Gravel suspension was a hot topic at this year’s Traka, and Lachlan Morton has weighed in with his take.
Speaking exclusively to BikeRadar at the Spanish event, the 2024 Unbound winner said the current trend towards ever-larger gravel tyres is essentially “trying to mimic what suspension does”.
Many Canyon-sponsored riders were using its new gravel suspension fork (which appears to have been made in partnership with DT Swiss), which Morton says could enable riders to “get away with less tyre”.
“There’s no one fix” when it comes to determining the best gravel bike for every scenario, though, Morton cautions.
Four different courses, four different setups
A big part of the ‘problem’ with determining the best setup for gravel racing, Morton says, is that “you could race four different courses and there'd be four different setups that are better”.
There’s no doubt, he says, that “There are courses where suspension would be great”, but there are different ways to address the problems gravel suspension is designed to solve (namely smoothing out rough surfaces and increasing traction and control).
In Morton’s view, the current trend for riders to use the biggest tyres that will fit in their gravel bikes – with some riders even opting for cross-country mountain bike tyres – is driven by similar concerns.
“Effectively, that's what using big tyres is doing," he says. "It's low pressure – you're trying to reduce that up and down motion.”
Contrary to popular opinion, Morton says: “There's not a huge traction gain from running a bigger tyre, necessarily.”
Likewise, Morton says “you kind of lose out” using them on the “really high speed stuff” – potentially because they’re heavier and less aerodynamic than narrower tyres.
“I'm sure you could probably get away with less tyre if you're running suspension,” he adds.
Enjoying the process
Part of the fun of gravel racing, Morton says, is enjoying the process of setting up your bike for maximum performance ahead of each race.
“It's nice when you look at the course and make your decisions based on what the course is doing, what your body's doing, and then what your plans are for the race.
“You can run a bunch of different setups, and different things could be faster on different parts of the course.”
Morton even says riders “might take more gambles on equipment” if they feel the need to make up for a deficit in physical prowess compared to their competitors.
Morton, though, has yet to be converted to gravel suspension. His bike for this year’s Traka 360 was a rigid Cannondale SuperX Lab71 equipped with relatively narrow, 700x42 and 44c Vittoria Mezcal Gravel Endurance tyres, front and rear.
The Australian ultra-distance specialist is no stranger to the world of suspension, though, having raced a custom Cannondale Scalpel for his blistering ride on the Tour Divide route in 2023.
Whether he’ll use gravel suspension in the future likely remains an open question, then. If the course demands it, he’s clearly open to experimenting.
