Recent Posts

Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 10
1
Gear Talk / Re: Have Trek 920 frame, need to (re)build bike.
« Last post by natethegreat on Today at 12:58:07 am »
29er touring tire  suggestions anybody?

OK so the best I could do on the cheap side of this Trek 920 build (avoiding factory 28H wheels) is a  high flange SRAM hubs with Ryde Rival 30 29" Alloy Rims Mountain Disc DW Wheelset. Not much out there in 36Hs for these unless I go custom.

The Ryde website says Rival 30: TIRE WIDTH (MM) 42-64

Does Schwalbe Marathon Greenguards of 700C x 50mm sound OK for these rims?
Schwalbes are nearly flat proof.

I am not sure my newish 700x 37 Schwalbe tires will fit. The rims are hooked and inner width is about 29mm.  I want some suspension I guess, but decent rolling resistance.

Suggestions?
3
General Discussion / Re: Seeking Trans/Am or Great American Rail Trail Group/Partners
« Last post by davidbonn on February 15, 2025, 10:02:04 am »
And unless you like to ride very rough gravel the trail east of the Columbia River to Idaho is best ridden on roads, which are not busily trafficked.

The trail deteriorates rapidly where you cross over I-90 just E of Ellensburg, some miles before you cross the Columbia River.  There also is a goathead issue along the trail so you need to take that into account.

Two other options in Eastern WA:

1.  Leave the rail trail near Cle Elum and take the XWA route, which gets you back on the GART further east.  You will still be dealing with goatheads.
2.  Leave the rail trail near Thorp (between Cle Elum and Ellensburg) and cut south (either via the old highway 97 along the Yakima river or over decent and scenic gravel on the Umtanum Road to Yakima).  From Yakima you can make your way on quieter roads through scenic wine country further east and reconnect to the Gart in the Palouse.

The above two options have, in my opinion, better options on resupply and places to stay than the GART does as well.
4
General Discussion / Re: 26 by 1.5 Schwalbe, the tube maintenance from hell.
« Last post by davidbonn on February 15, 2025, 09:48:55 am »
It can be a fierce struggle getting most any tire off a tubeless rim.  And smaller-diameter tires are always tougher to work with than larger-diameter ones.

I've had the opposite problem on journey where my little travel pump couldn't move enough air to re-seat the bead, so I had a few days of thumpy riding before I got to a place with a decent floor pump.

I've had superb luck with tubeless tires so far and probably won't go back to tubes unless I am on a very long trip where I am likely to replace tires during the journey.  I just can't see putting on tubeless tires in a campground with the stuff I carry with me, and can't see how to carry the stuff I'd need to make it all work.
5
General Discussion / 26 by 1.5 Schwalbe, the tube maintenance from hell.
« Last post by Westinghouse on February 15, 2025, 01:44:00 am »
What can be easier and simpler than swapping out tubes on a bicycle. I had this touring bicycle. The last trip on it was 550 miles around south Florida in 2024. The C 2 C bike trail was one route. I let the bike set for a year. I thought about another ride and thought to install new tubes. The wheels are 26 by 1.5, double wall, approved for tubeless. The tires are 26 by 1.5 Schwalbe Marathon also approved for tubeless.
Taking the tires off the wheels required extraordinary imagination, ingenuity and elbow grease.

The tires molded to the wheels. They glued themselves tight and strong to the metal. It was impossible to press the sidewall away from the rim. It was locked in place. I laid the wheel down and stood and pressed my heels against the sidewalks of the tires with all my weight. The contact-rubber did not move away from the rim. No tire lever could pry it loose, this 26 by 1.5 Schwalbe Marathon. I had patched punctures at roadside in ten minutes. Now here it was, 30 minutes later, and I could not even get a tire to budge. I hit on an idea.

I mixed Tide liquid laundry detergent with water. Using a small sponge brush I pushed the mixture in between the tire and the rim. I gave it time to penetrate. Using a narrow thin screwdriver I kept digging between the rim and the tire and dripping the mixture there. After twenty-five digs the tire moved and the screwdriver caught on the bead and I levered to the top edge of the rim. The mixture did the job and lubricated other lengths of the bead. Finally, the levers could be fitted under the bead. Using three levers and a screwdriver one after the other, it did the job. That is only one side of the tire. Getting the other side to leave the wheel is much easier, but still much more difficult than removing other tires.

Getting the tires back on the wheels was an anomalously unusual pain in the neck. One side remounted was no problem at all. The other side of the tire would press  into the rim by hand, but for only about 60% of the perimeter. Levers were necessary after that. The problem was levering one length of bead onto the rim on the right of the wheel pulled bead out of the rim on the left side. There was no preventing that by hand and levers. It was impossible.  I hit on another idea. I tied a two-foot length of small rope extremely tight around the tire and rim until the tire was smashed down hard flat. Using metal tire levers and starting on the right side of the wheel, I levered the bead into the rim of the wheel. The tire part tied down tight to the wheel stopped the bead to the left from being pulled loose from the rim. The tire was now mounted.

This troublesome tire was on the wheel. Was it mounted so there would be no thump on each revolution? I knew from experience that even more would have to be done to make these wheels ride ready. Before inflating I brushed in another bunch of mixture between the tire and rim. That was in the rim the full circumference both sides. Then began the inflating. As the air was pressed into the tires there came crackling and snapping sounds of the tires releasing from where they had stuck to the metal. If they had not released it would have caused a slight uneven thump in the tire.

Mounting the wheels on the bicycle took 30 seconds. I rode the bike a short distance outside. It rides smooth and easy. I never had so much difficulty with tires before in my life, and I have been doing long distance bicycle-camping-touring since 1984--37,000 miles through 20 countries.



6
General Discussion / Re: Seeking Trans/Am or Great American Rail Trail Group/Partners
« Last post by tjdale on February 14, 2025, 06:19:03 pm »
The so-called great American rail trail is probably good for a cross-country bicycle ride. There are gaps, which, if you get a close look at a map, are easily traversable by alternate roadways that are safe, and they cut miles off the 3700. The gaps and short sections are sometimes out of the way. Skip those places and keep going in your cardinal direction. You can cut 400 miles off that 3700 doing that.

I rode 2023 Seattle to Delmarva Peninsula (Maryland) using the GART and ACA routes TA, L&C, and PPP in combination with RAGBRAI and some of my own additions.  I have also used the GART my home to Iowa in 2021.  East of the Mississippi the GART is probably 60-65% rail trail.  The trickiest part to connect one trail to another is leaving Pennsylvania and traversing through the WVa panhandle.  otherwisw there are plenty of less busy roads along the way.  As you say, Washington and Idaho are really the only areas covered by the GART out west. And unless you like to ride very rough gravel the trail east of the Columbia River to Idaho is best ridden on roads, which are not busily trafficked.
7
Temporary ACA Route Road Closures / Re: Jasper National Park Is Closed
« Last post by John Nettles on February 14, 2025, 09:57:57 am »
I have not ridden this but I did drive the road from Leduc to Drayton Valley a couple of summers ago as I headed up to Alaksa to do a 2-month ride up north.  After 45+ years of touring, I tend to look at roads through the lens of "how is this road for bike touring?", i.e. traffic, shoulder, road conditions, scenery, services, etc. 

This route was pretty quiet, after ~KM13.  First few KM were typical urban traffic with a bike path in places but overall, nothing serious.

If you prefer to go to Hinton, here is the entire "Edmonton to Jasper Collection" https://ridewithgps.com/collections/3395613 though I have not added all the services as I am awaiting RWGPS to open the Community POIs soon.

Hope this helps and wish you a wonderful tour.
8
Temporary ACA Route Road Closures / Re: Jasper National Park Is Closed
« Last post by Matt L on February 14, 2025, 08:21:46 am »
John, that’s some solid advice.  A shakedown ride is a good.  I just need to pick up a fuel canister and maybe Counter Assault in Edmonton but that should be easy.  Hit the local Bass Pro/Cabelas or preferably a locally owned shop.  Have you ridden this?  Wondering how bike friendly the route is.
Thanks again for the advice.  I really appreciate it. Best. M
9
Routes / Re: Southern Tier (El Paso - Las Cruces)
« Last post by Westinghouse on February 14, 2025, 01:13:10 am »
There is a road well before you get to Mesa St in El Paso. It runs north and south, south into El Paso. It is on the map. It runs north to Martin Luther King road and farther north you can cycle west to highway 28. It is flat land and gets you around that long steep climb in the city when you bear north out of the city. That is for the ST going east to west. Anyone who pedaled a loaded touring bicycle up Mesa in El Paso would likely take this new route instead. The new route makes a much less strenuous job of pushing pedals to Las Cruces and Silver City.
10
Classifieds / FS: Cannondale T1 Touring Bike w/Accessories
« Last post by Charlie1022 on February 13, 2025, 09:18:59 pm »
Well maintained and always garaged Cannondale T1 Touring bike with fenders, racks and Ortlieb panniers. Shimano 105 Ultegra components.

Text/Call 520-221-6003 or email city240@me.com

This bike is ready to hit the road, just load up the panniers. Asking $1200 OBO for the bike and accessories. Buyer pays for packing and shipping.
Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 10