Originally Posted by
777funk
Can I ride a road bike on the small gravel you see on the old train track bike trails with the right tires? I wouldn't think the smooth 27x1 1/4 road tires would do great... but then again, it's usually a pretty straight line ride. I have close to zero road bike experience. I have one road bike with tires that look like skinny mountain bike tires. I haven't ridden it enough to know much about how those would do. Any thoughts on this setup?
Depends on what you mean by "small gravel" I suppose.
Here in Illinois at least, the rail trails are hardpacked FA-6 gradation limestone screenings. Closeup, it resembles very small gravel. But it packs hard and makes for a very hard and smooth surface for road bikes. I've ridden countless miles on them, ever since about age 12 or so, first with 27x1-1/4 tires and now 700x25C tires on regular drop-bar road bikes. Nothing special about reach or top tube length. Same bikes I ride on the road.