Kevlar (?) Tires

mary said:

I was wondering if three dollars more for kevlar tires are worth it? Does

Usually is. They tend to be lighter, and rotational weight saved is a good thing.

Quoted message said:

150 miles per week. I have a mountain style bike which I use for exercise, but also use it for
grocery shopping. Probably the heaviest thing I carry about 1000 miles. I do not really ride off
road other than to take a short cut. I get a flat maybe every two months or so.

You should get slicks, or something like this: lickbike.comi1837050.htmOpen ↗ though I don't
know if that is the best place to buy it, that tire had served me well when I used a mountain bike
for mainly pavement riding.

The tread advantage over knobbies is worth more than the rotational weight saved by kevlar bead. Of
course, if you got kevlar beaded slicks, that would be the best option, though it may not work well
when you shortcut through dirt.

Quoted message said:

Thanks

Tom

--
Rick Onanian

"mary" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

I was wondering if three dollars more for kevlar tires are worth it? Does your mileage
increase,and do you have fewer flats. I ride between 100 and 150 miles per week. I have a mountain
style bike which I use for

exercise,

Quoted message said:

but also use it for grocery shopping. Probably the heaviest thing I carry would be two loaded
panniers, and a watermelon. My current back tire lasts about 1000 miles. I do not really ride off
road other than to take a short cut. I get a flat maybe every two months or so.

Don't confuse Kevlar belts with Kevlar beads. Kevlar beads are what make tires lighter -- and
foldable -- and often easier to get on and off the rim -- but contribute nothing to their
puncture-resistance.

Kevlar belts generally make tires heavier, but can help protect against some kinds of punctures,
depending on luck and circumstance.

A Kevlar-belted slick road tire would be the usual recommendation for a bike like yours. Something
like a Specialized Nimbus Armadillo, depending on your rim width.

You ought to get much more than 1000 miles out of any decent tire on a MTB. On my touring bikes I
generally get 5000 or more miles from a rear tire in city/suburban riding with a 220lb load.

RichC

mary' may have said:

I was wondering if three dollars more for kevlar tires are worth it? Does your mileage increase,and
do you have fewer flats. I ride between 100 and 150 miles per week. I have a mountain style bike
which I use for exercise, but also use it for grocery shopping. Probably the heaviest thing I carry
would be two loaded panniers, and a watermelon. My current back tire lasts about 1000 miles. I do
not really ride off road other than to take a short cut. I get a flat maybe every two months or so.

Kevlar beads won't make a difference in tire life. Kevlar plies under the tread surface are a good
thing, and *may* give you a longer tire life, but won't preclude the possibility of punctures
completely.

The big advantages of kevlar *beads* are in the area of tire storage (many of them can be folded
to stash), and installation ease (the kevlar bead is easier to slip over the rim). I've only got
two tires with Kevlar beads. I like them. I think they were well worth the fairly small
difference in cost.

BTW, 1000 miles from a tire seems low. I'd expect a decent tire to go at least three times as far.

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Quoted message said:

mary' may have said:

I was wondering if three dollars more for kevlar tires are worth it? Does your mileage
increase,and do you have fewer flats. I ride between 100 and 150 miles per week. I have a
mountain style bike which I use for exercise, but also use it for grocery shopping. Probably the
heaviest thing I carry would be two loaded panniers, and a watermelon. My current back tire lasts
about 1000 miles. I do not really ride off road other than to take a short cut. I get a flat
maybe every two months or so.

Kevlar beads won't make a difference in tire life. Kevlar plies under the tread surface are a good
thing, and *may* give you a longer tire life, but won't preclude the possibility of punctures
completely.

I've noticed a major advantage in kevlar belted tubulars over non-belted tires- the tread would get
all kinds of slices in it but almost nothing penetrated to the tube. I would expect the same from
kevlar belted clinchers. A decade or so ago there were cheap, lightweight (<300g) kevlar-belted
tubulars with vulcanized latex tubes that made great training tires. Clinchers now have made them
hard to find.

JP

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Quoted message said:

mary' may have said:

I was wondering if three dollars more for kevlar tires are worth it? Does your mileage
increase,and do you have fewer flats. I ride between 100 and 150 miles per week. I have a
mountain style bike which I use for

exercise,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

but also use it for grocery shopping. Probably the heaviest thing I carry would be two loaded
panniers, and a watermelon. My current back tire

lasts

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

about 1000 miles. I do not really ride off road other than to take a

short

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

cut. I get a flat maybe every two months or so.

Kevlar beads won't make a difference in tire life. Kevlar plies under the tread surface are a good
thing, and *may* give you a longer tire life, but won't preclude the possibility of punctures
completely.

Kevlar belts won't increase tire life. Even the puncture resistance of such tires is debateable (do
a google search and read).

Quoted message said:

The big advantages of kevlar *beads* are in the area of tire storage (many of them can be folded
to stash),

"Many" can be folded? It's my understanding that all kevlar/aramid beaded tires are foldeable.

Quoted message said:

and installation ease (the kevlar bead is easier to slip over the rim).

Again, debateable. All else being equal, maybe, but all else is not equal. Frankly, I've found most
wire-beaded tires to be easier to mount.

Quoted message said:

I've only got two tires with Kevlar beads. I like them. I think they were well worth the fairly
small difference in cost.

Why is that? Must be the "rotating weight", eh?

Quoted message said:

BTW, 1000 miles from a tire seems low. I'd expect a decent tire to go at least three times as far.

Yes.

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Robin Hubert <[email hidden]

(JP) may have said:

I've noticed a major advantage in kevlar belted tubulars over non-belted tires- the tread would get
all kinds of slices in it but almost nothing penetrated to the tube. I would expect the same from
kevlar belted clinchers. A decade or so ago there were cheap, lightweight (<300g) kevlar-belted
tubulars with vulcanized latex tubes that made great training tires. Clinchers now have made them
hard to find.

I know of somebody who's got a bunch of Kevlar-belted Conti tubulars that are sized to be used on
the old 27" rims. I've been mulling over swapping the old road bike to them, just for the puncture
resistance on the road hazards that our diligent and dedicated pothole committee has been dutifully
installing during their nocturnal rounds. (Some cities have road crews to fix the potholes at night,
but I'd swear that we have road crews to make more of them.)

The old bike needs new tires, but I'm not thrilled about tubulars; on the other hand, the selections
for the older rim size aren't as numerous as for the 700.

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Robin Hubert' may have said:

"Many" can be folded? It's my understanding that all kevlar/aramid beaded tires are foldeable.

I've seen some MTB ones where the folding doesn't seem as much of a benefit. It's still a big wad.
If you want to carry a spare with you, though, kev-beaded is certainly ahead of wire in that area.
Even a big wad will still strap neatly to a rack or fit into a (big) seat bag.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and installation ease (the kevlar bead is easier to slip over the rim).

Again, debateable. All else being equal, maybe, but all else is not equal. Frankly, I've found most
wire-beaded tires to be easier to mount.

YMMV; I've had a lot of wire-beaded tires fight tooth and nail, both coming off and going on, but
the kevs I've tried slipped on without any argument at all on rims where I had to pry like crazy to
get the old wire-beads off. Others have reported similar results. You're the first to say that wires
were *easier*. You got some magic words to share? I could sure use them.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I've only got two tires with Kevlar beads. I like them. I think they were well worth the fairly
small difference in cost.

Why is that? Must be the "rotating weight", eh?

No, after fixing two flats with half the effort it would have previously required, I like the
kev-beaded tires *a lot*. Those weren't kev-belted, by the way, just beaded. I don't get enough
flats to worry about in most cases, and having two in one day was a bit of a nasty surprise; both
were on the same rear tire, about five miles apart. (It was just sheer luck that the first happened
half a block from a place where I could get a patch kit; I wasn't carrying any that day.) The first
puncture was from a piece of plastic, the other from a generic Unknown Sharp Thing, both due to
having to veer off onto the verge to avoid traffic. I don't use that road as a route anymore. Too
many sharp things.

Once again, YMMV, but for me, the kev-beaded tires are just easier to deal with.

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"Robin Hubert" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Again, debateable. All else being equal, maybe, but all else is not

equal.

Quoted message said:

Frankly, I've found most wire-beaded tires to be easier to mount.

Interesting. My experience has been exactly the opposite.

RichC

"Rich Clark" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

"Robin Hubert" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Again, debateable. All else being equal, maybe, but all else is not

equal.

Quoted message said:

Frankly, I've found most wire-beaded tires to be easier to mount.

Interesting. My experience has been exactly the opposite.

My reasoning is simply that the wire bead allows a more predictable and reliable placement (in the
gutter), resulting in more available radius to get over the opposite side wall. Of course, I realize
my experience might differ from yours.

--
Robin Hubert <[email hidden]

I have Kevlar belts, I assume that's what you're reffering to, not the beads, in my Hutchinsons. I
do get fewer flats. It won't stop goatheads (NOTHING will!) or steel threads from car tires, but it
seems to work for everything else.

May you have the wind at your back. And a really low gear for the hills! Chris

Chris'Z Corner "The Website for the Common Bicyclist": geocities.comczcornerOpen ↗

In article <[email hidden]>, Werehatrack

Quoted message said:

Robin Hubert' may have said:

Again, debateable. All else being equal, maybe, but all else is not equal. Frankly, I've found
most wire-beaded tires to be easier to mount.

YMMV; I've had a lot of wire-beaded tires fight tooth and nail, both coming off and going on, but
the kevs I've tried slipped on without any argument at all on rims where I had to pry like crazy to
get the old wire-beads off. Others have reported similar results. You're the first to say that
wires were *easier*.

They're generally easier for me as well. It might be the tires we're using... recently Ive been
using wire-beaded Conti gatorskin and michelin axials, and kevlar beaded Conti 3000 and Performance
somethings. All road tires.

I've noticed that kevlar beaded tires seem to stretch-- a recently mounted tire is much easier to
get on or off than a brand new one.

Eric

On Sun, 3 Aug 2003 16:52:27 -0400 (EDT), [email hidden] (Chris Zacho "The Wheelman"😉 may

have said:

I have Kevlar belts, I assume that's what you're reffering to, not the beads, in my Hutchinsons. I
do get fewer flats. It won't stop goatheads (NOTHING will!) or steel threads from car tires, but it
seems to work for everything else.

Thick-soled shoes won't even stop goat heads reliably. At least they're not cholla spines, though.

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(Eric Murray) may have said:

They're generally easier for me as well. It might be the tires we're using... recently Ive been
using wire-beaded Conti gatorskin and michelin axials, and kevlar beaded Conti 3000 and Performance
somethings. All road tires.

I've noticed that kevlar beaded tires seem to stretch-- a recently mounted tire is much easier to
get on or off than a brand new one.

The type of tire may be a factor, then, as well, All of the kevs I've used so far have been on mtb
rims. The extra flex lets more of the bead drop into the center depression, and they just leap on to
the rim for me. The SO's old 3-speed with the EA3 rims can be a fighter when changing tires, and all
I've seen for it is wire beads so far, so I haven't had a chance to compare on that type. The road
bike will need tires soon, and I'll probably go with a kev on it; that'll give me another benchmark.

I concur about the kevs being even easier to slip off and on after they've been in service. There
have been times when I wished the same was true for wire beads.

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[email hidden] (Eric Murray) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I've noticed that kevlar beaded tires seem to stretch-- a recently mounted tire is much easier to
get on or off than a brand new one.

interesting. do you think that kevlar beaded tires come initially tighter and stretch to the
nominal diameter?

i find that mounting a new kevlar beaded tire is harder than a wire beaded tire, barring those dang
armadillos. then again, i hadnt really thought about wire v kevlar until now. ill start paying more
attention, it could just be in my head.

anthony

Robin Hubert' may have said:

"Many" can be folded? It's my understanding that all kevlar/aramid beaded tires are foldeable.

D'oh! Just went back and re-read what I said. I forgot to complete the statement; should have been
that many can be folded small enough to fit in a pocket. (Try *that* with anything else.) (Oh, all
right, some tubulars will do it.)

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