Tiestotti

Hello everyone!

Living near DC now, I want to complete the GAP and C&O trails from Pittsburgh to DC in the near future. I've been a roadie all my adult life, and the last time I owned a 26" MTB was in my early teens. All I own is road bikes with clearance up to maybe 30mm tires.

What can you recommend for a bike like this to complete the ride? I understand is not very hilly and gravel most of the way. I am asking for advise on gearing, wheels, tires, components, etc.

Thanks!

Tourist in MSN

If you are asking if that 26 inch wheel mountain bike would work, it certainly would.

If it is rainy and wet, you could have a very muddy time without fenders.

I did it on a touring bike with 26 inch wheels, 50mm wide tires. Since it is fairly flat, gearing should not be a problem on that mountain bike.

Not sure if I would want to ride that distance on that saddle though.

The bike I used is in the photo, below.



I did it in May 2013, we had several days of rain, but the temperatures were quite pleasant in May. Not sure about July or August, it could be a bit hot. Since you live in the area, you know the weather conditions much better than I do.

unterhausen

Is this a touring question, i.e., are you going to do it over many days with stops?

Tiestotti

Yes, multi-day trip, stopping (hopefully) at bead and breakfast places along the way.

RB1-luvr

that mtb shown would be fine. If it were me, I'd drop bar conversion it (with Tourney brifters) and add fenders, maybe narrower tires. At the very least, I'd put bar ends and racks on it and go as is.

t2p

your road bike with healthy / hearty 30 mm tires might work - ? - but would not be ideal (especially the C&O portion)

the MTB would work … not ideal - but would be better with some changes

as someone mentioned - a different / better seat would be a good idea

grip change might also be of benefit - grip shift (outer) grip selection is fairly limited but most should be an upgrade over the 20+ year old grips ?

recommend better tires - and when tires are changed replace the oem rubber rim strips with better rim tape (velox or similar or other options)

if the brake pads are 20+ year old original brake pads - would consider replacing them

recommend two water bottle cages (min) - if the bike does not have provisions for another water bottle cage - a water bottle cage adapter / bracket / whatever would be a good idea

t2p

recommend this book - and also there are many YouTube videos available

pdlamb

I'd go with the MTB unless you plan to ride the C&O during a drought.

LesterOfPuppets

I'd get a front derailleur and shifter

Full rigid MTB would be pretty good, IMO. Going with lighter wheels and tires would be nice. I also like a wider bar, with more back sweep. Possibly consider swapping in a fork with lowrider mounts if you need to carry a lot up front...

Tourist in MSN

Good call, I missed that.

Tourist in MSN

You started this thread on the randonneuring forum, not the touring forum, so you have that for an audience.

You got a lot of suggestions here for different handlebars, but do not assume that touring bikes are supposed to have drop bars. It is more of a regional preference, most touring bikes in continental Europe have flat bars while in USA most have drop bars. For a week long credit card tour, just use what you have for bars as long as you have a good fit. But more comfortable bar ends could help. I use drop bars, but a friend of mine that used to tour on drop bars switched to flat bars last year. That bike that you posted in the photo has a quill stem, so should be easy to adjust for height.

Tires, I did it with two others, we were camping and carrying heavier loads. I had 50mm tires, one in our group had 47mm tires, and one had 35mm tires. All three of us felt that we had the right tire choices. We had a rainy week when we were there.

You said you are a roadie. It is your call if you want to put a pair of your roadie pedals on the bike so your bike shoes fit, or if you want to use platform pedals. If you are not using bike shoes, since your feet are used to stiff soles, just make sure you use shoes with stiff enough soles to avoid foot problems.

My last tour (last month) was in an area with warmer weather than I usually tour in. And I wanted to have footwear that I could wear in rainy weather. Past tours, I brought shoe covers and rain pants to keep my cycling shoes dry, but I thought that would be too warm for that tour. So, I tried a pair of Teva sandals that have thick stiff soles on some pedals that have a large platform area for an exercise ride near home to see if the sandals would work, and they felt pretty good. So I used those (with Shimano A530 pedals, SPD on one side, platform on other side) on that tour and they worked well on rainy days. Thus, I could keep my bike shoes dry for dry days. Photo below. I had four rain days on that tour.




A rear rack and a pair of panniers should do nicely for sleeping indoors. If hot, you might want to have enough capacity in your panniers for some extra water. In hot weather I will carry up to four liters of water.

If you do not get fenders before the trip, hope it does not rain. Photo below was the bike one of my friends used on that route, this was the last tour he did without fenders.



But I was there in May, it is more likely to look like this in May than in Jul or Aug.



Have a great trip.

bikemig 

An old MTB (one with a rigid fork) is fine for touring and dealing with mixed surfaces. The gearing is more than adequate with wide ranging 3 x 7 gearing. The supply of 26 tires is not what it once was but decent tires are out there. There is plenty of room to run fenders.

The OP's bike is a Trek 930; the 900 series were Trek's higher end MTBs so this will have a quality chrome moly frame and decent parts. There is no reason to do a drop bar conversion (it's a bit complicated and requires different parts) but you should do something about additional hand positions. Ergon grips with bar ends would be a good choice; a trekking bar offers a lot of hand positions as well and your levers and shifters will work just fine on a trekking bar. The gearing is fine. I'd swap out the pedals for platform pedals. For tires, get somethings between 26 x 1.75 to 26 x 1.9 or so (you could likely go as fat as 2.1). The Schwalbe Marathon 26 inch tires (they come with different flat protection systems) are a common choice for touring.

I did a drop bar conversion on my '92 Stumpjumper that I use for the local single track which is not very technical by and large as well as for mixed surface riding. I'll take it down to the Katy trail which has a crushed limestone surface this fall. This is my Stumpy from a recent ride:

fishboat

The bike will be fine for the trip. My touring bike is a drop bar converted Trek 970 mountain bike. As was mentioned..drop bars are not necessary. If you ride with straight bars then I'd invest in some nice grips as they'll make your hands much more comfortable (check out grips by Ergon..or something similar).

As for the gearing..you're good as is. A front derailleur would be a good idea. Depending on which way you travel, either you'll be going uphill for a 100ish miles (very mild grade going east) or flat with a much steeper grade just west of Cumberland for 20ish miles. At some point, you'll need to use the the chainrings on the crank..get a derailleur. Fenders, as mentioned, would be a big plus.

If you hit any rain during the trip you'll (really, really) wish you had fenders. If you don't hit rain, then no fenders..no worries.

Tires..people have heard me say it before..and I'll say it again. Schwalbe Big Bens are a wonderful touring tire. They roll very easy and offer lots of cushion. I rode Big Ben's when I did the Gap..and we had rain all one day. Tires were great(as were the fenders). If you hit rain the trail can get softer, eventually, and the larger tires will help with that. I wouldn't ride the trail with the tires on the bike now..decidedly not fun time(for me). Avoid "Plus" tires that are offered for improved flat resistance as they will be slow and heavy. "Plus" tires are not needed east of the Mississippi about 95% of the time. You won't get any flats with them, but you'll pay for that mile after mile, day after day with drudgingly poor performance. That's my view..others undoubtedly have different views. This is the tire I'm suggesting, in size and composition: https://www.schwalbetires.com/Big-Ben-11100557

The saddle..I'd make sure what your have is very comfortable before committing to it for a week long ride, day after day. Ride it now 30, 40, 50 miles a day for a few days and see how it is. If it isn't right, you'll know. Touring on the wrong saddle can be a rather miserable existence. Try a Brooks B17 (with out without the cut-out..the Imperial) if you need something else. Buy it used off ebay if you can find one that's in very good shape, I've purchased many like this over the years. This is a plus for two reasons..by buying a used, but near-new condition Brooks will, most likely, be used enough that it'll be broken in and if it isn't right for you, then you can sell it for what you paid for it..no harm, no foul. Some folks buy a new Brooks and it's comfortable right out of the box..that's happened to me. Others buy a new Brooks and the first few hundred miles can be a bit of a pain..that's also happened to me(though the bike I put it on had a very stiff frame..maybe that was the difference..not sure).

Make sure you have a plan for water on the C&O. I have no idea whether the pumps are open/active at the campsites along the trail. In general, the hand-pump ground water is lower quality and possibly unsafe. They treat some of the water with iodine..I think (it's been a few years since I researched this). The Park disables the pumps if the water tests bad and can't be treated. I'd bring a water filter (like a Sawyer) if the pumps are active as use it every time. The Park Service website will state whether the pumps have been disabled, and where. If the pumps are not active..then have a plan where to get water along the way, and carry enough spare water in case your plan doesn't pan out.

t2p

Maxxis DTH is one of the better general purpose 26” tires … 2.15 or 2.3 … the folding bead versions are relatively lightweight considering the size ( 2.15 tire: 530 - 600 g depending on model)

DTH 2.15 shown above

unterhausen

I agree with the fender recommendation. I rode a section of the C&O between Shepherdstown and harper's ferry to get back to the start when I dnf'ed a 1200k. I hated it. It had rained, and my randonneuring bike has fenders, but it still was a muddy ride. I would have been much happier with bigger tires, my rando bike only has 32mm. There are big roots. It might have been okay on my gravel bike with 43mm tires.

For OP's mountain bike, I would put some slicker tires on and get fenders. At least mtb style fenders.

bikemig 

Those are fine tires. This is an older MTB though; 26 x 2.3 and fenders might not work.

t2p

Planet Bike and / or SKS fenders might work with the Maxxis DTH 2.15 …?

Panaracer Pasela Protite 1.75 shown above … the folding version weighs around 460 g …

Tiestotti

O wow, I totally missed the fact that the front derailleur is missing

Sunshine biker

I’m looking for individuals that might want to bike the C&O and GAP this fall. I’ve not done the trail before and started back to riding a bike this Soring. I’m an avid hiker and hiked the Camino Santiago last fall. My bike is a Specialized I bought used.
Id like to part camp and part hotel stay but am not opposed to all hotel stays if the cost is split. Otherwise every other day or third day a hotel stay to shower and charge phone. I can bike 40 miles a day but I am not a quitter and will go till I can’t.
I’m thinking of starting with the GAP trail first then on to DC.
Any information about the trek, equipment or places to stay and what to look out for would be appreciated!
Thank you,
Sunshine Biker

JerrySTL

My wife and I did the GAPCO on a MTB tandem with 26x2.125 knobby tires. It was wet and we were glad that we had big knobby tires and fenders.

Tip: Don't try to go around puddles. Many others did and the edges are very mushy. It's best to go straight through the puddle.

Sunshine biker

Thanks for the update!

t2p

after some rain from the fringe of hurricane Debby - gonna be in the mid 70’s sunny / partly sunny this weekend in Ohiopyle

might head there tomorrow or Sunday (and ride part of the gap)