Best Tires for Mixture of Road & Rail Trails

[txbevo]

What would the recommendations be for the best touring tire for both road and rail trails? I want to do a 2-3 day light tour that will be about half road and half rail  trail.

[staehpj1]

Almost anything will get you by for a short tour on those surfaces.  About the only thing I would say is if the surface is a bit rough fatter tires than a pure road tire are probably in order.  Maybe 28 or 32 wide.

OTOH: It probably isn't worth buying a specific tire just for a 2-3 day ride.  What kind of riding do you do the rest of the time?  Do you expect to do more touring in the future?

[erniegrillo]

Try to find out the surface of the rail trail.
I've ridden crushed limestone trails back east that are smooth and could be done easily on a 700/25 tire.
I also rode the Hiawatha Trail in Montana which is rocky and rough and it was just bearable on 700/38 tires.

[txbevo]

I should have given more info on my original post. I will run either 700x32s or 700x35s. I have a carbon fiber road bike (Trek Pilot) when I want to just do my roadie thing. I bought a Volpe to do more touring and rail trail type riding. Yes, I want to get into touring more.

[staehpj1]

You can't go too far wrong with Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires.  They ride nice and are as durable as you will find.  The price for that durability is weight, but most tourists find the trade off acceptable.

If you wanted something a little sportier I would have suggested the Continental Ultra Gatorskin, but I think the widest it comes is 28 X 700 and it sounds like that isn't what you are looking for.

[Badger]

I agree with using Schwalbe tires I have ridden the John Wayne trail here in Washington State  which is hard pack as well as riding on road and the tires worked great. They gave a comfortable ride on both surfaces.  Enjoy your ride.