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How hard did the rider on 33’s find it…?
Hoping to do this towards end of August and that’s max tyre size I’ll be able to go upto….am I setting myself up for 3 days of hell?
Leeroy1313-
The south downs way will be shit. As long as you get thought that you'll be fine
I did this in a day last weekend https://bikepacking.com/routes/downs-overnighter/ and it was like a mini King Alfred's Way if anyone wants a shorter version
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We only had one punture (tubed). I would say tyre diameter is only part of the challenge, if you are comfortable with 33s offroad you should be fine. Grass covered rutted sections or as fredtc says, ripply dry ones on the Downs might require more focus, but 3 full days is enjoyable.
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A bunch of us did it last year, all on 35s - the maximum size we could fit on our normal commuting bikes. Here's a pic of my set-up. Was fine for the majority of the route. A few hike-a-bike sections where it was rocky and steep, and some slow going sandy parts, all mostly between Farnham and Winchester. But, most of it is perfectly doable.
fredtc
Glws
psb
just finished this in 3 days, it was and must be now almost completely dry overall, especially on the ridgeway.
4 of us on drop bar bikes with tyres ranging from 33 to 43.