Knobbly Tyres (and thread direction)

"zzapper" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi, A cyclist friend told me that the knobbly tyres on my
6yr old non-suspension Raleigh would considerably slow me
on tarmac (where I mostly cycle), anyone care to comment.

Your mate is correct, swapping knobblies for slicks
like these will give you about another 2-3 mph for the
same effort.

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zzapper:

Quoted message said:

secondly I maintain a number of cycles, and it seems to me
that it's not always easy to tell the thread direction, is
there a "trick" for telling which way round the wheel
should go on?

In my experience, tyres often have an arrow on the side
to help with this. If they don't have an arrow, then it
probably doesn't matter. I'm not actually sure it
matters anyway.

d.

in message <[email hidden]>, zzapper

(') said:

Hi, A cyclist friend told me that the knobbly tyres on my
6yr old non-suspension Raleigh would considerably slow me
on tarmac (where I mostly cycle), anyone care to comment.

True. Use slicks on tarmac; makes a considerable difference.

Quoted message said:

secondly I maintain a number of cycles, and it seems to me
that it's not always easy to tell the thread direction, is
there a "trick" for telling which way round the wheel
should go on?

Good tyres have arrows marked on the sides!

But generally, for off-road tyres, rear tyres should have
the sharper, scoopier edges facing backwards at the bottom
(for traction) and the front tyre should have them facing
forwards (for braking). But really no tyre can be suitable
for both the front and the back of a serious off-road bike
since the two wheels do such radically different jobs, so
you should have a tyre set like Velociraptor with a
different front and rear tread, and then use the arrows.

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zzapper said:

Hi, A cyclist friend told me that the knobbly tyres on my
6yr old non-suspension Raleigh would considerably slow me
on tarmac (where I mostly cycle), anyone care to comment.

Slicker tyres will speed you up at least a bit, and
also will provide better grip on road, in the dry and
wet... really!

Quoted message said:

secondly I maintain a number of cycles, and it seems to me
that it's not always easy to tell the thread direction, is
there a "trick" for telling which way round the wheel
should go on?

Tread direction, I guess you mean. Depends on the tyres but
generally the arrow shapes of tread point to the front. Can
be different with certain mud (rear?) tyres, I think.

It's traditional for tyres to have the label on the right-
hand sidewall but that's not quite always the case.

~PB

zzapper said:

A cyclist friend told me that the knobbly tyres on my 6yr
old non-suspension Raleigh would considerably slow me on
tarmac (where I mostly cycle), anyone care to comment.

S/he speaks much wisdom. And it wouldn't matter if you were
on a 6 minute old full suspension Cannondale, you'd still
be slowed down with knobblies on. And not only slowed
down, but made noisier and with inferior cornering on hard
surfaces. Knobblies are great on the soft stuff, but
absolute pants on the road.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111
ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382
640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net
[email hidden] dundee.ac.uk~pjclinchOpen ↗

In article <[email hidden]>,

Peter Clinch said:

And not only slowed down, but made noisier and with
inferior cornering on hard surfaces. Knobblies are great
on the soft stuff, but absolute pants on the road.

I run Panaracer Speedblasters, which are the best (and
worst) of both worlds. They're not too slow, they're light,
they're OK on hard packed offroad but useless on wet grass
or mud. My wife complains on road that my bike sounds like a
tractor, too. They also have the puncture resistance of a
thin pair of tights.

ian

Peter Clinch <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

S/he speaks much wisdom. And it wouldn't matter if you
were on a 6 minute old full suspension Cannondale, you'd
still be slowed down with knobblies on. And not only
slowed down, but made noisier and with inferior
cornering on hard surfaces. Knobblies are great on the
soft stuff, but absolute pants on the road.

Pete.

While I like the fact that my Raleigh Outback is a nice
solid bike, it turns out I do practically never do any off-
tarmac, is it the right bike for me? I've noticed frequently
that bikes have overtaken me with apparent less effort. I
don't want a real racer but would like to get some
impression of speed. (Sorry for Wide Question)

zzapper

zzapper said:

While I like the fact that my Raleigh Outback is a nice
solid bike, it turns out I do practically never do any off-
tarmac, is it the right bike for me? I've noticed
frequently that bikes have overtaken me with apparent less
effort. I don't want a real racer but would like to get
some impression of speed. (Sorry for Wide Question)

Is it the /perfect/ bike for you? Almost certainly not. Is
it perfectly adequate for you? Almost certainly. Most of the
difference between an MTB and a typical modern hybrid is
that hybrids come with road tyres as standard, and the
gearing range is a bit higher. You'll probably be at a
slight weight disadvantage (but at least you're not carrying
excess weight in suspension forks, little use for most bikes
on the road) but that will only really hinder you climbing
and accelerating, not constant speed.

The tyres are easy enough to change: get something like
Vredestein S-Licks and you'll immediately improve speed,
efficiency and handling. When the transmission has been worn
enough to warrant replacing then re-gear with something like
48-38-28 front chainrings and something like 12-28 on the
back (if it's a 7 speed, I'm guessing it mat well be).

But most of overtaking with less effort comes from the
engine, not the bike. I've had MTBs with knobblies cruise
past me when I was on a "faster" bike, and similarly I've
overtaken "faster" bikes on my folding hack bike. Just do
lots of cycling if you want to get a bit faster.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111
ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382
640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net
[email hidden] dundee.ac.uk~pjclinchOpen ↗

Peter Clinch <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

But most of overtaking with less effort comes from the
engine, not the bike. I've had MTBs with knobblies cruise
past me when I was on a "faster" bike, and similarly I've
overtaken "faster" bikes on my folding hack bike. Just do
lots of cycling if you want to get a bit faster.

Pete.

Pete, I've often suspected that the problem may lie with
the engine!!!

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On Mon, 05 Jul 2004 15:38:28 +0100, Peter Clinch
<[email hidden]> wrote (more or less):

Quoted message said:

zzapper said:

A cyclist friend told me that the knobbly tyres on my 6yr
old non-suspension Raleigh would considerably slow me on
tarmac (where I mostly cycle), anyone care to comment.

S/he speaks much wisdom. And it wouldn't matter if you were
on a 6 minute old full suspension Cannondale, you'd still
be slowed down with knobblies on. And not only slowed
down, but made noisier and with inferior cornering on
hard surfaces. Knobblies are great on the soft stuff, but
absolute pants on the road.

Of course, if they're cheap enough knobblies, eventually you
/will/ wear thenm smooth. :-)

But it's taken me the best part of 10 years to get my rear
knobbly down to a smooth tyre (with bits of the woven
reinforcement showing through. I /really must/ get myself a
new rear tyre.

Any recommendations? For cycling commuting use - on road
with occasional towpath use, on a fairly cheap Claud Butler
(rebadged as Edin Bic. Co-op) hardtail mtb of 1994 vintage.

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Gawnsoft:

Quoted message said:

Any recommendations? For cycling commuting use - on road
with occasional towpath use, on a fairly cheap Claud
Butler (rebadged as Edin Bic. Co-op) hardtail mtb of 1994
vintage.

I'm a big fan of Schwalbe Marathons - over four years (of
admittedly intermittent cycling) I had two punctures, both
on the rear wheel, and none at all on the front. The back
one wore out eventually but the front one still has plenty
of life in it.

d.