Are there other adjustments that need to be made, or is the whole idea wrong?Will changing the tires on my road bike be sufficient to be able to use it on a gravel trail?It really depends on your bike - The main issue is how much room do you have for clearance particularly on the front fork, and also on the rear brake bridge.
It also depends a little on the trail - if you want to generally ride on rough trails and loose gravel I'd recommend at least 32mm wide tires (or 1 3/8 in if you on 27%26quot; wheels) 35 is even better. On some touring frames you can fit 40mm. For packed grave and hard dirt 28mm will do okay, but not be great.
I don't want to be too quick to generalize but MOST of the more recent (last 15 years) performance oriented road bikes probably don't have clearance for anything over 28 if that. But if you bike is an older bike from the early 80's or more of a touring model of any vintage there will be room for 32mm.
I wouldn't stress much about spoke count. If your bike came equipped with 20 spoke wheels it won't have clearance for wider tires anyway. You will not want to go bashing the wheels are Mountain biking type rocks and jumps unless you do have 32 or 36 spoke double or triple walled rims, but for just path riding it shouldn't be a problem.Will changing the tires on my road bike be sufficient to be able to use it on a gravel trail?you probably can;t get fat enough ones to fit
wleWill changing the tires on my road bike be sufficient to be able to use it on a gravel trail?It depends on the road bike, but probably not sufficient.
If your bike has low spoke count wheels (under 32 spokes per wheel) or is currently equipped with tires under 32mm wide then it is very likely that larger tires won't fit even if you wanted to do it.
Look at the existing clearances between the tires, frame, and brakes. If there is 1/4%26quot; (8mm) or less clearance at any point then bigger tires will be unlikely to fit. If you do have sufficient clearance, proceed carefully, and when riding on gravel expect an increase in the occurance of flats.
You will never have as good a ride or handling characteristics when using a road bike on gravel since frames are developed for use on hard roads but this might not bother you. The %26quot;whole idea%26quot; isn't wrong as there are road bikes (called 'flat bar road bikes' or 'hybrid bikes') that can double as road/gravel rides.Will changing the tires on my road bike be sufficient to be able to use it on a gravel trail?Most road bikes have limited space for larger tires. I would switch to a hybrid bike that uses 700 X 32c tires or wider for gravel roads and bike paths. Get one that doesn't have shocks they are more efficient.
