Continental Mountain King 29x2.2" on my Clem H - I wanted something with widely spaced knobs for better bite and confidence on some of our local mixed condition trails to replace the stock Kendas with smoother inverted tread. I just picked them up during an REI sale a couple years ago. Many of the main sections of our local trails have been paved since I made the tire change, to make them generally more accessible, and has made the knobs feel excessive/unnecessary/ineffecient at times... until the unpaved conditions worsen after any series of storms and then I appreciate the knobs all over again!
I've thought something like the SimWorks Homage would be worth trying but haven't necessarily wanted to go as narrow as 700x43 on the Clem. We have an older and cheap Kenda 26x1.95" on one of my spouses bikes that is similar to the Homage (slick center with tall and widely spaced knobs on the sides only) and they seem to work well in our local parks so been thinking I'd at least get some of the 26" Homage (as replacements for the Kendas and also for my own 90's rigid MTB that's back in use after a long hiatus.) I recall Schwalbe Thunder Burts receiving a lot of praise for striking a good balance between on and off road usage but have never personally used them and not sure what variety of them are even still available (and I've personally been somewhat overwhelmed with the number of Schwalbe variations within a single tire model.) Although, I did like one of their 700x35 Sammy Slick folding bead models on my more road oriented bikes but after a sidewall cut I packed them away as emergency spares (reminds me I still meant to try and repair the cut.) I replaced those Schwalbes with 700x32 GravelKings that I found in some of the fun colors (Pink SK and purple SS.) On the same wheels I have also used Challenge Chicane 700x33mm 'open tubulars' which are just folding bead clinchers but supposedly with same sidewall carcass as their tubulars, I think. I know some have reported mounting issues with these or similar Challenge tires and I was fortunate to have no issue with my own wheels but could note that whatever cotton/poly or other thread blend they use on the sidewalls, these feel so different (in texture) than any other tire I've used. Different to the point it was actually pleasant to install them or repair flats (like sliding your thumbs along soft, velvety cotton canvas vs. gummy rubber!) I think Challenge ended up making wider gravel options with the same kind of sideknobs as the Chicane so those are also on my shortlist for eventual replacements to research but at around $100/each at retail the last I looked I haven't been able to bring myself to even consider them again. I think I scored them for around $50/each at discount when first getting my hands on the Chicanes and have pretty much stuck to $50/tire as a personal limit. On my current 'basket bike' I have Continental SpeedRide or Contact Speed with a labeled 700x42mm but that measures an actual 38mm and maxes out clearance on this old 27">700c road bike>townie conversion. On Wednesday, October 4, 2023 at 10:10:32 AM UTC-4 [email protected] wrote: > I just installed "cool weather boots" on my Atlantis, a set of Soma > Cazadero 700x50. I do love the handling with these tires compared to the > Soma SV 700x42s that were just on. It feels even more planted and solid > with the wider rubber, which is great for the time of year when cold and > wet come into play. > > Nick > Falls Church VA > > On Wednesday, October 4, 2023 at 10:03:34 AM UTC-4 [email protected] wrote: > >> On Tuesday, October 3, 2023 at 3:27:09 PM UTC-7 [email protected] wrote: >> >> >> Over the last few months, I've flatted three or four times on the RHes; >> clearly, the tread has worn thin. I was discussing the issue with a >> repairman at one of the local bike kitchens. He mentioned that GK Slicks >> hold up fine, but it takes a while for the rubber to cure - several months, >> or several hundred miles. Although that's in keeping with bike tire >> traditions ("inflate your new tubulars on a rim and age them over the >> winter" et al), it had never occurred to me that my shiny-new tires might >> take a period of aging to be fully ready for road use. I've reinstalled the >> GKs and put about 250 miles on them without incident. Maybe the intervening >> 20 months has aged the rubber enough to stand up to small road hazards? >> Fingers crossed... >> >> >> That seems unlikely to be true. As for your unluckiness with flats, I >> think that's just a run of bad luck (running over glass at night). I have >> not noticed that new tires puncture any less frequently than old tires. I >> regularly run tires until the rubber wears away and I can see the nylon >> cords below. What I do notice is that some tires (e.g., the Continental >> tires) have so much tread on them that the sidewalls are more likely to die >> than the tread to wear out. But that may be that I ride more off pavement >> on my tires than most, giving more opportunities to have cuts on the tire. >> >> > -- 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 view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/f360e9c6-51a2-4e9f-a56a-60f4703bda5en%40googlegroups.com.
