Old 03-02-11, 06:16 PM
  #13  
alanknm
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Toronto
Posts: 707

Bikes: Specialized SL2 Roubaix Comp

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
It all depends on what you feel you would be comfortable with and what you want to carry.

Some folks like to carry a huge amount of stuff (support wagon/truck or not) with handlebar bags, panniers, kitchen sink etc. Check your owners manual for the maximum weight limits on the frame. That includes cargo (like a seatbag etc.) and yourself. Some people also like to have fenders etc.. Most road bikes won't let you mount that sort of stuff.

My own bike for example has a cargo weight limit of 5 pounds (Specialized Roubaix) and that's for a seatbag only. I've got a very small seatbag that has 1 spare tube, a CO2 inflater, a multitool and some tire levers and that weighs about 3 pounds. Aside from water bottles, full carbon road bikes aren't meant to carry stuff, period.

Some road bikes with an alloy frame and a carbon front fork will allow you to mount stuff on the bike.

The GWTA folks don't recommend two things in their FAQ. http://www.waterfronttrail.org/gwta_...Whatkindofbike
Don't ride with knobby mountain bike tires (you'll be dead on your feet at the end of day so put on slicks instead) and "Lightweight, narrow tires that can be pumped to a very high pressure are not suitable" ( 700c x 23 road bike tires pumped at 120+ psi will be sliced to ribbons on some sections).

My guess is that you could survive on 700c x 25 or 700c x 28 on a road bike as long as they were something like Specialized Armadillos or Continental Gatorskins.
alanknm is offline