a new bike.

[Andrew Reddaway]

On Tue, 11 May 2004 22:57:20 +1000, "DRS"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Thank you, thanyouverymuch.



>Absolutely. I have a hybrid with 700 wheels and funnily enough it's harder
>to get fat slicks for 700s than it is for 26" or 27" wheels. It's highly
>irritating. I'm seriously thinking about importing some Avocet FasGrips
>from Sheldon Brown. They're the only slick I've found that goes up to
>700x35. Most manufacturers sem to thinks slicks should stop at 700x25.
>
>> - Rack. For commuting, a lot of people like to carry stuff on the
>> bike rather than in a backpack (less tiring, and you don't get a
>> sweaty back). But it can also be less convenient and less trendy
>> Your choice.

>True, but it can also make the rear of the bike unstable and unresponsive.
>I'm not necessarily a rack fan. YMMV.

Unresponsive - I agree to an extent. For me it does feel strange for
a while when I switch from unloaded to loaded - pedalling hard out of
the saddle the bike doesn't "sway" the same way it did unloaded. And
it definitely curtails the bunny-hopping. But that hasn't caused a
problem for normal riding on good roads.

However I haven't had any problem with instability. (I carry up to
say 8kg, on top of the rack). In what way have you found a loaded
rear rack to be unstable? What kind of weight are you talking about?

 

[Flaps]

"flyingdutch" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> and as for Flap's nice dilemna ,youre all forgetting the most important
> thing of all! Some form of coffee-money-carrying device for post (or
> halfway) reward scheme

good point... a nice little saddle bag for a few bucks.... bandages,
Ventolin, blood-type and organ donor card, last will and testament.... then
again, perhaps I'll just keep to the bike paths and stay off the roads.

 

[DRS]

"flyingdutch" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]
> Drs wrote:
> > "I have a hybrid with 700 wheels and funnily enough it's harder
> to get > fat slicks for 700s than it is for 26" or 27" wheels. It's
> highly > irritating. I'm seriously thinking about importing some
> Avocet FasGrips > from Sheldon Brown. They're the only slick I've
> found that goes up to > 700x35. Most manufacturers sem to thinks
> slicks should stop at 700x25.
>
> huh?
>
> what about the half-a-dozen models Continental make? Gatorskins, tour-
> models, etc ??? Cecil may not stock em (surprisingly, they are really
> going off the boil IMHO) but SHM and most others will StKilda Cycles
> should be fairly heavily oriented in this regard to, i woulda thawt
> (or something like... http://www.cecilwalker.com.au/category245_1.htm
> which go up to 38mm)

I said slicks. The Schwalbe Marathons are not slicks. They have a distinct
inverted tread and are more comparable with the Continental Top Tourer,
Michelin Transworld City or Vittoria Randonneur. The Schwalbe Marathon
Slicks
(http://www.schwalbe.com/index.pl?bereich=produkte&einsatzbereich=4&produktg
ruppe=5&produkt=118) are not available in Australia (I asked the
distributor).

The Ultra Gatorskins (strictly a semi-slick but close enough) are available
but Leigh at Cecil Walker's refuses to recommend them. They are highly
controversial and tend to polarise people. In any event they only go up to
700x28
(http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/de/en/continental/bicycle/themes/
tires/race/ultra_gatorskin/ultra_gatorskin_en.html).

One alternative might be the Continental SportsContact
(http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/de/en/continental/bicycle/themes/
tires/city/sportcontact/sportcontact_en.html). It's a very attractive tyre
supposedly available in 700x32 and 700x37 but funnily enough it's not found
in one Continental 2004 catalogue I have and in the other only the 700x37 is
available, so I'm not sure what the story is there. The Ultra 2000 and
Grand Prix 4-Seasons also go up to 700x28.

The Michelin Dynamic (http://cycleus.webmichelin.com/tires/dynamic.htm) is
the only Michelin slick I know of that goes up to 700x32 and, despite being
the tyre most Giant road bikes come with as standard are not available as an
aftermarket tyre in Australia. Most Michelin slicks don't come any wider
than 700x23.

The Panaracer Stradius Sport and Stradius Pro
(http://www.panaracer.com/05lineup/road/eroad_cl.html#spo) are their widest
slicks at 700x26. Also not available in Australia.

And so on. I've spent many hours hunting down every tyre manufacturer I can
find and going through their catalogues with a fine tooth comb and the fact
is that fat slicks for 700 wheels - fat being above 700x28 - are nearly as
rare as hen's teeth. Hence my delight at finding the Fasgrips. USD29.95 at
Harris Cyclery plus shipping. And they're true slicks too.

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[flyingdutch]

Drs wrote:
> I said slicks. The Schwalbe Marathons are not slicks. They have a
> distinct inverted tread and are more comparable with the Continental Top
> Tourer, Michelin Transworld City or Vittoria Randonneur. The Schwalbe
> Marathon Slicks (http://w-/http://w- ww.schwalbe.com/index.pl?bereich=produkte&einsatzbereich=4&-
> produktg ruppe=5&produkt=118) are not available in Australia (I asked
> the distributor).
> The Ultra Gatorskins (strictly a semi-slick but close enough) are
> available but Leigh at Cecil Walker's refuses to recommend them. They
> are highly controversial and tend to polarise people. In any event they
> only go up to 700x28 (http://www.conti-/http://www.conti-
> online.com/generator/www/de/en/continental/bicycle/themes/
> tires/race/ultra_gatorskin/ultra_gatorskin_en.html).
> One alternative might be the Continental SportsContact (http://www.conti-/http://www.conti-
> online.com/generator/www/de/en/continental/bicycle/themes/
> tires/city/sportcontact/sportcontact_en.html). It's a very attractive
> tyre supposedly available in 700x32 and 700x37 but funnily enough it's
> not found in one Continental 2004 catalogue I have and in the other only
> the 700x37 is available, so I'm not sure what the story is there. The
> Ultra 2000 and Grand Prix 4-Seasons also go up to 700x28.
> The Michelin Dynamic (http://cycleus.webmichelin.com/tires/dynamic.htmh-
> ttp://cycleus.webmichelin.com/tires/dynamic.htm) is the only Michelin
> slick I know of that goes up to 700x32 and, despite being the tyre most
> Giant road bikes come with as standard are not available as an
> aftermarket tyre in Australia. Most Michelin slicks don't come any wider
> than 700x23.
> The Panaracer Stradius Sport and Stradius Pro (http://www.panaracer.com-
> /05lineup/road/eroad_cl.html#spohttp://www.panaracer.com/05lineup/road/-
> eroad_cl.html#spo) are their widest slicks at 700x26. Also not available
> in Australia.
> And so on. I've spent many hours hunting down every tyre manufacturer I
> can find and going through their catalogues with a fine tooth comb and
> the fact is that fat slicks for 700 wheels - fat being above 700x28 -
> are nearly as rare as hen's teeth. Hence my delight at finding the
> Fasgrips. USD29.95 at Harris Cyclery plus shipping. And they're true
> slicks too.



Fair nuff. knew you would blind me with long-researched options. I
commute on 26" Conti Travel Contacts (semi slick but quick)

is 28mm really too narrow? Is it a comfort thing or more bike path
surface friendly thing?

After having pumped my tyres up to just above the recommended 80psi i
let em down to 75 again this morning as its just too uncomfortable.
Leigh is a very 'polar' person aint he (CW aint known (Leigh
excepted) for honest appraisal of much product as Big Brother owns the
importing business to half the stuff you see in bike shops around Oz)



--

 

[DRS]

"flyingdutch" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]
> Drs wrote:

[...]

> available > in Australia. > And so on. I've spent many hours hunting
> down every tyre manufacturer I > can find and going through their
> catalogues with a fine tooth comb and > the fact is that fat slicks
> for 700 wheels - fat being above 700x28 - > are nearly as rare as
> hen's teeth. Hence my delight at finding the > Fasgrips. USD29.95 at
> Harris Cyclery plus shipping. And they're true > slicks too.
>
> Fair nuff. knew you would blind me with long-researched options. I

I'm not rich enough to not research the hell out of these things.

> commute on 26" Conti Travel Contacts (semi slick but quick)

That's not a semi-slick in my book. It's got a smooth centre ridge but it's
also got knurling on the sides. It's sort of like my Cheng Shins and I
really don't see the point of that sort of design. The Gatorskin is a
semi-slick, smooth all the way around except for the siping.

> is 28mm really too narrow? Is it a comfort thing or more bike path
> surface friendly thing?

It's also a rim thing. My Shogun hybrid came with Chen Shin 700x40s
(although I think they're actually 700x38 - woopdedoo)! I'm not sure I
could safely put a 700x28 on my rims. Then there's the whole tyre
pressure/rolling resistance thing to consider. Avocet are one of the few
manufacturers I've noticed who recommend different maximum pressures for
different widths of the same tyre, ie, Fasgrip Duro (700x32) 95psi, Fasgrip
Duro-Plus (700x35) 90psi, etc. Now that I've found a fat slick that will
fit my wheels I'm less inclined to push for a narrow tyre than I was a
couple of months ago. If I get the Fasgrips I'll have a genuine
carbon-compound slick that's sticky and yet more comfortable than some
ultra-high pressure road bike tyre. So now my thinking is more whether to
go for the 32 or 35 rather than try to force a 28. I think I'll go back to
the shop and force the issue of finding out the inner rim measurement of my
rims, the last time I asked they weren't sure, which is silly when you think
about it. One of the mechanics must know.

[...]

> Leigh is a very 'polar' person aint he (CW aint known (Leigh
> excepted) for honest appraisal of much product as Big Brother owns the
> importing business to half the stuff you see in bike shops around Oz)

It's not just Leigh when it comes to the Gatorskins being controversial.
Read the reviews at sites like RoadBikeReview or BikeMagic. They invoke
extremes of love or hate, no inbetween. Leigh's view is consistent with
these other sources. He's not saying they're a bad tyre, he's saying he
won't recommend them because too many people get too worked up about them
and he doesn't want to push them and have it come back and bite him.

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