Originally Posted by
mulveyr
Are you planning on riding the canal route? If so, being about three-quarters stone dust, either touring bikes or hybrids are highly recommended. People ride it with 28mm or smaller tires, but in my experience they generally don't enjoy it as much. :-)
I rode the Erie Canal on a carbon bike with 25mm tires. I've only done it that one time so I don't know what it would be like on wider tires, but it was a lot of fun on 25mm and if the tow path gets boring you can always get onto NY state bike route 5 which is mostly on Rt 31 and follows the canal path. Also you can camp for free at many of the locks on the canal.
I've done both. First time on my road bike with 23 mm tires. It was bone dry conditions, so it was fine. The second time was on a hybrid and there were muddy patches from summer downpours that would have made the road bike a tough time on the canal trail. A cyclecross type bike would be perfect for this trip.