bikenh

I'm WAY beyond ignorant in this scenario and I'm currently sitting in the worst possible location to have this bit of ignorance.

What are usable tires for rail trails, aka GAP/C&O? Any paved stretches makes anything usable but when it is crushed stone is it possible under dry conditions to get away with road tires, 700x25 Bontrager T2s, or are they not wide enough?

KC8QVO

I would recommend wider tires. I had 37's on my bike and changed them to 42's - continental tour ride tires. If you are going a long ways you may run in to varying trail conditions - and surely some less-than-ideal spots.

With a load the 42's i have are manageable, but I have to watch the pressure. Ive hit mud and loose gravel with them and was sure glad I had those and not my 37's, but still no fun to ride thru regardless.

If you get new tires - get a more off-road tread. That will help on the gravel. That is one reason I went with the tour ride's - perfect for that type of trail.

bikenh

Let me ask this question...

Is the GAP more loose crushed stone or packed dirt and stone?

Just a couple of weeks ago I was, unplanned on, on a dirt road, well packed and had no trouble riding on it at all. In a few spots I was a bit nervous thanks simply to no experience on that particular road and on riding in that kind of situation.

wahoonc

I would think 25's are going to be too narrow, especially if carrying any sort of load. My minimum tire size on a tour bike is 35 and I use that one on pavement only. Most of my bikes that get ridden on rails to trails run 40 or better.

Aaron

irwin7638

A couple of years ago I was on the Gap trail with a group and we noticed some areas of limestone had been filled with crushed shale. Shale is much more slippery than limestone and the effort to get through those sections was noticeable. I don't know if this is a one time thing or a trend to anticipate but there it was.
On the other hand, I have been shamelessly hawking Schwalbe Big Ben tires because I have started using them. The 50mm are as fast and easy as my 38mm Marthon Dureme and they have enough tread to get through anything but fine sand. They also come in 38mm and 54mm sizes but I they will get you there, without a lot of trouble.


Marc

fietsbob

Flanged one one side to stay on the rails?

AusTexMurf

Continental Travel Contacts 700X37's have performed flawlessly for me in the trail conditions encountered on the C&O, GAP, and nearly every other touring and commuting conditions in which I have ridden. Even decent in the frozen stuff compared to most non studded tires.

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The Globetrotter - built for the stresses of world tours....available in reflective sidewall & foldable options
The Travel Contact is the best choice for touring riders or commuters who ride on and off road and who’s priority requirement is puncture protection. This tyre features Continental puncture protection technology from bead to bead – tough Duraskin external fabric on the sidewall which protects the casing from sharp objects, and our polyamide/Kevlar belt under the tread.

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- See more at: Continental Cycle Tyres UK

Wanderer

Can it be done with 23s or 25s? Yes! But it might not be fun.

We used to do it with 27x1, and they would cut in pretty badly if it was soft. A 1" is similar to a 25.

35 or wider would be very advantageous.............. MHO

tarwheel 

I just rode the entire GAP- C&O trails last week with 32 mm Panaracer Pasela PTs, and they worked fine. I would have preferred 35 mm cross tires with tread but they wouldn't fit on my touring frame with fenders. I wouldn't want to ride either trail with tires smaller than 32s.

DCwom

The C&O is NOT a rail trail and does not have what most would consider a "rail-trail surface". We've used 32mm on the GAP and other rail-trails with crushed limestone type surfaces, and have never had a problem. From what I've heard from others the C&O would warrant a wider tire.

staehpj1

Slicks would be fine when it is dry. I'd probably prefer 28 mm or wider but it would be possible with 25 mm.

pdlamb

It really depends on the rail trail. On the C&O and a couple rail-trails I've been on, I'd go as wide as possible on a road or cross bike. 32 would be preferable to 28, and 25 might be pushing things too far, depending on trail conditions and weather.

OTOH, I know of one rail trail I'd like to try something like the Surly Moonlander on. I think they topped the rail ballast with more 2" rocks, so a 4" tire might be workable. (Funny, that was about the last bike trip I talked my wife into!)

tarwheel 

As others mentioned, the surface can be very different between the GAP and C&O Canal trails. The GAP is consistently surfaced with fine crushed limestone or other rock with very few sections with dirt or mud. The main issue that you might encounter on the GAP is loose gravel in spots where it is thicker. The only time that was a a problem for us was on the 20+ mile downhill stretch from the Continental Divide to Cumberland. In that section, the gravel was quite thick in spots along the lower side of the path, making traction somewhat sketchy at times. My bike fishtailed in one spot when I was passing some other cyclists where the gravel was thicker. My Pasela 32s generally performed excellent on the GAP. I personally wouldn't want to use a tire narrower than 32 on the GAP, but a cyclist familiar with riding on gravel might be comfortable on 28s.

The C&O Canal trail is quite variable in surface conditions, but generally speaking poorer than the GAP. In some locations, the surface is crushed gravel very similar to the GAP, but it can quickly change to conditions more like a dirt road or hiking path. The C&O trail also has a lot of low spots where water collects when it rains, and these spots can become quite muddy. We encountered very little rain on our week-long trip, but it had rained considerably the week before and many mud puddles remained on the trail. I would not want to ride the C&O with tires narrower than 32s, and some treads are desirable. My Paselas have a modest tread pattern and performed well most of the time on the C&O, but got a little slippery in the muddy spots. Nothing that I couldn't handle, but I had to be more cautious when riding through wet areas. I could have used 35 mm cross tires with treads on my touring bike, but would have had to remove my fenders to use them. I am glad that I kept the fenders because I (and my bike) would have become quite muddy riding on the C&O without them.

IMHO, the biggest hazard on the GAP and C&O are sticks that fall on the path from surrounding trees. It would be very easy to kick up a stick into your spokes or derailleur, causing serious damage. We saw a wheel in one of the nearby bike shops that had half of the spokes turn out at the rim from a stick that jammed in the wheel. At one point on the C&O, one of my riding companions told me to slow down because it looked like something was jammed in my rear wheel. When I stopped to look, there was a fairly large stick jammed in the spokes, fortunately in line with the wheel rotation so it didn't break anything. If that stock had jammed sideways, it would have destroyed my wheel, and we were very far from any towns at that particular spot.

NormanF

Yeah but then most people take a wide tire bike in those places. A 26" would be a preferred touring rig in 3rd World and rural locations.

If you going to stay in the city, 700C tires and tubes should be stocked practically anywhere. It depends on the nature of a proposed tour.

fietsbob

Gravel grinders are a new niche market. the C&O Tow path trail is Gravel right?

edthesped

Funny, I just went through the same agony. I've ridden sections of both the C&O and GAP with 28mm and 32mm tires and never had a problem but I always had the luxury of a SAG vehicle. I'm getting ready to solo the C&O and GAP next week and spent a little time re thinking my tires and ended up settling on a set of Kenda Happy Medium tires to which I'm still not sure it's the right decision but the deed is done. On the downside they won't be in until the day before I leave so I won't have time to think too hard about the decision.

Monoborracho

+1 for these. I did C&O/GAP with these and SGS fenders on a Trek 520 a few years ago. They worked fine.

motorapido

I rode the GAP/C&O solo June 19 to 24. There was much rain June 17 and 18 before my departure, more 19 and 20. The well-maintained GAP was easy riding. The C&O was pretty muddy in many areas, particularly from about 10 miles before Little orleans to about 15 miles past Little Orleans. That seems to be the most remote and rough, muddy area. I ride a vintage steel sports touring frame, cold set to accept a modern 700c wheel and hub. I can fit 38mm tire in back if I run a slick. But for this trip, I bought a Vittoria Randonneur trail for the back tire in 35mm (38 won't fit in the Trail model since the tread is wider than the stated 38mm measurement). I could not find a 32mm in that tire for the front, so I ran a 32mm Continental Contact II tire up front. Both tires rolled very nicely on paved surfaces and performed like champions through thick gravel and in mud and sandy patches. The earlier comment about thick gravel on the GAP on the ride down from the Continental Divide, from about Frostburg onward to the east for 10 miles or so is correct. On the C&O, at Hancock Maryland, you can take the Western Maryland Rail Trail for 10 smoothly paved miles of bike path, which runs parallel to the C&O, about 25 yards away. It runs next door to the bike shop. It is mile 10 at Hancock and you take it to Mile 1 and then get back on the C&O. It is a nice break from the rough C&O. You will be at about Mile 113 on the C&O when you are at Mile 1 of the Western MD trail. I was riding Pitts to DC, so I picked up this trail in Hancock and rode it 10 miles and rejoined the C&O at C&O mile 113. Make a note to take this butt-saving detour. The scenery is the same since you are just a stones-throw away from the C&O towpath the whole 10 miles.

Tourist in MSN

GAP and C&O are different trails, different material bases, different funding sources, etc. It is coincidence that they meet in one place. So, you should expect the trail surfaces of one to differ from the other. I thought that the C&O had a more firm base, the GAP I thought felt a bit slow and almost like I was riding on a sheet of rubber after several days of rain.

I rode both GAP and C&O in Spring of 2013. We were hauling camping gear. Of the three of us, one had 37mm tires, one had 47mm tires and I had 50mm tires. All three of us were happy with our tire selections.

JerrySTL

I just did the entire KATY Trail in Missouri a couple of weeks ago. It's crushed limestone. I used 700x32s at 65 psi. A buddy of mine was on 700x25s at 90 psi. He was getting beat up so bad that he'd get off the trail any time there was a parallel road. 700x28s would be the least that I'd consider if I was doing to be on such a trail for any distance over 20 miles.

indyfabz

+1. I did the GAP last September fully loaded on 32c Conti Contacts as part of a cross=PA tour. No problem, and I probably would not have wanted anything narrower or wider. But from all accounts, the C&O, which is a canal path, not a rail-trail, is an entirely different animal.

alan s 

Just put on 60mm Big Apples (26x2.35) for an upcoming trip from DC to PGH. Run them at 35-40 psi. I occasionally ride with 700x35 tires on my daily commute on the C&O, and certainly wouldn't want to ride 184.5 miles on them.

Hoping the tropical storm stays away. Rode a couple years ago during a hurricane and wouldn't want to try that again. The towpath was impassable, and had to take to the very hilly roads.

lanahk

I do a lot of KATY Trail riding, which is crushed limestone. What everyone else says here is good advice. The wider you can go, the better. 28s or 32s will make life much better, and if you can go wider, you'll enjoy it more.

If the trail is wet, wider tires don't sink in as much. And if the trail is baked, the wider tires will absorb the bumps of the irregular surface.

capejohn

I rode the GAP last week with 700x32 tires. They were fine.

BigAura

I would want to go with at least 32's. For me a wider tire means more comfort, not because of cushion but because it requires less concentration, and that for me means a more enjoyable riding experience.