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Cannondale RT2 - Cross bike capable?

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Cannondale RT2 - Cross bike capable?

Old 01-19-10, 11:07 PM
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Cannondale RT2 - Cross bike capable?

My wife and I are considering a c'dale rt2 and were wondering if anyone has tried putting cross tires on and riding off road? We have some nice fireroad climbs in my area that I would definitely want to give a go on a tandem. Since the bike has v'brakes and/or disc brakes I'm guessing that a wider cross tire should be no problem. We are a pretty light couple - 310 lbs total so i'm guessing the frame should be able to handle a little offroad use.

Thanks!
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Old 01-20-10, 08:40 AM
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We put 38 tires on ours and use it on fire trails and unpaved bike paths. No problems so far. It probably can take even wider tires since there is a lot of clearance.
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Old 01-20-10, 05:03 PM
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Should work . . .
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Old 01-20-10, 05:29 PM
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Should be ok on hard packed surfaces, but if you want to ride on soft surfaces (eg loose gravel roads) you will need something with mountain bike wheels and tyres.
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Old 01-27-10, 10:02 PM
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The cross tires will go through a lot, but they can cut, puncture, and pinch-flat on the rocks and gravel. The faster we go, the more tire problems we get. So, I would say it depends on your riding style and the terrain. If it works well on a single bike with cross tires, it won't be that much different on a tandem.

Would 29" MTB tires fit on the Cannondale? Just a thought.

The frame will take a lot of beating. But road bike gearing is too high for our off-road riding.

We recently bought a tandem with 26" wheels so we can switch between road wheels and MTB wheels.
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Old 01-28-10, 04:43 PM
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Some friends were using their Cannondale 700c road tandem for cross racing, but decided they needed bigger tires. if you do a search, you may find a Youtube link on this forum.

Since they were using disc brakes front and rear, on my suggestion they converted to 26" mtb wheels/tires. They were able to fit a 1.8 in the rear, and slightly bigger in the front.

The BB's were a little lower, but they said it was not a problem.
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