Originally Posted by
crank_addict
The other issue I've come across is wide tires with supple sidewalls don't necessarily have an advantage in longevity. Nothing in relation to puncture preventive but rather about tire wear. Add higher ambient temp, road temps and brake friction and it really gets tricky.
Read all the reports you want by top editors about wider is better, but nobody addresses this issue. That's fine if a manufacturer keeps tossing freebies to a tester but where's the real world long term test?
I mentioned on another thread about a Pasela tire for a tandem. I'm sure many have had good service with them, but they spook me far beyond safe application.
If I understand what you're saying, you said that wider tires may not last as long?
I source discards from the shop for my bikes, tires that are old enough that I wouldn't want to inflate them near to their max pressure rating.
The wider tires allow me to use lower inflation pressures, so no blow-outs and the tread seems to last much longer, presumably since the lower contact pressure with the road surface isn't as abrasive to the tread surface.
I didn't really see the Pasela's true-to-size width as an advantage since I prefer all tires to meet expectations as to inflated vs. printed width. I bought a large number of 1-1/4 Paselas that were wider than I would have wanted. The 1" Pasela measures more like 27mm wide on a 22-23mm touring rim, so is my preference.
Yours is the first report that I have heard of a wider tire causing any kind of shimmy, even at lowered pressure. Isn't there a "pneumatic trail" phenomenon that gives the wider, softer tire some added stability? And doesn't the softer tire have enough damping to it's flexing to help damp out oscillations?
Racing bikes with high handlebars, short stems and flexible frame/fork structure are the recipe-makers for shimmy as I have noticed, that and a weight-bearing rack located above the rear tire.