{"id":1877277,"date":"2026-04-10T13:35:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T10:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1877277"},"modified":"2026-04-10T13:35:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T10:35:12","slug":"stop-under-tiring-your-gravel-bike-and-other-hot-takes-from-the-velo-podcast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1877277","title":{"rendered":"Stop Under-Tiring Your Gravel Bike (and Other Hot Takes from the Velo Podcast)"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Velo-Podcast-thumbnail-4-10-26.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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Josh Ross<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Updated April 10, 2026 04:00PM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Table of Contents<\/h4>\n
    \u2022<\/span>Get right to the audio episode!<\/span><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

    I went to Taiwan, but the show must go on. While I was away, Mike Levy, Lisa Charlebois, and Logan Jones-Wilkins had plenty to talk about. Predictably, things got heavily focused on gravel tire pressure, but that wasn\u2019t all.<\/p>\n

    For one thing, Charlebois is our resident big-mileage rider. She posts huge rides on the regular, and this time, she finished a 300km Marin County mission. She kicks things off by recapping the 193-mile weekend ride through Napa and Sonoma aboard her titanium Mosaic GT2 AR\u2014and delivers a crucial public service announcement regarding the specific protocol for crossing the Golden Gate Bridge late at night.<\/p>\n

    For Jones-Wilkins, it\u2019s all about gravel tires\u2014specifically Specialized\u2019s new Pathfinder TLR. He is currently working his way through a massive pile of test rubber, and the new Specialized got a deep dive of its own. He explains why pros like Keegan Swenson opt for the slickest, fastest-rolling options, but argues that the more aggressive Terra tread is actually the better choice for the vast majority of riders who need reliable braking traction.<\/p>\n

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    ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    Levy, being the king of crazy rough gravel, has his own hot take on tire volume. He takes a firm stance that most gravel riders are severely under-tired. His direct advice to road cyclists venturing into the dirt is to stop obsessing over aerodynamics, mount the biggest tires the frame can clear, and run a tire insert.<\/p>\n

    Speaking of Specialized, the crew also takes a quick look at the newly launched Roval Terra Aero CLX and Terra CLX3 wheelsets. They discuss the $3,400 Aero CLX\u2019s chopped aero profile, the 27mm internal width, and the notable design decision to utilize a wide carbon hook rather than going hookless.<\/p>\n

    Finally, there is some crazy clothing to discuss. Jonas Vingegaard recently won a freezing and wet stage four while wearing a second set of modified, cut-up bib shorts over his normal kit. While we don\u2019t recommend doing exactly that, the crew shares their own extreme cold-weather survival tactics. Expect confessions about crotchless long underwear, the merits of baggy mountain bike pants on drop-bar rides, and Charlebois\u2019s deep appreciation for the Albion Burner down chest piece.<\/p>\n

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    ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    Give it a listen, and let us know in the comments if you have a favorite tire or if you think Levy is wrong on his hot take.<\/p>\n

    Episode Timestamps<\/b><\/p>\n

    00:00 \u2013 Intro
    \n01:25 \u2013 Lisa\u2019s 300k
    \n05:04 \u2013 Gravel Tires
    \n27:54 \u2013 Specialized Wheels
    \n34:28 \u2013 Clothing discussion<\/p>\n

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    Subscribe to the Velo Podcast<\/h3>\n

    \"Listen<\/p>\n

    \"Listen<\/p>\n

    Articles covered in this episode:<\/h2>\n
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    • Keegan Swenson Has to Ride This Tire \u2014 Here is Why You Should Too<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n
      \n
      \n
      Josh Ross<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
      Updated April 10, 2026 04:00PM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

      [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/gravel\/gravel-gear\/velo-podcast-hot-takes-about-tires\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Velo-Podcast-thumbnail-4-10-26.jpg”] Josh Ross Updated April 10, 2026 04:00PM Table of Contents \u2022Get right to the audio episode! I went to Taiwan, but the show must go on. While I was away, Mike Levy, Lisa Charlebois, and Logan Jones-Wilkins had plenty to talk about. Predictably, things got heavily focused on gravel tire pressure, but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-1877277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1877277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1877277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1877277\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1877277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1877277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1877277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}