Reply to Katy Trail/Bike Tires

To carry the discussion a step further do you think that a regular road bike with 27"/1" would work for the entire length of the Katy Trail?

I wouldn't do it. Recommend a hybird with 32's.

If you ride in the lane where most of the pug has been kicked to the side, you should do fine. We ride 28's on the tandem and have done fine. We've also ridden hybrids with wider tires, but when you find yourself in the loose stuff it doesn't seem to matter what the tire size is.

I'd recommend going with a good puncture-resistant tire. A little wider is good because you'll run into washouts and other gnarly trail and something with a little width and tread (and a little lower pressure) absorbs the shock better.

The only time I've had a flat on the trail was when I was using slicks instead of something with a little tread on them.

Thanks all! Your comments are most helpful! Take care and have a great weekend!

We ride road bikes with 27's on the Katy on a regular basis. Wider tires make life easier and may reduce flats, but will also slow you down. It depends on your budget and goals.

I did the entire trail on 27 x 1-1/4 touring tires. Nothing special, just $20 tires and regular tubes. Maybe I was a little lucky, but did not suffer any punctures or flats.

I ride the Treloar to Machens section on 27x 1 1/8 without any problems. (Actually, I replaced my worn out tires with 27x 1 1/4 this year, but I can't really feel any difference.) The 27x1 would pretty much be like a 700Cx25mm, and that's been used by a bunch of people.
As another person commented, and depending upon your total weight of bike and rider, you might want to use a larger volume tire that would allow you to run lower pressure.

I have rode the trail from Columbia MO to St. Charles and back twice, and both times I have used a road bike with no problems. One of the trips was slightly soggy and I still encountered no problems. That said, St. Charles to Machens trail packing was a bit loose and would be rough on a road frame. It should be noted that i am in my mid 20s so a little roughness wasnt too bad.

Sort of an update comment regarding the previous poster's comment: I rode the St. Charles to Machens section yesterday, 8/29/2011, and it was packed okay for my 1985 chrome-moly frame road bike with 27 x 1 1/4 tires. Only a fairly short section just NE of St. Charles is a bit new. This section is a little curvy with some small ups and downs. It's rougher than average, but still okay for a metal road bike. (I suppose you could use a carbon frame. But he original poster was asking about 27 inch tires, so that wouldn't apply.)

The tire diameter isn't the issue. I ride it with a 26 inch rear and 20 inch front (long wheel based recumbent) and it rides great on this trail. The issue is width because it's crushed limestone/dirt...well packed mind you, most of the time. I use 1 1/4" with no problem on this type trail. I've never had a flat on the trail, but a riding buddy once picked up 4 thorns in one place on his MTB 2 1/4 width tires (crossing the river at Boone).

I have rode various recumbents since the trail opened. I've had four flats that I can remember. Taking spare inner tubes and the tools to change them has always been what saves me.

Unless you are riding after a SIGNIFICANT period of rain - I think you will be fine. Good advise to stay away from the loose stuff on the edges. Puncture resistant is more important to me than width. That said - my preferred width is 28s.

My 2 cents worth on this is that you CAN ride almost anything you want to, but you WANT to ride something a little wider and softer. Depending on what kind of bike you have, I prefer 700c x 37's or 26" x 1.5 path tires with a fairly smooth tread (but not slick), both with 60 or 65 lbs. of air of pressure. Specialized makes a tire called the Nimbus: It is perfect in my opinion because it has a light tread with no where for the little limestone arrowheads to imbed in the tire, nor do they throw up a lot of dirt for the riders behind you, or on you. Sure the path is hard, but in most places it feels as if Kitty Litter was spread on top of it. There are lots of spots that have been washed out, there are ruts, there are bumpy surfaces left by the lugs on tractors and maintence vehicles, etc. There are also LOTS of dirt roads that cross the trail, and every time that happens, there is a rough transition from the path surface over the dirt road and then back on to the path. The loose surface also makes it tough to go real fast: I am a road rider and usually ride in the 15-18mph range: On our thru trip last fall, we usually went 12-13 mph when loaded with 25-30lb of gear-. The surface also gets pretty loose when it's wet. All that to say, I think you can ride anything, but you take your chances if you go skinny, it would be pretty rough, and I strongly recommend that you go big with less air pressure and puncture protection from all those little limestone arrohead shards.