LWB vrs. SWB for Gravel Trails

In June I will riding the new GITAP tour which consists of about 450 miles of riding on Illinois
hard packed crushed limestone trail system. I have a V-Rex and a RANS V2 with fairing and I'm
wondering if one would have a substantial advantage over the other on these trails. I can think of
advantages and disadvantages to either, but is there a clear winner?

Also, tire suggestions would be appreciated. I bought a set of 1.5" Schwalbe Marathons for the
Kevlar belt protection but discovered that they have a rather narrow tread width which is not the
best for the trail surface. Thanks.

 

IME SWB V-REX, Rocket vs. LWB Stratus and V2 having experience on all in loose trail dirt and
gravel. I dumped the LWB on gravel but never the SWB. Tires? Depends on the trail. The Marathons
should be fine on hardpack and packed gravel trail use.

--
Jude....///Bacchetta AERO St. Michaels and Tilghman Island.. Maryland Wheel Doctor Cycle and Sports,
Inc 1-800-586-6645 "Ken Kramer" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In June I will riding the new GITAP tour which consists of about 450 miles of riding on Illinois
> hard packed crushed limestone trail system. I have a V-Rex and a RANS V2 with fairing and I'm
> wondering if one would have a substantial advantage over the other on these trails. I can think of
> advantages and disadvantages to either, but is there a clear winner?
>
> Also, tire suggestions would be appreciated. I bought a set of 1.5"
Schwalbe
> Marathons for the Kevlar belt protection but discovered that they have a rather narrow tread width
> which is not the best for the trail surface. Thanks.

 

Ken Kramer wrote:
> In June I will riding the new GITAP tour which consists of about 450 miles of riding on Illinois
> hard packed crushed limestone trail system. I have a V-Rex and a RANS V2 with fairing and I'm
> wondering if one would have a substantial advantage over the other on these trails. I can think of
> advantages and disadvantages to either, but is there a clear winner?
>
> Also, tire suggestions would be appreciated. I bought a set of 1.5" Schwalbe Marathons for the
> Kevlar belt protection but discovered that they have a rather narrow tread width which is not the
> best for the trail surface. Thanks.

I don't own a LWB, but I have had a fair amount of experience riding a V-Rex on the crushed
limestone KATY trail in Missouri. My favorite tire for the KATY is a 1.75" Conti Top Touring 2000,
font and rear. I love cruising the KATY with my V-Rex. The
1.75 TT are wide enough to manage the trail when it gets wet/soft, but also cruise well under nice
hard packed conditions. It can get fairly windy on the KATY, but in June it can also get very hot
and humid so, at least for me, I wouldn't want a fairing.

Rick Moll

 

Ken,

I normally run a Schwalbe Marathon (1.5") on the back of my V-rex, and a Comp Poole (1.75") on the
front when touring on pavement. When I do things like the NY Canal System trails, which are mostly
crushed stone with some packed dirt sections, I swap a Maxxix Hookworm (53-406, ~2") onto the front;
it seems less "squirrelly" to me than the slick in the looser sections of crushed stone. I keep the
Schwalbe Marathon on the back; haven't noticed any handling problems with that.

By the way, I run the Hookworm at about 50psi or so (which is more than enough given its girth) to
prevent blowing it off of the too narrow (for the tire) Alex DA-16 rim. The Hookworm is a dog on the
pavement, but works well in gravel, crushed stone, or any looser surface material. I'm sure there
are other tires which would probably do as well; I think the key is to get something wide enough to
float up a bit out of the surface material, and with enough tread to get a little grip on it.

On the subject of LWB vs. SWB for this type of riding, I have no basis for comparison. I can tell
you the V-rex should work fine; it did for
me.

-- rtmc

"Ken Kramer" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
| In June I will riding the new GITAP tour which consists of about 450 miles of riding on Illinois
| hard packed crushed limestone trail system. I have a V-Rex and a RANS V2 with fairing and I'm
| wondering if one would have a substantial advantage over the other on these trails. I can think of
| advantages and disadvantages to either, but is there a clear winner?
|
| Also, tire suggestions would be appreciated. I bought a set of 1.5" Schwalbe Marathons for the
| Kevlar belt protection but discovered that they have a rather narrow tread width which is not the
| best for the trail surface. Thanks.
|
|

 

Ken, I was planning on doing the GITAP ride also and bought a Rans Stratus just for the ride as my
P-38 would not be a good choice. I say was because ,I can't do it now because of a conflict at work
for that week. Anyway,I chose the Stratus because of the low BB ,easier to get uncliped and start
and stop .I put Marathons on it because they are great tires for crushed rock ,maybe not the best
but ,very good. Also there are a lot of thorns on parts of the trail ,[I've ridden it before and
speak from experience ] and the Comets are not a good choice. I also put fenders on the Stratus and
a rear rack to carry extras in a rack pack. My choice between the 2 bikes you have would be the
V--rex,probably a little easier to handle in rock than the V-2. Ben Fox "Ken Kramer"
<[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> In June I will riding the new GITAP tour which consists of about 450 miles of riding on Illinois
> hard packed crushed limestone trail system. I have a V-Rex and a RANS V2 with fairing and I'm
> wondering if one would have a substantial advantage over the other on these trails. I can think of
> advantages and disadvantages to either, but is there a clear winner?
>
> Also, tire suggestions would be appreciated. I bought a set of 1.5"
Schwalbe
> Marathons for the Kevlar belt protection but discovered that they have a rather narrow tread width
> which is not the best for the trail surface. Thanks.