Second bike to ride on limestone

[mimitabby]

is the limestone caustic? In other words are you concerned about more than tire slippage?

[SouthernBelle]

is the limestone caustic? In other words are you concerned about more than tire slippage?

Limestone should be just the opposite of caustic! I would think dust and grit would a be a big problem though.

[uforgot]

I got a Surly Cross Check to ride on the Katy Trail. (limestone). I have a wheel set with road tires (25mm) and a wheel set with tires just for the trail and gravel. (38mm). I can go from the road to the trail in about 5 minutes. The Cross Check is absolutely perfect on limestone. A mountain bike was definitely overkill. In the past, I rode my Trek 7.2fx on the trail. It is also good on it and is under $500. The limestone is really dusty, so your bike will get a lot dirtier than on the road.

[uforgot]

Here is the Trek7.2fx I used to ride on limestone. It is more like a road bike than a mountain bike. No suspension, but has the straight bars. You can put fenders on it which helps with the dust somewhat. I think it was $459. It was really comfortable on the trail. The tires were bombproof too. It's also available in wsd, baby blue.

[Flur]

+1 on the surly. My husband has a steamroller and loves it, and pretty much all their frames can take fat tires. And they're not terribly expensive new - the steamroller was $600 (but it's a fixie, I think the cross checks are a bit more but still under $1000). I would imagine you could get one used within your budget.

[Zen]

I'm riding my new (last years model) Trek 7.2 on dirt paths this year and loving every minute of it. Close-out sale price $350
The road bike sits sulking in the front room