Bought an aluminum cross bike.

[farmersam]

I've been riding steel for 20 years. My nephew was selling his Trek Cross Rip Elite at a price I couldn't refuse, and now I remember why this 40 something with herniated lumbar discs gave up on aluminum.

The tires are Bontrager H5 Hard-Case Ultimate, 700x32c.

Does anyone have experience with different tires that can provide stability and comfort? I'm using this on the GAP, with 3 miles of tar and chip pavament in between.

[charliedid]

Try a fatter nicer tire and give it a chance. Those tires are, well...um not very "nice" riding IMO

Try something like the tire below in a 120 TPI

http://clementcycling.com/ush

[Miles]

Hard cases are really harsh riding but what psi are you running?

Also...aluminum seatpost? A carbon post could give you a little more flex as well. If you can handle 20mm of setback the specialized cg-r is an option that will take the edge off somewhat. But before exploring posts...do what was recommended above and experiment with different tires or psi.

[Jeff Borisch]

What tire pressure are you using? How much do you weigh? I wouldn't be using more that 50psi in those.

I was going to suggest a flexier steel fork but it looks like maybe the steerer is tapered on the cross-rip.

You could definitely fit some nicer wide tires and run comfy pressures.

All is not lost.

[xjoex]

For the great allegheny passage I'd ride a CX tire at 35 PSI all day. In fact I have :)


-Joe

[thirdgenbird]

I agree, start with the tires. I rode a smaller bontrager hardcase for a while. What a miserable tire.

[p nut]

A carbon post could give you a little more flex as well.

Carbon doesn't necessarily mean more compliant. In fact, I found the opposite to be true most of the time. Maybe Ti may be better, but this guy might be better off with a Thudbuster.

[Cornfed]

+ X on the tires. Start from the ground up. And if all else fails, get a Thudbuster ST seatpost. Comes with a weight penalty, but will definitely help your lower back.

[aaronka]

In addition to the tire suggestions you could also run a carbon railed saddle, I have one on my carbon Cannondale and I notice it has some nice give for vibration and big hits.

[gomango]

oops iPad trouble

[gomango]

oops Double

[gomango]

I rode my Merckx AluCross with a few different tires last summer. Mostly on gravel and country roads.

I used Small Block 8s, 700x32 Paselas and Compass Stampede Pass tires.

Run them on all on the low side pressure wise and it takes the jarring out of the frameset for the most part.

BTW The Compass tires were my favorite overall choice for the bike, but the Paselas were also fine for all around use.


https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3869/14825137554_f2cf497659_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/oA3GTU)Untitled (https://flic.kr/p/oA3GTU) by gomango1849 (https://www.flickr.com/people/36270004@N06/), on Flickr

[fogrider]

its a careful balance of tire, weight, and psi. hard nylon casings tend to be harsh, drop the psi and the handling will likely change. I'm riding tubulars and all the tires I've ridden have been soft...tufo, vittorias, continentals. for both road and trail, I'm really liking the diamond pattern tread on the rear tire.

[Miles]

Carbon doesn't necessarily mean more compliant. In fact, I found the opposite to be true most of the time. Maybe Ti may be better, but this guy might be better off with a Thudbuster.

I think a thudbuster is a very extreme solution for mixed surface riding.

[p nut]

I think a thudbuster is a very extreme solution for mixed surface riding.

Maybe not to a guy with a herniated disc, eh?

[brando]

If it'll fit 40s go with the Clement XPLORE MSOs or the new WTB Nanos. They should clear your fork, if it's tight in the back go with 35s or the biggest tires you can.

[Miles]

Maybe not to a guy with a herniated disc, eh?

P Nut I respect what you are saying however if a person riding steel with herniated disc is using a normal post moving to aluminum won't require addition of suspension. As I said in my first post and others have said as well changing tires would be the easiest and best solution to try to solve for the ride quality of the cross rip. Those tires are awful.

[ceolwulf]

I'm sure the tires will fix it but if not maybe a Specialized CG-R post?

Aluminum doesn't have to equal harsh, I have never found my Masi CXR harsh at all and that's far from high end. For example.

[juanhenry]

For what it is worth:

I ride aluminum CX, too. I totally agree with Clement Xplorer 40's and carbon post.

[shovelhd]

My rain bike is an aluminum Conquest Pro. It has a carbon fork. I have 25mm Vittoria Zaffiro tires on it, a commuter tire. The whole package rides fine with the proper air pressure. Those hard case tires are the modern equivalent of iron hoops. Junk them.

[FastforaSlowGuy]

I've had back problems too, and it gets angry when I don't treat it nicely. I also ride some alu bikes. Start with the tires (the ones on there now are only slightly better than riding wagon wheels). But don't forget the wheels. Two seemingly identical wheelsets can ride dramatically softer/stiffer just by changing the spokes, lacing, or build quality.

[p nut]

This looks interesting:

http://www.ergon-bike.com/us/en/product/cf3procarbon

http://www.ergon-bike.com/us/en/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/2013-Ergon-CF3-Pro-carbon-fiber-leaf-spring-seatpost01.jpg

[farmersam]

I fell off the internet for a while and never responded to this post. Thanks for all the great tips. I've noticed that since the temperatures have risen above 80 the road has smoothed out some. That won't help this fall and winter, so time to purchase some new tires that have been recommended.

Riding at 60 psi, and I'm 200 pounds. I'll drop the psi down a bit, but I need new tires as it is.

[farmersam]

So, I went the more affordable route on the tire recommendations that were recommended. I ended up with Pasela PT 700x32 tires. Wow! What a difference! The crossrip is a whole other bike now. I appreciate the help.

[farmersam]

I'll have to see what folks are recommending for road. I'm pretty sure these Mavic tires on my Jamis Eclipse are not the greatest.

[etu]

being selective about tires is definitely a good thing. like everything else, it's usually a compromise between durability, weight and cost. taking time to figure out what's right for you will keep you happier on and off the road.

a good resource and one of the contributors to the fatter tire trend has been bicycle quarterly/jan heine. if you haven't, you should check out his blog:
https://janheine.wordpress.com/

[FlashUNC]

Tires can completely change the character and feel of a bike. Especially going from awful ones to even just decent ones.

[redir]

I have a Thudbuster on my cross biek and I absolutely love it. I raced cross for a few years on a Trek AL bike, and X)1. It was a really good bike but I didn't realize how harsh it was till i got a steel cross bike. Add a Thudbuster to that and I never have back issues. The Thuds are heavy but worth it imho.

[farmersam]

I ended up with Gatorskins on my steel road bike. I was looking for something that rides better that would allow me to ride the GAP rail trail on some of my rides, too. Anyone else out there riding rail trails with their road bike?

[ik2280]

I ended up with Gatorskins on my steel road bike. I was looking for something that rides better that would allow me to ride the GAP rail trail on some of my rides, too. Anyone else out there riding rail trails with their road bike?

Open Pave 27s, if they'll fit.

[CampyorBust]

I threw my leg over a cross bike just once in my life. It was an aluminum bike with mediocre parts at best. I made it less than 1/4 of a mile and realized this is just not for me. That said I recently took my steel road bike on some trails, the bike is equipped with them fancy tubular sew up tires and surprisingly I had a blast, it felt fanfriggintastic! So I started thinking maybe a really nice steel or carbon cross bike with choice components would feel a whole lot better than the aluminum bike. I just don稚 think I would ride it that much.

[biker72]

Nice bike but those tires are awful. Hardcase tires will last forever but with a very stiff ride. Almost anything would be better for someone with back problems.