Touring tyres on a road bike

Marc0_11

Hello there,

Thinking of doing the c2c next year on my road bike just wondering if I could put touring tyres on it to combat the odd cycle path? If so any recommendations?

Thanks

snoopsmydogg

would possibly depend on the size tyre your bike will accept. if your concerned about punctures etc then conti gatorskins get decent reviews

ugo.santalucia

The tyre you can fit depends on the clearance you have and the width of the rim... over 28 mm normally it becomes a problem.
Punctures are caused by sharp debris: glass, flint, metal shavings... you are probably more likely to find those on the road than on a path, as much debris comes from vehicles and pedestrians. I have never punctured when riding off road with road tyres and that included the trecherous cobbles of the north of France and Flanders.

As suggested, Conti gatorskin are indeed very good tyres and 25-28 mm ones at 90-95 PSI will give you enough comfort

jomoj

Marco - I've ridden the c2c twice, both times on conti gatorskin 28s and they've been fine, no p*s, no trouble. The roughest parts of the ride are section out of Keswick and the Waskerley Way from Parkhead station down to Consett, its gravel / stone tracks and some muddy sections depending on the weather. My mates were on 23s and 25s and had to be more cautious, although I was riding a cx bike so was a bit more tooled up for those sections - just have to watch it crossing some of the bridges along the Derwent way, the combo of mud, smooth surface and slick tyre can be interesting.

Regardless of specific tyre, if you can fit 28s then I would definitely recommend it

Marc0_11

Thanks for the advice..jomoj is it possible to get across exclusively on Tarmac or are cycle paths unavoidable?

jomoj

you could take some detours - we missed out the bit through Whinlatter forest for example, and a friend took a road detour to Consett but I think you'd be missing out on some of the good bits.

If you're doing it in 2 days with a stop in Alston then I can recommend the Alston House hotel - it's not the cheapest but the food and bar are great and owners are very friendly. We also stayed in the Victoria Inn which was basic but adequate, although the landlady is crackers.

Marc0_11

I am just weary of taking my road bike off road. Not sure it is suitable for it?

snoopsmydogg

what bike is it?

Marc0_11

Scott speedster s50

jomoj

my mates were riding, spec. allez, spec tarmac and cannondale caad9, I was on a kinesis cx pro 5. All the bikes survived muddy but intact. If you've got fancy wheels with about 3 spokes then you might want to consider something more robust but we didnt have any probs.

snoopsmydogg

Marc0_11 wrote:

Scott speedster s50

Should be fine with that but worth checking what size tyres you can fit before buying

bottom_bracket

I did the Whitehaven - Sunderland route last year and detoured around some of the paths. I punctured a Gatorskin (albeit only 23mm) on the footpath just after Keswick as it is pretty rough. I wouldn't attempt the c2c on a road bike again unless I could avoid all footpaths. Other than that it's a great ride with the excetion of Crawleyside bank which is a right tw*t. Good luck!