Equipment recommendations for cycling on Gran Canaria

Brake pads

Safety comes first. No matter if you have had your bike on service or not – make sure you have new brake pads before coming here. What goes up must come down, and with a lot of beautiful switchback descending it also puts stress on your brake system.

Tires (road bike)

The tires are the only contact point with the ground, and both the quality of the rubber, the volume and pressure make a huge difference in traction and comfort. The roads on Gran Canaria are generally in very good condition, but there are sections with rougher surface. We recommend 28 mm wide tires since these give more comfort and contact than 23 and 25 mm. A lower tire pressure is more comfortable and gives you better grip, but a too low pressure can increase rolling resistance and feel wobbly. To find the correct pressure will also make a big difference for you. If you weight 70 kg, start with 7.6 bar (110 psi) for a 23 mm tire, 6.7 bar (100 psi) for a 25 mm tire, and 5.7 bar (85 psi) for 28 mm. On worse road surface conditions, consider to drop the pressure further from these recommendations.

Gearing

Climbing for an extensive time can take its toll on your muscles, and many riders make the mistake to use a too heavy gear when climbing. Power is the product of speed and force, and that means you can generate power in two different ways. Lower force, higher cadence or the opposite higher force, lower cadence. A heavy gear requires your legs to produce more force, and with all the climbs you will encounter here, the likeliness of overworking your muscles is high. The better approach would be to focus on more cadence / leg speed by correct gearing. By doing so you put less stress on the leg muscles and more on your cardiovascular system. This means that in mountainous terrain you should use a compact crankset (50/34) and a cassette between 11-28 and 11-32. We have taken this into consideration and our rental bikes are geared for climbing!

Wheels

Gran Canaria is an island in the Atlantic Ocean. The Passat winds are the main reason for the stable climate here. The coastal winds can be both strong and gusty, and when the wind builds throughout the day it also enters the valleys. You maybe tempted to try deep section aero wheels, and when the wind comes head on or from the back that may be fine. But in gusty side wind conditions such wheels are dangerous. We recommend wheels with maximum 40 mm profile or less. They don’t act like sails in sidewind and they are also lighter and better for climbing. With our rentals, we offer carbon wheels as an upgrade, and we also offer wheels for rent if you'd like to try it out on your own bike.