Cycling UK Forum

Well it doesn’t sound very epic to me and it’s a bit pricey but I’d quite like to do an organised gravel route (it’s half on road, half off) without the pressure of tight finish times so I think I’ll do it. Plus if I pay for something I’ll go! Not planning on getting a new bike for it so it’s one of the tourers (both of which are set up for unpaved stuff). Any thoughts on which might be best. https://gloriousgravel.com/product/grav ... OYGXisNeRZ

The bottom one, shorn of luggage, assuming it has some very low gear ratios in there (I’m assuming the route includes some not-level bits of Somerset), because the disc brakes will cope better if it gets muddy, and (maybe an optical illusion) it looks as if it’s got bigger wheels, which personally I prefer on bumpy ground.

PS: just read the link. Sand can be difficult!

You are correct. It’s 44-32-22 and 12-34 the other one has a rohloff which is close on the bottom most gearing.
700c wheels not 26”

I think the tyre width is 37.

It’s the one I’m tempted to take. Wondering if the tyres are a bit narrow but they’ll be fine for most of it at a minimum. Sand is something I have come across a fair bit when touring but wondering if anyone has done this section (9km on Brean beach) and has any thoughts in whether the Kona is ok for it?

With those gears available: perfick!

If your tyres are tubed, so quite high pressure, and without much tread, I would say that the challenges maybe traction on steep, loose slopes, and bogging-in on the sand if you accidentally choose a dry bit, likewise slithering about on any mud, but unless it’s really an MTB route in disguise, I’m sure it’ll be do-able.

I’ve walked that beach, but not cycled it, and from what I recall the sand is quite powdery in the dunes along the edge at the Burnham on Sea end, but firm where the tide runs, which is a long way because the slope of the beach is so shallow.

PS: I can see by zooming in that the tyres on that lower bike are Continental Contact Plus. They are astonishingly good. Until I gave in and went tubeless, I was riding everything on them, 35/37mm, which included a lot of ‘gravel’. They aren’t as good for the job as a wider tubeless tyre, but when you get to the road bits they are better, and I’d rather pedal up Cheddar Gorge on those than the tyres I use now.

Go for it!

I agree- I have been so impressed with them and wasn’t sure of the exact tyre name so that’s useful to know. I’ve not had a puncture in them either (have toured France, USA, Switzerland, Italy, France again and again on them) and really need to think about replacing them but am kind of reluctantl!

I’ll get booked and fingers crossed for an Indian summer. The bike and I are accompanying the family to France first so hopefully we’ll bag a few cols too.

Thank you for your advice.

Judging by the description of the varying terrain and the photographs, it's a matter of choosing which compromise personally suits you.

My own starting point would be to choose the widest tyres, despite the website suggestion that a 40mm tyre 'should be ideal'. It probably is ideal in a 700C size - especially if tubeless - for a young, fit racing snake going for a fast time who is willing and able to put up with more discomfort than I am.

Providing it was not wet and muddy, on your bikes my preferred tyre would probably be something like a 50mm or wider semi-slick Schwalbe Big Apple:

- width trumps tread for off-road use (unless it's muddy). Firstly more volume allows lower pressure and more comfort. Secondly, on genuine stone gravel tracks tread is unimportant and wider tyres give a more sure-footed ride. On stone gravel tracks I have to watch my line very carefully with 40mm tyres, and fast downhills are 'heart in mouth', with 50mm tyres I can relax and not worry too much about picking a line, with 60mm tyres I can completely ignore the track and enjoy the scenery.

- wide semi-slicks like the Big Apple roll well on the road, and should be faster/less effort than (especially heavily) treaded tyres.

700C wheels roll better than 26" over bumpy terrain, like the summer dried dirt track in the first photograph below, but a wider 26" tyre will offset that to a significant degree. I think with small stone/bump tracks like the second photograph, it's the same as I said above about stone gravel tracks: wider is more important than larger diameter.

You probably would not buy tyres just for this event, but I think Schwalbe Big Apples are good all round touring tyre, and I would justify the purchase on the basis that I would fit them just for the event, and later refit them when my current tyres were worn out. Their puncture protection is pretty good IME (I've had two punctures: one by a thorn through the sidewall and another due to carelessly running excessively low pressure). NB The ones to get are the Raceguard version, not the much heavier K-Guard version. SJS have the Raceguard in 26" x 50mm: https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/tyres/schwa ... nch-50559/.

we take on the iconic 9km of Brean Beach. The challenge here is to find the right line where the sand is hard packed – not as easy as it seems as the line keeps changing and you don’t want to get stuck in the soft stuff!

- again wider tyres should help
- I would choose the hub gear over derailleur drivechain for riding on sand, even if hard packed.
- the hub gear transmission should be easier to clean afterwards
- I would not want to have a chain with a sticky lubricant like Finish Line Wet. A wax lubricant would probably be best.

...ugh..... across the in the beach in sand!

I'd go for the Thorn. I live in the area so I know the Thorn will have the low gear to get you up over Cheddar gorge and whilst the beach is described as hard packed - what happens is the top inch dries in the sun, is picked up by the wind which then plasters the wind blown sand across your chain.

Whilst the flats of somerset are described as fast, it's only if you don't have a head wind....

Personally, you could plan your own route around the area probably with more interest and less chain wear.

As Cycle Tramp says you wouldnt catch me riding on the beach. It will shred your transmission and whow betide you if it gets into any bearings which it will probably do. Much better to stick to things like drove roads like this 5 mile section on west sedgemoor between Stathe on the river Parrett and Helland. North Curry could make a central base for exploring and has an excellent community cafe..

Hope they checked the tide tables before planning this ride.
Brean sands

They can't even spell "programme", so I wouldn't bother.

Sometimes I think cyclists are like Greeks- if you ask 99 of them their opinions you’ll get at least 100 versions! I confirm I am reading them all and reflecting on my best approach so thank you.

Anyway there is an alternate for the beach per the map -no idea what the organisers will do but I’m just using them for the stick/carrot to make me go and a route plan idea as I tend not do do much in the uk and I’m not really familiar with planning gravel routes. I realise I can do this stuff myself as I can cycle across continents by myself but I’m conscious that it wouldn’t hurt to occasionally be a joiner.

despite the website suggestion that a 40mm tyre 'should be ideal'. It probably is ideal in a 700C size - especially if tubeless - for a young, fit racing snake going for a fast time who is willing and able to put up with more discomfort than I am.

Just to add to the confusion, I’ll say that I’m not young, nor fit, nor a racing snake, nor prepared to suffer great discomfort, but I do find 40mm tubeless tyres a very good choice indeed for mixed-surface routes of the kind under discussion here, in fact I might say the ideal choice.

rjb wrote: ↑19 Aug 2023, 1:20pm As Cycle Tramp says you wouldnt catch me riding on the beach. It will shred your transmission and whow betide you if it gets into any bearings which it will probably do.

No, Brean Beach is awesome, it's a bit like Cefn Sidan beach (Pembrey) where they have the annual Battle on the Beach race. Super hard packed sand - no different to a gravel ride really.

https://www.battleonthebeach.co.uk/

Those Glorious Gravel rides are well organised. A mate has worked on a few doing bike/brand demos.

Give the bike a wash down afterwards of course but then you'd do that after a muddy ride.

Well here's a pic I posted previously on the lighthouse thread. Can't read the exact wording now but the danger sign warns soft sand, mud and no swimming. Still want to ride your bike along here. Not me I walked with mine, lifting it over the mud banks. And thats before the salt corrodes everything.

Here's the new warning signs. Note the speed limit and the lack of lifeguards now.

As I said up-thread, I’ve walked along the beach, and it isn’t dangerous at all - to get in danger you’d have to walk out to where it turns to mud.

Here’s the sign:

That new warning sign is right about the speed the tide comes in: because the beach slope is so shallow, the tide zooms up it.

Here is the daytime high tide for that day:
Looking at the charts, I suspect they’ve deliberately chosen a Saturday where the tide doesn’t come in very far, because on some other Saturdays it comes right up to 12m height, which represents a very big difference in exposed beach width because the slope is so shallow.