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Belgian Waffle Ride - need bike advice
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I signed up for the full waffle. What kind of bike should i ride? I am confident road cyclist but not confident off road on dirt/gravel and rocks. That is what i plan on working on for the next 6 months.

Should I buy Gravel Bike or Cyclocross Bike? I don't think i want to ride my road bike.

Suggestions? Ideas?
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Re: Belgian Waffle Ride - need bike advice [Greyhound] [ In reply to ]
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N + 1 :)

Did it for first time (Wafer) last year and used my cross bike mainly because it has disc brakes. Weather was fine but if wet/muddy (yeah, rare as SD) my road bike would have had issues - it is older. The CX and Gravel are better suited for it I would think. I used 32 Maxxis speed Terrane tires and loved them. Do a lot of MTB riding so enjoy the dirt.

Hope that helps and only other thing is it is an absolute blast of a ride. Coming back again!



I miss you "Sports Night"
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Re: Belgian Waffle Ride - need bike advice [Greyhound] [ In reply to ]
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Unless the route changes...

Majority of this ride is on the road. Single track mtb trails with rocks/ sand/ dirt/ long gravel-ish descent and climb are the non road parts but make up a smaller portion of the ride.

I've ridden a road bike with 25's and 53x11. I've also ridden a CX bike with 30's and CX gearing. It's doable on both bikes.

I rode slicks on both bikes, but I lived on the course and rode those roads and trails all the time. Because it's majority on the road, I'd pick a tire that suits that but also provides you enough confidence to not puncture in the rocks. Tubeless for sure.

My "gravel bike" is a CX bike and it has worked very well for gravel racing. I can fit Panaracer GK 38's on it and that's more than enough tire for me.

I don't think you could go wrong with a gravel bike though.

To me it's the riding in that environment that is more important. If you are confident on the dirt sections and the rocks, I think most bikes will work.

jake

Get outside!
Last edited by: jakers: Dec 11, 19 8:29
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Re: Belgian Waffle Ride - need bike advice [jakers] [ In reply to ]
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thanks for advice! I am definitely not confident on dirt/rock/gravel so i think safe bet would be CX bike or Gravel. I am going to buy something used from EBAY.
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Re: Belgian Waffle Ride - need bike advice [Greyhound] [ In reply to ]
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I did it last year.
I rode a twitchy road bike with 28c tubeless slicks. 50/34-11/28
I'm a strong cat 4 cyclist, FOP triathlete and a pretty good cyclocrosser.

I got crushed in the off road sections, something I'm normally good at on my CX bike.
Narrow tires dig into the sandy bits and make handling tough, and it was exhausting picking a good line through the rough rocky bits.

I wanted more top end gearing and more low end gearing.
The 20 mile descent was full gas for long periods where I spun out.
The final climb out of the Elfin forest to the top of Double Peak I wish i had a 34.

If I was doing the Wafer or rain was expected it would be my CX bike all the way, but I'll probably ride my roadie again.

For best results, a 1:1 granny gear, 32c tires (Panaracer Gravel King slick would be a good bet), CX width handlebars.
Or be Peter Stetina and boss it on a road racing setup...
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Re: Belgian Waffle Ride - need bike advice [Greyhound] [ In reply to ]
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Given this:

Greyhound wrote:
thanks for advice! I am definitely not confident on dirt/rock/gravel so i think safe bet would be CX bike or Gravel. I am going to buy something used from EBAY.

I think it is worthwhile that you run tires in the 30 to 40mm range.
Either Challenge tires with latex tubes or the new Challenge TLR tires are the recommendation from Tom A.
E.g. 33 to 42c Challenge Gravel Grinder TLR or 36c Challenge Strada Bianca TLR

A lot of information here:
BWR Set Up Thread

I talk a lot - Give it a listen: http://www.fasttalklabs.com/category/fast-talk
I also give Training Advice via http://www.ForeverEndurance.com

The above poster has eschewed traditional employment and is currently undertaking the ill-conceived task of launching his own hardgoods company. Statements are not made on behalf of nor reflective of anything in any manner... unless they're good, then they count.
http://www.AGNCYINNOVATION.com
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Re: Belgian Waffle Ride - need bike advice [ In reply to ]
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I'm doing wafer this year.. since % is higher off road.. the Gravel bike is coming.

Tires : if dry likely to be ReneHerse Bon Jon Pass 35mm

second choice is either Schwalbe All-Road or WTB Cross boss.. 35mm as well.
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Re: Belgian Waffle Ride - need bike advice [Greyhound] [ In reply to ]
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Doing the full wafel on my CAAD10, it holds no more than 25mm width tires. Might set it up tubeless. Never done the BWR, I have zero technical skills so I'm hoping my health insurance is good and I keep my teeth intact.
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Re: Belgian Waffle Ride - need bike advice [Greyhound] [ In reply to ]
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Greyhound wrote:
I signed up for the full waffle. What kind of bike should i ride? I am confident road cyclist but not confident off road on dirt/gravel and rocks. That is what i plan on working on for the next 6 months.

Should I buy Gravel Bike or Cyclocross Bike? I don't think i want to ride my road bike.

Suggestions? Ideas?

What's your current road bike and what size tire will it take? There's a huge difference between a modern endurance road bike and an older race bike. Tire clearance and geometry can be vastly different. My gravel bike's geometry (Haanjo) is pretty close to the new 2020 Domane's (which takes 38's).

Most people I've talked to have recommended 30-34 slicks (assuming it's dry) due to the amount of road. My current plan is the Haanjo with 32 Sector's tubeless, but I'm unsure of the tire choice. I plan on training with 38 gravelkings and see how it goes out on the course.
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Re: Belgian Waffle Ride - need bike advice [Greyhound] [ In reply to ]
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I've done the Wafer 2x on the CX bike. Last year, I rode a Niner BSB with IRC Serac CX file treads (32c). They were plenty fast and handled the sand/gravel well. I'm doing the full Waffle this year on the same bike. I've ridden parts of the course on my Canyon Aeroad with 4000s (25c). Doable, but having a CX/gravel bike is a huge plus, and I wouldn't have even tried sectors of the Wafer on my road bike.

The one thing that really helps for BWR is lots of dirt practice and climbing steeper gradients. I found riding the trails around my house were a huge help in prep. Of course, the trails (OC) are similar to the ones around San Marcos. Also, Double Peak can be a real b-tch at the end. The guys I know who do really well on this course have good bike handling skills and often ride it on road bikes with 25c or 28c tires. I'm probably doing the Rock Cobbler in Feb. for practice.

Good luck and BWR is an awesome event!
-Pete

Here's video from my Wafer ride this year:

"Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps"
Blog = http://extrememomentum.com|Photos = http://wheelgoodphotos.com
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