Off-Road Vs On-Road Riding

[Earthy Ochre Man]

In 4-5 weeks I plan to ride the Kep Trail over two days. So far the longest ride I have done is 78km and to date I have never ridden off-road.

What sort of difference can I expect with riding on trails compared to the road? Will I need to have better endurance, etc?

Any advice would be really appreciated.

Cheers,

Matt D.

[Kalgrm]

The Kep Trail isn't too gruelling, but riding off-road is a little harder, even when it's this easy. Since you're doing it over two days, you'll be fine.

I'd really recommend doing a couple of rides before you head off though. You need to know how it will be different to what you're used to.

Cheers,
Graeme

[alchemist]

As a very rough guide a mtb ride on dirt will be about double the time it would take a road ride of the same difference (throw in single track and this will blow out lots).

It looks like it would be fairly easy to finish that ride in a day so over two days should not be an issue

Kep Track

[Kalgrm]

Andrew (Aushiker) posted a route on Bikely.com for us too. You've got about 650m of climbing each day over the 76km of the ride. That's not too bad.

Cheers,
Graeme

[Earthy Ochre Man]

Cheers for the advice.

I have noticed a few older posts about double gees on the track, should I be concerned about getting several punctures?

[Kalgrm]

Yes, if there are double-Gs around, you can expect to get punctures.

If you can put Slime in your tubes, the punctures won't result in flat tyres. Same goes for running tubeless tyres with fresh goop inside.

The next best option is to run tyre liners or thornproof tubes, but they add significant weight and still get punctured occasionally (resulting in flats).

Cheers,
Graeme

[Earthy Ochre Man]

I haven't had time to ride the Kep Track yet however I did get a chance to ride the Railway Reserve Heritage Trail on Sunday morning. What a difference to riding on the road! Every wheel turn only seems to get you half as far as you would do on the road, but what a lot of fun.

Now, I appreciate most wouldn't consider this a difficult mountain bike trail, however it is the first time I have ridden off road and it is definitely very different; less traction, more difficult to control, and in this case way more hills.

For those who haven't been off road, it is a great way to start. It is approximately 41km from start to finish (not including the section up to Wooraloo) and very accessible from a lot of places.

[casual_cyclist]

I haven't had time to ride the Kep Track yet however I did get a chance to ride the Railway Reserve Heritage Trail on Sunday morning. What a difference to riding on the road! Every wheel turn only seems to get you half as far as you would do on the road, but what a lot of fun.

Now, I appreciate most wouldn't consider this a difficult mountain bike trail, however it is the first time I have ridden off road and it is definitely very different; less traction, more difficult to control, and in this case way more hills.

For those who haven't been off road, it is a great way to start. It is approximately 41km from start to finish (not including the section up to Wooraloo) and very accessible from a lot of places.

Nice work! What a spectacular ride. I have been thinking about checking out that track too. How long did it take you to complete?

[Earthy Ochre Man]

It took me 3 hours however that allowed for stopping for a trackside breakfast and several photos stops.

[Kalgrm]

That really is one of the great rides for MTB beginners to tackle in the Perth area. I've taken my kids on it and they love it. I'll be leading my kids' Scout group on a bike hike up and back on it later in the year too. We're going to stay overnight at Mundaring Weir.

Cheers,
Graeme

[trailgumby]

Ah, that's awesome. You even get a tunnel!

[Mulger bill]

Fabulous!

You just don't get those views in the 'burbs.

Shaun