Gravel / Gravé / Gnarmac / Groad / ATB

November-April this is the mud bike thread.

They're better at not clogging up my seat stays...

I don't doubt that but everything else being equal, are 33-35mm tyres really better than 40mm+ in muddy conditions?

I just thought it was because having bigger tyres would make it easier and kinda take away what cyclocross is if they could all run 2 inch mtb tyres.

I believe the idea is to cut through the mud and hit something a little less soggy underneath. Chunkier tyres would get clogged pretty quickly. MX bikes come to mind.

Testing true effectiveness of 33 vs 40mm tyres is a whole other thing. Saying all that, it's all swings and round abouts.
Few years ago we were all rolling on 23c tyres and 650b was an anoraks' plaything.

650b was an anoraks' plaything.

I resemble that comment.

By MX bikes do you mean Motocross? Their tyres shed mud as they flex ,they change shape quite radically squashing at the contact patch. 19” rims 120mm tyres maybe 20 psi.
Tyres and indeed shoes that don’t flex tend to clog up like clogs.

@Dibble Pretty much. Hard comparison to make really. I was going on tyre size in relation to say, a 200 superbike tyre (which flexes as well) it was just a thought on shedding mud and getting traction.

Only ride ridge lines in the UK. ;)

Cyclocross tires are pretty good, until you get rocks and ruts. These dudes will just run a flat tub and swap bikes.

They can be flooded as well

Only ride in Australia or countries where rain hasn't fallen in the last 2 weeks.

Yes, they are.

There are two ways I can see to go about riding through loose ground, floating on top of it (fat bikes on snow/sand) or cutting through it (if we are looking for another sport comparison, I'd bring up the narrower tyres you see on rally cars in the snow).

The mud shedding is a function of many things, mud water content and soil type, mud bike clearance and mud specific thread on the tyre.

In my experience, a 33c CX tyre (33mm is the official UCI limit) is much more efficient than a 35/38/40 knobbly tyre in the English mud we have between Nov and April. I am sure the pros would like a wider tyre in dry races, but it's not unheard of some running 30c tyres for the muddier races (like WVA has been speculated to have done in yesterday mud fest in Dendermonde). Keep in mind that narrower tyre also means less resistance (pushing a narrower section through a dense medium)

@Netakure yes, you get less cushioning from 33c than from 40/50c gravel tyres, but that extra precaution in choosing your line is a small price to pay for being able to actually ride through inches of mud.

I don't understand why you're so adverse to getting dirty in the mud.. You bend over backwards to put yourself in the most uncomfortable situations all year round, why not ride through the mud as well? Is it the bike cleaning putting you off?

I'll ride it if I have to, I just won't seek it out. I hate the wear and tear on my bikes and parts, I hate having to clean everything and it's a lot more fun to be muddy in a 30C thunderstorm than mid-winter. I also ride Speedplay midfoot and as soon as you dab those it's no more clipping in for you. So I'd need to go back to Five Tens and then when they get wet they stay wet for a week.

lot more fun to be muddy in a 30C thunderstorm than mid-winter.

I disagree there. For me it's almost a state of mind and complete different riding from summer "gravel".
But agree with you that the wear and tear as well as the good hour cleaning everything at the end of each ride aren't the best part of it.

I'm talking summer mud. Being covered in mud is much more fun when it's hot and you don't mind spending an hour under a hose cleaning off. Standing outside the house in the pissing rain cleaning bikes and humans sucks. I spend enough on chains and brake pads these days as it is.
God help me if I started ultra MTBing...

Being covered in mud is much more fun when it's hot and bitey

Being covered in mud is much more fun when its done by Honey, Candice and the Go-Go Twins.

Type 0 Gravel today on the Fife coast, frozen beach riding was mega fun!

2 Attachments

I have no tyres suitable for frozen sand

Nice choice of groupset.

Seems an appropriate way to end the thread

https://youtu.be/15wUwU3SVZ8

Two white guys talking about gravel bikes for nearly 15 mins is very ON BRAND.

Anything to hasten its demise is welcome.