What type of tires do the bicycles have in Cycling the Camino?
27/05/2021It must be borne in mind that the Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage that, in its classic route, covers almost all sections on dirt tracks. It is evident that we cannot put ourselves in the minds of each one of the pilgrims and their planning of the stages. Both when we choose the type of mountain bike in terms of parts, types of brakes, spare parts, etc., and the type of tires they carry, we think about what the majority of the reserves will be.
As we always remind our pilgrims, each one knows the strength they have in their legs when planning the Way regarding the mileage, the sections, the hardness and where they are going to travel. The Camino is hard, that is usually understood by everyone, but when they start pedaling, reality appears. Regarding bicycles, the pilgrim must bear in mind that ours are mountain bikes, mountain bikes and, therefore, we suppose that the tires must tend to mount soft compounds on the tires. In our case with a lot of studs or drawings that, in the case of taking sections of road, do not slow down too much progress on the stage, but always keeping in mind that MTBs are designed for gravel.
We remember this because sometimes, almost always at distances of more than 500 km, some complain about the degradation of the roof, but of course that has an explanation. We start from the fact that they are soft compounds, for land, so it is easy to think that if in the sunny and hot season we put that type of wheel on the asphalt, the degradation levels will increase exponentially. Neither the compound, nor the studs, nor the tread of an MTB's wheels are suitable for pedaling on asphalt. And that's the simple explanation for that phenomenon. They should not pedal on the asphalt with this type of bicycle or, at least, do it for the shortest possible time.
At Cycling the Camino we regularly change tires when we detect wear and tear and use various leading brands such as Michelin, Continental or Victoria, combined with others that are entering the market. The widths are usually between 2.10 and 2.20 and the pressure we put on them is approximately between 2.7 and 3.
If your Camino planning includes the road, you should choose our 27.5'' Hybrided bike model. They are not electric bicycles, they are the same base as the 27.5'' MTB but with harder tires and a smooth tread, with fenders and kickstand. They also have front suspension, we repeat they are the same, but although they allow us to take sections of land, their assembly invites us to travel on the asphalt without fear of tire degradation. If you take this type of Camino, it is the best choice.
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