I’ve done 8-10 gravel grinders here in central Texas over the past year and love it. I’m using a Ridley cx bike w/ Hunt tubless wheels and 38mm Gravel Kings. Most of the routes are about 70% gravel/30% tertiary paved roads (ie rough chip and seal). Yesterday was a 68 mile race. I fell in with 4 other people working well together in a pace line. We averaged 18.5 mph over the first 50 miles (most of that into head/cross head wind). Group fell apart at some point and I soloed in w/ final ave of 18.2, so no, I don’t feel like the efforts are much slower than road. Biggest shock to me was riding washboards - kind of like dirt pave. So I got a Red Shift suspension seat post and that made a huge difference. YMMW
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