5-8mph sounds good to me. Yes I thought maybe it would be wearing off quicker on tarmac, but then again it should not matter much in any case when roads are used only occasionally (e.g. to link off road bits).
Think the key is to have a setup where partially deflated tires will still perform. I rode on off road tracks with my trekking bike but the bumpiness can be really tiring for arms, and also at one trip my rack (it was a poor quality rack for sure) broke because of vibrations. Then I had to cycle down the Slovenia-Austria pass near the Triglav national park (with 20-30% decline and 180 turns, though this was on a road fortunately) with a broken rack and two loaded panniers - but that's another story.
Bicycle7's Journal
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guitarplayer
- Posts: 1386
- Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2020 6:43 pm
- Location: Scotland
Re: Bicycle7's Journal
@jacob: yeah, I've thought of that type of tire pattern being pretty clever. My only concern would be when I need to stand up to climb on a loose surface and the rear tire spinning and braking performance on loose surfaces. I do wish for less rolling resistance on the road sections though!
@guitarplayer: yeah, just road vibrations and bumps can start to become really tiring. That descent sounds like a great story! I'd love to hear about it sometime
@guitarplayer: yeah, just road vibrations and bumps can start to become really tiring. That descent sounds like a great story! I'd love to hear about it sometime
Re: Bicycle7's Journal
Bikepacking with Axel Heyst in Utah
AH and I went bikepacking from May 1st to May 22nd.
The first couple days, we rode from AH's house to catch the bus and then spent the rest of the trip biking around Utah.
Traveling by bike is great. There are plenty of opportunities for spontaneity and serendipity when traveling at the speed and simplicity of a bike. For instance, seeing a trailhead for single-track trails resulted in spending the rest of the afternoon/evening/next morning exploring red rock canyons along single track.
Riding the Kokopeli trail from Grand Junction to Moab was a spontaneous add-on to the trip when we discovered we couldn't get off the train with our bikes in Green River Utah an hour or so before we got on. This kicked off 17 days or so of spontaneity that characterized the trip.
AH and I had a good rythymn of connection and solitude together. There'd be hours that'd go by where we'd be doing our own thing, riding at our own pace, lost in thought, and other times when we'd talk for hours at camp or pedaling down the road.
I feel grateful for the connection I made with AH on this trip. I also learned from AH how to survive in the desert- drinking from puddles and chilling out while navigating the maze of roads. AH was always ready to help lift my heavy ass fat bike over barb wire fence or boulders. In a lot of ways I felt supported to go into areas of growth on this trip by AH.
This trip was a proof of concept for me that I can travel long distances on a bike- and have a wonderful experience along the way!
Before this, I hadn't went on a trip of this kind, I've gone for short backpacking trips and an overnight cycling trip once. Hiking or biking for over a week changes things. You get into shape as you go. After the first week or so, I felt soreness diminish and I could feel my legs getting stronger. By the end of the trip my legs were stronger than they have been in the past several years!
Now after the trip, I feel inspired to research ways I can pack better next time, (no pannier bags!) future routes and plans for the next bikepack adventure I go on.
AH and I went bikepacking from May 1st to May 22nd.
The first couple days, we rode from AH's house to catch the bus and then spent the rest of the trip biking around Utah.
Traveling by bike is great. There are plenty of opportunities for spontaneity and serendipity when traveling at the speed and simplicity of a bike. For instance, seeing a trailhead for single-track trails resulted in spending the rest of the afternoon/evening/next morning exploring red rock canyons along single track.
Riding the Kokopeli trail from Grand Junction to Moab was a spontaneous add-on to the trip when we discovered we couldn't get off the train with our bikes in Green River Utah an hour or so before we got on. This kicked off 17 days or so of spontaneity that characterized the trip.
AH and I had a good rythymn of connection and solitude together. There'd be hours that'd go by where we'd be doing our own thing, riding at our own pace, lost in thought, and other times when we'd talk for hours at camp or pedaling down the road.
I feel grateful for the connection I made with AH on this trip. I also learned from AH how to survive in the desert- drinking from puddles and chilling out while navigating the maze of roads. AH was always ready to help lift my heavy ass fat bike over barb wire fence or boulders. In a lot of ways I felt supported to go into areas of growth on this trip by AH.
This trip was a proof of concept for me that I can travel long distances on a bike- and have a wonderful experience along the way!
Before this, I hadn't went on a trip of this kind, I've gone for short backpacking trips and an overnight cycling trip once. Hiking or biking for over a week changes things. You get into shape as you go. After the first week or so, I felt soreness diminish and I could feel my legs getting stronger. By the end of the trip my legs were stronger than they have been in the past several years!
Now after the trip, I feel inspired to research ways I can pack better next time, (no pannier bags!) future routes and plans for the next bikepack adventure I go on.