How far can I push a road bike off road?

ediths
ediths Posts: 4
edited August 2013 in Road buying advice
Apologies - there's 1,000s of "Best sub £1,000 bike" threads out there but my angle is slightly different.

I currently use a 6 year old Halfords aluminium road bike for day runs plus a bit of commuting. As well as roads, I use it on towpaths, smooth-ish bridleways etc too. It copes fine, though I know the routes well and can avoid the monster potholes and I value the turn of speed it offers over an MTB on the smoother surfaces. The components are starting to show their age though and I'm now looking for a sub £1,000 upgrade.

I'm keen to keep things as light and 'road like' as possible but don't want to destroy something too fragile! I'm not a brand snob, so open minded on make. Mudguard/rear pannier capability are important too.

My thoughts are to look down the CX line, e.g:

Cotic X - Like the idea of a locally built bike, spec levels seem a bit low though? Steel frame and full-on CX tyres - would it seem a bit heavy and overkill for my use?

Norco Threshold A2
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/nor ... e-ec041208

Pinnacle Arcose 3
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pin ... e-ec039563

Or, for a faster ride if durable enough:

Ribble Sportive 365 - Good spec but would I soon end up destroying the carbon frame?!

Specialized Secteur Sport
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... e-ec042263

Pinnacle Dolomite 5
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pin ... e-ec044213

All seem to have good reviews and their fans, but I'm trying to weigh up where the right balance is between 'towpath durability' vs.it feeling slow and heavy compared to a road bike.

Any experiences out there?

Many thanks,
Ian

Comments

  • 16mm
    16mm Posts: 545
    Off road worse than this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2se1m-XZRc ?
    Road bikes can usually take a lot, but avoid the top end racing ones. Many teams dispose regularly.

    You'll be OK, but I'd get a bike that can take 25 or 32 mm tyres.
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    ..far more than you think - provided the bike is well maintained and you're not using super-light parts, the rider will 'break' far earlier than the bike, purely down to discomfort or pain. The fact that you want to fit muguards plus the ability for light trail use e.g. 30mm plus tyres suggest you'll be better with a CX-type bikes. I'd also suggest a Planet-X Kaffenback - it pretty well started the road/CX revival, it handles way better than weight suggests and is tough as old boots. Despite what bike testers say, the biggest bearing on speed is the legs of the rider rather than the weight of the bike. I use a CX bike for winter training duties and the heavier tyres only knock a mile or two of my speed, which I'm prepared to live with rather than stopping for punctures.
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • overlord2
    overlord2 Posts: 339
    I have a Pinnacle xpede 0.0 for commuting.

    Its good for commuting but if I was to use for propper crossing then I would be doing some modifications to it (ie stem handlebars saddle) and the wheels that came with it were utter garbage that were replaced in the first year. Also it weighs a bloody ton its around 15kg
  • ediths
    ediths Posts: 4
    Helpful and reassuring pointers - thanks everyone.
  • markhewitt1978
    markhewitt1978 Posts: 7,614
    A CX will give you almost all of the on road performance (assuming you fit slicks) but with the ability to fit wider tyres to cope with the rough stuff. I think it will be ideal for what you are looking for.
  • passout
    passout Posts: 4,425
    You want something that can take wider tyres off road otherwise it will be uncomfortable & you'll be more likely to have punctures/ rim damage - a cross bike assuming you want drops. I'd get the Kinesis Tripster from Fatbirds or the Uncle John from Planet X myself. Revolution have the cheapest, decent, do it all cross bikes perhaps? Merida or Ridley cross bikes would be a more traditional cross bike option.

    A road bike would do it but they are designed for going fast on easy off road & with road tyres on are more or less as fast as road bikes. Seem perfect.
    'Happiness serves hardly any other purpose than to make unhappiness possible' Marcel Proust.
  • craker
    craker Posts: 1,739
    I took a shortcut on my road bike last week - 25mm conti gatorskins on a stony bridleway. The problem is the back wheel lost traction when the gradiant picked up a bit. I expect that equates to steering issues too. In summary, ride whatever bike you've got but get the right sort of tyres for the terrain.
  • junglist_matty
    junglist_matty Posts: 1,731
    I did an 8 mile loop on my road bike with slick tyres, that is 75% off road (ok, light off road, loose gravely track / man-made footpath type stuff), but still, I got a PR well over a minute better than my MTB PR.... My wheels lost loads of traction and it was very dodgy on corners, pretty good fun, but i wouldn't recommend it!!
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    Yep - cx sounds like the baby.
    Allows for wider tyres and if you're doing a long road event - swap to road tyres.
    I've wide Schalbe marathon tyres on mine. Bomb proof - which is what you want for commuting on.
  • MichaelW
    MichaelW Posts: 2,164
    My sport/touring/winter training road bike can take 32mm tyres + mudguards using long-drop caliper brakes; I find them to be more responsive and easier to setup than cantileveres.
    I have ridden loads of off-road including sections of the South Downs Way in the company of some newbie MTBers, I say 'in the company", really I mean, "i left them in my wake" Once you get a handle on rear wheel traction, a sensible road bike can turn any half-descent off-road into a fun technical challenge. Modern full-sus MTBs turn most UK technical riding into a walk in the park.
  • ediths
    ediths Posts: 4
    Thanks all for your views.

    In the end I decided to take the advice and go the CX route, eventually choosing the new BTWIN cyclo-x from Decathlon.

    Basically a more relaxed geometry frame 105 equipped road bike with chunkier tyres. Love it - light and responsive, easy to wind up the hills, still virtually 'feels' like a road bike.

    But it is soooooooo much more comfortable on the towpaths - great all round.

    Thanks again.
    Ian