Gravel skills
- Thread starter onetraveller
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trailsurfer
Explorer
Beautiful shot of the moto! You couldn't ask for a better place to "practice" your gravel riding.
D
Deleted member 48574
Guest
I wonder -- as a relatively new rider, can anyone recommend some good articles/reads for learning basic concepts of gravel riding?
I know you aren't a rider till you fall off, and the common advice is "go ride it", but I'd be curious to access some resources you folks with experience can recommend. I have done that research on my own in the past but it's tough to judge the validity of random articles on the 'net -- far easier to hear from skilled riders what works and what doesn't!
Regards
Craig
I know you aren't a rider till you fall off, and the common advice is "go ride it", but I'd be curious to access some resources you folks with experience can recommend. I have done that research on my own in the past but it's tough to judge the validity of random articles on the 'net -- far easier to hear from skilled riders what works and what doesn't!
Regards
Craig
Stumpalump
Expedition Leader
Gravel is easy once you no longer fear loosing the front end. Spin the back tire on it until you are feeling ok with mild fishtails and wheel spin. Do it often and until its second nature. Now you get to slide the front. Start by stoping slowly and under control. Use your front as much as you can until you work up to doing little skids with the front. Skid the front a little then get right off of the break. Do this a lot and do it often. Get so good at it that you can do it while standing up. I still do it after decades just so the feeling is second nature. When or if you start loosing the front end on gravel it will feel similar as when you intentionally locked up the front and your instincts or second nature will take over. After a while you will slide the front as much as the rear and is why some of us eat the front tires off as fast or faster than the rear. The BS about falling is just that. If you have any momentum then stay with the bike and ride it. Don't ever give up and just crash or lay it down. Dropping the bike or jumping off when under 3 miles an hour is the only time jumping off or out of the way of the bike is OK. You do that to save your legs.
Ozrockrat
Expedition Leader
CDMartin
Suffering Fools
No amount of reading or watching videos will make up for riding. I come from thumpers, so standing on the pegs is my preferred off-road riding style, many from 4 strokes like to ride seated. My recomendation is find long gravel roads and ride. I am not that familar with the Multi-strada, but turn off the TCS, throttle is your friend, and don't let the squirm of the rear whell scare you. If you choose to stand on the pegs, use your knees to squeeze the tank to turn the bike, keep your butt toward the back so the weight is off the front wheel, and work on throttle control. Smoother is always better, and momentum is your friend.
Hope that helps. I had a whole crew of newbies with me in Ouray a few weeks back, and took them on a 90 mile juant across the Divide Road from Ridgeway to Whitewater across the Uncompaghre Plateau. Long straight aways, twisties, loose gravel, hard pack, the whole gambit. Everyone was ripping the last 30 miles like maniacs, an we only had one (1) goof, and that rider was on street tires, but no serious damage.
Gravel opens a ton of adventures to you, don't be afraid to explore. Also a good tire will inspire confidence, I prefer Heidenau K60's, long life, well mannered on the street, and eat gravel.
In this video, the guy in front of me was one of the folks from the previous day
[video=youtube;ZbGhOntdyVE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ZbGhOntdyVE&list=LLEnldbT3sbT2_zgXM2YFXsw[/video]
Hope that helps. I had a whole crew of newbies with me in Ouray a few weeks back, and took them on a 90 mile juant across the Divide Road from Ridgeway to Whitewater across the Uncompaghre Plateau. Long straight aways, twisties, loose gravel, hard pack, the whole gambit. Everyone was ripping the last 30 miles like maniacs, an we only had one (1) goof, and that rider was on street tires, but no serious damage.
Gravel opens a ton of adventures to you, don't be afraid to explore. Also a good tire will inspire confidence, I prefer Heidenau K60's, long life, well mannered on the street, and eat gravel.
In this video, the guy in front of me was one of the folks from the previous day
[video=youtube;ZbGhOntdyVE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ZbGhOntdyVE&list=LLEnldbT3sbT2_zgXM2YFXsw[/video]
Last edited:
D
Deleted member 48574
Guest
Thanks for the tips, CD Martin! I try to take Gravel as often as I can but need better tires -- right now I'm on a set of street tires.
I looked at the K-60 but have heard mixed reviews. Some folks love 'em, some folks hate 'em. Miatas make a few tires I was looking at also.
Regards
Craig
I looked at the K-60 but have heard mixed reviews. Some folks love 'em, some folks hate 'em. Miatas make a few tires I was looking at also.
Regards
Craig
CDMartin
Suffering Fools
Tires
Mitas' are good, so are TKC's, and Kenda Big Blocks. I prefer the K60's because I do a lot of tarmac also, and with most 50/50's you get about 4K out of them. My K60's have just over 9k on them right now, and the last 6k were in a two (2) weeks time frame from my trip out West. I like the ability to ride without having to change tires mid trip. As you can tell from the pictures below, the rear wears quicker than the front, but still have a lot of meat on them. Being in Alaska though, the K60's slick up in mud though, and that might not be a good mix for you.
Mitas' are good, so are TKC's, and Kenda Big Blocks. I prefer the K60's because I do a lot of tarmac also, and with most 50/50's you get about 4K out of them. My K60's have just over 9k on them right now, and the last 6k were in a two (2) weeks time frame from my trip out West. I like the ability to ride without having to change tires mid trip. As you can tell from the pictures below, the rear wears quicker than the front, but still have a lot of meat on them. Being in Alaska though, the K60's slick up in mud though, and that might not be a good mix for you.
Tips to try
Yes, thanks for the tips. Been adventure touring for a while now but I still don't like gravel. Last summer cutting back across from Naturita, by the Groundhog reservoir, and down south of the Lizard Head Wilderness it looked like the forest service had gotten a huge sale on gravel. That stuff was inches deep in places and I almost dumped it coming down a low hill a little too fast right by the Burro Bridge campground.
I intend to put the tips reported here to the test during the next week. Wife and I are headed to Bluff, UT tomorrow and then will spend the next 8 days roaming by the north end of Lake Powell, The Escalante, and who knows what else. Just camping and riding for a week. We're both on K60's, on the rear anyway, but my wife has a TKC 80 up front on her Tiger 800 XC. I'm pushing past 8k miles now on my set of K60's and decided to just let them run for the next week and then change 'em out when we get back. Thinking about trying the new Karoo 3's - anyone here try these yet on a big bike?
Yes, thanks for the tips. Been adventure touring for a while now but I still don't like gravel. Last summer cutting back across from Naturita, by the Groundhog reservoir, and down south of the Lizard Head Wilderness it looked like the forest service had gotten a huge sale on gravel. That stuff was inches deep in places and I almost dumped it coming down a low hill a little too fast right by the Burro Bridge campground.
I intend to put the tips reported here to the test during the next week. Wife and I are headed to Bluff, UT tomorrow and then will spend the next 8 days roaming by the north end of Lake Powell, The Escalante, and who knows what else. Just camping and riding for a week. We're both on K60's, on the rear anyway, but my wife has a TKC 80 up front on her Tiger 800 XC. I'm pushing past 8k miles now on my set of K60's and decided to just let them run for the next week and then change 'em out when we get back. Thinking about trying the new Karoo 3's - anyone here try these yet on a big bike?
I ride a KLR and have been on a bunch of gravel, the thing is gravel can be mild or scary depending on the depth, the road surface and how tired you might be at the time. i know when i ran tkc 80's in alaska i felt i very high level of confidence....and i never went down, they were toast by the time i was back in oregon, maybe 3000 miles...that's being generous. i run gripsters right now and they will last for awhile, maybe 6-7K, they felt there best when i let some air out, maybe 20-25 lbs psi in the rear, at that pressure control is better, i have a messed up back and don't like to stand on the pegs but it makes a huge difference and won't hesitate to get up there when deep sand or whatever crazy thing turns up, it's hard to believe but after your able to go say 35-40 mph you'll fly over washboards and stuff and will hardly feel them. at that point wear good safety gear, i like my presure suit, and the looks you get from the kid at the subway is priceless.