Road Cycling - Settled on a bike, but now have tire questions

I tink I've finally settled on a '05 Trek 1000 (http://www.trekbikes.com/bikes/2004/road/1000.jsp) this afternoon as mt first road bike, but have a tire question.

The best trail in my area is Erie Canal [Ohio section] Towpath trail which is comprised of various crushed gravel, limestone, dirt, and even some paved sections. See photos at http://home.earthlink.net/~bikeohio/ohio-erietowpath.html and http://www.towpathmarathon.net/photos.htm.

What, if any, tire would best accommodate such a trail and be compatable with the Trek 1000?

Have you watched other road bikes negotiate the rougher sections?
If they aren't sliding and bouncing around maybe it'll be fine.
Narrow tires don't do well off paved road. Prob the biggest the 1000
will take is a 25c tire. Which isn't very big if the path is rough.

I have never ridden on the towpath, but I hear its very negotiable on a roadbike. A guy I work with has ridden the trip from Buffalo to Albany He said it was a good ride. I believe he is riding a Trek 1200 which also has 700x25 tires.

I also have 700x25 tires on my Trek 5000. When I can find the time to get to the towpath I'm definitely going to give it a shot. Sounds like a great place to do another century ride.

Ask the people at your local LBS what they think of the conditions on the path. They should have some idea.

Good Luck

just curious... did you consider a CX?

I have never ridden on the towpath, but I hear its very negotiable on a roadbike. A guy I work with has ridden the trip from Buffalo to Albany He said it was a good ride. I believe he is riding a Trek 1200 which also has 700x25 tires.

I also have 700x25 tires on my Trek 5000. When I can find the time to get to the towpath I'm definitely going to give it a shot. Sounds like a great place to do another century ride.

Ask the people at your local LBS what they think of the conditions on the path. They should have some idea.

Good Luck
Ooops! Sorry if I might be steering you wrong. I should have looked at the links in your post before I replied. I'm talking about the Eie Canal towpath in New York. Now that I looked at the links I see your taking about Ohio. Sorry.

Good Luck.

just curious... did you consider a CX?

Yes, but they were out of my price range.

Specialized armadillo tires. Easily one of the best pucture resistent tires on the market. I have 1500 miles on my current 700x23 set with zero flats and the other day while rotating tires I picked pieces of rock and glass from the tread that were embedded in the rubber but never made it through the casing. You can get them in a 25 and they're around $30/tire.

-mark

I've ridden on the Erie towpath when I was trying to bike from Cleveland to Akron. I say try because after the paved section ran out and turned into the crushed limestone hell, I bailed and took the streets instead. I was riding a road bike with smooth tread tires (Conti 2000 ultras). Anyway, have you thought of riding in the streets instead? I see no point in riding a roadbike on little bits of crushed rock. Hard-packed gravel? Wha? It's a road bike, get on the pavement or get a cross or mtb. bike.

....just another thing, if u ever plan to get that trek 1000 now, you're probably gonna have to get the 2005 model one : http://www.trekbikes.com/bikes/2005/road/1000.jsp

Stay on the road, that's what you bought a road bike for, non? Otherwise, you'll be puncturing tires left and right, complaining about that on this board, and you'll end up buying a mt. bike. or cross…

But since I probably can't convince you, and your dreams of racing you own Paris-Roubaix in your backyard, I'd definitely go for the Armadillo's in a 25 if they fit. Maybe even get some tire liners by Slime to keep the punctures at bay. Your legs will be made of steel after a few months of racing up and down that trail! Then buy a set of real light-racing wheels and tires and wipe out your competition at a local crit.

i hope those little pieces of rocks don't come flying up and take nice chips out of your brand new paint job…you sure you don't want to stay on the road? good luck.

The stock '05 Trek 1000 comes with 25s. I just punctured the tire, and I bought it last week. The Bontranger Selects are what came on it. I'm looking into different tires as well. I ride on only roads with mine. Picking up a flat on a state highway was a little bit of a surprise. I'm guessing a rock was the culprit. A guy at a bike shop showed me some Michelin carbon tires that they use for training. Apparently they're pretty good as far as puncture protection. I think they're just called Michelin Road Racing Carbon tires. They were called Axial Carbons. I have also heard that the Specialized Armadillos are about as puncture proof as you're going to get.

countryrider,

I just threw on a pair of the Michelin Carbons today and they ran very well. The price is less than a true racing tire, yet they aren't so "grippy" as other training tires. I noticed the others had more aggressive tire tread and heavier weights, not what I wanted for summer training rides. They do feel very strong, and were a pain in the a$$ to get on the rim (or else I'm getting weak).