mschwett
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
my creo was a comp carbon model, to which i recently swapped in a different rear cassette, driver, wheels, and tires to go with a few other upgrades over time. the roval terra clx wheels are great, very light, and with gp5000 tubeless the bike definitely rides faster and smoother... but no way was it going off roading!
so i took the original DT swiss r470 rims, got a matching cassette to the new one (sram xg-1195), matching rotors, the lockring speed sensor, front lockring, and some reneherse 42mm hurricane ridge knobby tires. most would recommend something more like a pathfinder or gravelking for mixed riding, but since i have a "road" wheelset i figured it was better to see the differences at the extremes. had the LBS mount the tires and seal them - the only hitch was that the valve stems and core supplied by specialized with the bike for tubeless conversion wouldn't seal, so they used something else.
the bike is... well... much slower now.
even a relatively amateur rider like myself can feel it, it's a bit like riding through a headwind, and segment i've done 50 times typically around 26-27 minutes was over 30. i wasn't cranking super hard, so i think the difference is more like 10% than 15%. still, skinny low-resistance tires on carbon rims are clearly faster! the RPM based speed readout is also now off by around 1 to 1.5%, which is understandable given the tire difference. i won't bother having it changed.
i also pulled the speedplay pedals and cleats, riding on basic platforms and MTB shoes. this offers waaaaaaaaaay less "grip" between your foot and the pedal, but put me at ease while riding on bouncy unfamiliar terrain where i feared i might have to stop on a dime and NOT fall over. a reasonable tradeoff, but not something i'd choose for a familiar ride on mostly paved surfaces. being clipped in is much, much more secure, direct, and allows a really nice "round" power stroke as the pedal transitions to and from horizontal.
those two fully expected drawbacks aside - it was a lot of fun! did around 30 miles, maybe half on dirt, gravel, and rocks, with over 3,000 feet of climbing. very slow compared to my usual pace and i used a bit more battery (58 wH, 18% of the internal battery, 11.61% average assist) due to pretty steep grades of 10-14% over long stretches. got some really nice rolling on slightly shallower downhill trails, up to 26mph, which felt plenty fast on gravel
the combo of fat knobby tires, low pressure (35psi), a carbon frame, and the future shock made for a pretty comfy ride up front. my technique leaves much to be desired but for a bike which is also extremely capable on road, i was impressed at how well it dealt with being tossed around on rocky, rutted, bumpy surfaces.
so i took the original DT swiss r470 rims, got a matching cassette to the new one (sram xg-1195), matching rotors, the lockring speed sensor, front lockring, and some reneherse 42mm hurricane ridge knobby tires. most would recommend something more like a pathfinder or gravelking for mixed riding, but since i have a "road" wheelset i figured it was better to see the differences at the extremes. had the LBS mount the tires and seal them - the only hitch was that the valve stems and core supplied by specialized with the bike for tubeless conversion wouldn't seal, so they used something else.
the bike is... well... much slower now.
even a relatively amateur rider like myself can feel it, it's a bit like riding through a headwind, and segment i've done 50 times typically around 26-27 minutes was over 30. i wasn't cranking super hard, so i think the difference is more like 10% than 15%. still, skinny low-resistance tires on carbon rims are clearly faster! the RPM based speed readout is also now off by around 1 to 1.5%, which is understandable given the tire difference. i won't bother having it changed.i also pulled the speedplay pedals and cleats, riding on basic platforms and MTB shoes. this offers waaaaaaaaaay less "grip" between your foot and the pedal, but put me at ease while riding on bouncy unfamiliar terrain where i feared i might have to stop on a dime and NOT fall over. a reasonable tradeoff, but not something i'd choose for a familiar ride on mostly paved surfaces. being clipped in is much, much more secure, direct, and allows a really nice "round" power stroke as the pedal transitions to and from horizontal.
those two fully expected drawbacks aside - it was a lot of fun! did around 30 miles, maybe half on dirt, gravel, and rocks, with over 3,000 feet of climbing. very slow compared to my usual pace and i used a bit more battery (58 wH, 18% of the internal battery, 11.61% average assist) due to pretty steep grades of 10-14% over long stretches. got some really nice rolling on slightly shallower downhill trails, up to 26mph, which felt plenty fast on gravel
the combo of fat knobby tires, low pressure (35psi), a carbon frame, and the future shock made for a pretty comfy ride up front. my technique leaves much to be desired but for a bike which is also extremely capable on road, i was impressed at how well it dealt with being tossed around on rocky, rutted, bumpy surfaces.
