Road bike on a canal path?

[bloominslow]

Hello guys i would like to know your thoughts on the following

I currently have Boardman Road Race Bike 2011 and have spent many hours on the roads of west yorkshire on it and it rides well. I have just moved to an area that is extreamly close to the leeds liverpool canal and i was thinking of taking it on there. is this a good idea? or just stupid?

thoughts please.

 

[Pennine-Paul]

Some parts of the towpath are nice and smooth,
Other parts less so,Had 3 snakebite punctures yesterday,
touring tyres would be a better bet than 23mm I had

 

[Banjo]

The bike will do it but its not ideal if its a rough surface uncomfortable ride and not good grip with road tyres. Good excuse to buy a hybrid,mtb or cyclocross bike to add to the collection.

 

[MarkF]

Not suitable IMO, only perhaps if you want to cycle the same short smooth strip every time. It's wildly variable, I don't even like using my hybrid with 32 M+'s tbh. I go on long rides along it several times a week, Skipton to Silsden is a no--no, Silsden to Shipley is fine, Shipley to Apperley Bridge is variable and Apperley Bridge to Rodley has some very rough parts.

PS Your chain will get covered in dust & grit and act like grinding paste, very quickly. I bought an old GT steel mountain bike, fitted some narrower tyres and £4 Asda mudguards, that's my towpath bike.

 

[CopperCyclist]

I've taken my Boardman Cyclocross onto a canal path, and in stretches felt a little unsafe even on that. It's the combination of the speed you can get up to, combined with the gravelly path, and the fact that you *know* if you lose it, you are ending up in a canal that puts me off!

Yes I know I could go slower, but that defeats the purpose of getting on the bike for me. I'd rather stay on the roads and not worry about it. If you aren't as worried about taking things leisurely, then certainly the path I could take wouldn't be a problem even for a road bike.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I don't know the Leeds-Liverpool canal towpath (well, apart from a very small stretch in Leeds) so I don't know about the surface but I've done a bit of towpath riding dahn sarf on a road bike with slicks. If you're not worried about speed, a road bike ridden ''lightly'' (I guess I mean not sitting heavily on the saddle when there are cobblestones ahead, that sort of thing) should be fine. Any hint of rain, however, and I wouldn't trust the Vittoria Zaffiros tyres that I believe are standard on the Boardman road race. If the surface is packed gravel and it's dry then you'll need to keep your chain clean and well-lubed or the dust will grind your chain to pieces.

 

[bloominslow]

Guys this is great thanks for the advice! i was never gonna zip along there just a bit of a chill out ride with it being so close. ill nip in my local shop soon and check out some better tyers! the things i was concerned about more was like the forks or tyers breaking! but i spose its only cobbles at the most and if it take it easy over them i should be fine

 

[DCLane]

You want to find the following thread and wiggydiggy's the rider:

http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/manchester-to-leeds-80miles-4-canals-and-no-beer.97535/

 

[MarkF]

Guys this is great thanks for the advice! i was never gonna zip along there just a bit of a chill out ride with it being so close. ill nip in my local shop soon and check out some better tyers! the things i was concerned about more was like the forks or tyers breaking! but i spose its only cobbles at the most and if it take it easy over them i should be fine

Tyres are not cheap, my towpath bike cost £50, I invested £30 (tyres, chain & guards) and it's done 2 years and will do many more.

Cobbles are relatively easy and stable to navigate, but there are sections far rougher than cobbles, sharp embedded stone/gravel with no flat route through, these sections can last for many minutes. Right now is the best and worst of times, it's dry so many parts (Skipton to Leeds) are flat and stable, but, your chain will be covered in grit within minutes. Sure, I'd use a Boardman 2011 race bike if neccessary, a short trip, but if you want to enjoy the towpath regularly then you will wreck your bike very quickly regardless of what tyres you fit.

 

[wiggydiggy]

Hello guys i would like to know your thoughts on the following

I currently have Boardman Road Race Bike 2011 and have spent many hours on the roads of west yorkshire on it and it rides well. I have just moved to an area that is extreamly close to the leeds liverpool canal and i was thinking of taking it on there. is this a good idea? or just stupid?

thoughts please.

You want to find the following thread and wiggydiggy's the rider:

http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/manchester-to-leeds-80miles-4-canals-and-no-beer.97535/

Hey

I'm a pretty big fan of towpath routes, mainly as I like canals but thats just me

For you, how heavy are you? At 16stone with my 28c's I thought they were fine if treated with respect ie slower on the rough stuff but I did find my rear bottoming out a few times on a particular deep holes. I've just changed up to 32c and when I looked at the old 28c rear it was very worn for a 500mile tyre. That might have been bad 'stock' tyres though but TBH I'm glad I made the swap.

As for the canal, where are you roughly? Heading towards Leeds from Skipton its muddy banks until NCN69 joins the towpath a mile or two past Silsden. From their its always rough gravel at worst to fully tarmacked, but still on a road bike especially that one with 23c's......

As someone mentioned you may be better just getting a new bike, due to space issues I have to only have 1 bike (and money lol!) but if I had the choice I'd be on a hardtail for the canals and my hybrid for everything else.

Hope that helps!

 

[steveindenmark]

If you can change your tyres to 25 or 28 there is no reason why not but 23s are way too thin for comfort.

Steve

 

[Bman]

 

[Paul_L]

Living in Shipley and commuting down the LLC to Leeds city centre twice a week i know this section very well.

I would say there are only a few sections which are suitable for a road bike.

Heading out of Leeds you have a fairly smooth track upto Kirkstall marina. In dry conditions this is quite gritty and dusty and would ruin a chain. In wet conditions you'd be slipping all over the place without at least 28s fitted. There are also some rough-ish patches on this section, including some cobbles, stone etc.

From Kirkstall marina to Kirkstall Morrisons you have a couple of miles of smooth tarmac for which a road bike would be fine.

From Kirkstall Morrisons to Rodley again this is mainly smooth track, but not as easy going as the city centre section particularly around The Abbey pub turn off which is quite rough and can be very wet.

Rodley to Apperley Bridge is completely unsuitable for a road bike. Lots of sections of rough stone that are a pain in the arse to ride on on a any bike (i'm on a cyclo cross bike with 35s).

Apperley Bridge to Shipley is ok when dry but this is not as well draining as the city centre section so tends to be pretty sticky a lot of the time even in summer. The exception to this is the section around Esholt which is quite rough.

Shipley to Saltaire is fine. Not tarmacked but a good smooth surface.

My advise would be to keep a road bike off the canal. It's not what it's made for. Get a hydrid, a hardtail or a cross bike.

 

[steveindenmark]

No 23c`s on that bike Bongman

Steve

 

[the_mikey]

I'm glad I just read this, I was almost planning cycling to Shipley from Kirkstall via the towpath this weekend, but I'll give it a miss now.