Modifications for gravel/towpath/unpaved

[Ambleton]

Hi all,

I have two bikes.

A 2014(?) Boardman hybrid pro which I like very much. I'd describe it as a flatbar road bike with long XC frame geometry. I bought it in 2015 when I was commuting a few miles by bike every day and it served me flawlessly.

A 2022 OnOne Whippet GX with 100mm forks and dropper seat post.

Now, for cycling along towpaths and Country parks etc where its a mix of paved/gravel I find the Whippet a bit of a chunk, geared a bit low, fat, draggy tyres etc. Throw it around some woods though and it's amazingly fast and very precise so I'd probably leave that as it is.

My boardman a bit too "the other way". A bit of a bone shaker and makes riding a on anything unpaved pretty unpleasant.

I dont want/can't fit and can't justify a third bike. What mods would you make to the boardman to make it a bit more palatable when the tarmac stops?

Is there a better/fatter wheel/tyre combo out there? Maybe a suspension seatpost too?

Edited by Ambleton on Tuesday 9th August 12:38

[gmackay2]

From memory I do not think the tyre clearance is that great on those Boardman hybrids? But if it would take 35mm tyres, then something like a pair of WTB Cross Boss's which have a nice tyre volume and can be run tubeless, plus they are still fast on tarmac too.

Either that or something like 32mm wtb exposure tyres. Similar to the cross boss's but slightly narrower.

Suspension seatposts are good, I used to use them back in the 1990s on hard tail mtb's. USE Alien suspension seatposts were the ones I had, dare say they might be reasonable to buy on ebay these days?

[Julietbravo]

Ambleton said:

Hi all,

I have two bikes.

A 2014(?) Boardman hybrid pro which I like very much. I'd describe it as a flatbar road bike with long XC frame geometry. I bought it in 2015 when I was commuting a few miles by bike every day and it served me flawlessly.

A 2022 OnOne Whippet GX with 100mm forks and dropper seat post.

Now, for cycling along towpaths and Country parks etc where its a mix of paved/gravel I find the Whippet a bit of a chunk, geared a bit low, fat, draggy tyres etc. Throw it around some woods though and it's amazingly fast and very precise so I'd probably leave that as it is.

My boardman a bit too "the other way". A bit of a bone shaker and makes riding a on anything unpaved pretty unpleasant.

I dont want/can't fit and can't justify a third bike. What mods would you make to the boardman to make it a bit more palatable when the tarmac stops?

Is there a better/fatter wheel/tyre combo out there? Maybe a suspension seatpost too?

Edited by Ambleton on Tuesday 9th August 12:38

So I was in a similar position with my commuter, and couldn't get big enough tyres because the frame clearance was too small. A set of 27.5' (650b) wheels will drop straight in because you are on disk brakes, and because the wheel diameter is marginally less the clearance in the fork stays is greater and you can fit wider tyres. This gives you a winter road bike and a summer road bike if you swap the wheels in the spring. Just need the same number of gears on the cassette and it should be a straight swap. Your LBS should have a set that is cheap enough to marry up and try, or trawl ebay.

Edited by Julietbravo on Thursday 11th August 14:46

[stargazer30]

Your Boardman won't be a million miles off my Boardman CXR (Gravel/CX) bike. Its fine for most off road cycleways. I even managed a Glorious Gravel York epic on it which was a borderline MTB route.

In my case
Suntour NCX suspension seat post - blooming heavy thing at 800g but it works, well
38c Schwalbe G-One tyres. These are fast rolling but will absorb a fair bit of trial chatter and bumps. Setting them up tubeless improved them even more

Don't under estimate the difference tyres make. The heavy puncture resistant tyres you often get on hybrids, even up to 42c width are just not comfortable, they are like wood compared to a modern tubeless gravel tyre like the G-one.

Edited by stargazer30 on Thursday 11th August 16:29