieren ;-)

[@klein-concept]

🫶

[@mbo4199]

Certainly shave off!!!

[@klein-concept]

Thanks for the vote 🫶

[@adammcneill1862]

32mm is not a gravel tire, sorry, try again.

[@klein-concept]

Worth a try tho and somehow works but yes i agree. It has its limits hehe 🫶

[@govermentsoundsystemrootik8887]

You know just saying but my custom road bike £6.2k build is just too fragile at 7.265kg to do the gravel round so for me no thanks.....!!!

[@klein-concept]

That sub 7kg (ok with other wheels) was handling it fine. Was not worried about it being too fragile but I agree it comes down to the bike. Also would not do this with my 6.5kg bike with all the Darimo stuff as i guess they might break

[@govermentsoundsystemrootik8887]

Hell to the NO so please let's all just stop being stupid...,let's keep gravel to gravel & road to road...!!

[@klein-concept]

Point is that not everybody can afford a second bike or just doesnt want to have a second one around but might want to explore a slight gravel track from time to time. Especially in winter.

[@ChristianHerbert-h2z]

Rasieren ;-)

[@klein-concept]

@@ChristianHerbert-h2z hahahahaha danke dir 🫶