Pleasures of Riding...
Gordon Hobbis October 18, 2007

When the bike store keeps me too busy to take in the pleasures of riding then I have to live vicariously through my customers.  My friend Margo McTaggart has worked with me in the shop and often drops by with tales of interesting bike rides she has been on. Recently I set Margo and her husband Chris up with some new touring bikes for their trip through Eastern Europe and Russia. We discussed the details and requirements for the trip and with their previous experience touring in Canada and Cuba, thought that we had assembled the perfect machines. Margo has a blog about the tour (http://candmwanderings.blogspot.com/) and the bikes are performing as expected with the notable exception of the tires. She has toured over 10,000 kilometers on Schwalbe tires and never had a flat. We set up the new bikes with the stock tires, which has resulted in Margo having 5 flats in 1500 kilometers. I feel a little guilty about not insisting that we change tires.

The Schwalbe tires that Margo is so fond of are made in Germany and have repeatedly won accolades in cycling magazine reader choice awards. The tires you choose for your bike do more then just protect against flats though. The tires really determine the type of ride you will have. The feel of a bike in terms of comfort, speed and control can be changed drastically by changing the tires. Generally speaking, narrower tires will be faster because of lower rolling resistance but will give a harsher ride due to the high pressures they have to be run at. Commuters that are riding mountain bikes with wide knobby tires will feel a big difference if they change to narrower tires with a street tread. For example, assume a mountain bike has 26 x 1.95 size tires. The 26 is a measurement of the tires diameter, which is not changeable. The 1.75 number is the tire width, which is changeable. Commonly, mountain bikes can fit tires ranging from 1.25 to 2.35 in width. I have found that a width of 1.5 can handle gravel cycle paths and be quick on the asphalt.

Tires with a street tread will also roll faster by lowering the friction between the tire and road. Knobby tires, contrary to what you may think, should only be run off road. The knobs can result in an unstable ride on asphalt and have less traction because there isn’t as much surface area of the which  is especially true in the rain. If, however you are looking for more comfort, then try a tire with a width of 2.0 or as wide as the bicycle can fit. These tires can be run at lower pressures and it will feel like you are riding on a cloud. Don’t worry about shock absorbers, let the tires be the suspension,  because that is what they are there for. More comfort can also be had by selecting tires with higher thread count in the casing. This is for the “techies” but don’t let a tires suppleness dissuade you. A well built tire can be comfortable, puncture resistance and fast. It just won’t be cheap. Good quality rubber for your bike will range in price from $50 to $90. The next time you get new tires, be adventurous and try something different. Then take note of how that has changed the ride.  

With the advent of more technology going into the tires, my old habit of measuring tire pressure with my thumb isn’t good enough anymore. I beg your forgiveness if I have told you to not purchase a tire gauge and to just squeeze the tire to check the pressure. This is now not good enough. A tire can feel hard but only be inflated to 20 to 30 psi, which is a quarter of the recommended pressure. Tire manufacturers will generally point to low inflation as the cause for about 50 percent of their tires failures. I now recommend that riders have a bicycle floor pump with a gauge so they can check and inflate their tires at least once a month. The cost of a good pump will be more then made up for by the longer wear of the tires and fewer flats and that means it’ll be easier to keep those pedals turning.