Off road capabilities of the 500 or 700

[Scott Sipes]

Hello all,

So I was wondering on what is the consensus of the off pavement capabilities of these bikes. We RV so we're looking at kept dirt roads and not so kept dirt roads along with gravel roads. I'm thinking of purchasing the 700 but just wanted some feedback on those that have either bike. Thanks

 

[rchenail]

700XR is a great bike for gravel and dirt but not designed for mountain biking on single tracks. I would suggest however, for overall comfort, to get a suspension seat post. I use the Suntour post and very satisfied.

 

[Hamonstage]

Depending on your percentage of road to trail you may want to switch to hardier tires to help with gravel and trails

 

[Slaphappygamer]

I just got back from a road trip. We took an RV out for a couple of weeks. I rode my 700xr through dirt and gravel just fine. I did have to adjust the front fork suspension and my tires were around 18psi. It was a nice ride. The dirt was pretty fine and the gravel was that of at the RV sites. Seems gravel is a common use at RV parks.
I’d say just don’t go too fast and you’ll be fine.

 

[Scott Sipes]

Thank you all for the comments. We'll buy our bikes with confidence. Most of our rides will be on roads in the national and state parks. But it's good to know that we can ride them at most national monuments which tend to have gravel/dirt roads.