The Chainlink

Illinois Prairie Path - ok for a road bike?

(Is the "search" function broken right now? Sorry if it's working and my own ineptitude is the culprit.)

 

I'm looking at riding the Illinois Prairie Path from Maywood out to Aurora this weekend. Are road bike tires inappropriate? Some Google searching revealed conflicting descriptions of the path's surface.

 

My road bike doesn't have _super_ skinny tires. Just what I would think of as "normal" road bike tires.

 

The alternative would be to ride my nicer "touring" bike with hybrid tires, but I haven't ridden it this year and would prefer not to do the work to get it ready to go if my road bike would be fine. :)

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Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on August 27, 2013 at 12:13pm

Yes, forum search isn't currently working (NING error) but the homepage search box is working. 

And Bonebell retweeted - 

3m

of course it is. The crushed limestone can handle road tires fine.

Permalink Reply by David Ugarte on August 27, 2013 at 12:17pm

I rode this from maywood to elgin on 28c's with out a problem. I see people on 25's here and there and you should be fine. There are some places where horses have been on the trail and usually after winter its all trashed and bumpy but from elgin to wheaton has been fine. Just pretend you're riding in Paris-Roubaix and you'll have a blast!!

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on August 27, 2013 at 12:17pm

From the IPP web site:

The Path is surfaced primarily with a crushed limestone surface, which is easy on feet and bike tires alike, and sheds water quickly following rainfall.

Sections of the Green Bay Trail and much of the bike path through the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore have crushed limestone surfaces.  I've not had problems riding them with bikes having tires as narrow as 700Cx23. If you encounter wet spots, crud will splash on you and your bike, so fenders would be preferable if you have them. Given the recent dry weather, I doubt you'll encounter much, if any, water.

Permalink Reply by Chris Dever on August 27, 2013 at 12:18pm

I tried riding my road bike in the spring on the Path.  I made it to Villa Park before I had to change a flat.  There's a lot of crushed limestone, which is a danger to any road tire.  Given the option, I would go with the touring bike.  Depending on when you go, the amount of traffic on the path and the number of roads you have to stop at to cross keep your speed down, at least for the first 20 or so miles.

Permalink Reply by Eric L Olson on August 27, 2013 at 12:19pm

I used to live in the Glen Ellyn/Elmhurst area and rode the path relatively frequently on 23 inch tires. It's pretty hard packed through most of it and with as dry as it has been it should be in ok shape. 

Once you get out to Winfield/West Chicago the trail gets a little rougher, not so much that I ever had to get off my bike, but enough that I wish I had been on a touring bike. 

Personally? I'd get out the tourer, you'll be happier with the ride, however if you really dont feel like doing the work, the road bike will get you there.

*I havent ridden it in the last 2 years so this info is a little old...

Permalink Reply by Legacy Frameworks on August 27, 2013 at 12:20pm

IMHO The path is perfectly fine for road bike tires of all widths. Through maywood it is paved and then it turns into very densely packed crushed limestone. I have never had an issue with the exception of a few random washouts. My path went out past Wheaton and up to the timber ridge forest preserve and back on the Great Western trail. http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/6375177  This route includes how to get to the trailhead easily from the forrest park CTA blue line.

Have fun, the prairie path is great. 

Permalink Reply by David P. on August 27, 2013 at 12:28pm

I rode it two or three summers ago westward from Wheaton on a bike with worn-out 23mm Conti GP4000s, which were just fine.

Permalink Reply by Jeremy on August 27, 2013 at 12:29pm

Agreed, road tires are fine but bring a spare tube!  I flatted a couple miles into a prairie path ride with the in-laws last summer, that was a long, lonely walk back to the car when we realized no one had a tube or pump. 

Permalink Reply by Thomas Pakenas on August 27, 2013 at 12:33pm

Agreed. Trained for my Ironman last fall on the P.P. As long as it's dry the surface is fine. However after rain the surface gets very bumpy due to horse hooves.

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on August 27, 2013 at 12:34pm


Jeremy said:

Agreed, road tires are fine but bring a spare tube!

Or add some Stan's NoTubes Sealant (or similar).  I recently added some to my tubulars because they are tough to repair.  It seems to work just fine, though perhaps I simply haven't flatted since adding it.

Permalink Reply by Norah Webster on August 27, 2013 at 10:19pm

Pretty much the same that everyone else has said. I've ridden it a handful of times on a road bike with no problems.  In fact, it spoiled me for thinking I'd be fine on other crushed limestone trails - which I've recently found out is miserably not true in the case of the Millennium Trail in Lake County.

Permalink Reply by Drewbacca on August 28, 2013 at 11:55am

I ride it with 28s, no problem. The majority of my riding buddies in Naperville refuse to go on it with 23s. It's paved until Elmhurst, then it's crushed stone. I wouldn't say that it gets any worse past West Chicago, there are just some bad pockets (then it gets better again). 

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