As you become more experienced with different tires and read more reviews about tires, you'll develop skills to evaluate tires. You haven't paid attention until now, so you can't expect yourself to be skilled at this yet.

fair enough!

i would say that Schwalbe Lugano is ****. i'm not that aggressive with the bike and it lasted a few weeks.

(and this is coming from a person that loves "German quality").

Pardon my ignorance, and momentary thread derailment, but what does BSO stand for?

I usually have no problem figuring out acronyms but this one is a head scratcher for me.

bicycle-shaped object ... as a derogatory term.

Haha, gotcha. Thanks!!!

Especially when some goon looks on the sidewall, sees 120psi (ignoring the max part), airs it up and rides off into the sunset.

Then writes review............"not as comfortable as I expected at price point, rough riding".


Just a snide comment, not directed in anyway at acid or Tom.

This made me laugh loud and hard. Thank you.

- Andy

I agree, though I tested my Panaracer Paselas and my Schwalbe Stelvios at 130 psi and found them not to be rough. Not that I want to ride at that pressure, but the difference was pleasingly small.

Old MTB (pink donkey )

7. 6. 2014. 200 km 95 e so far (added a new seat, Selle Royal Suez for 40e). It will need new pedals in the autumn and I can't wait to get a decent set of tyres... but that will wait until these are worn.


Scott road bike (white arrow )

7. 6. 2014. 1,300 km 815 e so far, but the chain will soon be due for a change... unless the bike gets stollen before that.

nice to see you back!

hope all is well!

those tires are great ... they make a huge difference!

stats:

1826km/1134mi
£539/$857 total
£0.29/km
€0.36/km
$0.75/mi

photos:

You inflated Paselas to 130? *looks over* The max is 95, right? Wow.

Relax. My understanding is that tires are tested at double their ratings. It's not dangerous to go over the recommended max. You just necessarily won't get improved performance. I just wanted to see how it went. It didn't feel all that different. Try it.

If you're carrying extra weight, it's a good idea to go 10 or 20 psi up from whatever is normal for you. And the recommended pressure is not necessarily the best for you. It depends on the width and weight, the tire, and other factors.

stats:

1845km/1146mi
£539/$857 total
£0.29/km
€0.36/km
$0.74/mi

photos:

My Paselas are really old, I wouldn't dare.

Back in the day, one of my mountain biking buddies and I broke into algebra trying to express the relationship between tire pressure, rider weight, and all of those other factors. I'm okay with reading the labels and deviating depending on conditions.

interesting development:

seems like Mango is expanding but the value doesn't seem to be there with the new bike.

the had a Nexus 3-speed option (which was there for only a few months)
now they have a 18spd Microshift option which seems not so cool for the money (449 GBP)

Mango Bikes 18spd Black Series Matte Green Road Bike - Mango Bikes

i think my bike was right at the sweet spot

Well, you explained why bikes are so expensive there, and it's hard for me to grasp. That 18-speed sure does look like a terrible value, but I can't put your bike prices in perspective. I've heard bad things about Microshift stuff.

I would say that a roughly 1$:1£ exchange is usually what is relevant.

So, that's a $449 bike, which looks like a horrible value.

I must admit that the frames/wheels are really nicely coloured.

stats:

1864km/1158mi
£539/$857 total
£0.28/km
€0.36/km
$0.74/mi

photos:

Now that you put it that way, it looks decent to me. The 6-speed cassette or freewheel is pathetic, but I'll give it a pass. The fact that it has brifters (brake lever shifters) is a big plus. It's great to have the shifters right under your fingers. You end up shifting more often.

Another way to look at it is that it's only £150 ($150) more than my bike.

And for that money one gets an 18-speed Microshift brifter system.

edit: Maybe it's not a bad value after all.

I wondered at this and clicked over, 'cause I've never seen 6-speed brifters*. It's a 2x9, not 3x8.






* just to annoy the people who are annoyed by this

actually, the reviews on the 9/10-speed microshift seem good, while the 8-speed stuff isn't so good.

so, maybe the 150 isn't so bad.

stats:

1883km/1170mi
£539/$857 total
£0.28/km
€0.35/km
$0.73/mi

photos:

PinkThing:

14. 6. 2014, 305 km, 95 e so far.


WhiteArrow:

14. 6. 2014, 1330 km, 815 e so far.



Combine both for commuting and errands. The joy of riding the road bike with quality groupo is a lot greater than the cheap old MTB. However, leaving the bike parked outside, I am 10 times more relaxed when I know the ugly looking pink bike is left in the dark.