DO THESE TIRES MAKE MY BIKE LOOK SKINNY? I finally got a chance to install and try the RTPs on my AR, during a nice, long, autumn day ride on some dirt forest service roads. I was hoping I wouldn't like them. I mean, we eventually have to reach a point of diminishing returns, when wider is no longer better, right? But, Jiminy Christmas - they're like riding on clouds!
*Good news* is that the bike has tons of clearance to spare, with both the tires and fenders. And still no toe clip overlap! It's amazing that Rivendell had the foresight to anticipate something like this on a bike that was made in 1999. *Bad news* is that, to really use them to full advantage, I think you need to purpose-build a bike around them right from the beginning. As part of a retrofit, I'm afraid I might want to invest in smaller chainrings and wider fenders, but might NEED to invest in wider rims - none of which can I afford at the moment. Can these 519 (19mm) Mavic rims [see pic. below] possibly give enough support for a tire this wide? My gut says "no way," but I'd love it if someone could convince me otherwise. *Best case scenario*, I'm afraid that I can't run optimally-low pressures. (I had 25# and 30# today. Does that sound right for a 200# rider?) *Worse case scenario*, I'm terrified that I'm going to roll a tire on a turn, and crash. ( I went down hard recently, on one of my narrow-rimmed 90's mountain bikes, because I had under-inflated after exclusively using, and becoming used to, the lower pressures of 3" and wider tires over the past few years. But that was at a much slower speed than this thing will go.) So I took it easy on turns today. On straight sections though, I rode at speeds I never would have thought prudent before. It swallowed up jagged rocks, packed gravel, loose gravel, and everything else. The "loose" gravel, in particular, really surprised me, as my previous experience with "slick" tires had taught me that they were completely dangerous for such conditions. On these, I just kept giggling and going faster. I don't know if it's a stickier compound, the extra width, or the ability to deform that made the difference. The other thing I kept thinking about the whole time was the unfair advantage that some super-fit Ravn riders are going to have, when they start showing up at gravel grinding "events." Most people will have never seen it coming, and the naysayers won't be laughing for much longer! Really fun tires! <https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BpndRx6y5Ck/VhhmRGgmVgI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/b5U-zdKphDo/s1600/AR_RTP.jpg> <https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hh4X_NBTk48/VhhmYFX9d0I/AAAAAAAAAJY/qx8GV6AHY0Y/s1600/519_RTP.jpg> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
