Hi all,
I have this old Charge Juicer, steel-framed road bike. Would it be possible to use this as a light gravel bike? If so, what upgrades should I do to it?
It has long-reach brake calipers, so I might be able to fit 30mm tires, though 28mm is probably more realistic.
Also, what pedal and shoe combo would you recommend for winter road riding and easy/light gravel?
I think your best bet will be finding the largest gravel tires you can fit and taking it for a ride on the roads you plan to ride on. I’ve never heard of gravel tires small than 35/38, but I’ve never looked, either.
I.e. your biggest limitation to an enjoyable ride will likely be tire size.
All bikes are gravel bikes….the only variable is how fast you can go on the gravel.
Seriously….i have ridden every bike I have on gravel, including my TT bike. Some are awesome on gravel, some required more care. 30 years ago when I was in Boulder, we’d often go up or down some of the canyon roads that were gravel on our regular road bikes and 21-23mm tires.
See how wide a tie you can slam in there….it doesn’t necessarily need to be a gravel-specific tire. If you can get 30’s in there, great. If only 28’s, that will work too.
You obviously won’t be as fast as a bike that has 40+ tires, especially in turns and you’ll need to handle turns carefully. But if you are talking about just light gravel, and not trying hammer it, that bike can handle it.
Yep. Back in the day it was very common to ride road bikes with 23mm tires on gravel. I just had to slow down, be careful, and couldn’t ride if the surface was too loose/soft. Now that I have a gravel bike with 45mm tires, I don’t ride the road bike anymore. I like the smooth ride, better immunity to road imperfections and debris, and the ability to deviate off pavement when the opportunity or whim strikes. Besides the width of the tires, gravel bikes have more rake and trail which makes them handle soft surfaces much better.
Could be if you’ve got enough skill. Whilst I love my rim braked bikes, I think I’d be looking for something with disc brakes for off road.