The actual speed difference between a similar quality 48mm and a 42mm will be extremely small - I wouldn't sweat it at all! Probably like 0.1 mph difference. Most of the perceived difference is all in our heads, based on the squish-factor and the buzz they make on pavement, neither of which necessarily relate to speed. I would simply air them up to the same pressure you run on your 42mm tires for the speedy rides. The Gravel King is a reasonably quick tire, no concerns there to me.
There is no definitive answer on the strap, since it's about risk tolerance, but with the higher load limit of the basket rack as well as the fact that most of the structure is welded with just that little adjustable bit at the bottom ... I would not run a strap with it. I don't think it would fall into the front tire the same way as the small racks do when they fail, plus it's less likely to fail in the first place. It's always a good idea to occasionally check that all the rack fixing bolts are tight, in any case. Sorry to hear about Second Winter, as indeed the cherry blossoms are upon us here in Vancouver! On Wednesday 20 March 2024 at 12:00:48 UTC-7 JohnS wrote: > Will has Mark's alternate safety strap in this email news letter, scroll > down to "Mark's safety cable". Looks like a good solution since the cable > housing protects the bike frame from the cable. > > https://us7.campaign-archive.com/?u=ad1569fa93a2ab2374ead2fde&id=279bef4181 > > As far as 650B tires go, I recommend Rene Herse Babyshoe Pass 42mm width > tire, extra light casing. They are great for mixed surface rides; road and > hard packed gravel or cinder such as a rail trail. As mentioned already, > they are not so good in mud where they can get squirmy and can loose > traction. I have them on my Crust Lightening Bolt canti which is my bike > for long rides and mixed surfaces. I have Gravel King SK tires on my gravel > bike. They are a very good tire and I use that bike for more challenging > gravel rides where the surface can be looser and the trails are more like > mountain bike single track. > > Good luck, > JohnS > > > > > On Wednesday, March 20, 2024 at 12:21:08 PM UTC-4 J wrote: > >> You don't say which Gravel King model you are using, but I see in your >> Philly post that you have Ultradynamico Cava tires on your bike. So maybe >> you run the file tread GK? Anyhow, I rode through 2 sets of 700x42 Gravel >> King SK on my old Sam Hillbourne before moving up to 700x50 which just >> barely fit. I thought I'd notice a big difference but it turned out not to >> be true, as long as I kept the air pressure up. I only have 650b bikes now, >> and don't ride Gravel King SK after discovering the Rene Herse file tread >> much smoother and faster "feeling". I've switched back and forth from 42 >> and 48mm RH file treads as well as 42 Gran Bois and have settled on 48mm RH >> (Switchback Hill) which measures quite a bit over 48mm on my wheels. The >> 42mm tires gave the perception that I was faster but the strava data did >> not corroborate, and the 48mm have so much lovely float over gravel >> compared to anything narrower or with tooth, I figured why bother? YMMV but >> I think 48s won't be an issue. If my words sway you at all towards RH, just >> keep in mind that they are not great in wet conditions with steep descents >> combined with rim brakes. I learned this twice this fall, and kept RH >> knobbies on until a few days ago. >> >> mysterious J >> >> On Wednesday, March 20, 2024 at 11:42:19 AM UTC-4 Patrick Moore wrote: >> >>> The 60 mm Schwalbe Big Ones that used to be on my dirt road Matthews >>> were among the very fastest-rolling tires I've used, including various >>> "racing" tires and 2 extralight RH models. I'd say that the right 48 mm >>> tire will roll plenty fast. >>> >>> I've not used any Gravel Kings. >>> >>> Patrick "it's not my tires that make me slow" Moore >>> >>> On Tue, Mar 19, 2024 at 7:10 PM Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! < >>> jonasa...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>>> ... Can 48 mm tires do a 15-17 mph road ride pace? I have 42 on all my >>>> other bikes. Would 48s be slow? The ride is a 2 day event, 100 miles >>>> total. >>>> I’d like to keep the tires if I could, because they’re new and they are >>>> fat >>>> enough to also double as gravel tires, should I decide to do a gravel ride >>>> again. But I do more road rides than anything else, and if those 48s will >>>> cripple me, I’ll go back to 42s. What’s the consensus? >>>> >>> -- 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 rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/9e3de791-ede8-4393-84d4-a869dc38cdb4n%40googlegroups.com.
