If you were going to ride a 50/50 B road / Off road ride but you didnt know what severity the off road would be, how would you set your bike up?
Say a 2 day ride, or a 5 day ride.

Geared for speed on the road, struggle on the hills?
Geared for hills, cruise on the road?

Theres a time limit, but its not timed. ie. have to be back to go to work etc.

Tyres? Ikons, mezcals, ardent race, race kings or go wild and fit G-Ones?

Sus forks? Rigid?

Or not even consider changing whatever you have and just crack on?

All theoretical of course, just wondering how much swapping around we all do along with what people would do for that specific situation.

I can’t comment on changing gears to suit terrain because it’s not something I ever do. My bikes mostly run Rohloff and I don’t fiddle with ratios.
As for the rest...
In mixed terrain I favour my set up for the worst parts. You say your not racing, just need to be home on time, I would much rather ride the tough stuff well than save a few minutes on the road sections.
Therefore in your situation i’d run a high volume grippy tyre (you could vary pressure to speed things up on the road) and would consider front suspension if it was gonna be very bumpy...,

Sram eagle and mezcal’s for me on The Fargo, a lot of my rides have a similar bias.

Rigid, ikon 2.2s, gearing you already have and just cope with spinning a bit on the road.

2.2 ikons cope with pretty much any rocky offroad ground and do alright onroad. The tyres will.limit the speed a little so you won't need much more than a 36x11 top gear (I've done plenty of road with a 32x11 and just freewheeling downhill).

Tried this sort of idea with 650x42 WTB Resolutes in Scotland the other day and did more mincing down rocky descents than I'd like to admit, although they survived intact and were way faster onroad that ikons.

If I really had no idea of the severity of the off-road stuff I’d take my Swift with old skool 3x9 MTB gears and 2.3 / 3.0 tyres (Smorgasbord/ Knard).

If I thought it was likely to be “gravel” then I’d probably take my Pickenflick with 40c Nanos. I’ve been using 50/34 x 32-11 on that, although I have an MTB double to fit when I get around to it.

That’s my standard choice at the moment. I don’t tend to swap stuff around much, just pick the bike that seems most suitable.

50:50 in length could mean anything from 55:45 to 70:30 in time though no?

If you're getting beaten up on the off road stuff, just so you can enjoy the road section, you might find yourself being beaten up for a greater proportion of the time

Obviously if it's smoothish fire or gravel road then that's a different set up

I find most trips are a mixture of road / off-road, so the bikes I ride tend to be set up with that in mind. I dislike 'slow' tyres regardless which means something with minimal tread / grip will usually be fitted and a reasonable spread of gears. As Ben says, 50/50 miles could easily be 30/70 in terms of time. Personally, I always tend to view road miles as a means to an end as i enjoy staring at the hils much more than the back of a car.

If I'm out for a bike ride then I expect to ride my bike as much as possible. I'd rather use knobbly tyres on a road than have to push/carry skinny tyres over rocks and mud. The compromise will very much depend on the route. I would take a MTB to the top of Cairngorm, even if that meant a long road ride up, rather than have to descend on a road bike. In terms of time, that would be around 50/50 from my house, though its probably 80/20 on tarmac in terms of distance.

If I'm simply out exploring the 650x47 Byways on the Amazon will let me cover a good distance but will also give me some comfort and traction for off-road bits.

With the right tyre choice, I could skip suspension on most rides but, when I need it, I need it.

If I really had no idea on whether the off road could be gnarly, I would take the Vir Fortis with tri-bars and silly high tyre pressures (or the xc wheelset) for the road sections and deflate as needed for the gnarly bits.

Otherwise, if I had any clue about the terrain and it's not too gnarly, I would take Camino with standard 1/11. If it's in a mountainous area, the I would change to a smaller front ring that will allow a road 30km/h and easier climbing. Nothing else changed apart from tyre pressures as above.

silly high tyre pressures (or the xc wheelset) for the road sections

what makes you think high tyre pressures will roll better / be faster?

I'd take the Jones
If I could be bothered I might pump the tyres up for a long road section.

Bearbonesnorm wrote: ↑Mon Jul 22, 2019 2:07 pm

silly high tyre pressures (or the xc wheelset) for the road sections

what makes you think high tyre pressures will roll better / be faster?

I’m guessing it’s a reference to a fat bike and from experience, high pressure on the road section will be nicer. It’s no fun riding tarmac at 5 psi. Different ball game once off-road

For me, my setup never changes. Bontrager XR2 tyres* in 2.1”, 36x11/42 for gears. Rigid Salsa El Mariachi

*although I have an S-Works rear tyre on at the moment and it’s rubbish

Rigid 29er with drop bars, Bonty XR1 tyres, 2x10 gears....

I think I just described my Trek 920..