Thin tyres on rough trails

[jimboalee]

To end the debate on width of tyres for canal tow paths and cycle trails.

Jimbo took his Dawes Giro with 23mm UltraGatorskins at 110 psi the whole length of the Camel trail from Padstow to Bodmin ( and back ).

No problems whatsoever.

Averaged 12 mph for the return trip.

I hate taking my bikes on crushed limestone, pot-holed paths as the rear end gets covered in white limestone dust and it knackers chains, but what the hey, chains are only £20...

 

[MacB]

yep, that ends the debate for all those that share the same genetic, balls of steel, makeup as Jimbo.

For the sub superhumans amongst us wider tyres make a nice difference

 

[youngoldbloke]

yep, that ends the debate for all those that share the same genetic, balls of steel, makeup as Jimbo.

For the sub superhumans amongst us wider tyres make a nice difference

Oh - Come on now! As I have posted before - there was a time - not that far distant - when a bike was a bike and you rode that bike everywhere, road, track, field, canal path, canal ...... with more or less the same tyres - mine were racy 27x11/4. We knew no better, there was no alternative. On the other hand, perhaps we - of the cod liver oil, orange juice, malt extract, free school milk generation - are really superhuman after all?

 

[Crankarm]

To end the debate on width of tyres for canal tow paths and cycle trails.

Jimbo took his Dawes Giro with 23mm UltraGatorskins at 110 psi the whole length of the Camel trail from Padstow to Bodmin ( and back ).

No problems whatsoever.

Averaged 12 mph for the return trip.

I hate taking my bikes on crushed limestone, pot-holed paths as the rear end gets covered in white limestone dust and it knackers chains, but what the hey, chains are only £20...

I rode part of the Jurassic way adjacent to Fineshades NT a couple of sundays ago on 23C Vitorria Rubino Pros. A short cut to avoid a fast main road. It's a forest trail/road with white dust/mud which was dry. No problems what so ever. The wheels and frame was covered in a fine layer of white dust and no doubt the freshly lubed transmission and new Dura Ace chain.

 

[MacB]

Oh - Come on now! As I have posted before - there was a time - not that far distant - when a bike was a bike and you rode that bike everywhere, road, track, field, canal path, canal ...... with more or less the same tyres - mine were racy 27x11/4. We knew no better, there was no alternative. On the other hand, perhaps we - of the cod liver oil, orange juice, malt extract, free school milk generation - are really superhuman after all?

???? Calm down, this is the beginners section, a bit of balance is useful. At what point in history did bicycle development stop for you? Pneumatic tyres ok or do you feel that's too much of a luxury? You can ride any bike on any surface, that's not what this section is about. Getting help over what's right for you is the point. There are no absolutes and people have to sort through the minefield of conflicting information that abounds. They also have to be aware that their own needs/capabilities may alter with time as well.

 

[chillyuk]

Oh - Come on now! As I have posted before - there was a time - not that far distant - when a bike was a bike and you rode that bike everywhere, road, track, field, canal path, canal ...... with more or less the same tyres - mine were racy 27x11/4. We knew no better, there was no alternative. On the other hand, perhaps we - of the cod liver oil, orange juice, malt extract, free school milk generation - are really superhuman after all?

Luddite!!

Are you not aware that if you ride a bike that isn't specifically "engineered" for the job and costing at least £1000, plus an equal amount for designer clothing, then you are not a real cyclist.

 

[rich p]

There's a whole range of difference between what can be done and what most people choose to do. I can ride my carbon on skinny wheels on rough ground but it's not comfortable whereas it is on my 37 clad Galaxy.
I can tour on a mountain bike but the tourer does a better job and so on..

...rule1 - Don't be prescriptive

rule2 - Never trust a person who talks about himself in the 3rd person.

 

[jimboalee]

The point of my message was...

If there comes a point where traversing a rough path is necessary ( through choice in my situation ), 23mm tyres should not suffer any undue P*******s due to the rough terrain.

I was riding on a Brooks B17 , which gave me an uneasy thump on a couple of occasions.

TBH, there's a section of the B4100 that is rougher than the Camel Trail....

 

[youngoldbloke]

NB the in my post - I think it means 'wink' ........ I - in the first person (what's that all about?) - have just returned from a ride, and some of the lanes in W. Wiltshire are far, far worse than the canal and cycle tracks in this part of the country. I am sure these 'roads' would be much more comfortable on fat tyres but what can you do? The quality of road surface is so variable you just have to make your choice of bike and put up with it - and I prefer a road bike with 23c tyres so that I can really appreciate the smoother stretches. Seriously though I do wonder whether the marketeers have triumphed in persuading us that the whole business is so highly technical and specialized we need 3 or 4 bikes with different tyres to cope, and some beginners are actually put off by this. I was simply pointing out (with tongue firmly embedded in cheek) that there was a time when you had to make do with what was available - there was no real choice. And ... i certainly was not being prescriptive.

 

[HJ]

To end the debate on width of tyres for canal tow paths and cycle trails.

Jimbo took his Dawes Giro with 23mm UltraGatorskins at 110 psi the whole length of the Camel trail from Padstow to Bodmin ( and back ).

No problems whatsoever.

Averaged 12 mph for the return trip.

I have been saying that for years...

 

[Svendo]

While exploring yesterday took the road bike (23mm michelin pro3 race, 110ish PSI) down this path: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en...=Nqtn3aTWzA6SSvWs2olReQ&cbp=12,335.36,,1,4.89 across the ford over the river and along the path on the other side to Black House Lane. Some portage where there were steps and through the river, but wet feet were a blessed relief in what I fear was our all too brief summer. Which seems to have ended now.

 

[dav1d]

I have rode my Peugeot with thin tyres on all types of surfaces (though they are puncture protection ones), wasn't comfortable, but it didn't cause any problems. The same with my Apollo mountain bike - which has slick tyres, that was also fine. And years ago, my dad and my brothers and sister rode road bikes over tough canal towpaths, all the bikes survived.

 

[jimboalee]

The Camel Trail isn't rough terrain.

http://www.umtri.umich.edu/divisionPage.php?pageID=62

Here's a link to the people who have determined 'road roughness'. Their findings and recommendations have been adopted by the world's vehicular transport industry as standard.

For a bonus 10 points, tell me where the photo was taken.


PS The Camel Trail surface is neither tarmacadam or concrete, so it's 'rough'.

 

[Rewind]

Totally agree with Youngoldbloke and realised immediately it was a "tongue in cheek" message! As one also from the generation of free school milk etc. I remember when one bike did everything, it had to, it was all I could afford (in fact I cobbled it together from an old frame and bits and pieces scrounged from all over the place). Now, I have a Trek Madone 5.2 road bike and a Trek MTB. I have, on occasion taken the Madone across some very rough desert tracks in Bahrain, it is possible, it just means you have to ride very slowly and carefully which sort of misses the point of a road bike.

I too have wondered whether the marketing people have persuaded us that we need highly specialised bikes for the various types of riding. Having said all that, I rode an old, steel framed Peugeot road bike from 1983 to 2005 whan I changed to the carbon framed Madone, what a difference, I would not want to go back to the Peugeot now! Being a bit of a technophile I do enjoy the fact that there is so much choice nowadays, that's if we have the money to indulge ourselves........ If not, get whatever you can afford that suits your type of riding and get out there and enjoy it! Just be realistic, don't even think about spending hundreds on carbon components to lose a few grams when you could probably lose 5kg just by eating more sensibly or missing out on the odd pint ot two.

Best regards,

Rewind

 

[jimboalee]

That's not what you meant. The Camel Trail is not rough terrain.

Neither is the Manchester Velodrome, which would also meet your definition.

It's a better surface than a lot of roads you could choose to ride on.

We're living in different worlds.

My interpretations come from years in the Motor industry as a Drivability, Performance and Economy test driver.
There is a scale of surface roughness to score a vehicle's NVH ( Noise Vibration and harshness ) from black-ice to railway sleepers bolted to the road ( High Input Structural Test, HIST ).

My description of the Camel trail's surface as 'Rough' is 1/ because it is not tarmacadam or concrete, and 2/ to be consistant with internationally recognised standards on roadway roughness.

An everyday cyclist who rides MTB over 'rough terrian' ( in the urban myth, off-roadie cyclist translation of the phrase ) might describe the Camel Trail's limestone chip and 1" potholes as smooth.

BTW, the Manchester velodrome is not a roadway or cycle trail. It's a "SPORTS ARENA"