Trip tires arrive; toes tightly crossed
 

I'm so excited. The new, wider tires for the Friday arrived today all ready for our September excursion on crushed limestone on the Katy Trail. I went for the slicks, because all the reading I did said the sharp limestone shards get themselves caught in treads, if you have treads, and it seemed sensible to avoid that possibility. And I bought fenders for the spouse, in the hope that if we both have fenders it won't rain.

And best news of all, they count as bicycle parts, so they didn't charge duty.

The spouse, who likes to do things differently, has gone for something called Intense Hustler, so I admit I'm very curious which one works better on the trail. He also bought tire liners and a large number of spare tubes.

Our plan is to try the bikes out on a rail trail somewhere around here before taking them out to Missouri, so we can get used to things before we start riding. Maybe we should even take panniers and turn it into a weekend.

(The reading also said Katy Trail is good for any type of bike, so I hope we'll be ok on roadbike Pocket Rockets. We're going with two friends, who plan to tootle along on rented mountain/hybrid types.)

I looked at some photos. You'll be fine on that even with the slickest of slicks. Looks like a great ride. Re the tire liners, make sure spouse feathers the edges or they will cut through the tubes and cause punctures. Not a question of if, but when.

Your "slicks" link doesn't work - at least for me. Which tires (and size) did you go for?

(We run 1.35' Schwalbe Kojacks on our custom 406-equipped Fridays. Very nice tires, IMO.)

Lou

I think that's a Bike Friday issue -- their web site seems to be misbehaving.

I bought the Primo Comet 1-3/8s. Bike Friday says they are the widest that will fit for the Pocket Rocket, which uses 451 tires. Far fewer 451s available than 406s. Another link (to a cheaper supplier, of course) is here.

Memo to self. Is it time to buy another Friday that will accept wider tires?

Thanks for asking, F2- I was curious too! Yeah, looks like a BF deal because my computer told me it couldn`t connect.

Have fun on the ride, B. For what its worth, I really like the 20 x 1.5 Comets that came on my Friday and the next time I need a 20 inch front for my `bent, I think it`ll be a Comet.
But I have to admit that Hustler looks COOL :D

I too like the Kojaks. Just ordered some 1.35" (599) for my stick bike.

I don't think the Kojaks come in 451, and I am pretty sure the 1.5 inches will be too wide for our bikes. Otherwise the choice would have been even harder. You wouldn't believe I could worry so much about a pair of tires.

This brings me on to my next question. Is there an easy way to reinstall the rear wheel on a Friday? I had huge problems after getting a flat last month, and ended up having to take the whole skewer out to get the wheel in place. I think it's because the rear derailleur is mounted so low that it's finicky to maneuver things into place.

I would say no, the available choices are good enough. SWMBO & I toured Kangaroo Island a few years back; you can't get any worse conditions for bike tyres (except the beach). Have a look at my sig for the link to that tour. SWMBO's Reach with 451 wheels fitted with Holy Rollers 1-3/8" on the back and Intense Micro Knobbies 1-3/8 in the front, did great; I OTOH on my Birdy suffered, I drifted on gravel, broke through soft surface etc etc. The Reach never even blinked just cruised straight on.
http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t.../KI/day312.jpg
Here Connie actually rode away from me - and I am the stronger rider by a big margin. You can see the Reach just rolled on through, while I got bogged down again and again.

maybe so, Pocket Llama, here wears 406-47 Schwalbe Marathons..

limestone is sedimentary deposits, fairly soft, metamorphic shale, and slates
are harder..

Mine is the same way. Actually, I think the hanger is very short (probably to help keep the arm from dragging with small wheels), resulting in the casting around the mounting bolt being a bit higher and therefore closer to the skewer. I have to wiggle things around a little and then it goes, so maybe my derailler body or skewer end is just slightly smaller in diameter than yours. For a solution, possibly grind a tiny bit off the nut end of the skewer if it looks like it`s pretty close to fitting? If you can dig up a spare nut thingy, maybe grind on that one, and if it doesn`t work or if it looks like you`ve compromised something, pitch the mangled one and go back to living with your original problem. Or maybe (cross fingers) the "other" nut thingy will be a bit smaller and work without any grinding.