Originally Posted by wphamilton
A noticeable improvement in speed. Also definitely more jarring on paved trails and poorer handling on loose surfaces than with the 32c. That's partly because I'd let the 32c tires get a little lower in pressure because of the kind of riding I do, but always keep the narrower tires pumped up (to avoid pinch flats). I agree it would make no sense to go smaller since with the MTB gearing and solid frame it's like a road-biased hybrid, and narrower tires would essentially give that up.
Awesome, thanks! I might try a set of 28s when these wear out. I don't do much (well really none) riding on loose surfaces, all my riding seems to be on pavement.
About the wheels, I was actually really concerned about that too since a bad set of wheels can really be a deal breaker...but they were fine when I got them and have held up great so far, and I've hit a lot of potholes along the way, not intentionally of course. The fat 32c tires probably help a lot with keeping the wheels protected as well.
Despite having a 'lite' label on the wheels they aren't light at all, they're pretty heavy. I'm okay with that though, I'd rather have a heavy set of wheels that holds up okay than a light set that doesn't, considering the price point. Pretty sure they are aluminum like the frame.
While riding I have a lot of time to think about stuff...usually thinking something along the lines of "I wish the world had no hills" or something about my bike. Today I ended up thinking about what exactly the Denali is. I don't think it's a full road bike in configuration so much as a touring bike/commuter/utility bike. It has places to mount fenders and racks front and rear, plus thicker tires for a comfortable ride and higher gearing which comes in handy for hauling stuff. When you think about it along those lines and not as the road bike it's advertised as, the Denali really starts to make sense. And then the weight of the bike itself also brings it more in line with the rest of the field as touring bikes aren't light, generally. The Denali weighs in at just two pounds heavier than a Windsor Tourist, for example. I guess they call it a road bike since the average Wal-Mart shopper has no clue what a touring bike is exactly.
Of course, grip shifters still have no place on a touring bike either, but they DO work even if they are odd. 10 bucks fixes that problem though. Still enjoying the friction shifters.
Finished up the weekend with a short 9 mile ride...went to one of the local industrial parks and discovered a new road and a new parking deck I didn't know about before. Pretty cool, I never would have otherwise as I have absolutely no reason to go to those particular areas in the car.
So that ends this week with 229 miles on the odometer, no mechanical issues. Here's a couple of pics I took along the way today of the Denali in it's current form.
You can see my new tube in the above picture, on the rear wheel. The bike shop sold me a tube with the extra long Schrader valve, the bike originally came with tubes that have standard length Schrader valves, like on the front tube. I'm not sure which I prefer, but I'm glad it can take standard length valves as I have heard the long type is harder to find.
I always take along two full bottles of water, even for short rides. You never know if you might need it.
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