Tire Choice
07-30-09, 03:27 PM
#26
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I might! 
I know it was pretty miserable. hmm, you'll have to introduce me to your potential stokers. I'm interviewing. 
They've got to be fast though, I've got some long races coming up on the calendar.
We had two flats. Both front and both at over 40mph. The first was in the rain. We hit something (?) really hard, maybe a pot hole or road debri, whatever it was we knew it right away. The second one was a big rock in W.V.. I don't think what tires were on the bike really mattered they would have been shredded. I had to replace the second tire. I have no idea how many miles that was. I agree with you that larger tires do have advantages but they also have disadvantages (they look funny).
If I do the 300k on Aug 29th what would be the possibilities of catching a ride with someone from your place back up to SLO???? Do I need to look for a stoker or should I bring the single bike?
I know it was pretty miserable. hmm, you'll have to introduce me to your potential stokers. I'm interviewing. They've got to be fast though, I've got some long races coming up on the calendar.We had two flats. Both front and both at over 40mph. The first was in the rain. We hit something (?) really hard, maybe a pot hole or road debri, whatever it was we knew it right away. The second one was a big rock in W.V.. I don't think what tires were on the bike really mattered they would have been shredded. I had to replace the second tire. I have no idea how many miles that was. I agree with you that larger tires do have advantages but they also have disadvantages (they look funny
). If I do the 300k on Aug 29th what would be the possibilities of catching a ride with someone from your place back up to SLO???? Do I need to look for a stoker or should I bring the single bike?
I will email you with the list of usual suspects for the stoker position.
I read Jerry's ride report and he made it sound as if you had a lot of flats. Two flats on the front at 40 mph is plenty to get your heart rate at redline. Sounds scary, and probably way too many for a guy riding stoker rather than his usual position of captain. Point conceded on your flat issue on RAAM.
I will email you on the upcoming rides. It will be great if you can join us.
07-30-09, 04:35 PM
#27
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We had two, the team as a whole had more. The problem was that several times the bike on the road had a flat and the follow vehicle didn't have an appropriate replacement. That was a bit frustrating. I think that's what he may have been talking about. The funny thing is that Jerry didn't even know we'd flatted the second time and we were going close to 50mph! I stopped the bike and he didn't know why. The one in the rain was pretty obvious because at least twice I thought we were going to be on our heads before I got it stopped. I guess all those years racing motorcycles helped.
I think it was a little traumatic for him stoking since he had never done that before. He told me several times that he felt very vulnerable back there. We kept the rubber side down so all is good.
I think it was a little traumatic for him stoking since he had never done that before. He told me several times that he felt very vulnerable back there. We kept the rubber side down so all is good.
07-31-09, 11:50 AM
#28
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My $.02 on the tire discussion:
I've had it with flats. In about 6000 miles of local riding and touring/camping in the US, Canada, and Europe we're averaging about one flat every 3-400 miles. Mostly in the back but some in the front including an occasional pinch flat. We're a 360 lb team with a 60 lb Santana (sprung Brooks, fenders, rack, bag, lights, etc - also sometimes pulling a trailer) running a variety of 700 x 28 tires at max pressures.
Recently I used Jan Heine's 15% tire deflection graph and after plugging in front and rear weights it became obvious that a 28 mm tire just wasn't wide enough to carry our carcasses unless it was pumped to a crazy pressure in the back. Time for new thinking.
We now have a couple of hundred miles on 700x35 Michelin City tires and so far so good. They have an armored belt in addition to a 1mm thick spacer layer under the tread and they're a bit heavy. The tire's max pressure is 87 psi and the Heine graph calls for about 110 in the rear so I'm running the rear at 100 and the front at 75. I don't want to go too much over the max pressure. The ride is MUCH cushier and we don't seem to be any slower. We now just glide over certain bumps on our regular route which would tend to launch Natalie (if I didn't call them out in time - my bad) with the older setup.
The only downside is that I've only got about 4-5mm of fender clearance and the little bits of gravel that the tires pick up make a very interesting zipping sound as they zoom around the inside of the fenders.
I've had it with flats. In about 6000 miles of local riding and touring/camping in the US, Canada, and Europe we're averaging about one flat every 3-400 miles. Mostly in the back but some in the front including an occasional pinch flat. We're a 360 lb team with a 60 lb Santana (sprung Brooks, fenders, rack, bag, lights, etc - also sometimes pulling a trailer) running a variety of 700 x 28 tires at max pressures.
Recently I used Jan Heine's 15% tire deflection graph and after plugging in front and rear weights it became obvious that a 28 mm tire just wasn't wide enough to carry our carcasses unless it was pumped to a crazy pressure in the back. Time for new thinking.
We now have a couple of hundred miles on 700x35 Michelin City tires and so far so good. They have an armored belt in addition to a 1mm thick spacer layer under the tread and they're a bit heavy. The tire's max pressure is 87 psi and the Heine graph calls for about 110 in the rear so I'm running the rear at 100 and the front at 75. I don't want to go too much over the max pressure. The ride is MUCH cushier and we don't seem to be any slower. We now just glide over certain bumps on our regular route which would tend to launch Natalie (if I didn't call them out in time - my bad) with the older setup.
The only downside is that I've only got about 4-5mm of fender clearance and the little bits of gravel that the tires pick up make a very interesting zipping sound as they zoom around the inside of the fenders.
