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Author Topic: East Coast Greenway--Will my bike be ok?  (Read 9598 times)

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Offline JasmineReeseII

East Coast Greenway--Will my bike be ok?
« on: April 30, 2013, 02:59:50 pm »
I am riding my bike from NYC to Ashland, VA on the East Coast Greenway. I heard that the trail is both paved and unpaved. Will my bike be ok on this trail? I also have a DoggyRide trailer. My bike is a Kona Sutra 2013. 700c tires.
Thank you.  :)
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Offline John Nelson

Re: East Coast Greenway--Will my bike be ok?
« Reply #1 on: April 30, 2013, 05:04:17 pm »
I have not ridden the ECG, but according to their web site, "some of the off-road segments are unpaved and, while they should support narrow tires, some people may find them uncomfortable." You quoted the "700" number from your tires, but it's really the other number (the width) that is significant here (e.g., 23, 25, 28, 32, 35 37 40, 45, 50).
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Offline JasmineReeseII

Re: East Coast Greenway--Will my bike be ok?
« Reply #2 on: April 30, 2013, 05:15:40 pm »
They are 28c.
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Offline John Nelson

Re: East Coast Greenway--Will my bike be ok?
« Reply #3 on: April 30, 2013, 05:21:37 pm »
28 is slightly below average for a touring bike, but it not really "narrow". I suspect you'll be fine on the ECG. Most of the route is paved anyway. Leaving soon?
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Offline JayH

Re: East Coast Greenway--Will my bike be ok?
« Reply #4 on: April 30, 2013, 05:38:49 pm »
You might be going slower than a wider tire when the pavement ends but I bet you'd be OK.

Jay
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Offline adventurepdx

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Re: East Coast Greenway--Will my bike be ok?
« Reply #5 on: April 30, 2013, 08:48:38 pm »
To note: only 25% of the ECG is an off-road trail, so that means most of the riding you'll be doing is on regular roads with traffic. You should definitely check out their website for more info:
http://www.greenway.org/
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Offline JasmineReeseII

Re: East Coast Greenway--Will my bike be ok?
« Reply #6 on: April 30, 2013, 10:54:17 pm »
Yep, leaving in a couple of days. Yes, I've already looked at their website and printed out the maps. I just wanted to be sure the unpaved portions were doable. I should probably get thicker tires for my bike.
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Offline adventurepdx

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Re: East Coast Greenway--Will my bike be ok?
« Reply #7 on: April 30, 2013, 10:59:24 pm »
Jasmine, with an organization like ECG that has an aim towards accessibility, I'd imagine that any unpaved sections are still pretty nice, most likely paved with crushed limestone. If a trail is pretty gnarly they'd most likely note it. However, I wouldn't assume anything so you might want to call/email them to double-check. I've ridden many a crushed limestone trail and they are usually pretty nice. It'll be slower going than paved, though, especially when wet.

As for tire width, yeah, getting wider tires couldn't hurt. I currently run 35 mm wide tires on my touring bike, and don't regret it.
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Offline JasmineReeseII

Re: East Coast Greenway--Will my bike be ok?
« Reply #8 on: May 01, 2013, 01:33:51 am »
Thank you! I'll look into 35mm.
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indyfabz

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Re: East Coast Greenway--Will my bike be ok?
« Reply #9 on: May 01, 2013, 11:21:26 am »
Be careful going through Chester, PA. Another flareup of violence there very recently.
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