29x1.9" mud tires?

Okay, this post isn't entirely meant as a chance to brag about the new
bike, but let's get it over with...

http://wiredcola.com/content/danger-...presents-cheat

(Yes, that's right: Carl has Fogel Labs, while I work out of Danger
Labs. The dangerous part was taking these pictures in the kitchen
without my wife noticing a clear violation of the
no-bikes-in-the-kitchen rule.)

Anyways, that is a flat-bar "cyclocross" bike expressly designed for
muddy conditions (disc brakes, Alfine 8-speed gearhub, Bianchi Rita 29er
hardtail singlespeed frame with loads of wheel clearance).

What I'm looking for now is tires to suit the job: something that will
let me deal with mud fast. My current theory is that something like a
29x1.9 tire with a mud-tread would be great.

Any suggestions, or differing opinions? I could buy a pair of Hutchinson
700C 35mm mud tires cheaply. The current stuff is 32mm CX tires.

--
Ryan Cousineau http://www.wiredcola.com/
"In other newsgroups, they killfile trolls."
"In rec.bicycles.racing, we coach them."

From Ryan's text:

This thing started out as a narrow-focus almost-a-joke project, but
now I think it may become my most versatile bicycle
of all.

Regarding tire choices, are you riding mostly berber or pile? Or maybe
you still have some 70's shag in the cellar!

This is a fine example of cycle damit and I like it! Good job.

One question though. Are you satisfied with your crank/pedal clearance?

Best Regards - Mike Baldwin

On Oct 14, 3:56*pm, Ryan Cousineau wrote:
Okay, this post isn't entirely meant as a chance to brag about the new
bike, but let's get it over with...

http://wiredcola.com/content/danger-...presents-cheat

(Yes, that's right: Carl has Fogel Labs, while I work out of Danger
Labs. The dangerous part was taking these pictures in the kitchen
without my wife noticing a clear violation of the
no-bikes-in-the-kitchen rule.)

Anyways, that is a flat-bar "cyclocross" bike expressly designed for
muddy conditions (disc brakes, Alfine 8-speed gearhub, Bianchi Rita 29er
hardtail singlespeed frame with loads of wheel clearance).

What I'm looking for now is tires to suit the job: something that will
let me deal with mud fast. My current theory is that something like a
29x1.9 tire with a mud-tread would be great.

Any suggestions, or differing opinions? I could buy a pair of Hutchinson
700C 35mm mud tires cheaply. The current stuff is 32mm CX tires.

I don't think that 1.9" tires will be faster through mud
than 35mm tires. They will, however, pick up more mud
and the bike will be heavier. The folklore among CX racers
has been that thinner tires actually cut through the mud
a little, while fat tires tend to float around on it, and I think
there's some truth to the folklore. Fatter tires are good
if you anticipate having to ride over bigger bumps.

For a bike that you may carry, the extra weight of the 1.9" tires
could be significant.

Ben

On Oct 14, 5:56*pm, Ryan Cousineau wrote:
Okay, this post isn't entirely meant as a chance to brag about the new
bike, but let's get it over with...

http://wiredcola.com/content/danger-...presents-cheat

(Yes, that's right: Carl has Fogel Labs, while I work out of Danger
Labs. The dangerous part was taking these pictures in the kitchen
without my wife noticing a clear violation of the
no-bikes-in-the-kitchen rule.)

Anyways, that is a flat-bar "cyclocross" bike expressly designed for
muddy conditions (disc brakes, Alfine 8-speed gearhub, Bianchi Rita 29er
hardtail singlespeed frame with loads of wheel clearance).

What I'm looking for now is tires to suit the job: something that will
let me deal with mud fast. My current theory is that something like a
29x1.9 tire with a mud-tread would be great.

Hayull yeah! That fork really got the clearance? Go for it!


Any suggestions, or differing opinions? I could buy a pair of Hutchinson
700C 35mm mud tires cheaply. The current stuff is 32mm CX tires.


Pbbbt. 3mm? I went fire roading on some vintage IRC 35mms on my fixed
gear a couple weeks ago and even at 50psi--ouch. The ground is hard as
a bone around here of course, but if you can fit width, and you've got
the gears to push the squidge, go for it.

On Oct 14, 5:56*pm, Ryan Cousineau wrote:
Okay, this post isn't entirely meant as a chance to brag about the new
bike, but let's get it over with...

http://wiredcola.com/content/danger-...presents-cheat


BTW, that's totally KICKASS! I'd have gone for Ritchey True-grips--but
we can't agree on everything. ;-)

In article ,
(Michael Baldwin) wrote:

From Ryan's text:

This thing started out as a narrow-focus almost-a-joke project, but
now I think it may become my most versatile bicycle
of all.

Regarding tire choices, are you riding mostly berber or pile? Or maybe
you still have some 70's shag in the cellar!

Heh. Today I did briefly ride on an artificial turf field.

This is a fine example of cycle damit and I like it! Good job.

One question though. Are you satisfied with your crank/pedal clearance?

A good question. The answer is yes, but barely. For the intended purpose
of this bike (cheating at cyclocross races), it will be fine. It would
suffer on technical singletrack, but that's not really its purpose.

The reason for the low clearance is the 26er fork (with clearance
aplenty for my 700c wheel, but you can see where the canti posts are).
This fork has two advantages: it steepens the geometry (appropriate for
CX) and is cheaper than a proper 29er fork.

Having ridden this bike around a bunch today, it feels really good. The
bike just does everything I wanted it to.

--
Ryan Cousineau http://www.wiredcola.com/
"In other newsgroups, they killfile trolls."
"In rec.bicycles.racing, we coach them."

In article
,
landotter wrote:

On Oct 14, 5:56*pm, Ryan Cousineau wrote:
Okay, this post isn't entirely meant as a chance to brag about the new
bike, but let's get it over with...

http://wiredcola.com/content/danger-...presents-cheat

(Yes, that's right: Carl has Fogel Labs, while I work out of Danger
Labs. The dangerous part was taking these pictures in the kitchen
without my wife noticing a clear violation of the
no-bikes-in-the-kitchen rule.)

Anyways, that is a flat-bar "cyclocross" bike expressly designed for
muddy conditions (disc brakes, Alfine 8-speed gearhub, Bianchi Rita 29er
hardtail singlespeed frame with loads of wheel clearance).

What I'm looking for now is tires to suit the job: something that will
let me deal with mud fast. My current theory is that something like a
29x1.9 tire with a mud-tread would be great.

Hayull yeah! That fork really got the clearance? Go for it!

I think it does have the clearance. I'll double-check.

Any suggestions, or differing opinions? I could buy a pair of Hutchinson
700C 35mm mud tires cheaply. The current stuff is 32mm CX tires.

Pbbbt. 3mm? I went fire roading on some vintage IRC 35mms on my fixed
gear a couple weeks ago and even at 50psi--ouch. The ground is hard as
a bone around here of course, but if you can fit width, and you've got
the gears to push the squidge, go for it.

The thing is this will be a cyclocross bike, and a mud bike at that: I'm
looking to deal with wet grass and mud, not rough terrain.

--
Ryan Cousineau http://www.wiredcola.com/
"In other newsgroups, they killfile trolls."
"In rec.bicycles.racing, we coach them."

On Oct 15, 8:10*am, Ryan Cousineau wrote:
In article ,
(Michael Baldwin) wrote:

From Ryan's text:

This thing started out as a narrow-focus almost-a-joke project, but
now I think it may become my most versatile bicycle
of all.

Regarding tire choices, are you riding mostly berber or pile? *Or maybe
you still have some 70's shag in the cellar!

Heh. Today I did briefly ride on an artificial turf field.

This is a fine example of cycle damit and I like it! *Good job.

One question though. *Are you satisfied with your crank/pedal clearance?

A good question. The answer is yes, but barely. For the intended purpose
of this bike (cheating at cyclocross races), it will be fine. It would
suffer on technical singletrack, but that's not really its purpose.

Also harder to shoulder with straight bars through running sections
and forget about a fast rear wheel change -- assuming you don't race
with a fleet of bikes like the really cool guys at the mud races. I
like the bike, but it's not really an advantage in a cross race, IMO.
The uber-groovy bike at the CX races around here is the (you guessed
it) fixed gear! -- Jay Beattie.

In article
,
Jay Beattie wrote:

On Oct 15, 8:10*am, Ryan Cousineau wrote:
In article ,
(Michael Baldwin) wrote:

From Ryan's text:

This thing started out as a narrow-focus almost-a-joke project, but
now I think it may become my most versatile bicycle
of all.

Regarding tire choices, are you riding mostly berber or pile? *Or maybe
you still have some 70's shag in the cellar!

Heh. Today I did briefly ride on an artificial turf field.

This is a fine example of cycle damit and I like it! *Good job.

One question though. *Are you satisfied with your crank/pedal clearance?

A good question. The answer is yes, but barely. For the intended purpose
of this bike (cheating at cyclocross races), it will be fine. It would
suffer on technical singletrack, but that's not really its purpose.

Also harder to shoulder with straight bars through running sections
and forget about a fast rear wheel change -- assuming you don't race
with a fleet of bikes like the really cool guys at the mud races. I
like the bike, but it's not really an advantage in a cross race, IMO.
The uber-groovy bike at the CX races around here is the (you guessed
it) fixed gear! -- Jay Beattie.

A bit of experimentation has shown that this bike shoulders and runs
just fine. In my experience, the optimal shouldering techniques change
quite a bit depending on rider height and a few other things. The
sloping top tube doesn't help this bike any, but once I get it on my
shoulder, it works fine and the flat bar causes no trouble.

As for the rear wheel change, well, I don't usually bring spare wheels,
but I still have a way more normal CX bike. So I'll be bringing both
bikes to my races, and I'll leave one in the pits.

Interestingly, I find the fussiest thing about the wheel changing is not
dealing with the shifter cable or the axle nuts, it's getting the disc
brake lined up properly. This is a special problem with horizontal
dropouts, because the wheel has to be straight in the frame in order for
the disc to not drag.

I asked the local organizing body if I could race a tandem in CX, they
said no,

--
Ryan Cousineau http://www.wiredcola.com/
"In other newsgroups, they killfile trolls."
"In rec.bicycles.racing, we coach them."

Nice Bike. I like! I thought Discs were banned from cross. Then
again, I don't race cross, so why would I know?

Is 1.9 as wide as you can get away with? I'm using a cheapo Kenda 1.9
on the rear of my hardtail, with the thought that it'd bite through
the real soft stuff and hopefully down to some sort of traction. It
grips well on rocks and in mud, I've been very happy with it. It's a
real soft compound tire, which I needed for traction on rock here in
the granite state - but as such it wears fast. If this sounds like
something you'd be interested in I'll check the model and see if it's
available in 700c. If you're looking for something that'd last
longer, I won't bother. On the bright side, it was so inexpensive you
can afford to replace them as they wear.

The best tires I've ridden on the mud to date are the Kenda Nevegal
29x2.2's on my 29er. I'm afraid that they wouldn't fit in your
application, however, and even if they did the 37lbs they weight may
throw you off.