Originally Posted by
gary10509
My wife and I are planning our first tour for next June. Pittsburgh to Cumberland on the GAP trail. I'm in the process of equipping our bikes for the trip. We currently have 700x28 tires on the bikes we would use. Wide enough? I really don't want to spring for 4 new tires if it's not necessary. I'm sure wider would be better - we have the clearance - but if the improvement is only very slight, then I might hold off until we determine if this is something that we're going to do on a regular basis. On the other hand, if 28's are going to be a major pain, then I'd spring for something wider so that we don't come away with a bad experience.
Any thoughts appreciated.
I rode it a few years back carrying my food, hammock camping set up, etc. on a cyclocross bike with 700x30mm cyclocross tires on it. It was dry and I rolled along fine. I talked to a few guys and they said C&O was rideable with those tires but if it rained I might want some thing else. I have heard that this past year of rain has been rough on/ in many sections. i have ridden the same cyclocross bike on the new river trail in VA and it was rough. The rocks were bigger and my body felt beat up after the ride. It was one of the toughest I had ever done. (constant jarring and correction necessary) the GAP was smooth by comparison.