tyres - narrow, wide, gravel....

So... I see Bicycle NSW is having a winery tour for female riders.

So far so good but they specify "mountain bikes" as some of the roads
will be gravel and they don't think "skinny tyres" are suitable.

Right now I am running narrowish tyres. the front is a Stelvio 7/8",
the rear a Marathon whose size escapes me (and I'm too lazy to go
downstairs to look) but it's pretty similar to the Stelvio. I am using
standard MTB 26" tubes in it though. And it had Kenda Kwests on it
which were 1.25"

There won't be enough clearance for a bigger tyre on the front as the
20" front was replaced by a 24" and there's just enough clearance for
the Stelvio.

I could put a bigger tyre on the rear, might even have the Kwest
lurking in the shed somewhere.

Question is... how important would it be to have wider softer tyres if
doing dirt roads?

is the problem jarring your fillings out on high pressure tyres rather
than traction on loose surfaces?

Are uprights really too difficult to manage on skinny tyres on gravel
roads? (No idea how hard the 'bent would be to manage...)

And would the problem be less if I put the 80psi Kwest on instead of
the 120psi Marathon?

Zebee

Zebee Johnstone wrote:

Question is... how important would it be to have wider softer tyres if
doing dirt roads?

It's certainly not essential, although I personally prefer my
26 x 2.00 tyres.

But I'm old enough to have toured on gravel roads in the days
before MTBs were invented - on 27 x 1 1/4 "racing" tyres.

Sometimes it can be a real challenge staying on the bike through
deep soft gravel drifts, but they don't occur very often in
most places.

John

On 2009-05-26, Zebee Johnstone (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
So... I see Bicycle NSW is having a winery tour for female riders.

So far so good but they specify "mountain bikes" as some of the roads
will be gravel and they don't think "skinny tyres" are suitable.

Right now I am running narrowish tyres. the front is a Stelvio 7/8",
the rear a Marathon whose size escapes me (and I'm too lazy to go
downstairs to look) but it's pretty similar to the Stelvio. I am using
standard MTB 26" tubes in it though. And it had Kenda Kwests on it
which were 1.25"

Do you know yet how the bent handles on gravel at all?

is the problem jarring your fillings out on high pressure tyres rather
than traction on loose surfaces?

I toured once on a aluminium road bike with 23mm tires with 20 or so
kg of panniers on the dirt for 30km. And that bike is still my
commuter (how the heck I did not break it, I do not know)! And look
at me! I still turned out fine!

knaws the other arm off...

Are uprights really too difficult to manage on skinny tyres on gravel
roads? (No idea how hard the 'bent would be to manage...)

You're not talking about taking your bent? You've got an upright your
thinking of doing it on?

And would the problem be less if I put the 80psi Kwest on instead of
the 120psi Marathon?

120psi? That's a little surprising for 26" tires. On an upright,
120psi on 23mm tires is *bearable* for 40km, but expect a couple of
punctures at least, and there are better ways to do it.

--
TimC
"Cycling is like a church - many attend, but few understand." -- Jim Burlant

On Tue, 26 May 2009 09:23:01 +0000, Zebee Johnstone wrote:

So... I see Bicycle NSW is having a winery tour for female riders.

What is the point of that?


So far so good but they specify "mountain bikes" as some of the roads
will be gravel and they don't think "skinny tyres" are suitable.

Seriously, I would not take any bicycle advice from BNSW.
Basically, thinner tyres increase the risk of punctures. You can reduce
the risk by riding slower and taking more care. If you tent to stay off
the seat, less risk as well.

As mentioned by other, we have toured on 1.25" tyres for years. 16+ years
in my case and some major tours and back roads trips.

In aus.bicycle on Tue, 26 May 2009 21:39:19 +1000
TimC wrote:
On 2009-05-26, Zebee Johnstone (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Do you know yet how the bent handles on gravel at all?


Only on very short distances. There was a loose surface on a bit of
the route I take to work, and it didn't seem a problem there, but it
was very small scattered gravel on hardpack rather than lotsa rocks on
dirt of your average gravel road.


Are uprights really too difficult to manage on skinny tyres on gravel
roads? (No idea how hard the 'bent would be to manage...)

You're not talking about taking your bent? You've got an upright your
thinking of doing it on?

Nope. Haven't had one in years. But I dunno anyone here will know how
a bent will handle on gravel. I was trying to work out if the
organisers practically mandated MTBs because there was a real danger
or because they thought the likely clientele would not be skilled
enough.

And would the problem be less if I put the 80psi Kwest on instead of
the 120psi Marathon?

120psi? That's a little surprising for 26" tires. On an upright,
120psi on 23mm tires is *bearable* for 40km, but expect a couple of
punctures at least, and there are better ways to do it.

120 in the front, I usually put 110-120 in the rear but 100 is fine
there too.

And it's quite comfortable on the 'bent. On really bumpy roads (such
as the bits of the Cook's River path that had tree roots under them,
which were like riding on major corrugations) it could be jarring, but
on normal roads it's fine. (And those bits were pretty damn jarring
with the 80psi tyre)

Haven't had a puncture since I put the Marathon on the rear, lovely
tyre that.

Some 'bent riders use much bigger lower pressure tyres such as Big
Apples and say they work well for commuting on rougher surfaces.

Aside from a lot of my weight being taken on my back which is resting
on a wide mesh seatback rather than weight being on wrists and small
hard saddle, the Giro 20 is a stick frame: single large oval section
tube between headstem and rear triangle. This flexes just a little
and provides some shock absorption. (Which makes it sound awful and
power-absorbing but ain't so.)

Zebee

On Tue, 26 May 2009 19:56:17 +0000, Zebee Johnstone wrote:

Only on very short distances. There was a loose surface on a bit of the
route I take to work, and it didn't seem a problem there, but it was
very small scattered gravel on hardpack rather than lotsa rocks on dirt
of your average gravel road.

IME, The average gravel road doesn't have lots a scattered rock. mostly
hard pack with patches of sand, drift, small pebbles, potholes, ridges/
corrugations and channels.

Rarely have I struck a road such as you describe and in that case, even
mtn bikes, aka fat tyres would find it difficult. Mainly through fighting
the steering.

Unless you really want to do a ride with a bunch of other women, travel
by train to Maitland or further and ride to Kurri-Kurri, then Cessnock.
Plenty of back road alternatives, many sealed. there are a number of free
wine area maps and the $ form the CMA(what ever it is called now) Hunter
Valley map is probably well spent.

The biggest problem is going to be on the same roads as drivers who are
tasting huge amounts and in their safety cage.



Nope. Haven't had one in years. But I dunno anyone here will know how a
bent will handle on gravel.

Worse. Well, it really depends on your vision of the road ahead and how
much you can dodge. Plus, if you have 3+ wheels, you are more likely to
hid 3X as much bad stuff.

I was trying to work out if the organisers
practically mandated MTBs because there was a real danger or because
they thought the likely clientele would not be skilled enough.

Image, plus it is a trip run by clueless. If you know how to maintain
your own bicycle, repair punctures, etc. there should not be any problems.

In aus.bicycle on 27 May 2009 03:10:55 GMT
terryc wrote:

Unless you really want to do a ride with a bunch of other women, travel
by train to Maitland or further and ride to Kurri-Kurri, then Cessnock.
Plenty of back road alternatives, many sealed. there are a number of free
wine area maps and the $ form the CMA(what ever it is called now) Hunter
Valley map is probably well spent.

The idea of being with others is appealing. I don't really care if
they are innies or outies although the level of aggro towards slower
riders after a day on the booze does tend to be less with innies.

Worse. Well, it really depends on your vision of the road ahead and how
much you can dodge. Plus, if you have 3+ wheels, you are more likely to
hid 3X as much bad stuff.


IT's a 2 wheeler. If it was a trike I wouldn't care about traction
although I would care rather a lot about my fillings as the trikes
I've ridden feel the road bumps way way way more than my high racer
does.


I was trying to work out if the organisers
practically mandated MTBs because there was a real danger or because
they thought the likely clientele would not be skilled enough.

Image, plus it is a trip run by clueless. If you know how to maintain
your own bicycle, repair punctures, etc. there should not be any problems.

I should probably seek out some gravel first.

I still wonder why they said that unsealed was unsuitable for skinny
tyres, presumably they had a reason...

Zebee

Zebee Johnstone wrote:

I still wonder why they said that unsealed was unsuitable for skinny
tyres, presumably they had a reason...

This seems to be a common statement these days. Maybe it's just
the modern over-cautious approach because some disappointed
people might feel they have legal redress.

Are they going to let you participate if you tell them what you
intend riding?

John

Zebee Johnstone wrote:
So... I see Bicycle NSW is having a winery tour for female riders.

So far so good but they specify "mountain bikes" as some of the roads
will be gravel and they don't think "skinny tyres" are suitable.

Right now I am running narrowish tyres. the front is a Stelvio 7/8",
the rear a Marathon whose size escapes me (and I'm too lazy to go
downstairs to look) but it's pretty similar to the Stelvio. I am using
standard MTB 26" tubes in it though. And it had Kenda Kwests on it
which were 1.25"

There won't be enough clearance for a bigger tyre on the front as the
20" front was replaced by a 24" and there's just enough clearance for
the Stelvio.

I could put a bigger tyre on the rear, might even have the Kwest
lurking in the shed somewhere.

Question is... how important would it be to have wider softer tyres if
doing dirt roads?

is the problem jarring your fillings out on high pressure tyres rather
than traction on loose surfaces?

Are uprights really too difficult to manage on skinny tyres on gravel
roads? (No idea how hard the 'bent would be to manage...)

And would the problem be less if I put the 80psi Kwest on instead of
the 120psi Marathon?

Zebee


You could think about it this way we used to have 28" skinny tyres and
no sealed roads when they were about.

How does that fit the equation.

r

Zebee Johnstone wrote:
In aus.bicycle on 27 May 2009 03:10:55 GMT
terryc wrote:
Unless you really want to do a ride with a bunch of other women, travel
by train to Maitland or further and ride to Kurri-Kurri, then Cessnock.
Plenty of back road alternatives, many sealed. there are a number of free
wine area maps and the $ form the CMA(what ever it is called now) Hunter
Valley map is probably well spent.

The idea of being with others is appealing. I don't really care if
they are innies or outies although the level of aggro towards slower
riders after a day on the booze does tend to be less with innies.

Worse. Well, it really depends on your vision of the road ahead and how
much you can dodge. Plus, if you have 3+ wheels, you are more likely to
hid 3X as much bad stuff.


IT's a 2 wheeler. If it was a trike I wouldn't care about traction
although I would care rather a lot about my fillings as the trikes
I've ridden feel the road bumps way way way more than my high racer
does.


I was trying to work out if the organisers
practically mandated MTBs because there was a real danger or because
they thought the likely clientele would not be skilled enough.
Image, plus it is a trip run by clueless. If you know how to maintain
your own bicycle, repair punctures, etc. there should not be any problems.

I should probably seek out some gravel first.

I still wonder why they said that unsealed was unsuitable for skinny
tyres, presumably they had a reason...

Zebee

Maybe high pressure singles or 1" and under, these don't give me
confidence on dirt tracks.

There ain't much elasticity in either at high pressures.