are 700c wheels/tyres any good for touring long distance?
- Thread starter young Ed
- Start date
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700c is pretty much the standard size for road bikes and the like, I would imagine the vast majority of JOGLE riders have used 700c wheels.
- Location
- Shrewsbury, Shropshire
Yes 700c wheels are good for touring - they are strong, roll well and tyres are readily available across Europe, so no problem for a JOGLE.
Obviously you need an appropriate wheel for touring (if load carrying) so a high spoke count (32 or 36 spokes) and touring tyres such as Schwalbe Marathon or similar would be ideal. You can do it on a racing wheel/tyre if travelling light.
The reason MTB type 26 inch wheels are prefered by some tourers is not because they are stronger but because the tyres, spokes or even replacement wheels are easier to get in some of the more far-flung parts of the world, such as South America.
Obviously you need an appropriate wheel for touring (if load carrying) so a high spoke count (32 or 36 spokes) and touring tyres such as Schwalbe Marathon or similar would be ideal. You can do it on a racing wheel/tyre if travelling light.
The reason MTB type 26 inch wheels are prefered by some tourers is not because they are stronger but because the tyres, spokes or even replacement wheels are easier to get in some of the more far-flung parts of the world, such as South America.
SatNavSaysStraightOn
Changed hemispheres!
- Location
- ɐᴉlɐɹʇsn∀ 'ɐɹɹǝquɐƆ
+1
We went down the 26" wheel size because of the availability world wide (think remoter places) for our tour, but the UK & most of Europe 700c will be fine, assuming you have no intentions of going off-road.
- Location
- Shrewsbury, Shropshire
Depends what you call off road. My trekking bike is often used on paths like this:
and has even been down here:
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qO2C4vym3Q
But not as fast as the chaps in the video though.
It wouldn't cope with any seriously muddy paths.
SatNavSaysStraightOn
Changed hemispheres!
- Location
- ɐᴉlɐɹʇsn∀ 'ɐɹɹǝquɐƆ
Depends what you call off road. My trekking bike is often used on paths like this:
View attachment 23676
....
It wouldn't cope with any seriously muddy paths.
I have taken my road bike down worse than that first photo albeit slowly.... (2nd, 3rd & 4th pictures down in this link). But I would not consider the video with panniers on the road bike. The photo looks fine to me if you are careful - road bike & panniers...
As for the video link - our expedition bikes & our mountain bikes full laden have been over much worse at similar speeds - and that's why they are 26" mtb wheels.
However, I when I refered to "remoter places" in the context above, it was in reference to places like the very far north of Norway at the Russian/Norwegain border with the Barent's sea - a seasonal road open 5 months a year, Eastern Europe & Russia and the bikes were purchased for the sole purpose of handling roads such as the Pamir highway and going out through the border along Chile/Argentina (that illgeal jungle route) that we never made it to.
However I can come up with plenty of places in the UK that it is perfectly legal to cycle and tour, but you have to have a certain madness about you (
) to even want to take an unladen bike with you and not one of those places I would want to consider anything other a 26" bike designed for those conditions - and I still remember having to carry my bike for several hours to negitoiate certain 'hazzards' that were difficult enough underfoot (hiking boots) without the bikes & kit!
- Location
- Shrewsbury, Shropshire
Understood. I wasn't intending to have a go or anything, just pointing out that "off road" doesn't mean the same thing to everyone.
To a lot of people it seems to mean canal towpaths for example, while I can think of sections on the National Cycle Network which are rougher than the path in the video, yet people on road bikes with racing tyres still occasionally use them.
I just don't want the OP to get the idea that a decent touring bike on, for example, 700x35c tyres can't go off road.
I like the ride report by the way.
To a lot of people it seems to mean canal towpaths for example, while I can think of sections on the National Cycle Network which are rougher than the path in the video, yet people on road bikes with racing tyres still occasionally use them.
I just don't want the OP to get the idea that a decent touring bike on, for example, 700x35c tyres can't go off road.
I like the ride report by the way.
deanE
Senior Member
- Location
- Falmouth, Cornwall
Just finished my 14 day unsupported JOGLE on a 9 year old Specialized Sirrus, hybrid. Renewed the Chainset and cassette and fitted new wheels, but all bog standard stuff. Wheels cost £60 the two. 32mm tyres, a City tyre on the front that was on when I bought the bike on ebay and a marathon on the back. Some of the route was along rural cycle tracks and along canal towpaths. No mechanical problems at all.
andrew_s
Legendary Member
- Location
- Gloucester
32 spoke 26" wheels are the same strength as 36 spoke 700c wheels, but give a little better resistance to sideways loads if you do jumps or ride into parked cars. 700c wheels will roll marginally better than 26", given similar tyres. Whether the wheels are well built or not has far more bearing on suitability than what size they are. It may be worth getting the wheels retensioned if you have a good local wheelbuilder.
Ease of off road riding on touring type tracks depends on tyre size rather than wheel size (there are many "29er" tyres that fit 700c rims, provided you have the frame clearance). With narrow 23mm road tyres, you will go very slowly if the track surface is muddy, has loose gravel & small rocks, or is particularly rocky. On a poor track you can go 3 or 4 times the speed with fat (2"+) tyres. However, fat tyres are slower on the road (and even some good tracks), and on an end to end there's a lot more road than track.
Historically, something like 700x32 has been seen as the best all-round compromise for a mostly road tour.
Ease of off road riding on touring type tracks depends on tyre size rather than wheel size (there are many "29er" tyres that fit 700c rims, provided you have the frame clearance). With narrow 23mm road tyres, you will go very slowly if the track surface is muddy, has loose gravel & small rocks, or is particularly rocky. On a poor track you can go 3 or 4 times the speed with fat (2"+) tyres. However, fat tyres are slower on the road (and even some good tracks), and on an end to end there's a lot more road than track.
Historically, something like 700x32 has been seen as the best all-round compromise for a mostly road tour.
The Lairig Ghru?
SatNavSaysStraightOn
Changed hemispheres!
- Location
- ɐᴉlɐɹʇsn∀ 'ɐɹɹǝquɐƆ
no - we did a circular "tour" involving some of the west, south & east coast Loch Ericht, starting out at Rannoch Station, many many moons ago... Where we actually went remains a mystery - but we did finally pick up the road we were aiming for and had a good several days of mud/peat/water and carrying bikes around - a rucksack did make life much easier than panniers, so we only needed multiple journeys to move it where it was physically impossible to carry the bike & rucksack and not sink into a peat bog at the same time!
apparently we are older and wiser now which is why we thought cycling around the world was a really good idea
Crankarm
Guru
- Location
- Nr Cambridge
mcshroom
Bionic Subsonic
- Location
- Egremont, Cumbria
700c wheels would be fine for a LEJOG. I've taken camping gear and over 100kgs of me round numerous tours without any incident. My choice for touring is 28c Marathons for light loads and 32/35c Marathons for fully loaded.
