Gravel riding has taken off over the years, and the line between Gravel, Road and MTB has been blurry at the best of times, but today I think I found the limits of “gravel”.
Where did I find the limit of Gravel? A small place in the foothills of the Dublin mountains, Ticknock! Famous with walkers and mountain bikers alike, Ticknock has a lot to offer, and their red MTB routes are right on the edge of what a gravel bike can handle.
The red loop starts with a loose rocky climb, the trick here is to be able to pop your front wheel up a few inches in order to get over the bigger rocks. A good goal is to try to tackle this route without unclipping from your pedals, easier said than done though if your bike handling needs some improvement like mine does.
Other than a few big rocks and the steep loose narrow corners on the way up the climb, there isn’t anything that a competent cyclist can’t handle. You don’t need to have skills like Sagan to get up there.
At the top you may think “I feel at home here” as you ride along some fire roads, and more traditional gravel paths, until you find the next sign for the continuation of the loop.
Soon after comes a segment that featured on my Wicklow Way trip, it was tight, technical and in the forest (luckily this meant that we were not being rained on but it did mean the ground was rather damp). You should take some caution during this segment as the true MTB riders like to rip it, so just watch your back and be prepared to move over if you’re struggling. It is twisty but it is fun! On the switchbacks going up hill I would suggest trying to be carrying some speed into the corners in order to not have to clip out, (again its tight so you can’t be ripping it uphill but a little speed is your friend here, similar with the descents on the single track).
The Gravel bike really does handle all of this super well for a bike that is just as at home on the road. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, because when has there been an off road bike that hasn’t climbed well.
One might say the real test of the bike is how it descends the rocky and loose single track trails, and I can attest the gravel bike flys down them! Just get your weight over the back of the bike and ride in the drops and you’ll have heaps of control and feel planted. You’ll be feeling like Pidcock at the olympics after only a few hundred meters, reading your line and using your body to dampen the impact over some small rock drops. (Don’t worry they certainly aren’t like the ones Van Der Poel crashed off).
Suddenly though, you hit the berms (high banked turns like in a velodrome) seemingly out of nowhere, this is another place to control your speed and not go too slowly. I reckon there is a minimum speed you have to ride these but please don’t ask me what that speed is because I don’t know. I had a blast rolling round these, its a proper rush, linking each turn together as if you descending after an alpine climb, just much more fun!
Before you can catch your breath you are thrown into the “pump track” section, and as the name suggests its’ filled with fast pumps. MTBs can absolutely annihilate this section since they have a lot of front fork travel and can hit these pumps with speed and make jumps. Gravel bikes however generally do not, so you need to roll over them: controlling your speed to ensure you don’t get too much air! I ended up with a small amount of air after not controlling my speed, I managed to land it but my heart was in my mouth!
This brings you to the biking.ie hut - the end of the road if you will! We took some time to soak in loop and reflect on how much fun it was. A gravel bike with a decent rider can make it through. If you have Sagan like skills though you can rip it through a lot of the course on a gravel bike - it makes a good endurance spin in the winter if you add in an hour riding out there and an hour riding home.
If you think I have missed any key points about the ticknock red loop please let me know at: gravel@roadmancycling.com
Difficulty rating: Intermediate / Advanced
This route is classified as intermediate to advanced, it is technical and very loose. A gravel bike is suitable here but only with a competent rider. It certainly isn't a route you should try as your first gravel outing. Check out Escape the City for an easier beginner ride.