Cannondale recumbent

Mike said:

The wheels are too small for serious riding, it's a good city - commuter bike.

And what exactly is wrong with an ISO 305-mm front wheel/ISO 406-mm rear wheel combination that
makes it unsuitable for serious riding?

Tom Sherman - Near the confluence of the Mississippi and Rock Rivers

Tom Sherman <[email hidden]> wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Mike said:

The wheels are too small for serious riding, it's a good city - commuter bike.

And what exactly is wrong with an ISO 305-mm front wheel/ISO 406-mm rear wheel combination that
makes it unsuitable for serious riding?

Tom Sherman - Near the confluence of the Mississippi and Rock Rivers

Snobbery

Tom Sherman said:

Mike said:

The wheels are too small for serious riding, it's a good city - commuter bike.

And what exactly is wrong with an ISO 305-mm front wheel/ISO 406-mm rear wheel combination that
makes it unsuitable for serious riding?

Uh, define 'serious riding?' Perhaps the better way to put it is to say that the overall
configuration makes it a slow-to-medium speed bike. At least with that Nitro in the "Lowracer Tom
will like" thread, the small wheels were used to get the rider down near the pavement. With the
Cannondale the rider is still sitting in the sky, so to speak.

The second part of the statement sums up my opinion, though: it's a good city/commuter bike. Also
suitable for short-to-medium distance day rides.
--

John Foltz --- O _ Baron --- _O _ V-Rex 24 --- _\\/\-%)
_________(_)`=()___________________(_)= (_)_____

Tom Sherman <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Mike said:

The wheels are too small for serious riding, it's a good city - commuter bike.

And what exactly is wrong with an ISO 305-mm front wheel/ISO 406-mm rear wheel combination that
makes it unsuitable for serious riding?

Tom Sherman - Near the confluence of the Mississippi and Rock Rivers

IMHO, Absolutely nothing, if you have the right tires. Schwalbe is introducing their "Big Apple" in
305-50, 406-50, and 507-50 sometime in December. It is currently available in sizes ranging from
559-50 to 622-60. I'm hoping that 60s are available in the smaller diameters in the future.

The Big Apple is designed to give low rolling resistance at low pressures, providing an alternative
to suspension. See schwalbe.comindex.plOpen ↗

Even at 30 - 40 psi a tire this big, with it's very round profile, doesn't deflect much to form its
contact patch. Thin, flexible sidewalls and tread mean that the flexing that does occurr doesn't eat
up much power.

I'm planning a dual purpose 305-406 MWB to use these tires. I'll use it around town with 40 psi, for
a cushy ride. I'll tilt the seat back, and pump them up to their rated max of 70 psi for "Serious"
riding. I expect them to roll much more easily than those stiff, heavy, 100-130 psi 6 ply
"Flatlander" tires like the Hookworm or Snafu.

By serious riding, I mean paceline riding with my faster buddies, on a bike designed to maximize the
wheelbase in a very short overall package. My lightweight lwb is a wonderful bike for covering long
distances or less intense riding, but I can't see the front wheel well enough to ride very close.
The leading edge of the front tire will be 2" behind the cranks at full extension, so I can tuck in
really close. Doing this with a 406 in the front would put the cranks higher than I like. The fat
tires, and passive rear suspension, will compensate for not being able to see the road ahead.

Remember the "LoFat" 16/20 low racers? It seems they got down the road pretty well.

Mark Stonich said:

... Remember the "LoFat" 16/20 low racers? It seems they got down the road pretty well.

Wasn't there another lowracer with the same size wheels as the Pharobike LoFat built very close to
where Mr. Stonich lives? I have heard it was pretty fast, especially if it was one of the red ones.

Tom Sherman - Near the confluence of the Mississippi and Rock Rivers

Tom Sherman <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Mark Stonich said:

... Remember the "LoFat" 16/20 low racers? It seems they got down the road pretty well.

Wasn't there another lowracer with the same size wheels as the Pharobike LoFat built very close
to where Mr. Stonich lives? I have heard it was pretty fast, especially if it was one of the
red ones.

Tom Sherman - Near the confluence of the Mississippi and Rock Rivers

Do you mean the one with the hard, skinny tires and half a fork? I wasn't sure they didn't have
349s in front.

Mark Stonich - Near the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers

Mark Stonich said:

Tom Sherman <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Mark Stonich said:

... Remember the "LoFat" 16/20 low racers? It seems they got down the road pretty well.

Wasn't there another lowracer with the same size wheels as the Pharobike LoFat built very close
to where Mr. Stonich lives? I have heard it was pretty fast, especially if it was one of the
red ones.

Tom Sherman - Near the confluence of the Mississippi and Rock Rivers

Do you mean the one with the hard, skinny tires and half a fork? I wasn't sure they didn't have
349s in front.

I always like it when someone criticizes the ISO 305-mm/ISO 406-mm wheelset, as it provides me a
chance to talk about my Sunset. 🙂

I replaced the rear 28-406 Conti GP inflated to 8.3 bar (120 psi) with a 47-406 Comp Pool inflated
to 6.2 bar (90 psi). I did not notice any decrease in performance, and the ride on anything but the
smoothest pavement was much better.

The front is more of a problem, due to the RX-100 caliper brake. I have been using the relatively
narrow and hard 32-305 Primo Comet, but will try a 40-305 Kenda Kwest when the Primo wears out.

Tom Sherman - Near the confluence of the Mississippi and Rock Rivers

Mark Stonich said:

Tom Sherman <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Mike said:

The wheels are too small for serious riding, it's a good city - commuter bike.

And what exactly is wrong with an ISO 305-mm front wheel/ISO 406-mm rear wheel combination that
makes it unsuitable for serious riding?

Tom Sherman - Near the confluence of the Mississippi and Rock Rivers

IMHO, Absolutely nothing, if you have the right tires. Schwalbe is introducing their "Big Apple"
in 305-50, 406-50, and 507-50 sometime in December. It is currently available in sizes ranging
from 559-50 to 622-60. I'm hoping that 60s are available in the smaller diameters in the
future....

I would be curious to know if the small wheel recumbent market has grown enough to make the
introduction of these tires feasible, or if the sales of small wheel upright folders are creating
the demand. Certainly, the situation is much better now than some years ago when according to Mr.
Stonich one had to resort to removing the knobs from BMX tires. [1]

[1] < mnhpva.orgtires.htmlOpen ↗ >

Tom Sherman - Near the confluence of the Mississippi and Rock Rivers

Tom Sherman <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

The front is more of a problem, due to the RX-100 caliper brake. I have been using the relatively
narrow and hard 32-305 Primo Comet, but will try a 40-305 Kenda Kwest when the Primo wears out.

There are two versions of the 40-305 Kwest. The aftermarket version is rated at 100 psi, but is very
stiff. The OEM one, such as comes on an EZ-1 is rated at 65 psi, but is lighter and relatively
flexible. Where the load on the tire permits, this is the one I'd choose. Overinflated to 70-75 psi
if needed.

BTW one of the reasons I build LWB or MWB is that total rolling resistance is less when the larger
rear tire carries a significant majority of the weight.