Yeah, the extra clearance afforded by direct mount brakes is pretty awesome. I keep wanting to have a bike that comfortably clears 27-28mm tires* - even though I never end up actually riding them, including gravel. I've done gravel on 28c clinchers (~18mm ID) twice at different pressures and never ran such a large tire again as I just found the ride so bouncy. My best times on several gravel segments have come on 25mm tires. For sure, that's a little less fun on really chunky stuff and if I was spending 50+ miles on gravel in one shot - I may sing a different tune.Beaver wrote: ↑Wed Aug 08, 2018 10:01 amMost road frames fit up to 28mm tires now, also on wide rims, so 40mm real clearance. This should be enough even for heavy riders on really bad roads.
For gravel you need more and disc will help on loose ground (but with long reach calipers this could also be possible with rim brakes).
By no means am I trying to challenge you specifically with this anecdote - I just think it's worthwhile to actually type out somewhere on the internet that 28mm+ tires aren't required to ride gravel. Forums and product sites everywhere seem to make this some sort of rule - I think it's really only driven by the desire to sell more product* (need specialized tires, rims, and frames, and brakes for every type of ride!)
Can't choose alloy clinchers or carbon tubulars? This seems more like a valid anti-carbon clincher argument than a pro-disc one.
*See, they're even influencing me!