Winter Cycling - Nokian extreme and Single speeding

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GreenFix
01-17-05, 08:45 AM
I have a couple of quick questions,

I have just ordered some Nokian extreme 29xs. I am going to mounting them on my single speed. I know that they will be almost twice as heavy as the tires I have been running (wire bead hutchinson mosquitos, don't ask, they were free), but they should give me slightly more traction on the ice and snow ;) . For those of you who single speed in the winter, do you put a largerr cog on the back to compensate for the increased weight of the tires and the increased rolling resistance?

I was also wondering if anyone knew the approximate width of a mounted Nokian extreme 2.1? I am going to be mounting them on my fairly narrow cheapo 1992 OEM rims. I was wondering how they would compare to the Hutchinson 2.1

Thanks in advance for your opinions.
GF

KrisA
01-17-05, 09:38 AM
Much smaller than the Hutch 2.1. My 2.1 Nokian looks exactly the same size as my factory 1.95 (Kenda) on my winter junker.
mmerner
01-17-05, 10:20 AM
I left the same cog on when switching to nokian studded 35s from slicks. But I don't depend on my bike for my lively hood, just for fun and exercise.

GreenFix
01-17-05, 12:36 PM
Great thanks for the info.

A friend of mine lent me some home made studded tires (Farmer Johns with 100 sheet metal screws per tire), and I liked it so much I decided to get my own tires.

The frame I am going to run them on has tight clearance, so I was concerned the tread may rub the stays. It sounds like I will be O.K.

Thanks again.
Ken Cox
01-17-05, 01:20 PM
At 58 years of age, I presently consider myself in training for riding a fixed gear bike this spring (kinda backwards, eh?).
Therefore, I ride around town in just one gear, usually a 72" gear, and sometimes an 81" gear, and then I ride normally, using several gears, for a few days and let my knees recover and get stronger.
So far I feel myself making good progress.

Anyway, to address the issue: I ride with 35mm Innovas right now.
After getting turned around last night by frozen ruts, I plan to go to Nokkians next year.
I find that in order to ride around town in the worst conditions (frozen, rutted slush), in the same inch gear, I have to drop down to a 64" gear, which corresponds in a 700c tire to 48X20 or 42X18.
I think a year from now I might manage a 72" gear, which in a 700c tire corresponds to 48X18.
Otherwise, on dry pavement and the hills we have here in Oregon, with my summer Panaracer Tservs, I can do 81", or the typical 48X16.