The Rock Island Trail

Tandem tires for the Katy Trail

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Eric from Yakima, WA on 6/1/2006 8:44:59 PM:

We are planning to ride our Burley tandem from Sedalia to St. Charles in early September. I plan to replace the tires (been on a long time) on our Mavic 559 x 17 wheels, and am seeking recommendations from experienced riders out there as to which tires would be best for the trip. The team with stuff weighs around 380#. We normally ride paved streets so I would like to use tires that work ok under both circumstances. Probably a tall order, but thanks for your ideas. Eric.

MLH from Overland Park KS on 6/2/2006 8:47:53 AM:

Check out this link to an article that addresses tires for tandems in particular (although they mostly discuss 700c):

http://www.precisiontandems.com/arttiresbymark.htm

The last section on crushed limestone is what you are dealing with on the Katy. Although I have no personal experience with tandems on rail trails, I have used Mavic 559 X 17 rims on my hardtail MTB for hundreds on miles therein. Have had the best luck with no punctures using Continental TravelContact 26 X 1.75 (559 X 47). You can use this on pavement also but not for mud.

http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/de/en/continental/bicycle/themes/tires/city/travelcontact/travelcontact_en.html

Also, check out the Schwalbe Marathon XR. There are several dealers in the Seattle area found in the website dealer locator. Ask them about the proper width (and psi) for your load weight.

http://schwalbetires.com/node/166/ok

No experience with the Avocet Cross II in the article above but you would want the protective shield version.

Also, the first two above come in folding versions, nice to pack a spare for long trips.

Eric from Yakima, WA on 6/2/2006 12:13:41 PM:

Thanks MLH- just the information I was looking for. BTW, we have kids living in Overland Park. Pretty nice area. Eric

Steve from Houston, TX on 6/20/2006 8:07:26 PM:

We rode our Co-Motion Mocha the length of the trail last week on 26 x 1.25 Tioga City Slickers which worked fine - not too skinny, not too fat. We put on fenders for the first time this trip in case we had rain or a wet trail. That didn't happen but maybe the fenders helped keep everything a little cleaner.

mark from saline township, illinois on 6/21/2006 6:02:36 PM:

we have succesfully ridden our tandem on the katy with 700mm x 28mm tires. our loaded weight is about 440 pounds. in a couple of wet sections i would have preferred a slightly wider tire. we are currently using armadillo brand 28mm tires and have had no flat problems on our chat surfaced rural roads. the running surface and sidewalls on these tires appear much stouter than our previous michelens and race-lites.

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