Gravel? Don’t laugh! I’m just thinking out loud. Itch scratched

[Peachy!]

What was the difference in speed on the climbs? Presumably the speeds on the descents weren't sufficient to compensate.

Climbing I was crunching away at about 7 - 9 mph, where they were hitting 13-15. Down hill on the very rough, them 18-20, me 25-30. Unfortunately, even though this is a by-way and part of the National Cycle route 1 and the Cleveland way foot path runs almost parallel for the tracks entire length, the cinder track on a sunny weekend attracts lots of mobile chicanes (pedestrians & dogs) so there were precious few occasions where it was proper rough and a clear run so that I could really fly with confidence on my trusty Marzocchi 100’s.

 

[CassidyAce]

Bumpy! I can see why a hardtail was faster on the descents and slower on the climbs than the gravel bike guys. But I would imagine that a road bike with the rigid fork swapped for front suspension would still share some of the ride profile of the hardtail, meaning that you would still be slower on the climbs and faster on the descents, or, in other words, out of step with the gravel bike guys, which kind of defeats the purpose of a group ride. However, perhaps the differences would be lessened to an acceptable level, and it's an interesting experiment.

 

[Peachy!]

Bumpy! I can see why a hardtail was faster on the descents and slower on the climbs than the gravel bike guys. But I would imagine that a road bike with the rigid fork swapped for front suspension would still share some of the ride profile of the hardtail, meaning that you would still be slower on the climbs and faster on the descents, or, in other words, out of step with the gravel bike guys, which kind of defeats the purpose of a group ride. However, perhaps the differences would be lessened to an acceptable level, and it's an interesting experiment.

Yeah I think you’re right.
So the plan is, flat bar, rigid fork, gravel tyres maybe lose the front mech? As I was mainly in the middle ring.

Oh and this popped up…

 

[was8v]

Just fit the fattest (yet lightweight - get folding tyres e.g. compass) tyres you can to the road bike and flat bar (with longer stem). Hopefully 35-40c is acheivable.

The main restriction is going to be tyre size for bouncing over them cobbles, and don't run them at too high pressure

Suspension fork will be useless if you only have a 25c tyre on the back.

 

[Peachy!]

Just fit the fattest (yet lightweight - get folding tyres e.g. compass) tyres you can to the road bike and flat bar (with longer stem). Hopefully 35-40c is acheivable.

The main restriction is going to be tyre size for bouncing over them cobbles, and don't run them at too high pressure

Suspension fork will be useless if you only have a 25c tyre on the back.

The cobbles I’ve shown are a bit of a red herring. They are the reason why I’ve only ever used a hardtail MTB on the cinder track, but as it’s explained to me by the gravelers, they don’t really bother with them, they crawl over them at 5mph or get off. And besides most of the “off road” immediately accessible to me is green lanes, chalk tracks and foot paths, that’s really where this build will get used.

 

[was8v]

What you want then is a lightweight xc 29er mountain bike, bang up to date carbon frame, xc tyres like Vittoria mezcal and a sid up front.

A Santa Cruz highball or similar.

You ain't going to cobble that together with a carbon road frame or a 1990s MTB.

Or just be happy going a bit slower.

 

[Peachy!]

What you want then is a lightweight xc 29er mountain bike, bang up to date carbon frame, xc tyres like Vittoria mezcal and a sid up front.

A Santa Cruz highball or similar.

You ain't going to cobble that together with a carbon road frame or a 1990s MTB.

Or just be happy going a bit slower.

Nah! What I want is to amuse myself in my workshop for a couple of hours, building something for free!

 

[Mickeyspinn]

Could be good!
Makes me think of this...

 

[Takingabreak]

Yeah I think you’re right.
So the plan is, flat bar, rigid fork, gravel tyres maybe lose the front mech? As I was mainly in the middle ring.

Oh and this popped up…

something like this? Although it's 26" with a compact double up front

 

[Peachy!]

something like this? Although it's 26" with a compact double up front View attachment 635775

Nope. Absolutely not.

As Cap’n Mainwaring once said, “no no, that won’t do at all”