Santa Fe trip - overthinking tire selection
 

5 days in Santa Fe. Staying 5 miles or so north of main market area. Sorta rugged up there I hear. Bringing my bike. No epic rides, just some 60-90 jaunts to see some new roads/views before breakfast.

I have 25mm Veloflex on there now. Should I swap those out for 28mm Ruffy Tuffy? No idea what roads are like there.

overthinking tire selection YES

25's should be fine. Rocky Mtn aggregates are a little rougher than some but I ride further N with 25's all the time. Don't overthink it. The bigger problem would be "goatheads", stay off the grass/weeds on the shoulder.

My 190lb self does just fine on similar roads (and some packed dirt) with 25's. You ought to be just fine. Good advice on the goats heads, though. Those things are a royal PITA-- take extra tubes if they're an issue.

I have zero experience with goatheads. I'm assuming those are a type of thorny somethingorother, and that the New Mexico countryside is not strewn with the heads of goats.

Goatheads
http://imgarcade.com/1/goat-head-thorn/

They can ruin your day on the bike.

[QUOTE=FastforaSlowGuy;1642176]I have zero experience with goatheads. I'm assuming those are a type of thorny somethingorother, and that the New Mexico countryside is not strewn with the heads of goats.[/QUOTE

You should contact me and I will take you on some of my favorite rides.

PM me.

Make at least one trip up the mountain while you're there. It's a nice climb that has a nice reprieve on the way up and speed scrubber on the way down.

Where is the reprieve on the way up?

4k feet in 15 miles. It is a grueling climb. I suffer up it at least once a week. The descent is awesome, especially when there is little traffic.

Get some sealant, Stans or Orange seal and put in tubes.

There's that little downhill section past Ten Thousand Waves that curves to the right as I recall (?). It's early in to the climb, but I always appreciated the slight break. It's been a few years since I've ridden it, although I still drive out there to ski with the kids alot.

I was just joking. I thought you meant that spot. That is before the real climbing, and suffering begins. The toughest part of that section is when you encounter it after the descend. Legs are still fried from the grueling climb and there it is, a crazy steep section near the end of the ride.

I am probably a bit dramatic. Super fit riders don't have any problem with that section on either the beginning or the end. It is us mortals who suffer on it.

Could be that it's just us, but I always appreciate the reprieve no matter how soon it shows up and on the way down I always hope to be going fast enough that I don't have to do any more work. :)

My mother lives by that dip. First time I ever tried to climb anything, I started there and climbed VERY slowly to the ski area. I had the wrong gears, too much weight and I wasn't acclimated to the altitude. Just before i got to the top, my wife pulled up in the car. She was surprised that i wasn't dead.