and more often than once a year!!

I guess Im asking randomly but does anybody know a trick to get back into an Instagram account? I was dumb lost the login password. I love any tricks you can give me

@Amir Dariel Instablaster =)

@Kristopher Zachariah I really appreciate your reply. I got to the site through google and Im trying it out now. Takes a while so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.

@Kristopher Zachariah It worked and I now got access to my account again. I am so happy! Thanks so much, you saved my account!

@Amir Dariel Glad I could help =)

Yes indeed. This is why you also want a good little compact pump, I prefer one that folds to be a mini stand pump with a short articulated hose, GOOD valve clamp and accurate guage ( the guage seems optional, but It is really nice to have). I let 1 or 1.5 BAR out of my front tire and 1 BAR out of my rear when I get to the long semi-technical gravel fireroads, with 30-50 km of ( nice) mountain tarmac roads to get home. So getting back to road pressure quickly and easily is key. I had a crank bros single action pump ( the kind you pump in both hands, in mid air) that, was murder to pump beyond 45 or 50 PSI. I want to easily ( and quickly) pump up to 71 PSI/5 BAR. If it means I carry 150 grams extra of a pump. So be it.

​@@colinmcdonald2499have you found a pump like that?

Block you rear wheel to make some noise, it works better than a bell.

Bells make people react strangly, this is why most decent cyclist will slow, call and act on reaction

Tom Kenyon what, they stop, turn around to see what the 'bell' sound they heard was? Giving the rider time to slow down and take the required action to avoid the walker..... Yup makes em act strange indeed.

@@fuzzbuzztk do they??

I find the "auto bells" that you can turn on/off and jingle from the vibration of the trail to be more effective vs the thumb flick bells which tend to come across as "get out of my way". I will turn on my TIMBER bell on downhills or areas with poor sight lines, and it gives hikers and walkers a warning that ramps up slowly as I'm approaching, giving them more time to react. It also lets me keep my hand position constant instead of having to shift to ring a bell manually. The only downside is if it's really smooth, I have to wiggle my bars a little to ring it. This is the one I use: www.mtbbell.com/

Load of rubbish. If there's that much variation, move to a mountain bike with a dropper. The beauty of a gravel is the simplicity of a road type using it off road, but that can only go so far. Going to a point where you are calling for a dropper is the point to pick up your mountain bike

Coming back down those 20% FSR for instance, but yeah sometimes you want an XC bike or a hardtail (a more popular n+1 locally).

@@robertkee7534 my gravel is my back up mtb while also my roadie, so makes sense for people like me.

@@robertkee7534 I mean it's good to have the post high for flat rides, and abit lower on trails to prevent losing you anal v-card

@@robertkee7534 load of rubbish, the beauty of a gravel bike (any bike) is you can ride where ever you want. Riding mine on most of my MTB routes is far more challenging and an absolute buzz, there would be no benefits to not using a dropper. If you don’t have skill level to take it on MTB trails, practice a bit more… Or stick to road riding.

Impact of the tyre is nowhere near your fork or chain stay when you hit a bump. The tyre will be back to normal by the time it rotates to where it meets the fork\chainstay.

Gavin Richmond sorry for misphrasing; what I meant was that the tire and wheel will flex over bumps and can end up rubbing on the fork if the clearance is too tight.

Paddyhudson Ah I get what you’re saying now. I personally think a minimum of more than 3mm each side should be ok. It’s mud clearance that might be another issue....

Gavin Richmond I just know that I could use some touch up paint for my inner fork. 😕

@@Paddyhudson If you have a good frame and good wheels, you're not rubbing tire and the only consideration is build of up mud or debris on the tire taking up clearance. If you've got rubbing on your fork then you're having wheel or fork/frame flex issues.

Apparently wheels are the best upgrade you can make. I'm new too and asked myself the same question

Best upgrade is usually a better wheelset. But honestly, most room for improvement is yourself. Just get out on the bike you have and ride it.

I am having good luck with Schwalbe Mondrials (700x 40C)... As an all-purpose tire. I just finished 98km. About 40 km of it very mixed fire road ( heavy gravel, rocky , sandy , almost dirt/natural cobbles, muddy.. over grown in sunny spots with some fallen rocks. rocks . First 12 km and last 46 km.. very smooth, highway ( with 8km of roughish pavement). I let about 15 psi out ( four squirts on presta) of the front and 11 or 12 psi out of the back ( 3 squirts.. when I got into gravel. Pumped them back to 70 psi front and 5 bar rear... 5 or 10 km after the gravel ended. Steep drops and about 600 meters of gravel descent. Those tires are worth a try... They roll nice and smooth on nice roads.. I could only get the pro line Mondrials ( the mid level schwalbe) where I am at... But really good value. Fun as hell on all surfaces

disagree - gravel riding is not about technical trails, and subtle drifts on light trails is no problem - best to stick with semi-slicks (which do have some tread or inverted tread)

I think this little debate exposes the myth of one bike to rule them all. Flexible machine with ability to cover distance including mainly lighter off-road and take in diversions? Sure, and that's great. But if you focus on the most resilient frame it won't be light on the road. If your tyres roll fantastically then they won't have much dirt traction. Mix it up while compromising, or divide activities while specialising. Common life choices.

​@@antonroux6737 I think I agree with you. If you borrow too much from a very different type of bike, the resulting character doesn't hang together very well. Gravel riding doesn't have to be gravel. But that's its origin and gravel is quite free draining. Packed dry summer soil is within the spirit of gravel. Coping badly with mud on a bike not designed for it has a different name: cyclo-cross! Coping better with mud has yet another name: MTB.

I've found that it's just as fun on a light XC MTB as it is on a gravel bike. Both are fun in different ways.

@@christocr Riding a trail on an MTB is called riding off road. Using a gravel oriented bike on the same trail is called riding gravel. It is very confusing to some.

Cheers!! Bento bag is a Roswheel road top tube bag, strap is a Backcountry Research one

James Bracey Thank You

Also works a treat on minor lacerations. The stuff was developed for use by field medics.

Only do this if you wrench on your own bike. Back when I worked at bike shop as a mechanic, if I found things like superglue or thread lock on components that don't require thread lock - I'd charge extra for the trouble I'd have to take to ensure that I don't strip the Allen socket, and the time to clean that crap off the bolt when I reinstalled it. Carry a proper folding multitool and tighten your bolts down in the field. Invest in a decent torque wrench and install them correctly and they won't work loose on a ride.

bicycle tire liner tube protectors work better.

Garage Sale I ran the Mr Tuffy liners on an old bike. I liked them but can not confirm whether they can tolerate goat heads or not. I once ran over a goat head plant and literally got 24 goat heads between the front and rear tires. I got home, carefully pulled all the goat heads out, then put an ounce of sealant in each tube, just to see what would happen. Amazingly, those holey tubes sealed right up! The tire liners won’t help against a thorn that comes in from the side, and this obviously could happen.

Just go tubeless in the first place. Works wonders on anything up to 4 inch nails.

They sell those as Slime brand tubes that come pre-filled with Fix A Flat Needless to say after a few years the slime gums up, and makes them completely unusable. Plus it's a lot more weight that's sloshing around in your tubes.

Took a while to go tubeless.. But had numerous flats cycling and the sealant has worked a treat.. Just kept rolling

Mint sauce bar tape exists? Where do I buy that???

@@davelloyd8454 Search 'Jo Burt Series bar tape', then get it on your bike. 😉

@@132Marty mind explaining why it’s better than the rest?

@@KruiserIV Never said it was.

@@132Marty Why do you like it?

Tubes?! lol... go tubeless and carry a plug kit. Tubeless is love, tubeless is life.

What tubes?

Why would you ever run tubes on a bike?

I still have them on my roadbike, been awhile since ive seen someone else uses them

10:36 It only needs to happen once to ruin your day. I lost 4 of my 5 chainring bolts and had to walk it out for 2 miles pushing my bike. No fun. I should have paid more attention to the noise coming from my chain area. My chain was not aligned with the front and rear sprocket and it slowing caused enough vibration to loosen the bolts over time. Having a multi-tool is useless if you don't have the bolts to tighten. I've since bought the correct spacers to keep my chainline straight. Also I now periodically inspect all bolts and screws on the bike for tightness.

They are 46cm

Def pathfinder pros. I've got them on my cx bike; they roll soooooo well on tarmac and tightly packed dirt

Good. For. You.

Its tacky and see-through-as-f how cyclingweekly "loved" this post. Spend spend spend. Way to go china

No... the justification is more like, I just had a flat and I'm 20 miles out in the middle of the desert... oh shit, my goodie bag is on my other bike, which is sitting at home. Two bags, two pumps, two multi-tools, etc, solves that little problem, even though it costs a bit more money. If you have two good bikes, with the horrendous prices these days, you can damn sure afford two bags, two pumps, two tubes, etc...

Do we know what this handlebar is and where I can find one?

@@jacksonbaker414 you can find it here: ridefarr.com/int/product/farr-aero-gravel-alloy/

@@jacksonbaker414 Before you buy that bar look at the Jones H bar. I realized that I almost never used my lowers on my gravel bike so I got the Jones bar and I have loved it. Five had positions so I can feel like I am in the hoods and more.

@@LarryRichelliSure, if you’ve already got a flatbar setup, but you’d have to switch out the shifters (among other components) to make these work.

Not a lot of bugs during the day in most parts (outside of FLYING ANT DAY) as they mostly show up in the evenings, but only for short parts of the year

@@WelshMullet tree branches lash eyeballs even if there are no flying insects.

Holy trinity of biking: gloves, eye protection and a helmet

It ultimately depends on the brand. Some brands may recommend you be on a small, but you may find medium to be more comfortable. Safest bet is to go to a brick and mortar and have the staff help you out.

Agree and makes sense because modern mountain bikes are too good for normal trails, they need proper mountain tracks to create a real challenge.

To some extent yes... comparing to my old Bridgestone of that era, mountain bikes still had a lot of road bike traits, like flat top tubes and long skinny stays. Today's gravel bikes have huge advancements and improvements though - bike weight, hydraulic disc brakes, a wide variety of tubeless 700c tires, integrated shifters (vs the Bridgestone's thumb shifters on the top of the bar), carbon frames and forks, light trail-worthy 700c wheels. They may have roughly the same silhouette, but they aren't at all the same bike.

Hi Christian - it's the Specialized diverge comp carbon www.cyclingweekly.com/reviews/gravel-bikes/specialized-diverge-comp-carbon

I used to think the same but I hated the struggle of changing tyres every 2000km and random pressure loss during bike packing tours so much that I switched back to tubes. Setting up the tyres without compressor is just horrible if you don't want to waste co2 all the time.

I was going to go tubeless on my gravel bike build but the tires are expensive and I have to buy and mess with that liquid stuff which requires topping off or renewing every few months. I heard they fit really tight and I have arthritis in my left hand so getting the tire on the rim would be impossible for me. Besides I bought a pair of high-end tires from a friend for pennies on the dollar so I went with those.

Don't get carried away with tubeless. There's more disadvantages. 1. If you pick up a puncture larger than the self sealant can cope with you will need a tyre patch and tube to get you home. Gravel riding can take you onto less traveled back countries and harder to get that backup. You are more likely to hit a larger sharp stone liable to cause a gash. If you aren't travelling across rougher ground then you don't need a gravel bike.

I switched to tubeless after flatting both tires, and one of those twice on the same gravel trail, then once more over one those sections of pavement that are all broken up by tree roots. Spend a lot less time faffing about with tubes, and all you need is a cloth to wipe up the old sealant, a spray pump with soapy water and a good pump (I did pick up one of those burst canister for half price at the LBS for Boxing Day) to seat the tire (now add a tire insert and that does add a bit of 🤪 to the effort).

@@robertkee7534 Luddite.

ready ur hands dude

Time was when no bikes had suspension. For general riding on single track and trails, you don't need it. Suspension is weight and mechanical complexity. Gravel bikes started as mountain bikes without suspension and with dropped bars. Then the marketing boys thought, "Hey! What if we make a gravel bike but give it suspension and straight bars?" Your tyres, arms and legs are all the suspension you need for gravel riding.

Topeak Ninja just by the looks of it.

This is the build I’m starting. Bought a 29er carbon hardtail, planning to swap to a rigid fork, 45mm tires, 720mm flat bar with aerobar (get both control/comfort for more technical but tucked for smoother/faster sections), MTB 1x12 wide range. On the tires side, many gravel people have been limited there. Gravel frames keep getting wider to allow the 40-50mm+, but no clearance issues with a 29er. A gravel frame is likely a bit lighter though.

i think it's the topeak ninja master

Yep, what he said👆🏻

harrylook make sure that you can reach everything important. The tools of my Ninja 16+ are very short

Hey Wayne, yes it is titanium, it’s the Tripster ATR V3

@@jamesbracey6560 thanks ill look into it :)

Hi James, what’s that handlebar?

Jackson Baker it’s a Farr Aero Gravel

@Steve King that is my current strategy. 🙄

Redshift Sports suspension seatpost. Pricey and heavy, but man is it a sweeeeeeeet ride. Tuneable. Highly recommend!!

maybe abit, but some gravel bikes are also pretty stiff. It's important to have the right seating height, you dont want to be whipping up and down because your seat is too high or too low, which is just extra strain on parts and yer bum

The new Shimano RX8 - so good

@@jamesbracey6560 I love my xc9 wide super comfortable especially in Houston where its 40/45°C in the summer. I also second having at least 2 water bottles for gravel idk how the gravel is in the UK but here in the US you're pretty much in the middle of nowhere when you ride gravel.

Efrain Aguiluz yep, or carry a purifier

Hand helmets!

No

@@jamesbracey6560 Comes in handy when you crash. Hand injuries are pretty common. Of course, if you don't care about your hands, go ahead and shred them.

I haven't had any problems without wearing gloves, although I haven't crashed that much also 😁

Yes, gloves. Learned that the hard way mountain biking.