Road Bike for Towpaths

[Biker Joe]

I've got a Carrera Vanquish Road bike . I've had it several years and I've had no problems with it. I ride a lot on tow paths around the Lea Valley Park area and the paths can be quite rough. The Carrera handles it with no problems but the frame and forks are very rigid and unforgiving and you feel every lump and bump. On a long ride it gets very tiring on the arms and shoulders and getting on to tarmac roads is a great relief.
I've been considering getting another road bike around the £500 range with a more forgiving frame and I quite like the Giant road bikes. Reviews say that they offer more comfort on demanding surfaces.
What are your thoughts on this?

 

[Biker Joe]

I think the most important factor will be: What's the largest tyre size you can fit on it and still use mudguards (if they are your thing, which as you ride on towpaths they may well be).

I use 700x 25 tyres right now. I ride about 50,50 on road and tow paths. On tow paths I lower the pressure a bit but the Carrera is known for it's unforgiving nature. I don't use mudguards. If it's wet I put on a crud catcher to save my bum.

 

[vickster]

Sounds like you need a gravel/adventure type bike to take fatter tyres and proper mudguards

£500 should get you a fairly basic spec one

A cheaper option could be a more padded tape with an old inner tube underneath for more cushioning

I’m not sure any Alu bike on really rough surfaces on 25mm tyres is that comfortable

 

[Venod]

I ride tubeless, 32mm @ 45psi over all sorts of terrain, I can recommend this as an improvement in comfort.

 

[Cycleops]

Any road bike with 25c tyres at road pressures isn't going to be much different from your current ride over that sort of terrain.
I should look at one of halfords budget adventure bike offerings like the Limba.
Or you could buy 90's or thereabouts secondhand MTB for under a hundred quid which would do an admirable job for you on those paths.
If you wanted something halfway piecewise used Limbas seem to go for around £200 for a year old one. I know because I nearly bought one.
TPs are going to make more difference than anything else. See above ∆.

 

[Alan O]

I think the most important factor will be: What's the largest tyre size you can fit on it and still use mudguards (if they are your thing, which as you ride on towpaths they may well be).

That ^

I ride on canal towpaths and similar routes quite a lot, on a steel tourer. I find 32mm tyres make a big difference in comfort, especially with a bit of side-wall flex - for example, my summer Gatorskins are a good bit more comfortable than my winter/wet Marathons, both 32mm.

 

[Heltor Chasca]

I rode my tourer with 26x2.1 Smart Sams along many miles of towpath recently. It was like riding a sofa. And due to the tread pattern, these have a very low rolling resistance rating on compact surfaces and tarmac.

 

[Biker Joe]

Hmmm! Thanks for the replies everyone. It's given me something to think about.

 

[graham bowers]

I guess it depends on what your towpaths are like, as across the canal network they can be very variable. Also, how much are you prepared to compromise road efficiency for towpath comfort. I often incorporate towpath and bridleway sections into my rides as I pursue Veloviewer squares on rides up to 70 miles long.
https://blog.veloviewer.com/veloviewer-explorer-score-and-max-square/

I agree with the sentiment expressed above that its the tyres and pressures that will dominate the offroad comfort on a non-suspension bike.

If there is just a bit and the paths are known to be compacted stone or tarmac, I'll use the 10 Kg ish aluminium alloy road bike that has 25mm Gatorskin Hardshells at 100 / 90 psi and lightish road wheels. I'll ride the rough bits slow and carefully for comfort and to prevent damage to the bike.

If there is up to 10 miles of towpath / bridleway I'll use my steel tourer that has 32mm Gatorskin Hardshells at 80 / 70 psi and strong / heavy 36 spoke wheels. The rougher it gets, the slower I go - rough on some of the Midlands towpaths means rooted. If I encounter baked hard horse hoof imprinted mud I walk. I avoid mud if its wet as the hardshells are slick.

For routes that are more towpath / bridleway I use a late '80's all steel mtb with 1.95 inch treaded (not knobblies) tyres at 50 psi. 50 miles is the max I really want to ride on that.

 

[Sbudge]

I know those paths very well and have done them on my road bike (in Summer). There's plenty of sharp stones/edges on that stretch too so tyres also need to be tough or tubeless. I'd agree with Dogtrousers, these days if I'm going to do that route I ride a bike that takes 38mm G-Ones (tubeless) and it's *much* better. I think Schwalbe do the G-Ones in a 30mm width. If they'll fit your bike I'd certainly recommend it. I do a few thousand km every winter on roads on those and they're still quick but capable enough for the gravel and mud when having a meander.

 

[Biker Joe]

I know those paths very well and have done them on my road bike (in Summer). There's plenty of sharp stones/edges on that stretch too so tyres also need to be tough or tubeless. I'd agree with Dogtrousers, these days if I'm going to do that route I ride a bike that takes 38mm G-Ones (tubeless) and it's *much* better. I think Schwalbe do the G-Ones in a 30mm width. If they'll fit your bike I'd certainly recommend it. I do a few thousand km every winter on roads on those and they're still quick but capable enough for the gravel and mud when having a meander.

That sounds promising. I'll look into that. Thank you very much.

 

[Biker Joe]

That sounds promising. I'll look into that. Thank you very much.

Unfortunately 28mm is the widest my bike will take.

 

[Sbudge]

Unfortunately 28mm is the widest my bike will take.

That's a shame, I suspect there are other decent tubeless/gravel tyres that do come in 28mm size though (I'm just recommending stuff I've firsthand experience with). Going tubeless would at least enable you to run at lower pressures and more comfortably...pinch flats on that stretch are a menace.

 

[Vantage]

Buying a 'road' bike to ride it 'offroad' just doesn't make any sense to me. You don't buy a heavier drill to use it as a hammer do you? Same thing.
A tourer or gravel/cx bike with the clearances to take 32mm plus tyres is what you need. Usually they'll have more stable frame geometries for the rough surfaces they're designed to handle and stronger frames for the same reasons.

 

[Biker Joe]

Buying a 'road' bike to ride it 'offroad' just doesn't make any sense to me. You don't buy a heavier drill to use it as a hammer do you? Same thing.

I quite agree. What I'm after is a bike that is suitable for road and also suitable for tow paths. So I suppose I'm looking for an endurance bike/tourer. Something that would have the option to fit wider tyres and have a compact chain set (50/34). So what are my options for say under £750?