New Season, New Tires, New Thread

[meter-man]

Went to swap out my rear tire last night and remove the Vittoria Air Liner (which always seem to set with a wobble), and pulled out a hilariously large sealant goo-ball. Perhaps this was caused part of the wobble??



Plan was to put on new rubber and try a Tannus Tubeless insert. I hated the wobble with Air Liner, and wanted to try this option. My wheels are Bontrager Line Pro 30s and they have a high bead or are just really hard to mount tires and inserts, so I have avoided cushcore.

I run a Huck Norris out front - that was easy peasy to set up - same as just a tire. The Vittoria was pretty easy to get in there; I just couldn't get rid of the wobble. I have read that the Tannus is as easy as the Air Liner.

But, fuck me, no matter how hard I tried and despite tire irons, and voile straps, and spraying of soapy water, and everything else, I could not get the tire to seat with the Tannus. Gave up, said fuck it. My forearms and hands are sore today from all the wrestling.

Think I'm going to get a Huck for the rear...

[grinch]

Thats too bad i found the tannus slightly easier than the vittoria to mount. New huck probably works fine too. My og hucks did the job for the life of a tire. New ones should last 2 or 3 rear tire changes

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[jm2e]

My LBS guy asked if I’d cleaned out my tires recently. Offered to pull off the tires and clean out the old sealant and put in new sealant.
I’m like, “The fuck you talking about?”
He said it’s good for the health of the tires. That after a couple years, old sealant can hurt the rubber.
Bwaaahahahaha


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[nickwm21]

Any suggestions for a commuter tire? Currently running 700x32 wirebead gatorskins. They have been worry free but I think I can fit something slightly larger that’s not a full slick.

See below for the current clearance with 32s. I don’t think I can fit 40s. Maybe a 34 or 36 will be ideal? I like the look of a Maxxis Refuse but they only come in 32 or 40...

Use case is an 11mi commute across Seattle.




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[Roxtar]

I'm thinking, if you keep those growing, you might just grow a Tannus liner from the inside.

[Dantheman]

Any suggestions for a commuter tire? Currently running 700x32 wirebead gatorskins. They have been worry free but I think I can fit something slightly larger that’s not a full slick.

See below for the current clearance with 32s. I don’t think I can fit 40s. Maybe a 34 or 36 will be ideal? I like the look of a Maxxis Refuse but they only come in 32 or 40...

Use case is an 11mi commute across Seattle.

Conti RideTour has been treating me pretty well for about a year and a half now. 2,000-ish miles and the rear still has pretty good tread left. I'll rotate them in a few months and they should be good for another 2k easy. No flats so far and goatheads are ubiquitous here.

Size choices are 28, 32, 37, 42 and 47. I'm running the 32, FWIW. I've also seen these labeled as TourRide but AFAICT they're the same thing. Not spendy, MSRP is $25. Nashbar has the 37s in stock for $20/ea: https://www.nashbar.com/continental-...18862?v=630360

[toast2266]

My LBS guy asked if I’d cleaned out my tires recently. Offered to pull off the tires and clean out the old sealant and put in new sealant.
I’m like, “The fuck you talking about?”
He said it’s good for the health of the tires. That after a couple years, old sealant can hurt the rubber.
Bwaaahahahaha


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There used to be some issues with sealant getting into the layers of the tire carcass and making the rubber pull away from the nylon casing. That was mostly resolved with better tubeless compatible tires. And there were issues with the ammonia in the sealant corroding aluminum rims. I think there's less ammonia in most of the sealants these days, and that was only really an issue on fairly low quality rims.

Regardless, replacing the sealant isn't gonna change any of that.

Of course, occasionally cleaning out latex boogers and adding a bit of sealant from time to time is probably worthwhile.

[Meathelmet]

NN is not terribly fast, not terribly slow, I'd go Rockets F/R, if you're riding dirt sidewalks (what i call more mellow, harder packed trails, etc) the Rockets will be fine
if things are loose/wet/can get loose, I'd do NN front, RR rear.

Thx! will go the NN front, RR rear route and get a NN rear spare.

Or maybe RR spare...or...or..

[Huskier]

Any suggestions for a commuter tire? Currently running 700x32 wirebead gatorskins. They have been worry free but I think I can fit something slightly larger that’s not a full slick.

See below for the current clearance with 32s. I don’t think I can fit 40s. Maybe a 34 or 36 will be ideal? I like the look of a Maxxis Refuse but they only come in 32 or 40...

Use case is an 11mi commute across Seattle.




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Wait why are you wanting to go wider again? Are you looking for comfort or speed or durability? I ride the same roads. For road use I think tread is a non-issue. I've experimented w gravel tires, mixed duty etc, I just don't see the benefit. I just keep coming back to gator hardshells. I've never gone down in the wet (*knock on noggin*) on them and for urban riding puncture insurance is worth the watt penalty. Don't mess with a good thing! Although I would go narrower if I were you to 25-27ish. Most energy-efficient width.

[Huskier]

I may have made a poor (amazing) life choice in picking up a rough-country/down country 29er (pics forthcoming). I already have a Transition Patrol as my main squeeze, the new steed will be dedicated xc, back-40 riding with efficiency, durability, grip being 1st, 2nd, and 3rd priorities respectively. Talking hut-to-hut epics 40 and 50 mile days. I'm looking for treads optimized to that use case. Any suggestions?

[jamal]

Vittoria Mezcal has been pretty good for me. (I have it as a rear with a barzo front but would try it on both ends too). Kind of like a nano tread pattern but with better side knobs. I'm also finding them to be more durable than maxxis exo xc tires. The performance line schwalbes also held up pretty well for me. I know they get a rep for being flimsy but the cheaper ones are a pretty heavy casing for an xc tire and have harder wearing rubber. I think my 29x2.25 racing ralphs were like 775g and ran small.

[jmedslc]

Vittoria Mezcal has been pretty good for me. (I have it as a rear with a barzo front but would try it on both ends too). Kind of like a nano tread pattern but with better side knobs. I'm also finding them to be more durable than maxxis exo xc tires. The performance line schwalbes also held up pretty well for me. I know they get a rep for being flimsy but the cheaper ones are a pretty heavy casing for an xc tire and have harder wearing rubber. I think my 29x2.25 racing ralphs were like 775g and ran small.

Mezcal? I approve

[El Chupacabra]

Conti RideTour has been treating me pretty well for about a year and a half now. 2,000-ish miles and the rear still has pretty good tread left. I'll rotate them in a few months and they should be good for another 2k easy. No flats so far and goatheads are ubiquitous here.

Size choices are 28, 32, 37, 42 and 47. I'm running the 32, FWIW. I've also seen these labeled as TourRide but AFAICT they're the same thing. Not spendy, MSRP is $25. Nashbar has the 37s in stock for $20/ea: https://www.nashbar.com/continental-...18862?v=630360

I used the same tires on my commuter, when I commuted... I like them too. Inexpensive, long tread life, good puncture resistance, acceptable ride quality.

[D(C)]

Stocked up on a spare set of Maxxis unicorn tires. It’s pretty sweet that they are finally making these versions of casings and compounds.

[smmokan]

^^^ That's like $300 worth of tires on the black market these days.

[jakezee]

Just ordered Perelli Scorpion S 29 x 2.6 ... found at a great price - didn't even know they made bike tires.
Kinda funny they're the same name as their car tires.
Will add an update when I ride it.
Planning to put it out front.

[skaredshtles]

Just ordered Perelli Scorpion S 29 x 2.6 ... found at a great price - didn't even know they made bike tires.
Kinda funny they're the same name as their car tires.
Will add an update when I ride it.
Planning to put it out front.

That appears to be some *quality* knob-vomit on that tire. Looking forward to a review. What's your terrain like and how do you ride it?

[Cocximus]

2x DHFs and learn to actually lean the bike or
Assegai + DHR and be a hero ?


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[jamal]

tbh i've considered getting back on the trainer to do some workouts. I had a pretty solid winter and stayed light and fit and now I'm just, like, riding around and not even as much as I should be. Kind of worried I'm slower than I was in february and we have the weekly xc series starting next week. I did pretty well in the 3 week time trial thing recently though so I'm probably ok.

[evasive_MT]

tbh i've considered getting back on the trainer to do some workouts. I had a pretty solid winter and stayed light and fit and now I'm just, like, riding around and not even as much as I should be. Kind of worried I'm slower than I was in february and we have the weekly xc series starting next week. I did pretty well in the 3 week time trial thing recently though so I'm probably ok.

Same. I stopped Zwift about 6 weeks ago as we were able to start riding outside again and I’ve been fretting a little about giving up my gains. I did a nerd ride again on Sunday.

[bagtagley]

tbh i've considered getting back on the trainer to do some workouts. I had a pretty solid winter and stayed light and fit and now I'm just, like, riding around and not even as much as I should be. Kind of worried I'm slower than I was in february and we have the weekly xc series starting next week. I did pretty well in the 3 week time trial thing recently though so I'm probably ok.

You burned yourself out on MTB on the trainer, and your solution is to get back on the trainer?

[grinch]

Sounds like some rest is needed. Take 4 days off and taper back in and have fun

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[jamal]

Wait that's weird, I somehow managed to post that in here and not the zwift thread.

No I'm not really burned out or anything, just been avoiding the trainer because I can ride outside. Except I'm working a lot and the weather is sometimes bad so the amount of time I've been spending on a bike per week is lower than I'd like and I'm a little concerned about my fitness going into a bunch of racing. Just saying that IF I was riding the trainer I could be getting in more time and better workouts. Had a nice one today outside on the road bike though.

Since it's the tire thread, I guess I can mention I ordered more mtb tires. Wanted the schwalbes for XC but so far only the rear showed up and I have no idea when I'll get the front. Decided to try aspens for speed and lightness plus I have a rekon left over that I can put on the front if I need it. Plan is to roll the aspens on the hei hei until the other schwalbe shows up and then swap them over to the hardtail. Maybe. Then I should probably start thinking about the next set of trail tires. My DHF is still pretty fresh though.

[grinch]

I just put some schwalbes in my cart from bike24. A lot of the models are saying out of stock and 11-12 weeks out until restock. Tire picking is tough work these days. Decent prices at bike24

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[jamal]

Lol fuck, aspens gone before the order went in, qbp had a bunch last week. But maybe that's for the best- do I really want to buy two of those things and try racing on them?

If there are mezcals left on friday I'll get one as we have some barzos on the shelf and I like that combo well enough. Or we have ikons and ardent races. I could do ikon/rekon so I only have to buy one tire but I better double check/patch those holes in the rekon first I guess.