145 psi of pain

[Jon Senior]

Went in to EBC to buy a rack pack so that I can take a reasonable amount
on an audax without having to use a rucksack. They didn't have the one I
was after and while browsing the rest of the stock to kill time while
the assistant tracked one down, I remembered that I really needed some
new tyres. And what was sitting on the shelf but a pair of 700x20 Stelvios.

A few pounds lighter and the Giant now has tyres that are as thin as the
rims. I can't really comment on the ride as I've only done a short hop
home and I had a killer of a migraine so wasn't really paying attention.

One interesting problem I did have was fitting them. Schwalbe tyres
appear to be on the tighter side (Have real problems with the blizzards
on the fixer), but the issue was one of inner tubes. I don't have the
time or money to investigate this theory, but I suspect that attempting
to re-use inner tubes that have been previously in 23mm tyres with 20mm
tyres is not possible. The front managed to pop the bead over the rim
(Presumably was trapped somewhere) and promptly demonstrated the volume
caused by 145psi escaping suddenly from the tube. The rear just
developed a slow leak. Both seem happy now that they have new tubes.

Ah well. Bit more pressure in them and then a short test tomorrow morning.

Jon

 

[Tony Raven]

Jon Senior wrote:
> Went in to EBC to buy a rack pack so that I can take a reasonable amount
> on an audax without having to use a rucksack. They didn't have the one I
> was after and while browsing the rest of the stock to kill time while
> the assistant tracked one down, I remembered that I really needed some
> new tyres. And what was sitting on the shelf but a pair of 700x20 Stelvios.
>

Why on earth use 20mm tyres for audax? You'll feel every single ripple
in the road surface through the saddle and the bars for your arguably no
faster speed.

--
Tony

"A facility for quotation covers the absence of original thought" Lord
Peter Wimsey (Dorothy L. Sayers)

 

[wafflycat]

"Jon Senior" <jon_AT_restlesslemon_DOT_co_DOT_uk> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> A few pounds lighter and the Giant now has tyres that are as thin as the
> rims. I can't really comment on the ride as I've only done a short hop
> home and I had a killer of a migraine so wasn't really paying attention.
>

Digressing... migraines... being a migraine sufferer. Don't know how you
manage yours, how frequently you get them, etc., etc.. but the only thing
that's given me any long-term relief from chronic migraines is a daily
magnesium supplement. It's worked wonders for me.

Cheers, helen s

 

[Vic]

On Sat, 30 Apr 2005 10:20:30 +0100, "wafflycat"
<wafflesATv21netDOTcoDOTuk> wrote:

>
>"Jon Senior" <jon_AT_restlesslemon_DOT_co_DOT_uk> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>>
>> A few pounds lighter and the Giant now has tyres that are as thin as the
>> rims. I can't really comment on the ride as I've only done a short hop
>> home and I had a killer of a migraine so wasn't really paying attention.
>>
>
>Digressing... migraines... being a migraine sufferer. Don't know how you
>manage yours, how frequently you get them, etc., etc.. but the only thing
>that's given me any long-term relief from chronic migraines is a daily
>magnesium supplement. It's worked wonders for me.
>
>Cheers, helen s

How much magnesium do you take?

a) Top posting.
q) What's the worst thing about UseNet?

 

[Tony Raven]

wafflycat wrote:
>
> Digressing... migraines... being a migraine sufferer. Don't know how you
> manage yours, how frequently you get them, etc., etc.. but the only
> thing that's given me any long-term relief from chronic migraines is a
> daily magnesium supplement. It's worked wonders for me.
>

So that's the weight loss secret. Replace all the iron bits with
magnesium ones ;-)

--
Tony

"A facility for quotation covers the absence of original thought" Lord
Peter Wimsey (Dorothy L. Sayers)

 

[Simon Brooke]

in message <[email protected]>, Jon Senior
<jon_AT_restlesslemon_DOT_co_DOT_uk> ('') wrote:

> Went in to EBC to buy a rack pack so that I can take a reasonable
> amount on an audax without having to use a rucksack. They didn't have
> the one I was after and while browsing the rest of the stock to kill
> time while the assistant tracked one down, I remembered that I really
> needed some new tyres. And what was sitting on the shelf but a pair of
> 700x20 Stelvios.

They make Stelvios in 700x20? Excellent! [makes note on shopping list].

> Ah well. Bit more pressure in them and then a short test tomorrow
> morning.

See you tomorrow!

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; It appears that /dev/null is a conforming XSL processor.

 

[Simon Brooke]

in message <[email protected]>, Tony Raven
('[email protected]') wrote:

> Jon Senior wrote:
>> Went in to EBC to buy a rack pack so that I can take a reasonable
>> amount on an audax without having to use a rucksack. They didn't have
>> the one I was after and while browsing the rest of the stock to kill
>> time while the assistant tracked one down, I remembered that I really
>> needed some new tyres. And what was sitting on the shelf but a pair
>> of 700x20 Stelvios.
>
> Why on earth use 20mm tyres for audax?

I'll be riding the same audax on 700x20s, although not as nice as
Stelvios. I habitually do, and I suspect Jon may be partly picking up
my bad habits. 20mm tyres look nicer - they're noticeably slender and
elegant - and even if they don't actually roll any better they
certainly don't roll any worse. Equally, the aerodynamic benefit may
not be worth a great deal, but it certainly doesn't hurt. Yes, they
possibly are marginally worse for road shock, but if you've got your
bike adequately sorted out for road shock they don't make that much
difference.

I wouldn't advise anyone else to use 700x20s, but I wouldn't personally
fit anything fatter on my road bikes.

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; Diplomacy, American: see Intelligence, Military

 

[wafflycat]

"Vic" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sat, 30 Apr 2005 10:20:30 +0100, "wafflycat"
> <wafflesATv21netDOTcoDOTuk> wrote:

>
> How much magnesium do you take?
>

420mg/day seems to be the dose which works for me.

Cheers, helen s

 

[Graham Ashton]

On Sat, 30 Apr 2005 08:59:58 +0100, Tony Raven wrote:

> Why on earth use 20mm tyres for audax? You'll feel every single ripple
> in the road surface through the saddle and the bars for your arguably no
> faster speed.

What do most people use? 23mm, or larger still?

Graham

 

[Tony Raven]

Graham Ashton wrote:
>
>
> What do most people use? 23mm, or larger still?
>
> Graham
>

23-28mm. For the same pressure the bigger tyres are more comfortable
and roll better.

--
Tony

"A facility for quotation covers the absence of original thought" Lord
Peter Wimsey (Dorothy L. Sayers)

 

[Pete Biggs]

Simon Brooke wrote:
> I'll be riding the same audax on 700x20s, although not as nice as
> Stelvios. I habitually do, and I suspect Jon may be partly picking up
> my bad habits. 20mm tyres look nicer - they're noticeably slender and
> elegant - and even if they don't actually roll any better they
> certainly don't roll any worse.

They will roll worse if air pressure is no higher (I remember you
mentioning some time ago that you only use about 100 psi with your 20mm
tyres). Wider tyres flex better, resulting in lower rolling resistance
when all else is equal. Pinch flats is also an issue for narrow tyres at
too-low pressure.

Personally, I regard 110 psi as low for 20mm tyres.

> Equally, the aerodynamic benefit may
> not be worth a great deal, but it certainly doesn't hurt. Yes, they
> possibly are marginally worse for road shock, but if you've got your
> bike adequately sorted out for road shock they don't make that much
> difference.

Again, there's a big difference in road shock & buzz with 23mm tyres at
100 to 110 psi compared to 20mm at 130 to 145 psi.

~PB

 

[David Martin]

On 30/4/05 2:12 pm, in article [email protected], "Pete Biggs"
<pwrinkledgrape{remove_fruit}@biggs.tc> wrote:
> Again, there's a big difference in road shock & buzz with 23mm tyres at
> 100 to 110 psi compared to 20mm at 130 to 145 psi.

That is low for 23mm.. I run 25mm Blizzards at 120-130 and that seems to do
me fine.

IIRC the optimum tyre is one which best matches the roughness of the road
surface. For a typical tarmac road this would be about 23-25mm. For a
smoother road surface, 20mm should be fine.

...d

 

[Pete Biggs]

David Martin wrote:

>> Again, there's a big difference in road shock & buzz with 23mm tyres
>> at 100 to 110 psi compared to 20mm at 130 to 145 psi.
>
> That is low for 23mm.

The above was just an example, but I would have agreed with you a few
months ago (before crash) and used up to 140psi with my Vittoria Open
Corsa 23s, but find lower pressures adequate now (100 to 120psi). I
*think* and hope traction (and cut-resistance) is improved.

On the other hand, I'm worried about my track pump gauge and
thumbs'n'brain because what reads 130psi now seems absurdly hard to me. I
even bought an electronic gauge to check but that gives similar readings.
Both gauges could be wrong, I suppose.

> I run 25mm Blizzards at 120-130 and that seems
> to do me fine.

You'd probably like at least 145 with 20mm then. Narrower tyres should
naturally be pumped up harder anyway, regardless of what the wider ones
can "take".

~PB

 

[Helen Deborah Vecht]

Graham Ashton <[email protected]>typed


> On Sat, 30 Apr 2005 08:59:58 +0100, Tony Raven wrote:

> > Why on earth use 20mm tyres for audax? You'll feel every single ripple
> > in the road surface through the saddle and the bars for your arguably no
> > faster speed.

> What do most people use? 23mm, or larger still?

Speaking personally, I rode audaxes on mostly 28s though had every thing
from 23mm-35mm...

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email protected]
Edgware.

 

[Jon Senior]

Tony Raven wrote:
> Why on earth use 20mm tyres for audax? You'll feel every single ripple
> in the road surface through the saddle and the bars for your arguably no
> faster speed.

Ultimately I hope to be using the bent for audaxing, but in the interim
I'm using the Giant. The Giant is a thoroughbred (reasonably) race bike
and 20mm tyres *look* cool. As for feel, they didn't feel much different
from the 23mm GP3000s that they replaced on the 20+ miles I did today.

The same bling factor that comes from having tyres that are no wider
than the rims has resulted in the purchase of a CF seatpost (Thanks Ian)
and may also result in CF bottle cages (I'm currently resisting, but
it's getting harder).

Jon

 

[Jon Senior]

wafflycat wrote:
> Digressing... migraines... being a migraine sufferer. Don't know how you
> manage yours, how frequently you get them, etc., etc.. but the only
> thing that's given me any long-term relief from chronic migraines is a
> daily magnesium supplement. It's worked wonders for me.

After a pharmacology course at university I habitually avoid any regular
medication[1]. My migraines are not as bad as they used to be and
paracetamol and codeine combined with a few hours sleep in a darkened
room is usually enough to clear them.

Jon

[1] That said, I recognised a while ago that my diet wasn't quite as
good as it could be and so I occasionally take multivitamins and minerals.

 

[davek]

Simon Brooke wrote:
> I wouldn't advise anyone else to use 700x20s, but I wouldn't personally
> fit anything fatter on my road bikes.

I currently have 700x23s (pumped to around 125psi) on the bike that I
use for Audaxing. I actually prefer a "harder" ride, but even so, my
set-up is quite narrow and hard enough for my liking, thank you very
much. (Besides, I 'spect the steel frame absorbs some of the roughness
of the road.)

When the tyres next need replacing, I'll probably get something slightly
fatter - maybe even a 28! I only got these tyres (Vittorio Rubinos)
because they were dirt cheap on a special offer from Wiggle. I'll
probably go for Panaracer Paselas or Schwalbe Marathons next.

The hybrid has 1.5" City Jets, pumped to 85psi, which feel like a
trampoline in comparison.

d.

 

[Vic]

fOn Sat, 30 Apr 2005 11:45:33 +0100, in uk.rec.cycling you wrote:

>On Sat, 30 Apr 2005 08:59:58 +0100, Tony Raven wrote:
>
>> Why on earth use 20mm tyres for audax? You'll feel every single ripple
>> in the road surface through the saddle and the bars for your arguably no
>> faster speed.
>
>What do most people use? 23mm, or larger still?
>
>Graham

Well, I use a (nominal) 37mm @85psi.

Rolls great, and is very comfortable.



a) Top posting.
q) What's the worst thing about UseNet?

 

[Arthur Clune]

David Martin <[email protected]> wrote:
: On 30/4/05 2:12 pm, in article [email protected], "Pete Biggs"
: <pwrinkledgrape{remove_fruit}@biggs.tc> wrote:
:> Again, there's a big difference in road shock & buzz with 23mm tyres at
:> 100 to 110 psi compared to 20mm at 130 to 145 psi.

: That is low for 23mm.. I run 25mm Blizzards at 120-130 and that seems to do
: me fine.

100 PSI is, 110 isn't. I run 115-120, no more. Look at MichelePro Race tyres
sometime. They are as fast as anything out there and the recommended max
is only 115 PSI.

I use to run 140 PSI in 23s till I realised that I was actually faster with
the lower pressures. The harder pressures felt faster because I was being
bounced around so much.

I say for general use (including road racing) 120 PSI would be an absolute max
for 23s.

TT's are different. There there are benifits to having a narrower tyre that
matches the profile of the rim and if you are just slogging up the A1, who
needs bike handling round the corners?

Arthur


--
Arthur Clune PGP/GPG Key: http://www.clune.org/pubkey.txt
Don't get me wrong, perl is an OK operating system, but it lacks a
lightweight scripting language -- Walter Dnes

 

[David Martin]

On 3/5/05 9:26 am, in article [email protected], "Jon
Senior" <jon_AT_restlesslemon_DOT_co_DOT_uk> wrote:


> I ended up using the QR rack with a Tesco's carrier bag bungee-ed to the
> top of it. Anything would have been an improvement. Especially as I lost
> a bungee half-way. But I intend to work hell-for-leather to get a bent
> back on the road before the next audax so as to solve this problem properly.

Are you planning on doing the Wellbank one in June?
I will be but am dithering between the 100 and the 200. I haven't had much
chance to get out on the bike (too much gardening right now getting the
Allotment going) so am a bit nervous about the 200. Especially with a quoted
near 3000m of climbing (but no AAA points).

...d