Re: [RBW] Re: Cowboy Trail NE, Goatheads, tire choice

[Scott McLain]

Great points from Patrick.  Also get familiar with what the goat head plant 
looks like.  You want to avoid running over them.  Seams silly, but they grow 
in from the sides of trails.  You may be able to avoid them on a wide enough 
rail trail.  

I would go with a Scwalbe Marathon Plus or the old marathons with green guard.  
They have a gap that seems to disarm goat heads with german engineering.  I 
would not go with the mondial or any other tire that relies on a kevlar belt.  
Goat heads eat kevlar for breakfast.  

Sounds like a great trip.  Don’t sweat the goat heads too much!  

I am in Utah which has 25 percent of the goat head density of New Mexico.

I road a 300 mile tour in Utah last summer.  Zero flats on Schwalbe Marathons 
with green guard.  My friend had a couple of flats on his continental touring 
tires with kevlar belts.  

I would still never intentionally ride over a goat head plant.

Scott 

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Re: [RBW] Re: Cowboy Trail NE, Goatheads, tire choice

[Patrick Moore]

Actually, my points are 2: First: goatheads pose an entirely new level of
danger from flats; tires that will run thousands of miles without flats in
goathead-free areas will flat much more often if ridden in goathead
infested areas.

Second, if you choose tires, or flat-proofing systems, that are largely
proof against goatheads -- and these exist -- then you must deal with the
inevitable, and it is inevitable, degradation in quality of rolling
resistance and feel.

On Mon, Feb 5, 2018 at 12:08 AM, Patrick Moore  wrote:

> ...
>
> My point: The equation is not solved for everyone simply by choosing the
> most flat resistant tire on the market.
>

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Re: [RBW] Re: Cowboy Trail NE, Goatheads, tire choice

[Patrick Moore]

Which Schwalbe tire were the 35s, and what were the puncture dangers? Are
goathead thorns a liability in the RAGBRAI region?

Sure, you can buy tires that will all but prevent flats from anything
except a sharp nail set at just the right angle, or a knife deliberately
pushed through the tread, but you accept the inevitable compromise in ride
quality, that is to say, diminished ride quality. You can buy solid tires
for bicycles, if you care to put up with the ride.

Now everyone's personal compromise is set differently. Me, I much preferred
to fix more flats than to ride tires that felt sluggish; really, I'd quit
riding if I were ever limited to the most sluggish tires I've ridden. But
whatever the compromise point, be sure that it's there. (And fixing flats,
once you get used to it, is really not the big deal that most people think
it is.)

Fortunately, modern sealants move the compromise bar quite a bit further
toward ride quality. These sealants do have their own downside and thus
their own compromise point, but they also do offer a new option where
goathead flats in particular are involved.

My point: The equation is not solved for everyone simply by choosing the
most flat resistant tire on the market.

On Sun, Feb 4, 2018 at 4:38 PM, iowegianor  wrote:

> ... . I have a pair of 35c Schwalbes that I just dedicate to do RAGBRAI
> every year, 4 years going strong, I think 2 flats total over the years. I
> also have 42c Schwalbe Marathons I use for commuting/general riding/gravel
> riding...last year, I did 12k on them - zero flatsZERO!
>
>

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