cassy
new member
Reged: 07/28/04
Posts: 1
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Tetra with Calfee fork 650 Mavic Open pro Clincher wheels.
Been running Michelin Pro Race 23C
Looking for a tire that is less flat prone and which may give a smoother ride. (Not looking for speed)
Anyone gotten a Terry Tellus ST 26C to work?
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skuke
captain
Reged: 12/22/03
Posts: 323
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Quote:
cassy wrote:
Tetra with Calfee fork 650 Mavic Open pro Clincher wheels.
Been running Michelin Pro Race 23C
Looking for a tire that is less flat prone and which may give a smoother ride. (Not looking for speed)
Anyone gotten a Terry Tellus ST 26C to work?
I've been using Michelin Pro Race 23 for a while now and my experience has NOT shown them to be flat prone.
What I found to make the biggest difference in reducing flats is to NOT use lightweight tubes. I use light tires and heavier (thicker) "touring" tubes.
If I'm forced (or careless enough) to ride through some glass, staples, sharp junk... I immediately wipe my rear tire first, then front with a gloved hand. I've heard the arguments that the wiping technique doesn't work because the wheel will have rotated several times before I'm able to wipe. While that may be true, all I can say is that I don't get very many flats (since running thicker tubes)!
Oh yeah, I also don't believe in "cursing" myself by saying I don't get flats often! In fact, I DEFY the flat deities to try and give me a flat on tomorrow's ride!! I scoff at the flat gods!!
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Skuke
95 Carbonframes Tetra Pro
92 Bridgestone MB-1
90 Moser 51.151
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Schwingding
new member
Reged: 06/09/04
Posts: 22
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I'm in agreement with Skuke. I ride on them too and find them to be remarkably smooth and only flat prone when they get too worn.
I recently put on a new pair and riding felt like putting on warm socks fresh out of the dryer on a cold day. I knew they were getting worn and would be having flat issues. A week after I had that thought I had a flat. But I've ridden entire seasons on the Michelin Axial Pros with no flats. They weren't available this time around so I bought the Pro Race tires.
I've ridden on Conti GP3000s for years, too, but I like the Michelins better.
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Bruce
contributor
Reged: 12/27/03
Posts: 133
Loc: North of NYC
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Try Vredestein tires. The Fortezza Pro TriComp is a pretty good tire. I have had them on my bike for the last year or so with very good results. They corner like a tubular, unlike the Michelins which I find try to stay upright. Nicely made as well.
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SpinDoc
friend
Reged: 12/24/03
Posts: 35
Loc: Columbus,Ohio
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I would go Michelin all the way. You couldn't pay me to ride Conti's, they are a sidewall blowout nightmare. I would agree with riding with more durable tubes but would also suggest a changing of your rimstrips as well. Lot's of people ride with old or crappy rimstrips and flat because of it without even realizing it. Get some veloflex or good comparable nylon rimstripping, some good tubes and keep your pressures at at least 120lbs and you shouldn't have a flat problem with Michelins. All 6 bikes here have em and (knock wood) I can't rmemeber the last time I had to change a flat.
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Bruce
contributor
Reged: 12/27/03
Posts: 133
Loc: North of NYC
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SpinDoc,
I used to ride Michelin's until they changed the rubber in them to the colored variety. Then the tires would not grip in the wet. Michelin makes a very good tire, as long as you stay away from the colored rubber tires. Be careful with Michelins, as they now color the rubber grey/black, but it is not carbon black rubber. They also make a carbon black rubber tire, which I believe they call the Carbon. It has a yellow strip on the side, which is cool, but colored treads are NOT COOL!
You are 100% right on rim strips. Just had that problem on the wife's bike. Revamped the bike after 9 years of non use, and the old cloth rim strips were a bit too narrow and not sticking anymore. That cost me 2 tubes before I put a new rim strip on them.
I am also 110% with you on the poor excuses for tires called Conti's. They suck big time. Nothing but side wall nightmares. I think my record for running a Conti tire is 50 miles without a sidewall cut. Purely pathetic. On the other hand, I just got some new Topolinos with the Conti Attack/Force tires included for free. It was a choice of Michelin colored rubber, or Conti sidewall cut technology, so I will be giving Conti another try after boycotting their useless rounds of rubber for years. These tires have black side walls, so I have some hope I will get more than 50 miles on them without a side wall cut. If I don't, then I will personally never by another tire except Vredestiens for the rest of my cycling life.
Also 110% with you on tire pressure. 120 psi is low in my book. Most people don't realize tires are rated at 1/2 of what they blow off the rim at. You have plenty of pressure to spare at 140-150 and no flats.
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Schwingding
new member
Reged: 06/09/04
Posts: 22
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How do lightweight chicks manage to pump enough air into their tires? My wife weighs about 115, she's an endurance swimmer and a runner, not a weightlifter. She cannot get more than about 100 pounds of air in her tires with any of my floor pumps. I've worked with her on it, even lifting her feet off of the floor and kind of "jumping" on the pump doesn't result in anything near what I would consider proper operating pressure.
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 Lon
sage
Reged: 12/20/03
Posts: 595
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
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Bruce,
It is really nice to have you back. Stick around!
I think with some tires staying with the recommendations of the manufacturer is the best bet. Michelin for example says that their best "performance" is at 110 and that the tire distorts at a higher amount. Veloflex is adamant that 8 Bar is the top end. I'm not sure why. I just started to try the Black Pave out. Others who know bikes well have told me to pay attention to that. Specialized on the other end has a minimum pressure. I found that out the hard way. I was trying 95 to 100 based on something I read. It ruined the tire. That is when I found out.
Vredestein is another I will be trying. In part I base it on your hearty recommendation. I only worry that I'll miss the ride of a cotton casing tire. I've been riding Open Corsa and now the Veloflex. I am also intrigued by their 145 rating. Is that what you run? Do you find cuts being a problem. (tread cuts and not sidewall we have a ton of glass around)
As far as pumping a tire have you tried a Silca? They pump up slower than the double action ones but their mechanism is so smooth.
Take care.
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SpinDoc
friend
Reged: 12/24/03
Posts: 35
Loc: Columbus,Ohio
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What kind of pump are you using????? My wife isn't 100 but she's an itty bitty too and being able to use the pump isn't an issue. 120 really isn't a big deal at all, like Bruce said it's rather low if anything. On a 700cc wheel I would crank it to at least 130.
Worst thing is she needs you to tap it off for her. Those pressures shouldn't change so fast that it needs to be topped off more than about once or twice a week.
The other solution is to buy her one of the little $2.00 screw on adapters that she can use at the gas station compressor pump. That's no different than filling up her car tires. She can also keep it in her saddle bag (assuming she has one). That's just a good idea anyway in case it's needed on the road.
Bruce,
I use the colored tubes and don't have much of a problem at all and I tend to push it technically (hence some of the epic biffs I've had). Then again center of gravity, fork and frame geometry also affect that. I will say that only the Calfee has colored sidewall tubes, the wife uses straight black tubes and those are very grippy.
I used to be a big fan of Ritchey's tires as well (they don't make the particular tire I used to love so I've moved to Michelin) and I also would agree with recommending Vredestein along with Vittoria as well. But the original question was 650's and unfortunately choices are limited in 650's. Finding em in a LBS is a nightmare! I can't wait to get my wife off that Lightspeed and onto a Calfee with 700 wheels.
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Lon
sage
Reged: 12/20/03
Posts: 595
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
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Unless you pick a gas station that is set-up for trucks getting over 100 psi from an electric pump can be tough. It depends on the compressor.
I agree it could be the pump. My Silca is easy to get high psi. I also have a double action Zefal. I use that sometimes for high volume tires. Getting the Zefal into higher psi numbers is harder.
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Bruce
contributor
Reged: 12/27/03
Posts: 133
Loc: North of NYC
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Lon, the problem with double action pumps is you are trying to fill the tire with air on the up stroke. this works fine for low pressure tires, but not good for road bikes.
As for women pumping HP tires, I recommend the narrowest tubed floor pump you can find. Old Slicas are great for this. They use old bicycle tubing. Fat bodied pumps are not good HP pumps.
It's the physics that counts. Say you want to pump a tire to 145 like the Vredesteins. If your pump tube has a 1 inch cross section area, then you will need to press down with 145 lbs to get 145 lbs of pressure in the tube. If your pump as a cross section area of 1/2 inch, then you only need 72.5 lbs of pressure. If a pump is made of stock 1 inch tubing, it has a cross section area of about .75 square inches, so it will take 75% of your target pressure.
Of course smaller diameter pumps mean more stokes to fill the tire. This is why manufactures really sell two types of pumps, HP for small volume road tires, and low pressure pumps for large volume MTB tires. Make sure you get a small diameter pump for filling tires for road riding.
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Lon
sage
Reged: 12/20/03
Posts: 595
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
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Bruce,
I think the threads got confused. I use my Zefal for high volume tires and my Silca for road tires. My reply below was to the fellow whose wife could not get the pump past 100 psi. In other words we agree completely. Hopefully he will try the type of pump we recommend.
"I agree it could be the pump. My Silca is easy to get high psi. I also have a double action Zefal. I use that sometimes for high volume tires. Getting the Zefal into higher psi numbers is harder."
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Dfly_in_Seattle
new member
Reged: 01/06/04
Posts: 3
Loc: Kirkland, WA
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My wife has 7k miles on her TetraCustom with 650 Mavic CXP33 wheels. She uses the ProRace tire with Performance Ultralight tubes inflated to 95psi and has no trouble with flats. See http://www.roadbikerider.com/UArant.htm#The Case for Lower Tire Pressure for why I went with lower pressure. I run the same on my D'fly with Campy Neutron wheels. I use the Michelin Ironman (same as ProRace but with red stripes to match bike). I did not notice any performance difference when I changed from the black ProRace to the colored Ironman.
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