Modern VS Old - Comparing my trek training bike to a modern gravel race bike on the most notorious California Gravel Race

Modern VS Old - Comparing my trek training bike to a modern gravel race bike on the most notorious California Gravel Race

The California Belgian Waffle Ride is one of the most iconic Gravel Races in the United States starting in San Marcos, California traversing 120 miles with a grueling 10,000 feet of climbing. The race is marketed as a “Gravel Race” but with only 30% of the route being on dirt, many top riders will often be seen on road bikes with more gravel oriented tires. The race can take some up to 12 hours to complete, and with a few technical dirt sections that can cause detrimental mechanicals, it’s important to choose a bike setup that is comfortable for the duration, sturdy enough to avoid mechanicals, and still fast enough to get the best time possible.

As a professional downhill and enduro mountain bike racer, I have been putting in some big training days getting ready for the 2024 season and when I found out about this event I was all in for some cross training! The only issue was that the only non-mountain bike I own is a hand-me-down 2005 Trek 6500 road bike.

The bike is equipped with some 23mm wide tires, rim brakes, a 3 speed front derailleur, and courtesy of some spare mountain bike parts I had laying around, some Shimano Saint DH pedals. I put a few test rides in on the bike and was feeling decent until 2 weeks out from the event when I test rode the course. Aside from feeling the most fit I’ve probably ever felt, the gravel sections absolutely beat up my bike leading to numerous dropped chains and some flats. I was nervous for the race and needed toeither prepare for an uncomfortable day filled with endless mechanicals, or desperately find a more capable bike to ride.

Luckily, I was able to borrow a modern Salsa Warroad for the Belgian Waffle Ride and make some comparisons between the bikes. And let me tell you, the performance difference between these bikes goes far beyond their looks.

The Salsa Warroad was custom built with top of the line Enve wheels, an aero cockpit, some extremely fast rolling Michelin 36cc Power Adventure Tires, a 12 speed drivetrain with an oval front chainring, and perfectly bed in Shimano disc rotors and hydraulic brakes. I was able to get the bike to fit very comfortably and on my first ride the bike was not only noticeably faster, but also miles ahead in comfort. 

Before even getting to any gravel sections I could feel significantly less chatter on the bike path and the wider tires definitely hooked up much better around fast corners. When I got to a large gravel climb the bike excelled even more, feeling much lighter, stiffer, and easier to climb compared to my Trek with absolutely no rear tire traction loss. I quickly summited the climb, smashing my previous PR, and was even more shocked when I began the descent. The rotors provided reliable and powerful braking and the tires had better traction then I would ever expect a rigid bike to have. Although I have a strong descent focus background, I never felt comfortable pushing the descents on my Trek but on this “Gravelified” Warroad, I felt like I was potentially holding the bike back from what it was capable of at times. Arriving home my body felt significantly less rattled than normal and after a week of rest I was ready for the Belgian Waffle Ride!

On race morning I got to the start early, ensured my bike was running smoothly, stuffed all my nutrition for the day into my Camelbak, and headed for the start line. On the start line of the event I got a great look at the Professional gravel racers bikes and what the general public was riding. It was clear that even though this was a gravel race, the majority of people were running slightly beefed up road bikes and my bike fit in perfectly. The starting gun went off and I pushed hard the first 20 miles of tarmac in order to get myself in the best position for the dirt. The dirt sections immediately after the first 20 miles of tarmac was the most fun. Winding through single track around Lake Hodges and hitting some high high speed gravel roads. 

There were crashes, mechanicals, and bonked riders all around me through these sections but the Warroad and I stayed solid and were able to continuously move up the pack through. Unfortunately, around mile 50 I had to turn off onto the Wafer route in order to be on time to a family event early that evening. This route ended up being 75 miles and 6,400 feet of climbing that I finished in 4 hours and 40 minutes, skipping an out and back 45 mile section from the full Waffle ride. The final climb up Questhaven and Double Peak ended up being the most challenging climb for myself and other riders. However, the Warroad’s lightweight and comfortable position ended up helping me get a huge 4 minute personal record increase from my training ride on my Trek on the same 25 minute segment. The spectators lined up the streets of Double Peak cheering definitely helped make this final push before heading down to the finish.

Crossing the finish line I was absolutely stoked to be a part of such an iconic event and try something new outside my normal enduro and downhill races. I’m sure it comes as no surprise that a new Salsa Warroad with a dedicated gravel setup would perform better than a 20 year old road bike with outdated parts, but what surprised me was the enormous difference between these bikes and how far they’ve come in recent years. Wider tires, disk brakes, aero rims, aero cockpits, carbon frames, one by drivetrains, and a more comfortable geometry are all relatively small changes by  themselves, but when they come together they can really make a completely different bike that’s fun, comfortable, extremely fast! I am looking forward to tackling this event again next year and the only thing I’m going to change is to make sure I don’t sign up for an 8+ hour race the same day as a family event! Bike setup wise, I think the Salsa Warroad is one of the best bikes you can bring for an event like this.