- Trailbum, 2010-09-21 06:40:58
- I’m thinking of giving the trail a try. I was wondering what kind of bike does everyone recommend? I have a couple of bikes available to me, mostly old ten speeds. My usual trips are about ten miles twice a week around the neighborhood. Anybody have a good recommendation for a route for the first couple of times?
- Timon of Athens, 2010-09-21 11:44:14
- I use a Schwinn Voyager. It’s a low-end hybrid that I got used. You can see it in the picture on the Welda page. It has served me for about 1500 miles on rail-trails and about 500 more on roads and highways. I think that the major improvement off the rack is that I have added slime to the tires. Thus, I have only had to change a tube once and that was on the Katy Trail after crossing a road.
I have heard of people taking the trail on road tires. While it may pack down over time, I would think that right now there are some spots that would be a little soft for that. Thick tires are your friends.
As for a first ride, you could do worse than going between Princeton and Richmond. It’s a pretty flat stretch and out and back would be about 16 miles.
- jcover, 2010-09-21 18:59:11
- I would like to suggest that you bring a couple of spare tubes, a frame pump, patch kit and tools to remove the tire from the rim. Pick out a book at the library that will teach you how to patch a tube. My favorite bike for the trail is an atb with 26 inch wheels and urban tires mounted on the rims but the 10 speeds will work fine, but be careful in loose gravel. Good luck – hope to see on the trail.
- jlovitt, 2010-09-27 08:07:25
- I would look at all of the bikes available to you and pick the road bike that has the widest tires. I think a lot of people on the trail use mountain bikes or hybrids. I use a mountain bike with somewhat narrow tires (38mm?) or a road bike with somewhat wide tires (35mm?)
I have always started riding in Ottawa, which is nice because you have pavement for a little while, but other than that I don’t have a suggestion for which portion to ride. Maybe just pick the closest portion to where you live.
John
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