hi gang. i have a bianchi brava (entry level road bike). i really like this bike and would like to do more with it–the perfect option being to modify it somehow to be more “off road”…kind of like a cyclocross or something with more rugged tires.
aside from tires, what would I need to do to achieve this?
also–it has shimano sora compo on it…which I have bad karma with. i’m almost reluctant to ride it because of the components. is it worth upgrading the components? and, what is projected cost? i don’t need anything high level, but would like to improve what is there (it’s a triple, which i think i need in this hilly terrain. i’m still a newbie, what can i say…lol)
since i have this bike i thought it would make more sense to do something with it, instead of buying a mtb or cyclocross bike (that isn’t going to go through rugged terrain anyway…maybe gravel and grass, but that’s probably it.
Thanks in advance for any advice on how to modify this bike,
put on the fattest tire that will fit in the thing. it could be that the front will take a fatter tire than the rear, and that is fine - do it if that is the case.
measure your stem, and get a new one that is a little shorter, with a little more rise. go to www.aebike.com and look under the “dimension” brand stems for like 20 bux or so.
those two things will put ya 90% of the way there.
if ya wanna go further, hunt down a rigid cyclocross fork that’ll take an even fatter tire, and then get a cheap cantilever brake for it or even a free one from yer local shop’s backroom.
ya might consider a susp seatpost. . . maybe not.
finally, convert the thing to singlespeed like you know you should and sidestep that dodgy sora issue entirely.
I’ll second what others have said, put the biggest tires that will fit, maybe a shorter stem, raise the bars a little if you can, and go ride it. It probably won’t work to put a cyclocross fork on it because I believe those forks are taller???
I have a trek 1000 that I try to ride wherever I can. There’s a dirt trail behind my work that I sometimes ride on. I can’t fit big tires especially on the front so it doesn’t work well in loose dirt or gravel but on the hard packed dirt it’s fine. The bike has sora shifters which work great, never had a complaint. Since it’s a cheap bike I don’t worry about beating it up a little like my other bikes.
I wish I had a Lemond Poprad so I could fit bigger tires. I’d ride that everwhere.
Put on bigger tires. You may be limited to around 28mm or so depending on clearance. I second the single speed suggestion. The bike companies get huge volume discounts. You may find that you could have gotten a new bike for what you put into upgrades. This is probably even more so if you are trying to make it into a different type of bike.
IMHO, I would leave the Brava alone if you think you are done with it. Road bikes do not convert very well to off-road because of three main issues:
One, is that there is usually not enough tire clearance between the frame, or the fork, or the brake calipers to install even a moderate sized cross tire. You might be able to sneak a 28mm knobby in there if you can find one, but as soon as dirt or mud gets on the tire, it’s probably going to grind against the frame/fork/brake calipers.
Two, basic geometry for most road bikes makes for very squirly handling on off road. You might get away on gravel roads, but nothing rougher than that. Grass might be a little too much because fields are never smooth and grass can get slippery.
Three, the caliper brakes on road bikes are no where near as strong as cantilever or linear brake calipers, so even though the speeds are slower, the bike still might not stop well, depending on the conditions.
If you want a bike to be modified for only travel on gravel farm roads, you might be able to slap on some 28mm speed knobbies and get away with it, but I wouldn’t try sinking more money into it in terms of components. Lower the seat and raise the bars for a more stable, upright position.
If you want something offroad, I recommend getting a frame like a Surly Cross Check, which is pretty cheap and you only need to buy some canti brakes for it to work with the existing parts you have now. Plus, they are just bad ass.
’ croos forks are a little taller - which has the effect of lifting the bottom bracket, and slackening the headtube angle a degree or so. both of these changes work out to be, coincidentally, exactly what you want off-road.
life is funny that way sometimes.
i wasn’t jokin’ on the singlespeed thing tho, kitty. go all the way, girl. hammer.
also, not to disagree with waterski but . . . . .
"metisse’ bikes. . . . . . converted beater road/off-road bikes. . . . . have a long and glorious history amongst hard core riders. surly’s are fine and all but really and trully converted bikes do better than most new-school people would have you believe. a ‘cross fork, canti lever front brake, and some tires are gonna be fine. don’t get all triathlon-weirded out on the "optimal’ brake regarding the caliper in back. so what if it is not optimal. what is ?? optimal is not the point on a bike like this. slap it together and be bad ass, kitty.
What type of “off-road” are we talking about - Mountain bike trail riding, cyclo-cross or just banging along gravel or dirt roads?
The limiter with your existing bike may be the fork width and the amount of room near the rear brake hanger. Modern road bikes often don’t accept tires bigger than 25 mm if you really want to hit the trails or do cylo-cross you will want more eidth than that.
If it’s just for gravel or dirt roads a bomb-proof 25mm tire should do you fine. I hit these types of roads all the time on long rides in my parts and never have a problem.
probaly just regular gravel, bumpy shitty paved roads, mud, crappy weather, this sort of thing. i don’t know about mountain trails…there is a screw in my arm, it would be hard to take a seriously rough terrain because of that…plus I don’t like to have my brain jogged out of my head.
KC, she is a fantastic bike. I use her to commute and even do my long rides on her when I don’t feel like getting on the tri bike. And of course you can copy, since I live halfway around the world!
She is actually my partner’s bike, but I preferred the Bianchi and she preferred my original fixed gear, so we swapped. Like yours, mine had Sora, so I whipped that off and ordered some parts from John at businesscycles in Miami (http://www.businesscycles.com/trcomp.htm) who is very prompt and friendly - very highly recommended. For the Bianchi, I ordered some Sugino 75 cranks and a Sugino Zen chainring (the purists would be spewing since I did not get Campy!!), then took her down to the LBS and got them to order a 3/8" chain, a rear sprocket and rebuild my rear wheel to fix her. I ride in all sorts of crap and the drivetrain is always silent - I love the simplicity of a fixed gear! DO IT!!
probaly just regular gravel, bumpy shitty paved roads, mud, crappy weather, this sort of thing. i don’t know about mountain trails…there is a screw in my arm, it would be hard to take a seriously rough terrain because of that…plus I don’t like to have my brain jogged out of my head.
In that case just put the biggest tires that will fit and be done with it. I don’t like to change stems or anything because I feel more in control in my normal position and balance.
The main trick is to relax, hold the bars loosely nearer to the stem to allow the front wheel to bounce around however it wants, and let your momentum keep you going the right direction. The hardest thing is actually not the riding but getting started again if you stop on a hill.
I have ridden my 12.4 pound rolling bank account on dirt and sub 1" gravel roads a number of times. It’s easier with 24mm tires but normally I do it with 21.5mm tires. The occasional fishtailing adds some spice to the ride. Eating and breathing dust for 10 minutes after a 4WD goes by is the part I don’t like.
