The Sunday Creek Classic is a young event in Queensland, and 2024 will see the 3rd edition held on May 25 from Kenilworth. Like a classic marathon, the event starts and finishes in the one spot, and like a quality rural event in Australia, that spot is the local showground. The course covers about 120km and 3000m of climbing, taking you on a big loop out to Jimna, and back through the rainforest. On the start line you will see a near even split of mountain bikes and gravel bikes. On their event page, the event team state that the event is a gravel race, but one that may suit mountain bikes the best
So – what bike do you take to the Sunday Creek Classic? In 2023 team rider Imogen Smith took her gravel bike, while I took my Factor Lando XC mountain bike, with a few modifications made. But let’s look at a few considerations.
The course for the Sunday Creek Classic
With 120km and 3000m of climbing the numbers dictate that it’s not an event to be taken lightly. The race rolls out up Kenilworth’s main street, before heading into the state forest and tackling some opening climbs under towering hoop pine plantations. While this is all good quality dirt road, there are some steep pinches.
Once over the initial climbs the terrain is fast, moving to tarmac and then winding up a valley on a dirt road, up the steep climb of Mt Buggery and through cattle properties onwards to the old timber town of Jimna. The terrain is a mix of champagne gravel that deteriorates to rough rock and loose surfaces.
Gearing, traction and the ability to pedal all count here. I was using a 29er with 120mm of travel front and rear, I did use my remote lock out when needed. However, the suspension aids traction and control, and running it open and pedalling hard on the rougher terrain beyond Mt Buggery was advantageous – I feel I would have been shaken around too much on my gravel bike. But that’s what Imogen Smith chose.
‘Racing a gravel bike was awesome at the start, with the fast climbs and descents. I did have to unclip for one small section of Mt Buggery, and I think mountain bike experience helped here. But from here on there were times I questioned whether a gravel bike was the right choice.’
I was happy rolling fast on 29 x 2.25″ rubber to Jimna, swapping turns with another rider and then heading to Sunday Creek Road – a rolling descent along a ridgeline. It’s primarily clay based and has had untold amounts of railroad balast sunk into the surface. It’s a rough dirt road, with extended sections of descending. While at first it was fun flying down at warp speed, in the end it was still tiring on a high end XC full-suspension bike, and we passed two race leaders with terminal flat tyres. Imogen had a similar experience on her gravel bike.
‘The descent along Sunday Creek Road made me rethinking my bike choice – all you could do was let go of the brakes and grit your teeth. And if you didn’t clench your jaw you’d probably bight your tongue.’
‘It felt like survival and there were flats everywhere. That’s luck and setup. I had strong 40mm Maxxis Ravager EXO tyres but I also had Tubolight EVO gravel tyre inserts as some extra insurance. A gravel bike is a great choice for the Sunday Creek Classic as nothing is unrideable – but comfort is another matter. For comfort and more of an assurance on not flatting, a mountain bike is also a good choice.’
Imogen made one final remark about what bike to choose, and it is an important one.
‘You must be a good bike handler to tackle Sunday Creek Classic on a gravel bike if you want to be competitive. The roadies on their gravel bikes were the riders I saw not having a great day.’
You can read Imogen’s recap on her Sunday Creek Classic experience right here.
Gearing for Sunday Creek Classic
On my Factor Lando XC I used a Shimano 12 speed group set, with a 34t chain ring and 10-51 cassette. I rarely felt under geared on the flats – althought I did feel underdone at times! I can probably manage a 36t chain ring on Mt Buggery, but that would depend on line selection, conditions and whether I’d gone too hard earlier on the climb.
On Imogen’s gravel bike, she used a Shimano GRX 2×11 setup, with 31/48 chain rings and 11-32 cassette. While she said she’d love more lower gears on Mt Buggery – that was the only place. The rest of the climbing is sustained but not brutally steep.
So run gearing for fast, hilly riding, not trudging up the steepest of climbs – as that’s only one part! Chances are, you’ll just run what your bike has.
Wheels, tyres and traction
No matter what bike you take, your wheel system counts. First and foremost, you want something fast rolling – this isn’t BC Bike Race. You’ll need something with enough control for loose over hard conditions (a south east Queensland favourite), with enough strength for potential sharp rock and impacts – especially on the lower sections of Sunday Creek Road.
I used one of the lightest (1290g) sets of carbon wheels in our shed, and wrapped 2.25″ Maxxis Aspen EXO tyres around them. For the past three years I have mostly ridden on 2.4″ tyres so this was a reduction in width, but not a bad one. The rims were also narrower at 25mm internal, not my usual 30mm, so a better fit for the narrower tyre.
I had fresh sealant in for any punctures, and ran them a little firmer than I may otherwise, at around 22/24psi. High pressure for less rolling resistance is a falacy off road – you just bounce off more things!
On Imogen’s gravel bike, she used some bespoke carbon road wheels with 40mm Maxxis Ravager EXO tyres and Tubolight EVO Gravel tyre inserts. These weigh about 37g each and offer more support to the tyre and impact protection.
No matter your choice of bike you should consider the following: volume, tread height and support. Wider is almost always better (to a point) as you have a larger contact patch for braking and climbing traction, and can therefore make do with less tread height – so it rolls faster. A tyre with good support means the sidewalls will have the integrity for the rocks you don’t see – and are more likely to get you to the Sunday Creek Classic finish line in one piece.
Spares, snacks and hydration
Your need for all of these don’t change if you pick one bike or another – but your ability to carry them and the specific requirements will. If your mountain bike only carries one bottle, you’ll want to make sure you have a hydration bag as well. It will be worth trying to mount a few more items to your bike where possible. This could be in a bar bag or a saddle bag – or even using a strap!
Chances are you will want to keep pocket space free for snacks. I used Attaquer All-Day Cargo Bibs and ended up using one pocket for food, and the other for rubbish.
How to choose what bike for Sunday Creek Classic
I think this comes down to one question – how much fun do you want to have?
You’ll know what is fun for you. Is it racing flat out in a small group, wearing down your competitors and challenging for the victory? Chances are you should take your gravel bike. If you prefer all out traction, control and more reliability – take your cross-country mountain bike.
Either way, ensure you have reliable and fast rolling wheel and tyre systems. Don’t make simple mistakes of putting more pressure into suspension or tyres than you would riding off-road otherwise – it just means your mountain bike will be harsh and uncomfortable. Optimise settings – don’t throw what you know works out the window!
And finally, make sure you have a solid nutrition and hydration plan for the day. Enjoy the big loop in classic Queensland countryside – and see you out there!
