What kind of bike would you need for tow path riding

[dansenior]

Hi, ive got a touring bike with 32c tyres, and mudguards, and wanting to know if theres a reason for not riding on tow paths, would i be liable to get many chip marks from flying stones, or punctures, the tyres are only michelin world tour, i know i should take a spare innertube and possibly even spare tyre.

Will the bike hold up well enough on the tow path or would it cause excessive wear and tear, its a steel frame reynolds 531.

 

[Gerry Attrick]

Flippin' 'eck. I used to ride towpaths on ancient bikes made out of old scaffold tube and with 27 x 1/4 tyres. You are riding a Rolls Royce in comparison.

My current tourer is Reynolds 631 and on 32's. I would have no hesitation using it on towpaths.

 

[TheDoctor]

I'd use it without hesitation.
531 frames are pretty tough, and 32mm tyres should cope fine. If you're off on a long tour, I'd fit new tyres before you set off. Maybe something a bit better than world tour, which are a bit cheap and cheerful.

 

[Darryl]

Just completed a couple of days on a Specialised TriCross with no modifications and no problems.

 

[RedBike]

It all depends on the state of the path(s) in question.
The bikes ideal provided the paths are in reasonable condition. If the paths muddy then you might need to make a few modifications

Fitting a set of aggresively tread cyclo-x tyres and moving your mud-guards as far as possilble away from the wheels as possible (or removing them) to prevent them clogging with mud.

 

[palinurus]

Hi, ive got a touring bike with 32c tyres, and mudguards.

That'll be fine unless there's loads of deep, sticky mud.

 

[MarkF]

I ride towpaths every day on a Dawes Discovery 501 but "towpath" can mean many things. Mine consists of mud, undulating tarmac, severe grass slopes, packed earth and flint-like, sharp, teeth rattling sections. The latter were (I think) to blame for a run of punctures, I use marathon plus's now and would not ride this towpath with standard tyres again.

I recently sold a Horizon 531 tourer, a lovely bike that coped just as well as the Discovery, that had 32's, but again, they were marathon plus's.

 

[JackE]

Mark just beat me to it although I was going to suggest "standard" Marathon's. I ride frequently on our local, fairly rough towpath and have never had a puncture.

 

[addictfreak]

Well it depends, if your going to limit yourself to tow paths or if you may grow to enjoy and branch out. I would say get a Hybrid, fast on the road if needed but also capable of some of the rough stuff.

 

[HJ]

Hi, ive got a touring bike with 32c tyres, and mudguards, and wanting to know if theres a reason for not riding on tow paths, would i be liable to get many chip marks from flying stones, or punctures, the tyres are only michelin world tour, i know i should take a spare innertube and possibly even spare tyre.

Will the bike hold up well enough on the tow path or would it cause excessive wear and tear, its a steel frame reynolds 531.

Can't see why it would be a problem, I have managed perfectly well on 25mm Conti GatorSkins, just make sure that your tyres are well pumped up...

 

[Andy in Sig]

I think you'll find your bike is also good enough for woodland trails etc. In fact it'll do for anything except seriously bumpy off road mountain bike stuff.