Looking to get out on my local rail trail again this year to help with training. I only own a road bike, and the maximum tire size i can fit on there is 700x28.
I was planning to just put gatorskin hardshells on there, because i dont care about performance while training, but then while my finger was hovering over the order button, thought “i dont know anything about gravel” started looking around, got confused, and thought some of you might be able to help me out.
The rail trail I’m on is the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP). Trail is primarily crushed limestone, very little mud even when raining.
Last year i used my gp5000’s 700x25, they were fine, comfort wise, i enjoyed being out there for 4-8 hour days. deep sections of gravel they obviously struggle. but its rare to come across those.
The GAP is primarily crushed limestone i believe, Had some issues with noticing slices in the side wall and tread of the tire over 500-800 miles. Large enough to make me concerned the tube was going to flat. This might also be made worse by having to pump up 25 width tires to 100-110 PSI to avoid pinch flatting. Even when its been raining, ive had very few issues with traction, but obviously its better to be prepared with something with more tread, than not, so i thought maybe Gatorskins aren’t my best option, but i’m not sure what i should be looking at, that would hopefully also provide some good protection from slices from the sharper objects i find.
any wisdom would be appreciated