brodie

SOMETIME this weekend,im heading for a bike trail that is a - CRUSHED STONE SURFACE.
I have only been on the city streets and,have no idea what this means.
is it a smooth surface.or is it prone to giving you flats.
i would like to get away from the cars and,just go ride for 30-40 miles. but -crushed stone -sounds like a flat or a fall waiting to happen.
any fellow clydes familiar with this type of bike trail.

Stujoe

Probably crushed limestone? I have ridden a couple of them. I wasn't worried about flats. The ones I was on were pretty hard packed.

brodie

i do believe that it is crushed limestone.i think i remember someone saying that.im worried about it,cause i dont wanna get a flat OR mess up my rims riding over mini boulders

half_bent

Would that trail be the Ohio Erie towpath trail in the Cuyahoga Valley? If so it or similiar trails are crushed limestone. Actually is fairly smooth. Would not recommend a road bike, something with wider tires like a hybrid/comfort bike or mountain bike would be better.

BeckyW

The Katy trail (Missouri) came up in another thread... I think it's the same kind of surface. How much does it slow you down/make it harder? If you can do 30 miles on asphalt, is it safe to assume you can manage the same distance on this crushed rock stuff?

Seamus

Sounds similar to a dirt road. If you're running wide tires (preferably knobbies) you should be fine. I don't know that I'd want to ride that type of surface on thin road tires.

Jim

Tom Stormcrowe

It'd be doable on thin road tires (32 MM), but it'd be very hard work. I rode 103 miles of Back Country Fire roads up on the UP in June, pulling a trailer and did a lot of walking the bike trailer combo as well as some really skittery riding with VERY poor traction. It was a blast though! Composition was gravel, hard pack dirt, and soft sandy dirt. I did have to air down to 80 PSI though.

Quick edit: It also took me three days to do it.

brodie

yes HALFBENT -i do believe that is it. i know they told me that it gos from close to cleveland to akron. AND I WANTED TO TAKE MY ROAD BIKE.

i have 27 x 1 1/4 tires. i dont know if im up to that ride on my mountain bike.
40 -50 miles is different on balloon tires instead of skinny roadie tires.
maybe i will pass if i cant do the ride on a road bike.

brodie

as usual the clydes come thru. im guessing that i will have to find another ride. im not gonna even try that distance on my mountain bike. i wanted to do it SO SO BAD.
it would have been my personal best. nut im not gonna go and set myself up for failure.
ive only done like 12-15 miles on city streets on my mountain bike and,it is a much harder workout.
those balloon tires suck up a lot of energy. i dont believe i could do that distance on that bike.

half_bent

27 x 1 1/4 should be fine. Don't try to take the trail too fast, there are ALOT of joggers/ walkers. It is FLAT. Be careful of any spot that appear wet, the trail can be at points close to a sand consistancy. It is a fun place to ride. If there are too many people you can jump off the trail onto the road at many places, riverview rd runs next to it for much of the way. If you travel north of rockside rd, it becomes a paved multi use trail. There is a yahoo group "oetowpath" with some good info on it.

If you get too tired for the return trip or just want a long one way trip, you can board the Cuyahoga Valley Senic Railway, for $2 they will transport you and your bike from Rockside road to Peninsula (or Peninsula to Rockside Rd)

Close to the towpath there is the "Bike and Hike" trail. similair but is an old railway. It is to the east of the valley. It is paved the whole way, part of Summit County metro parks.

Stujoe

I wouldn't do the crushed limestone trails I have been on with a road bike and the smaller tires/rims but that is just me. On the other hand, it doesn't sound like your tires are real skinny. I wouldn't think twice about doing it on my 26x1.5 inch ones but my rims seem pretty tough too (MTB).

I did find it somewhat more difficult/tiring than doing an asphalt trail but not terribly so. My guestimate is that I would be able to do at least 80% of my usual distance on it without a terrible amount of trouble. I wouldn't expect to easily beat or match my personal best in distance on it, though. Hard to say for sure because the quality of the trail is probably going to have impact on it...how packed it is, whether there are a lot of grooves or ruts, bare spots, etc.

This is the trail I have done and it is in good shape so it is a pretty easy ride...

solveg

I just got back from doing 40 miles on crushed limestone on 1.25" tires. I was surprised by it and almost turned back. I thought it was just fine to ride on, but slow* and hard work. The first 4 miles of the trail was paved... I couldn't wait to get back on it at the end of the ride.

I averaged 10 mph the whole trip, and I was afraid it was my "long distance speed" until I got back on the paved trail and immediately went up to 15, and that was at the end of the trip.

So, slow and hard, but the tires did fine. Rims did, too, and they were old 1980's wheels that aren't in the best shape. The wooden bridges were by far harder. Oh, and both the bike and I got covered in dust, and there was a layer of dust about 1/16" in the panniers.

Stujoe

Oh yes. The dust. It is going to get everywhere. lol

(51)

I rode on a crushed shell surface once for about 100'. It was difficult and I was not very steady, so I stopped and went back to the parking lot.

brodie

thank you very much halfbent. i checked out that yahoo group and,i think im gonna try it. my brother in law has ridden this before and,he says a road bike will be just fine on the path. so now im looking forward to it again.
i cant wait.

brodie

also i reserve the right to turn around and,head back to the car. but i do not believe that will happen.

half_bent

Have fun. If you go south of Peninsula Zaley's Farm market is a good stop, Fishers cafe and the Winking Lizard both have bike racks, and Century Cycles is right downtown Peninsula. One not of caution if/when riding on the roads in the valley, the Rangers and Peninsula Police have been issueing citations for stop lights stop signs and riding on the sidewalk. But above all, have fun.

jcm

I've ridden the Ironhorse Trail here in Washington State for 48 miles on my roadified MTB. The surface is mostly crushed rock with alot of pit-run showing thru. Pit-run is hardpacked dirt with all the glacial rounded boulders in it - ranging in size from a marble to a grapefruit. Luckily, those are mostly just peeking thru the top, so it's like cobble stones. I have 1.5" (38mm) Armadillos (smooth)that I deflated to 35lbs in front and 50lbs in back. Normal street pressure is 85lbs. The saddle is a Brooks B67 springer and the handlebars are old British style North Roads - like a 3-speed. Worked like a charm. Be mindful that tires built like Armadillos, such as Marathons and such, have very tough sidewalls, and can almost run flat.

My buddy brought his Trek 520 tourer with his usual 32mm Bontragers (very smooth), and they were fine, too. That's about as skinny as I would go, because you can deflate them enough to be a bit more grabby. Certainly, knobbies are better, but if you really want go - I'm just sayin'...

half_bent

So brodie how did it go?

rickyaustin

Where is it that you are riding Brodie?

ang1sgt

My Rans Rocket I have equipt with Maxxis Hookworm Tires that are 1.95 in width. Being that these tires are HIGH PRESSURE, I only ride on a section that is about 3/4 of an inch. The cross section of the tire is such that if I get into loose stuff, there is tread there to grip and pull me through. One of the better things about these tires as well as the Town and Country by Conti. Same basic design.

Dust is a problem on the bike to be sure. Most times it will wipe off, but combine it with a little water and it turns to goo on the frame. I always give my bikes a good cleaning to INCLUDE the brake pads and rim sidewalls. I also include a close inspection of the tires to ensure that no bits of flint or shale have wedged there way into the tire surface.

Floatation is your friend!

spencejm

I realize this is a bit late. I'm probably the one you've seen write about the Katy trail. It is a crushed limestone surface. I ride a hybrid with 700X38 tires but I've seen some road bikes, especially Trek 520s and a TON of cyclocross bikes with about 32mm tires. I don't even think about the surface anymore. I keep my tires aired up to the max at 80 PSI. I've never had a flat and only 1 crash on a section that had been recently repaired and the gravel was about 3 inches deep. I just lost the front end and went down. Not much blood and not much pain. Got up and finished the ride.

Joe

brodie

IT WAS BEAUTIFUL. my brother in law let me use a raleigh that he has. i guess it would be a commuting bike. it was kind of like a road bike but more sturdy.
anyway,i put my handy - WALMART SCHWINN CYCLOCOMPUTER - on the bike and,by the time i got home it said 47 miles. MY NEW PERSONAL BEST. WOOT WWOOOOTTT !!!
BUT THE PATH WAS COOL.i want to do it again when the weather is better.
i think that having a couple of people along makes the riding easier. their were 3 of us.
i have BELLS version of the camelback and,i had my gatorade mix in their and,i was set.
it was my first time wearing my cycling shorts and,the big pillow like chamois is pretty cool.
i had 3 clif bars.first time eating those.they were cool.
my brother and,his friend tells me that the metroparks has a nice bikepath.i dont know how long it is,but being away from motorised traffic and,able to just enjoy the ride is pretty darn cool.
on sunday i did a really slow and,leisurely 45 minutes on my stationary bike and monday morning my knees were so stiff i just went and,laid back down. i ended up putting some extra strength capsacin on my knees and,on the back of my knees.
i thought you guys said to do a lite ride the day after LMAO.
Anyway,i had a cool ride and,it was made better by good company. im gonna do it again. and next time im gonna take my camera and,get some good pics.

brodie

i also meant to say that i had to ride my stationary on sunday because it started raining on sunday and,didnt stop until monday evening. so last night i turned my lights on and,went out for a quick 7 miles in the dark.
someone gave me an idea with reflective tape on their bike and,i have done that.i have the red and white on the back and,white and,yellow on the front.
its a great idea because its HIGHLY VISIBLE. you can see this stuff from like 500-600 feet away.
i slapped some on my helmet- again white in front -- red in the rear, and now its like my helmet has built in headlights when a light hits it.
but yeah,it wouldnt stop raining.

solveg

Cool, Brodie! You almost did a half-century! (Well, maybe you did? Is it measured in a 24 hour period?)