Off-roading on a road bike?

dapperdan

My niece has a Claud Butler Sabina R1 road bike with 14mm width wheels (I think this is what 622 x 14 means?), like this one. She'd like to be able to take it round some gentle trails in the local wood.

Questions:
(a) Are there any knobbly tyres that will fit on those wheels? Gravel tyres don't seem to come smaller than about 34mm, which I believe would be pushing it?
(b) Would the frame stand up fine to that sort of riding?
(c) Are there any other potential problems to consider?

All advice welcomed!

maryka

The biggest issue she'll have on that bike is clearance for wider tires with those road brakes and a road frame. My road bike will only take about 28mm max width tires. You could try something like Gravel Kings https://road.cc/content/review/135369-panaracer-gravel-king-tyres but they aren't knobby and won't be much use if the trail gets wet or in loose gravel etc.

d00d4h

I have used Panaracer Gravel King SK tyres in 26mm on a road bike for some mild off-road. They are more knobbly than the Gravel Kings, while still being decent on the road.

dapperdan

I think clearance is ok for 28mm. The SKs look good but I haven't yet found anyone selling them narrower than 32mm. I'll keep searching but might end settling for the Gravel Kings.

Thanks everyone!

joe_totale-2

May also be worth trying these:

https://www.rutlandcycling.com/components/tyres/specialized-roubaix-pro-700x2528-tyre_457668

The 25/28 mean that they fit like a 25 which is good for the narrow rims but give a contact patch like a 28. If your niece is only doing gentle trails in the dry they should be fine.

I've only had bad experiences with the slick Gravelkings, punctures galore.

dapperdan

Thanks Joe, good to know.

veronese68

joe_totale-2 said:

I've only had bad experiences with the slick Gravelkings, punctures galore.

Not just me then, the reviews rave about them but I have had no end of trouble.

andyrac

d00d4h said:

I have used Panaracer Gravel King SK tyres in 26mm on a road bike for some mild off-road. They are more knobbly than the Gravel Kings, while still being decent on the road.

Yes, I've used these 26mm tyres on a rim braked Domane, and I really liked them, especially on the local NCN off road trail.

Schwalbe do a 30mm CX Pro, if you can fit them, and for wetter/muddier conditions.

roger_merriman

veronese68 said:

joe_totale-2 said:

I've only had bad experiences with the slick Gravelkings, punctures galore.

Not just me then, the reviews rave about them but I have had no end of trouble.

Even the knobby ones are on the lighter end of the scale, and thus can be a bit puncture prone, I’ve ripped out the sidewall at least a few times, hence moving to a more robust tyre.

jonathanuk

Just be aware that a pure road bike won't have the hardware designed to cope with a bumpy surface, particularly the headset. I had to have my headset bearings replaced as they quickly wore out going on the local trails (not silly big drop-offs etc, just gentle stuff). There's also the vibration factor on the wrists and arms which could make things a bit uncomfortable, a pair of MTB gloves and maybe wrist supports can help.

If the surface is just smooth hardcore then it should be fine. It may be tempting to ride quickly but taking things a bit more steady should help reduce the stress on components, and lower the tyre pressure slightly to about 60 - 70psi.

webboo

I rode the 3 peaks cyclocross on a road bike in the early 1980’s. A Carlton pro-am it had 531 standard tubes. I rode it with tyres and tubes and in those days the widest clincher knobblies were about 23m. Probably had about 90 psi as we didn’t know about low pressure and grip back then.