After having a brief flirt with Road bike in the past on a Btwin Triban 300 which was fast but hated not having discs, the a Merida Cyclocross 300 great bike but sold as I was short of cash at time.
I'm thinking of using my Hardtail Btwin 560 as a road/canal tow path machine. It's 26 inch with 3X10 slx/Deore and it's currently got Schwalbe nobby nics on.
Is there any tyres which will be better on the road but still good for fireroads and canal towpath.?
I may end up swapping for another cx bike later this year or next once we have moved house.
Tubed or tubeless?
There're loads tho, depending on budget and bias (urban, towpath, light trails, road, wet, dry, heavy tyre, lighter tyre, puncture-guard level, etc)
For the type of riding you describe (road/towpath) you need something with low rolling-resistance but with enough grip to save a washout on muddy towpath puddles? The latter can be solved simply by slowing down through the slidy bits, leaving you free to use more slickery-fast treads than more aggressively-treaded hybrid-types.
Maybe take a look at the Schwalbe lineup for this type of riding? I've used Hurricane, Marathon Racer, Silento and Land Cruiser all on a 26er. Favourites were Marathon Racer (back roads) and Hurricane (50/50 on/off-road)
- Schwalbe Marathon greenguard (Marathon Plus are heavier, more money, yet max puncture protection)
- Schwalbe Silento - (currently have these in 35c flavour on my towpath plugger)
- Schwalbe Land Cruisers - Similar to Silento but more offroady. (Check Wiggle sale think theyre £8 atm)
- Schwalbe Big Apple (love these slicks in the summer, and offroad even, esp the 2.35s)
- Hurricane 2.0 (not so quick on road as most of the others but great profile for 50/50 road/trail)
Go as wide as you can, better comfort and rolling.
Is it worth me swapping the forks to rigid or just locking the forks out? Or just swap the tyres, ride on the road for a bit and save up for a budget cx bike?
If so what budget cx bike for under £500?
I had Rebas (albeit old ones) on my Salsa El Mar for a while. It was a joy on the rocky stuff and still good on the road and smooth stuff locked out... BUT.. it really wasn't as good as the rigid fork. The Rebas didn't have full lockout, but also they flexed front-to-back more than the carbon Firestarter, and it just didn't feel as positive. Standing up mashing the pedals is just so incredibly satisfying fully rigid. As is pedalling in general. Plus I really love the front of the bike being over a kg lighter.
I have Schwalbe Sammy Slicks on my CX bike
Schwalbe big ones.
Or maybe racing ralph/rocket ron tubeless which will be pretty fast, comparable rolling resistance to a Marathon Supreme with a tube in, and far more versatile (but will wear faster and might lose out on road grip a bit)
mate of mine bought one these recently
https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-dolomite-2-2017-road-bike-EV275634
not a cross bike, but a disc roadie, it'll take a 32mm tyre without mudguards. I reckon it's a lot of bike for the cash
I've just fitted some [url= https://www.alpkit.com/products/wtb-riddler-tcs-light-fast-rolling-700x37 ]WTB Riddler 37c tyres[/url] to my singlespeed but they do a 45c as well which would definitely be an option for wider rims. They are tubeless ready. Rode them for the first time last night (had problems with getting the rear tyre to stay inflated until I re-taped the rim) and although just on tarmac they feel very plush and not much slower than the 28c road tyres that were on before.
They feel better than the MSO XPlorers that are on my Croix de Fer but it's early days.
How rough are the fire roads?
(Recommend what you own):-
I've got continental race kings on my pseudo-gravel 26er hardtail. Very light and fast rolling and not bad on the road. The extra volume comes in handy on rocky bridleways etc, compared to a low-profile gravel/cx tyre. Brilliant on dry trails too, but allegedly suffer from sidewall cuts (not happened to me yet).
On my beater bike I have a set of schwalbe land cruisers - dirt cheap, some puncture proof-ness, continuous slick ridge in the centre, so pumped up they roll brilliantly on the road, but also have some tread. Reasonably heavy, but I don't really feel it.
I'm planning to convert my Inbred to a "Hybred". What recommendations for bar widths and bar ends (would prefer these to drops as I can keep my MTB brakes and shifter)?
I was going to put bar ends and a flat bar on my Salsa, but I found a curvy bar (On One Fleegle Pro) and Ergon grips to be an absolutely amazing fit. By far the best bike setup I've ever used for its use. Feels utterly brilliant every time I sit on it. I think the bar is 660mm wide. I won't upgrade from the battered cheap On One bar until I can find something with the exact same proportions - it's so good I don't want to risk ruining it 🙂
The canal is a mixture of tarmac bike path, and some muddy path when you get of town.
Fire roads I wouldn't take a car down it!but a 4x4 would be fine.
May just keep the suspension on but I think some straighter,wider and light bars would suit and faster rolling tyres like the Conti race king or what about Schwalbe rapid rob?
Bike I'll be using is the following
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockrider-560-mountain-bike-id_8293151.html
I converted my old Marin Muirwoods for road (touring) duties. I put on the original fork, built some heavy duty wheels with dyna hub and stuck on a comfy saddle. Turns out the entire drivetrain was shot so upgraded that to slx 10. It works really well though. I use Schwalbe marathon tyres (not entirely sure which version since there seems to be dozens). I'd bet they'd be perfect for canal towpaths.
Definitely gonna keep my hardtail it's a cracking species bike. Will be used for a bit of road work, canal towpaths and bridleways/fireroads.
Will have a look at the Schwalbe marathons, the lockout on forks is pretty good and the fork doesn't flex.
May get some spd pedals also as I used them on my cx bike.
Is it worth getting some flat bars? Current ones are 680mm riser bars.
