Touring - Dirt Roads on Touring Bike?

Does anyone do any riding or touring on dirt roads with a touring bike?I have noticed some journals/reports of some who have.On my last trip I rode on several dirt levees which are basically packed dirt roads with occasional loose dirt/sand,small rocks or bumps.I would like to do future trips where I combined levees/paved roads and have a early/mid 80's Fuji Sport tourer (steel frame with 27x1 1/4"wheels).On this trip I was just using a 1 1/4" road tire which was adequate but noticed some slipping in sandy areas and some friction on rough areas.I also think I may have nocked the wheels more out of true than they started particularly the rear wheel.I'm assuming at a minimum I would want a 27x1 3/8" touring tire of some type but which one.Hopefully I can find one tire suitable for both dirt/paved as most trips will probably combine some of both.Does anyone have any recommendations on this?

I have done a decent amount of off-roading on my touring bike. Of course I ride an "Adventure Touring (http://www.rei.com/rei/gearshop/novara/1003_safari.pdf) " bike. I use 26x1.75 Continental Top Touring tires and these have worked quite well. I also ride mostly on the road, but with this setup I have done long firetrail, dirt roads, gravel trails etc. I even accidently ended up on some singletrack with loaded panniers and came out ok.

I would take a look at Specialized Nimbus armadillo tires. I have a set of 700x38 on my cyclocross bike I also use for light touring. These are one of the most durable tires I've ever used. I've had the same tires on my bike for almost two years and never had a flat riding a variety of terrain, including dirt roads and pavement. The tread is a perfect balance for pavement and dirt road. The tread is smooth, but the wider sizes have enough grooves for adaquet traction on dirt roads.

The only drawback with Nimbus tires is comfort, this is a very ridgid tread, but the wider sizes are comfortable enough. They're available in a variety of sizes. Check'em out. :)

When it comes to 27" tire selection, you're somewhat limited. Perhaps you can find wider tires regardless of tread design and hope for the best.

When it comes to 27" tire selection, you're somewhat limited. Perhaps you can find wider tires regardless of tread design and hope for the best.

I checked at one bike shop yesterday and they suggested a pyramid tire in a 1 3/8.It appeared to be a road tire though the pattern looks kind of like the conti tt and it was at a decent price(they are the home store for bike parts usa).Problem was they refused to answer questions it was sort of like this is what we recommend end of discussion just buy it.I got the impression it was just the best they had in stock but not necessarily the most suitable.Looks like the conti tt comes in a 27 1 1/4 and the armadillo apparently not in 27.I plan to check more shops and get more opinions.Thanks

Another tip: when you get onto the dirt part of the road, let out about 10 lbs. of air from the back tire. That should help give a bit more traction.
If your do this type of riding regularly, then invest in a wider tire with some knobbies (like the old cyclo cross tires).

Another tip: when you get onto the dirt part of the road, let out about 10 lbs. of air from the back tire. That should help give a bit more traction.
If your do this type of riding regularly, then invest in a wider tire with some knobbies (like the old cyclo cross tires).

Good tip (letting some air out). I do a lot of unpaved road touring but unfortunately I end up riding a lot of pavement to get there! I use Specialized Hemisphere EX Armadillos (26x1.95) and they seem to be a nice compromise. I did have a gigantic nail go through one so nothing's flat proof but they're good. In the New Mexico desert you get a lot of sandy roads but if I let out some air the tires are fine. See the attached picture.

Chuckie

Ckeck out the first three tires (27 x 1 3/8) on this link from Sheldon's website http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/tires/630.html
The first Club Roost Cross Terra is intriguing because it has road suitable tread on the insides and aggressive knobs on the outside edges and is apparently popular in 26" size on all terrain bikes for on/off road usage.The second Tioga Bloodhound is apparently a cyclocross tire probably mostly for offroad usage.The third is typical of an onroad tread in a 1 3/8 width.The other option would be a touring tire like Conti tt in a 1 1/4 width.
Is anyone familiar with the Cross Terra or have any opinion of which of these choices would be most suitable?Again I have a 27 x 1 1/4 steel touring bike and will be onroad at least 50-60% of the time and any off road will probably be dirt roads packed but with ocassional loose sand,small rocks or small bumps.

i've used tioga mongrel in 700x38 on my steel hybrid on dirt roads here in sw texas. smooth on the
rough sections, decent traction in sandy spots, good rolling on pavement. similar to the bloodhound
on the sheldon site. you might be able to get by with the michelin worldtour. i ran similar avocet
cross-k's in 700x35 on my very heavily loaded steel touring bike. excellent on pavement or gravel,
not so great in sand.

Thanks for the info.There is some info on the mongrel at this site http://www.bikepro.com/products/tires/tioga_mong_bhound.html
I was considering it a road tire similar to the third tire on Sheldon's site but based on your feedback it sounds like it might actually be a good choice.Only thing is when you hit pricing for the mongel on that site the list of available tires does not include it.And as I can't seem to find it listed online elsewhere through an internet search I wasn't sure if I could locate that tire.
I do think though whatever tire I get should be 1 3/8 vs. 1 1/4.

hmm...either mongrel is discontinued, or maybe only available in 700c?

I have put many miles on dirt/gravel trails on my 520 and it's handled really well. I've even ridden a fair amount of rooty singletrack and bumpy fireroads. It's just part of what a good touring bike is designed for. :)

Here's an example of a very long dirt road out in the middle of nowhere in Oregon...

http://img22.photobucket.com/albums/v66/gonesh9/tour/day1-98.jpg

[QUOTE=gonesh9]I have put many miles on dirt/gravel trails on my 520 and it's handled really well. I've even ridden a fair amount of rooty singletrack and bumpy fireroads. It's just part of what a good touring bike is designed for. :)

Actually your trip report back in May I believe is what convinced me I could take my touring bike offroad.I had previously ridden a cruiser type bike some offroad with pretty good results and the tioga mongrel tire above seems almost like a cruiser type tire in my wheel size if I can locate it.I assume you are using a touring tire in a fairly wide size and as they are only available in my wheel size fairly narrow I am now leaning towards a mongrel like tire or a dual purpose tire like the club roost cross terra but I'm a little concerned about its onroad performance.