Riding a road bike on a bike trail?
02-17-10, 10:23 AM
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Riding a road bike on a bike trail?
Hi, I have a 'not too old' 2002 Giant entry level road bike and thinking to ride it casually with my family on a bike trail during the summer. Reason why I say this because I don't have another bike such as a hybrid to go on trail. Am I misusing my road bike? Do you think I am a bit too crazy for using a road bike on a paved bike trail?
02-17-10, 10:26 AM
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Plenty of people do it.
Just don't expect to be riding road speeds on the trail.
Just don't expect to be riding road speeds on the trail.
02-17-10, 11:29 AM
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you'll be fine. funny post though
02-17-10, 04:08 PM
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It might make a difference if you are riding a road bike with very narrow tires and the trail has a gravel surface. Once or twice I've dumped a two-wheeled recumbent with narrow tires on gravel trails. It's a pain to switch tires back and forth but you could get a spare set of wider tires to fit your rims when you do gravel trails. You can get a cheap set from places like Nashbar. Changing tires beats picking gravel out of your skin.
02-17-10, 04:12 PM
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Depending on the trail's surface (packed dirt, wood chips, gravel, etc) you may want or need to change the tires to something fatter.
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The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. - Psalm 103:8
I am a cyclist. I am not the fastest or the fittest. But I will get to where I'm going with a smile on my face.
02-17-10, 04:18 PM
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Our bike club did some rides last year, with about 10 km on unpaved roads, and a couple of people were on road bikes with 23 mm tires without problem (less than 15 mph). It would be easier with 25 or 28 mm tires.
02-17-10, 04:23 PM
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As long as you don't crank it up to road speeds and cause problems for the slow riders and the surface works for your tires I say enjoy yourself.
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02-17-10, 08:40 PM
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Keep the gear low and the cadence high.
02-19-10, 01:24 AM
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02-21-10, 02:54 PM
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I have noticed there is a BIG difference in bike trails around the country. Here locally, in the summer time, you really can't ride over 12 or 14 mph on the trail due to a curvy trail with lots of pedestrians. But I see pictures from elsewhere of bike trails that look like little highways. Anyway, if the bike is comfortable for you to ride at whatever the appropriate speed is on that trail, go for it; nobody's going to care what bike you're on, really.
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02-21-10, 08:04 PM
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Glad somebody mentioned this. We have a nice riverside bike path here, runs 10 miles or so from downtown out into the desert, used by everybody from old people with walkers to parents with strollers. A bunch of wannabe racers from one of the local clubs have terrorized the thing for years, blasting down the 8-foot path at 25mph, making a game out of seeing how close they can come to the pedestrians (literally--they brag about "brushing that guy's shoulder"). The cops aren't very interested. If you want to go faster than about 10mph, you don't belong on the path.
02-22-10, 10:08 AM
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Glad to hear y'all about this. However I will use regular shoes on my clipless pedals because I realized there could bea lot of traffic there and I might need to put my feet on the ground quite often.
