28 mm tires -- good enough for riding this trail?

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Dave from St. Paul, MN on 7/9/2018 2:47:22 PM:

I have a road bike with 28 mm tires (Continental touring), and completed the Katy Trail in Missouri this spring, and the Sparta-Elroy series of trails in Wisconsin last year. My tires did fine on those crushed limestone trails. But some of the threads on this forum indicate that isn't sufficient. Anyone have any thoughts?

Stephen McGregor from Hannibal, MO on 7/9/2018 3:29:31 PM:

I rode it with Clement XPLOR USH 700x35's and wish they'd have been a little bigger, but bigger wouldn't fit in the fork of my Gravel Bike. The surface isn't really compacted (by the Katy Trail Standards). My friend rode her mountain bike with Scwalbe Marathons (I think they were 42m and had the puncture resistant liner), and she had some trouble around Newport, where the sub irrigated soil and loose gravel gave her a good spill.

You can probably ride on your tires, but it's not anywhere near a hard surface trail.

Larry Wenzl from Norfolk on 7/23/2018 4:34:38 PM:

Five of us rode the 200 miles from Valentine to Norfolk in mid-May of 2018. I recommend 38mm tires or wider. Also be sure to have tubeless tires with sealant, or sealant-filled tubes and liners. We also exited the trail several miles before the two A-towns: Atkinson and Ainsworth, to avoid goat head thorns. 1000 miles between five of us, and no issues by following those few rules.

Mark Murphy from Mountain Park, Georgia on 9/14/2018 3:13:25 PM:

I've ridden cross country twice and last year did the trails in WI with 700X25 as part of my Portland, OR to Portland, ME trip. I didn't have any problems but we also had dry conditions. I'm going to be riding roughly 3000 miles before I hit CT on my way to RAGBRAI to ride another 400 or so. Wondering if I should skip CT..honestly not a big fan of trails and prefer open road and nice hard pavement..thoughts?

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