Street Warrior -

Stan Shankman

Greetings all,



I'm basically a fair weather rider.



I use a bicycle for exercise and local transportation around Minneapolis.



Most of my riding is on pavement.

But, as is true of all city biking, that also means encounters with
occasional off-road conditions.

Last summer, I humped around on an old 10-speed. (27" wheels)

And I'm proud to say that I even managed to wear out a set of tires.

(Fleet Farm - around $5.00 a tire. - Cheapest in town.)

Then, in the fall, I switched to a mountain bike.

Now I'm getting ready to do it again,

but I'm having second thoughts about that old road bike.

I miss its speed, but I have to admit that I like the feel of the mountain
bike.

It eats up the city better. (If you know what I mean.)

I'm sure we've all cursed those unavoidable teeth-jarring bumps.

- And even if you can handle them, you have to wonder how well your wheels
like it.



Anyway, my question is:

What about those in-between sized tires?



You know, the ones that look like fat road bike tires.

Yeah, I know, I would have to find a new frame (bike?).

These "in-betweeners" don't seem to be too popular.

So, I'm wondering what people think of the idea.



Comments?

Anyone?



- Stan Shankman

David Reuteler

Stan Shankman <stantheman@visi.com> wrote:
> I'm basically a fair weather rider.
> I use a bicycle for exercise and local transportation around Minneapolis.

so you bike 4 months a year?

> Anyway, my question is:
> What about those in-between sized tires?
>
> You know, the ones that look like fat road bike tires.
> Yeah, I know, I would have to find a new frame (bike?).
> These "in-betweeners" don't seem to be too popular.
> So, I'm wondering what people think of the idea.

if you mean 700x28-32mm or so i run 'em (knobbies and slicks) a fair bit on
my #1 bike (a cyclocross or touring bike). i haven't owned a racing bike
in 8 years. & yea, you'll probably need a new one .. you'd be pretty lucky
if you're bike has clearance.

there are a bunch out there (trek xo1, 520, cannondale cyclocross or touring,
etc, etc).
--
david reuteler
reuteler@visi.com

William Holiday

On Fri, 9 Apr 2004 14:49:57 -0500, "Stan Shankman" <stantheman@visi.com> wrote:

<Most of my riding is on pavement.
<
<But, as is true of all city biking, that also means encounters with
<occasional off-road conditions.
<
<Anyway, my question is:
<
<What about those in-between sized tires?
<
<
<
<You know, the ones that look like fat road bike tires.
<
<Yeah, I know, I would have to find a new frame (bike?).
<
<These "in-betweeners" don't seem to be too popular.
<
<So, I'm wondering what people think of the idea.

Your ten speed probably has all the clearence you need to just put cyclocross
tires on it. That should do what you want.

I'm in the process of converting a 12s road frame and have a Panaracer Pasela on
the front. It's 700x32 but measured x27 with a caliper at 75psi. The Pasela
should fit just about any older road bike, has a smooth tread and the kind of
cushioned ride you'd expect from the fairly low inflation pressure. The rear has
a knobbed side with flatter central tread Ritchey Speddmax 700x35. It just fits
inside the frame and is suitablle for at least rail trail. Ritchey has quite a
diverse and inexpensive collection of pseudo-road tires.

Just changing your tires should do what you require.

Chalo

"Stan Shankman" <stantheman@visi.com> wrote:

Fat tires are not significantly slower than skinny ones of equivalent
construction. If you wish to benefit from the superior ride of fat
tires without a serious speed penalty, use a well-made, thin-walled
fat slick such as the Schwalbe Big Apple, available in 26x2.0 and
26x2.35 sizes. Other fast tires in 26" include the Avocet FasGrip
26x1.9 and Continental Avenue 26x1.75.

All these tires should provide quite a bit less rolling resistance
than the cheap 27" tires on your road bike.

Chalo Colina