Knobbly Tyres (and thread direction)

[zzapper]

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.

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?

zzapper

 

[Simon Mason]

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

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/v2_product_detail.asp?ProdID=5360007832

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/?ProductID=5360008376

--
Simon Mason
Anlaby
East Yorkshire.
53°44'N 0°26'W
http://www.simonmason.karoo.net

 

[davek]

zzapper:
> 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.

 

[Simon Brooke]

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

> 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.

> 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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[Pete Biggs]

zzapper wrote:
> 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!

> 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

 

[Peter Clinch]

zzapper wrote:

> 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 protected] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

 

[Ian G Batten]

In article <[email protected]>,
Peter Clinch <[email protected]> wrote:
> 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

 

[zzapper]

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

>
> 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

 

[Peter Clinch]

zzapper wrote:

> 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 protected] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

 

[zzapper]

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

>
> 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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[Gawnsoft]

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

>zzapper wrote:
>
>> 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.



--
Cheers,
Euan
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[davek]

Gawnsoft:
> 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.