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Cycling log - random events in the day of a cyclist II

The ADV9 has low RR tyres as standard - Panaracer Gravel King. This is part of my target and I want(ed) roadlike tyres for my target riding of a road bike with "route flexibility".

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/cx-gravel-reviews

On the topic of tubeless:
I've been running tubeless MTBs for >10 years. Excellent, but does require tyre check/inflation before most rides and gloop top-ups from time to time.
e.g. was out with a pal and we rode through a pile of carpet nails some tosser had put on a local trail :mad:. My mate had to change a tube and repair the other. I had to pull 3 nails out of my front tyre and help the sealant seal one of the holes + a bit of reinflation. It was a permanent fix.

The owner of the Trek Domane I borrowed had reverted back to tubes because he got tyred :D of frequent reinflation.

Seems like the low volume and high pressure of road tyres is more of an issue for tubeless.

That said, I'll probably run the Boredman tubeless.
 
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I fitted my 650b tyres on my Gravel bike with tubeless. It was a minor faff but not a single puncture and great pressure retention, only top up occasionally. Keep meaning to convert my 700 wheels as well but have not got round to it.
 
Tried tubeless on my gravel bike, it's more faff than latex tubes.

Never had any issue with flats on my mtb, but I do run them 35psi
 
Just a recommendation here for Woodrup in Leeds. I needed a tyre for the single speed rat bike that does some of the duties around town. To match one on there I needed a Schwalbe CX Comp, 700x30, which fits with my usage because I do like to do a bit of towpath style offroad on the thing. They are also inexpensive - cheapest online about £13 with puncture protection, handy on the rear for a town bike. Woodrup have ordered it and after I sucked my teeth a bit over the (full retail) price they've knocked a bit off so it's within a couple of quid of the online price and it's coming later this week/early next.

Also on the subject of tyres I have fitted a Tioga XC F 26 x 1.95 to the back of the old mountain bike. It's a superb tyre in heavy wet conditions, grips like a bionic blacksmith. It's the same width on board as a 2.1 on the front. I don't know if it's supposed to be on the back but it certainly works. To keep our teeth in place let's keep it off the roads in the summer, eh?
 
I bought my road bike last June. I absolutely detest punctures, like most, but asked the shop to fit Pirelli Cinturato tyres, and make them tubeless. They did it cheap-ish, and I’ve no complaints at all. A thousand miles, and they’ve worked as advertised so far. I can’t compare how they feel with tubed because I just don’t know. Faster than I am through fast turns is as much as I can say.
Once the tyres are worn, I might upgrade my wheels. Might not!
 
SteveG said:
When I commuted by bike I stuck Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres on as they're are pretty much puncture proof (and I never did have a puncture when using those).
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They are great commuter tyres. I had a hire bike fitted with a pair on holiday. Rather wooden feeling, I found, but bombproof and didn't appear to wear out at all. The hire bike had done a good few miles, both tyres still looked new. The CX Comp I've used I think feels less wooden and grips better in wet and muddy conditions, at the expense of wearing more quickly.
 
stevec67 said:
They are great commuter tyres. I had a hire bike fitted with a pair on holiday. Rather wooden feeling, I found, but bombproof and didn't appear to wear out at all. The hire bike had done a good few miles, both tyres still looked new. The CX Comp I've used I think feels less wooden and grips better in wet and muddy conditions, at the expense of wearing more quickly.
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I think the Marathon Pluses are made from concrete as they weight a ton and are also quite tough to fit, however they definitely do great job as a commuting tyre. They don't feel the best to ride, so I'd never use them on anything other than a commuter or tourer - but they'd be my first choice for those roles.
 
My only puncture in 6000 miles was in a Marathon Plus. A thorn on the end of a small branch went through the sidewall close to the rim. That was very unlucky, the odds on that must be quite long especially as the branch was tiny and probably was the remains of a branch that a dog had played with.

I've had similar bad luck with car tyres, hasn't improved my luck with Lotto
 
Thanks for the thoughts on tubeless, the arguments for I had heard were lower rotational mass by eliminating the tube, and lower losses caused by friction between the tube and the tire. Perhaps I'll try it out this W/E as its easy to convert back.
 
SteveG said:
When I commuted by bike I stuck Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres on as they're are pretty much puncture proof (and I never did have a puncture when using those).
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I put these one on Child 1's bike when she was at uni to avoid punctures, which worked for both of us!

I also put some regular Marathon's on a MTB for commuting and never had any punctures, and could sit at 16/17mph with friends on road bikes...

Default tyre brand now...
 
Schwalbe seem to get good reviews for road use, my experience of their MTB tyres is not good though.
Nobby Nic from a few years ago had very strange handling - seemed to want to pull to either side on some surfaces and had poor grip on wet roots and rocks.
Racing Ralph is low on grip and very delicate, it's the only tyre I've ever pinch flatted (although I suppose that with sidewalls not much thicker than an inner tube, it's not that surprising).

Edit: To clarify: I pinch flatted the actual tyre - proper snake bite. It was running tubeless.
 
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Now that Continental have stopped making Speed King Supersonic tyres, which were my go-to lightweight MTB XC tyre, I've started using Schwalbe Racing Ralphs and I've found those pretty decent (although not when its really muddy). Like most XC racing type tyres they only work well at higher pressures though, and I've never had a pinch flat with them (or the Speed Kings, which are very flimsy as they're only something like 400g each) when at the right pressure. The Speed Kings need to be run at something like 45psi and not only does that work to avoid pinch flats they also grip much better like that than at lower pressures. For general mountain bike use, especially on the full-suss bikes, I tend to use various Specialized tyres and they're also good value.

For road tyres I do also quite like some of the Specialized tyres, however I think all my bikes are on Continental GP4000's at the moment and I really like those.
 
New toy arrived early, so had to play out today:

IMG-1157.jpg


Seems to fit the bill: inbetween the Domane and the Vitus.

Looks quite similar to the old snake ;):

IMG-1159.jpg
 
Had to stop at a T junction on a hill earlier today so had changed down to a low gear to pull away again.. got about 2' when there was a horrendous crunch and the rear wheel locked up solid.. "sh1t the chains come off" thinks I... oh if it was only that... derailleur gear mech snapped in half, bent axle and misshaped rear wheel! So that is why they get called push bikes... more drag bike really..:mad::mad::mad:

It's (was) my only transport ATM...
 
Arkless Electronics said:
Had to stop at a T junction on a hill earlier today so had changed down to a low gear to pull away again.. got about 2' when there was a horrendous crunch and the rear wheel locked up solid.. "sh1t the chains come off" thinks I... oh if it was only that... derailleur gear mech snapped in half, bent axle and misshaped rear wheel! So that is why they get called push bikes... more drag bike really..:mad::mad::mad:

It's (was) my only transport ATM...
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Ooh, no fun when these things happen. I had a Campag rear mech cage snap on me about 8 years ago, thankfully about 100 yards from home so I could walk back and change to another bike. In my case though it didn’t take out an axle or pretzel a wheel, just the mech and hanger.
 
First ride of 2021 today. The main roads were pretty much okay, though I still sometimes had to split braking and cornering into two separate actions, and the side streets were rideable with some common sense. I spent a lot of the time riding in a higher gear than usual to keep the torque under control (he says as though his legs can generate too much torque!) and I never had any issues. One guy passed me way too close in a combo van but apart from that, it was a good day. Lots of miles over the course of the day and no problems :)

Tough break (no pun intended) on the rear mech Arkless - hope you can get it back on the road soon.
 
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