C&O: Gravel bike, XC Mountain Bike, or Cyclocross bike?

[Tania]

To push you in the n+1 direction, the new 2017 Kona Rove ST is pretty sweet. The price has come down from last year, they upgraded the brakes (hayes to spyres), set it up tubeless and I believe put flared handlebars on it (which, coincidentally, are the exact upgrades I made to my 2016 version).

Doesn’t list max tire clearance but I’m pretty sure it can handle 40’s.

[EasyRider]

I would suggest trying just a short section of the towpath with your CAAD10 and 25mm tires, if you haven’t already. In particular, the 1 mile stretch between Chain Bridge and Fletcher’s Cove. This section is easy to incorporate into the Arlington Loop, it’s a short distance, and the scenery is nice. If you find it’s just not doable on 25mm tires, you can switch over to the paved CCT at Fletcher’s. If you’re digging it, keep going into Georgetown, another 4-5 miles.

I’ve found that if I’m riding on 32mm tires and smaller on the towpath, keeping my speed up keeps me more comfortable. That’s because my legs are supporting my weight, instead of my hands and rear end. If I’m on fatter tires, I can go slower because they soak up the bumps better.

If pedaling miles and miles up and down the towpath and similar surfaces, I’d want at least 32mm tires, and wouldn’t sweat labels like “cross” or “gravel”.

[dkel]

28s or even 25s may work on the C&O for local trips, but if you are going the distance out there, things can get very messy, and you’ll want serious mud tires. I understand that at certain times of year, depending on weather trends, the whole ride to Harper’s Ferry can be quite pleasant, but at other times, when weather patterns have trended toward rain, that path is an absolute swamp, complete with swarms of mosquitos. Admittedly, that happens pretty far out from the DC area.

[Jason]

@hozn 145581 wrote:

Just to follow up on the idea of 28mm tires, it looks like from this thread http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=104735 that maybe pre-2013 versions of the CAAD10 may not have clearance for 28mm. (But it sounds like there are several reports of people running 28mm tires on the more recent CAAD10 frames, which suggests that if you also have a newer frame it might be simply a matter of finding a set of calipers known to provide a little more clearance. It obviously depends on where the tire is making contact too. And of course measured size is not the same as nominal size; if you have wide rims then a 25mm might be measuring closer to 28mm, etc.)

Its a 2013, and I know the 28mm will not fit (as I have rebuilt the bike from frame up), I just didn’t want to rain on your parade

[hozn]

@dkel 145591 wrote:

28s or even 25s may work on the C&O for local trips, but if you are going the distance out there, things can get very messy, and you’ll want serious mud tires. I understand that at certain times of year, depending on weather trends, the whole ride to Harper’s Ferry can be quite pleasant, but at other times, when weather patterns have trended toward rain, that path is an absolute swamp, complete with swarms of mosquitos. Admittedly, that happens pretty far out from the DC area.

That is a good point; I was assuming riding it in dry conditions. Though I’ve ridden around MD Great Falls when it was pretty wet (winter) on 28s (but with fenders) and that certainly worked fine. Not further west, though, where I do hear it gets a little gnarlier. I would want bigger tires for serious mud for sure, though, and probably better gripping tires than typical gravel tires too. Honestly, I wouldn’t ride it for any distance in significant mud, unless I just wanted an excuse to buy a new drivetrain at the end of the ride.

[hozn]

@Jason 145596 wrote:

Its a 2013, and I know the 28mm will not fit (as I have rebuilt the bike from frame up), I just didn’t want to rain on your parade

Ok Well, it sounded like others were fitting 28mm tires on MY>=2013 CAAD10, but obviously you know your frame better than the interwebs; sorry, yeah, I thought from your reply that it was the calipers to blame. Well, you definitely *can* run 25mm tires on the C&O. I raced 23mm tires on the nasty River Rd gravel/potholes at Poolesville race … but I flatted on lap 4, so that’s probably not the best success story. Smashing through the potholes to move up in the field was a known risk, I guess. I ran 25mm tires the year before without incident and will run 25mm tires next year and maybe pick my lines a little better. Certainly gear designed for gravel is going to be more comfortable, though, at the cost of being slower back on the pavement.

[huskerdont]

The towpath has about the worst mud ever. Too much sand in it. Really is nasty stuff for the drive train, so I always go other routes when it’s wet.

I regularly ride brief distances on it with my 23s, but I go slow, and wider-tired bikes that I just passed on the CCT pass me back. To me, 25s and 28s only seem marginally better. It can be done, but it’s suboptimal. Much more fun with 32s. But that’s just me, and I’d want the excuse to get the N+1 anyway.

[dkel]

@hozn 145598 wrote:

Honestly, I wouldn’t ride it for any distance in significant mud, unless I just wanted an excuse to buy a new drivetrain at the end of the ride.

I wouldn’t either, except when I’m already 40 miles out on my 70 mile trip, which is exactly what happened last year. It was miles and miles of mud, and I felt like I didn’t have any choice but to get through it and go to bed. I did have knobby 41s on, but the mud just kept getting packed into my fenders, so I’d have to stop and scrape it out while being eaten alive by mosquitos. All in all, a memorable trip! I don’t get the impression this is what the OP is going for, though.

[KayakCyndi]

@huskerdont 145601 wrote:

The towpath has about the worst mud ever. Too much sand in it. Really is nasty stuff for the drive train, so I always go other routes.

Funny you mention that. Guess you are saying I need to clean my drive train after this morning’s 2x20s.

[sethpo]

@huskerdont 145601 wrote:

The towpath has about the worst mud ever. Too much sand in it. Really is nasty stuff for the drive train, so I always go other routes when it’s wet.

To add to the towpath mud report, while the mud is nasty as described I rode in heavy rain last year and never found traction to be an issue. I was riding on 37mm gravel tires (file tread) with a heavily loaded bike. The mud doesn’t tend to be deep or thick and the puddles might look menacing but mostly are firm beneath the surface and never that deep. You are also not trying to corner on the towpath unless the endless lonely flat miles have driven you mad (a real concern). The roots you find popping out of the path in the hinterlands tend to be more bothersome and imo definitely lend themselves to wider tires.

On a related note, I’m planning a C&O camping trip later this month. Thinking about Sept 22-25 and going from DC area to Connellsville and then taking the train back. Slowish pace. 250 miles / 3 days. I’ll be riding my gravel bike and pulling a trailer for gear. I’m only going if the weather is nice though. I have no desire to suffer through excessive heat and/or rain. If weather is bad I’ll push to October.

[KayakCyndi]

@sethpo 145608 wrote:

….. I’ll be riding my super-awesome Viaje-Ti ….

ftfy

[DrP]

If you are thinking n+1, the cross bike might be a good bet for more general usage, like the root-bumpy paved trails all over the region (especially Rock Creek Park and MVT) and the bits of unpaved regions here and there (Georgetown Branch, for example). Also, winter.

My biking buddy has several bikes, but recently (this past winter?) got a cross bike and LOVES it; so much so that the road bike hasn’t been used too frequently since the purchase. The cross bike works great on the paved and unpaved trails.

I have two hybrids. The old one is great as a back-up when the new one is being tuned up, repaired, etc. as well as useful for errands due to some of my panniers only fitting that one. I have used both hybrids on the C&O. The Trek 7100 (it has 35s) has traveled repeatedly between Georgetown and White’s Ferry. The trail between Georgetown and Pennyfield lock is pretty decent, even when it has rained – sure, there on puddles here and there, but most regions are passable, although you might get splashed. About 1-2 miles after Pennyfield lock, they appear to stop treating the trail (i.e., adding more sandy soil and packing it down – it is like pavement when they first do that. So nice). My first White’s Ferry ride was misty and raining and it had rained several days before (my bike buddy and I were not thinking about that – we had psyched ourselves up too much to not do the C&O to W&OD ride). It was mud and puddles for about 12 miles. The hybrid did just fine. Hosed it off after getting home and lubed the chain and it was as good as before the ride.

I have also ridden the C&O on a mountain bike (as far as Pennyfield lock), borrowing my buddy’s one time. No huge difference in the comfort or capabilities from the hybrid.

As Easy Rider suggested, try the trail from Chain Bridge to Fletcher’s cove or all the way to Georgetown (and you can swap over many places in between, going down stairs) on your current bike. If you like it, you are probably good as far as Pennyfield. And that can give you a great ride. If not, I think the cross bike is a good bet in this region, unless you really want to do mountain biking. It is versatile and might be nicer on many of the non-pristine trails in the area. And when you want to go out with snow and ice on trails – that extra tire width is very useful.

[KWL]

I’ve found the Pugsley to be the perfect N+1 C&O Towpath bike. It even doubles as a fine Freezing Saddles bike.

[Kitty]

For what it’s worth my n (I only get one…) is a Trek Crossrip which I’ve taken to Harpers Ferry and back (well my old one anyway). It’s stock wheels are 32s and it does the C&O as well most other gravel just fine. I’ve only been on it with those “commuter wheels” though. I haven’t attempted it on my 23s, I’m afraid of blowing a tire.

[JorgeGortex]

Nice bike! I have one too. I think the tires that came with it would be good for this sort of ride on the C&O. Especially in the areas of trail that are less gravelly.

JG

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