tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post3655619486688473386..comments2024-03-27T11:44:15.723-04:00Comments on The Retrogrouch: Tire, Tires, TiredBrookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12110998345857993287noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-42536843206068849922020-01-09T17:32:05.034-05:002020-01-09T17:32:05.034-05:00Your story parallels my experience. I was riding C...Your story parallels my experience. I was riding Continental Tour Rides on my commuting bike and hated the ride. Even after upgrading my wheels because the OE ones had a bad habit of snapping spokes the bike was still lethargic. My next improvement was to put all those parts on a alloy CX frame. When that didn't do much to fire my love for my commuter I switched to 32mm Continental Gator Skins and the improvement in ride was massive. The bike because spritely! If finished off that build by converting the bike from a flat bar to a drop bar which was pretty much the icing on the cake. Eventually I sold that frame and built up a steel 650b commuter/gravel bike. I'm running even lighter / more supple 42mm wide Soma Gran Randonneur tires on that bike and its ride is positively sublime. Good wheels and fat supple tires are truly a game changer for ride comfort and fun. Sobiewanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09275295358419537018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-40255952011064730822020-01-03T21:56:07.648-05:002020-01-03T21:56:07.648-05:00I've been trying to educate the bike club that...I've been trying to educate the bike club that I ride with about proper tire pressure. They are a bunch of curmudgeons who think you need to inflate the tires to the max PSI printed on the sidewall. I'm 220 pounds and I put just 70 PSI in my 28c front tire and they think I'm nuts. This one lady in the club weighs maybe 90 pounds soaking wet and she refuses to ride with anything less than 120PSI on her front 23c tire. Makes me wonder how is it her wrists, arms and upper body can withstand the beating it receives one every ride.<br /><br />I wonder in another decade or two when I become a curmudgeon, what thing would a younger cyclist try to convince me that I'm doing wrong. :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-44624803743263365372019-12-22T10:17:08.908-05:002019-12-22T10:17:08.908-05:00There's tires and then there is tires...
I pri...There's tires and then there is tires...<br />I primarily ride old 3 speeds. Tires range from some old high pressure (90psi) which you DON'T want to pump to max or they WILL blow off the rims, to what ever was cheapest at the local hardware store, currently Bell? or Cheng Shin. On my "Sunday" bike, a 1971 Raleigh Superbe I blew the budget on a set of Panaracer Col de la Vie tires, best ride ever, they are on the large side, but with careful fitting and making sure the wheels were dead true they work. On my old daily rider I used the Marathons, because around here the streets are extremely trashy and multiple flats a day weren't uncommon.<br /><br />Aaron2whls3spdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16954543886269776858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-39070133712502845522019-12-21T22:45:52.507-05:002019-12-21T22:45:52.507-05:00I have a commuter like yours that wears Nokian (Su...I have a commuter like yours that wears Nokian (Suomi) 35mm studded tires through the winter. I've changed many thousands of tires over the past 50 years, but I prefer to just grab a different bike when I don't expect ice, which isn't often here in Vermont. When there's snow on the road, or in the forecast, I take my Fat Chance, with wider, studded 26" tires. My commute is 18 miles each way, with around 5 miles of dirt. Interestingly, the dirt road is almost always better than the paved road, right after a snow. Thisis largely because they don't salt dirt roads, so the snow packs down, rather tha getting thick and greasy.<br /><br />I have inexpensive but decent riding 28mm tires with reflective sidewalls on my warm weather commuter, and I like the visibility they provide, as I often find myself riding at night. In spite of their bad reputation, I have been riding Paselas for many years and I totally agreee with you about them. I suspect some much more expensive brands have the same casing as Paselas, with different tread (totally unimportant), label, and price tag.<br /><br />Nothing could beat the ride of those fat Clement Campionato del Mondo Seta sewups of the 1970s, the seta meaning silk, of course. Steve Barnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05141738452735566462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-21428854329120252182019-12-18T00:05:14.766-05:002019-12-18T00:05:14.766-05:00My commute is just under 2 miles one way, so I sim...My commute is just under 2 miles one way, so I simply bite the bullet and take the bike with studded tires in the winter (of mountainous MT). In your case it might be worth an extra set of wheels for the two different tires... or worth a second bike! My second bike is an ‘83 Stumpy with RTP’s and I love it in the shoulder season. My third bike is an old Ross Eurotour (town bike) with 38 mm Paselas and it’s perfect in the warmer months... like when it’s finally above 50. <br /><br />I guess great minds think alike!Mountaindavehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03548437216267796868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-52959160314851852172019-12-17T10:45:38.943-05:002019-12-17T10:45:38.943-05:00Speaking of straining: I remember seeing one petit...Speaking of straining: I remember seeing one petite female cyclist at a charity ride last summer straining to pump her narrow tires up to 100+psi. As in, pushing with all her weight, heels lifting off the floor, trying desperately to inflate them rock-hard. Meanwhile, I'm riding Rat Trap Passes at 20-25 psi and practically coasting over the roads here, and I'm probably heavier than her (though not a giant by any stretch).Morlamwebhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17799436150549217033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-60681932537234018382019-12-16T12:37:52.351-05:002019-12-16T12:37:52.351-05:00Studded tyres are fantastic for being able to comm...Studded tyres are fantastic for being able to commute confidently, but you're right about the sluggishness. I find I tend to cut my commute to the nearest tram stop with those and only venture further when I have my Marathon pluses back on.<br />I've never had a problem with the Marathon plus tyres, but bearing in mind I often ride a 40 kilo Dutch box bike there may be reasons for this...Andy in Germanyhttp://www.workbike.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-15832595853230376982019-12-16T11:52:19.677-05:002019-12-16T11:52:19.677-05:00Oh - I agree - weather can change a lot between mo...Oh - I agree - weather can change a lot between morning and afternoon - so I'm definitely not planning on switching back and forth on a whim. Certainly not from one day to the next - Though I will say that I've gotten to where I can swap tires in about 15 minutes, and it's easy enough to do on a Sunday evening if I see a chance of snow in the forecast any time in the upcoming week.Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12110998345857993287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-91935561813922888462019-12-16T11:33:40.996-05:002019-12-16T11:33:40.996-05:00My tire odyssey parallels yours: I went from a pai...My tire odyssey parallels yours: I went from a pair of Bontrager "Satellite Elite Hardcase" (700x38) to Continental "Speed Ride" (700x42), and what a difference the supple sidewalls made in the ride! Wider, at lower pressure, is better -- and moving from wire-bead to folding was a BIG advantage for my arthritic hands.<br />PS: The Bontrager's had a Kevlar strip, the Contis don't, but both fell victim to broken bottles in bike lanes. I found Mr. Tuffy tire strips to be a lifesaver.JBHorenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07403369078267809626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-84222362234027205002019-12-16T11:16:57.296-05:002019-12-16T11:16:57.296-05:00I agree with much of what you wrote, except for th...I agree with much of what you wrote, except for the part about switching tires back when the weather gets warmer. I hate swapping tires. Most days, I just want to get on the bike and ride, and keeping the studded tires on through the winter means that I'm OK if the weather changes during the day (as it does so often in my area!) I've had many days where the commute to the office was on dry asphalt but the ride home was in a snowstorm, or the temp had plunged and froze all of the snowmelt on the roads. If I had swapped back to the summer times that morning, I'd be screwed for the ride home.<br /><br />So, as annoyingly slow as are the winter tires, I'll keep them on through the cold months, because I value readiness for the changing weather conditions over optimizing the tires for the day. I'm all the more grateful for warm weather in springtime, when I switch back to the Rene Herse tires, and I feel like I'm flying down the road.Morlamwebhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17799436150549217033noreply@blogger.com