Question re: National Cycle Route

spruce86
spruce86 Posts: 21
edited February 2011 in Tour & expedition
I'm not a very experience cyclist and recently bought a Carrera Gryphon from Halfords. It was advertised as a hybrid but seems very much like a road bike with flat handle bars. I'm looking to ride long distances over the National Cycle Network and I was wondering will this bike survive or do I need to amend it. Sustrans advise hybrid or touring bikes, will the Gryphon be suitable or should I adapt it; if so - how?

Kind regards

Comments

  • andymiller
    andymiller Posts: 2,856
    It might be an idea to give some more information about the bike - eg what are the frame and forks made out of? how wide are the tyres? what gears have you got?

    In general the NCN is made up of either tarmac roads or cycle paths or aggregate cycle paths/canal towpaths. If you have a bike with (say) 25mm tyres you should be fine. Occasionally there are stretches of bridleway (eg the Ridgeway near Avebury) where you'd be better off with wider tyres.
    Italy Cycling Guide
  • swagman
    swagman Posts: 115
    It is a road bike as i have one and converted it to drops for the tarmac. You should be able to fit 28mm tyres on to it like Scwalbe Marathons just and it will do the job though not as comfortable as a bike with wider tyres.The main problem when riders carry baggage and extra weight is spoke breakages on the rear wheel. So you might want a stronger wheel or get the current one tensioned by a wheel builder.
  • Jay dubbleU
    Jay dubbleU Posts: 3,159
    I use 700 x 28 Marathons on Sustrans routes without too much of a problem although I do have a sus front fork. Depends on the surface - most of the routes are old railway tracks which are OK although you do get some rough sections. Should be OK unless you're carrying a lot of weight

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