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touring on 20s?

texastraveler

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i have a schwinn 684, and while it can carry all my gear, it's only able to fit 20mm, MAYBE 23mm tires. obviously this kinda sucks as i'm limited to relatively smooth roads, and only the hardest of dirt and tightest of gravel. it gets pinch flats if i don't keep the pressure >100 psi. should i try to score a different bike before i leave? and if so what size tires should i go with
 
D

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Honestly sounds like a difficult rim to tour on, especially if you are planning on hitting some rail trails that may be limestone or gravel. I like to use my mountain bike with 26 inch rims. I think the smallest tire ive been able to put on it has been a 28 or 30. You may be able to swap out some more road worthy rims on your current bike and put a larger tire. I would go 28+
 

Hazardoussix6six

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Where you riding from and or to?

I'd think 25s wld prolly fit, depends on the frame tho obviosuly.but touring wise hefty the tire less time u spend fixing flats.

But all said I toured from Cincinnati to Roswell on a Walmart huffy will power /determintaion can get you anywhere.

Goodluck tho
 

texastraveler

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Where you riding from and or to?

I'd think 25s wld prolly fit, depends on the frame tho obviosuly.but touring wise hefty the tire less time u spend fixing flats.

But all said I toured from Cincinnati to Roswell on a Walmart huffy will power /determintaion can get you anywhere.

Goodluck tho
plan on taking the I-10 most of the way from Houston out to the slabs, gonna spend some time out there then head up to see a friend in Portland. the frame is real narrow, i could fit wider rims with a smaller diameter than 700c but then I'd have to get disc brakes
 

Django

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plan on taking the I-10 most of the way from Houston out to the slabs, gonna spend some time out there then head up to see a friend in Portland. the frame is real narrow, i could fit wider rims with a smaller diameter than 700c but then I'd have to get disc brakes
You are not allowed to ride on freeways. At least not in California. Not sure about Texas

To your question; 20s seems too small but it also depends on how much you carry and your own weight.
I'd say this; if you can, try and get a bigger frame that can fit at least 26's (700cc is classic). If you can't, fuck it, let us know how it went.

I'm bike touring for over a year now, and biked to the slabs and in/out of Houston, if you got any question please post!
D
 

texastraveler

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You are not allowed to ride on freeways. At least not in California. Not sure about Texas

To your question; 20s seems too small but it also depends on how much you carry and your own weight.
I'd say this; if you can, try and get a bigger frame that can fit at least 26's (700cc is classic). If you can't, fuck it, let us know how it went.

I'm bike touring for over a year now, and biked to the slabs and in/out of Houston, if you got any question please post!
D
texas, NM and Arizona are "no reasonable alternative" states for the freeways. i'm travelling pretty light, lots of water strapped to my bike, tubes, a pump, and tools in a pannier bag then my backpack is bungeed to my rack. also what route did you take out of Houston? the drivers out here are some of the most aggressive i've ever seen. thanks for the help
 

Django

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texas, NM and Arizona are "no reasonable alternative" states for the freeways. i'm travelling pretty light, lots of water strapped to my bike, tubes, a pump, and tools in a pannier bag then my backpack is bungeed to my rack. also what route did you take out of Houston? the drivers out here are some of the most aggressive i've ever seen. thanks for the help
There's a website with safe (ish) bike paths across the country. The one you might be interested in is the southern tier

My route from San Diego to Slab city went something like this:
Hwy78 from Escondido via Julian and then to Brawley. From Brawley I went to Slab city (on the 111 obviously).

In Arizona you're allowed to ride on freeways, so my route was like this:
From Slab city I continued on the 78 to Blythe, got on i40 until 60 and made my way to Prescott, Sedona.. you'll see on the map, it's pretty straight forward (60, then 89). Then to Flagstaff on the 89A.

From Flagstaff you can ride the i40 to ABQ and then take the torquise trail to Santa Fe, or you can from Flagstaff go a bit north and take the 160, but it's a bit of a detour.

Anyhow, from Santa Fe I went north (I aimed to Chicago) so I took mostly the 285 through Colorado to Denver. No freeway needed there.

Houston:
I was supposed to bike from New Orleans to Houston on the Galveston bay road (first to Laffayette and from there south, hwy 82 to Port Arthur) but due to floods and road closures I got a ride from Laffayette to Kemah. from Kemah I used highway 3 on a Sunday, so it was chill to Houston. But definitely not a fun highway on a weekday.

From Houston to Austin I used the 36 and then 71, there's no other way.. 71 is horrible. Lots if construction and weird interchanges make it annoying to bike (on the map it seems easy. It ain't that obvious in real life).

Aggressive drivers are annoying but I mean, the real danger is when you get into a city, because usually when it's the highway you'll have wide shoulders..
 

texastraveler

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There's a website with safe (ish) bike paths across the country. The one you might be interested in is the southern tier

My route from San Diego to Slab city went something like this:
Hwy78 from Escondido via Julian and then to Brawley. From Brawley I went to Slab city (on the 111 obviously).

In Arizona you're allowed to ride on freeways, so my route was like this:
From Slab city I continued on the 78 to Blythe, got on i40 until 60 and made my way to Prescott, Sedona.. you'll see on the map, it's pretty straight forward (60, then 89). Then to Flagstaff on the 89A.

From Flagstaff you can ride the i40 to ABQ and then take the torquise trail to Santa Fe, or you can from Flagstaff go a bit north and take the 160, but it's a bit of a detour.

Anyhow, from Santa Fe I went north (I aimed to Chicago) so I took mostly the 285 through Colorado to Denver. No freeway needed there.

Houston:
I was supposed to bike from New Orleans to Houston on the Galveston bay road (first to Laffayette and from there south, hwy 82 to Port Arthur) but due to floods and road closures I got a ride from Laffayette to Kemah. from Kemah I used highway 3 on a Sunday, so it was chill to Houston. But definitely not a fun highway on a weekday.

From Houston to Austin I used the 36 and then 71, there's no other way.. 71 is horrible. Lots if construction and weird interchanges make it annoying to bike (on the map it seems easy. It ain't that obvious in real life).

Aggressive drivers are annoying but I mean, the real danger is when you get into a city, because usually when it's the highway you'll have wide shoulders..
thanks! that helps out a lot lol. i planned on USBR 90 once in Tucson, but i'll take a look at that route. how were the roads? the bike can't go very fast over bumpy asphalt
 

texastraveler

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thanks! that helps out a lot lol. i planned on USBR 90 once in Tucson, but i'll take a look at that route. how were the roads? the bike can't go very fast over bumpy asphalt and as far as aggressive drivers go i'm only worried about getting out of the city, it seems some of these people wouldn't lose any sleep over hitting a cyclist as long as they saved some time doing it
 

Django

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Throughout the US, besides the Levee roads, I don't recall any issues with road conditions. Wherever Google mark a road as a road, it was a good paved asphalt. Sure, if you're in a farming area and you see this square-shape roads, it's probably shitty Rocky farm roads, but there's no reason to bike there anyway.
In some roads the shoulders aren't wide (or they don't exist) but usually it also means that it's a small Highway and not a lot of traffic..

Obviously county roads are also proun to be shit. I used Google maps and street view, and tried to use thicker highways shown on the map
Screenshots from Nebraska and somewhere in Illinois, as I made my way down the Mississippi from Chicago to Nola. Wouldn't reccomand, borring. Overrated. Not much river view
 

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Dunedrifter

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plan on taking the I-10 most of the way from Houston out to the slabs, gonna spend some time out there then head up to see a friend in Portland. the frame is real narrow, i could fit wider rims with a smaller diameter than 700c but then I'd have to get disc brakes
The Southern Tier Route would be way safer, and less stressful than the Interstate.
 
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Django

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yeah i'm trying to piece the route together from what i've heard, can't really afford the ACA maps. really i just want out of this damn state as fast as possible
No need to purchase any maps. The route is online, just bookmark dots on your Google maps/navigation app and you're set..
Basically, you don't even need the internet, the hwy system is parallel to the freeway, and many times you have Frontage roads which run just next to the freeway.

Another tip; if you do happen to bike on a freeway or a 70mph highway, many times you think it's straight and easy, but there are interchanges and you'll have to bike into traffic in order to keep straight. My advice is that you exit, keep it on the shoulders, and always there will be an option to get back in the freeway via the traffic light.

The explanation sounds weird but you'll see in real life. Usually it also means you skip a bridge, which is always nice.

Just don't over think about it.. you'll figure everything out!
 

texastraveler

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No need to purchase any maps. The route is online, just bookmark dots on your Google maps/navigation app and you're set..
Basically, you don't even need the internet, the hwy system is parallel to the freeway, and many times you have Frontage roads which run just next to the freeway.

Another tip; if you do happen to bike on a freeway or a 70mph highway, many times you think it's straight and easy, but there are interchanges and you'll have to bike into traffic in order to keep straight. My advice is that you exit, keep it on the shoulders, and always there will be an option to get back in the freeway via the traffic light.

The explanation sounds weird but you'll see in real life. Usually it also means you skip a bridge, which is always nice.

Just don't over think about it.. you'll figure everything out!
thanks! i'm mostly stressing about getting outta houston, these drivers are seriously aggressive. also, how frequently should i expect cops to hassle me?
 

Django

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thanks! i'm mostly stressing about getting outta houston, these drivers are seriously aggressive. also, how frequently should i expect cops to hassle me?
Why should cops hassle you? Unless you're driving on freeways in states you're not allowed to, cops should leave you alone. I only had 3 unwanted encounters with cops in a year:

Ontario Canada; camping where I shouldn't have. Woke me up at midnight after were called by citizens (eventually left me alone).
California; I biked on the freeway. Coo pulled me over and showed me where I should go. Not an issue..
Iowa; Some stupid guy had a tiny car accident cause out of 5 cars that passed me safely, he didn't notice me and drove to the ditch. Told the cops I was biking in the center of the road. They pulled me over, checked my papers and let me go without even a warning, they knew I was ok (basically saw me for hours on that same highway-6/34).

I once called the cops in Texas and the state trooper was very helpful.

Be safe biking out of Houston. Don't panic about it...
 

texastraveler

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Why should cops hassle you? Unless you're driving on freeways in states you're not allowed to, cops should leave you alone. I only had 3 unwanted encounters with cops in a year:

Ontario Canada; camping where I shouldn't have. Woke me up at midnight after were called by citizens (eventually left me alone).
California; I biked on the freeway. Coo pulled me over and showed me where I should go. Not an issue..
Iowa; Some stupid guy had a tiny car accident cause out of 5 cars that passed me safely, he didn't notice me and drove to the ditch. Told the cops I was biking in the center of the road. They pulled me over, checked my papers and let me go without even a warning, they knew I was ok (basically saw me for hours on that same highway-6/34).

I once called the cops in Texas and the state trooper was very helpful.

Be safe biking out of Houston. Don't panic about it...
it would really suck if a texas cop pulls me over
 

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