in message <[email hidden]>, Peter
(') said:Help, some MTB tyre advice needed.
I'm off in a while to cycle Lhasa-Kathmandu.
I'll be taking an Orange P7 - currently has Continental Explorer 2.1
tyres on it.
I'm thinking I'll need all the help I can get...I won't be going
especially fast or far every day (40km to 80km per day), but most of it
will be over 4,000m and on variable road conditions, which I guess will
vary from broken tarmac to just, well, broken, I suppose. Possibility
of snow, gravel, rocks, mud, dust...
Is it worth changing the tyres to something faster/easier to ride?
The last ('buyers guide'😉 issue of Singletrack had a long and excellent
review article on tyres, which countered several of my prejudices and
made me think a bit harder about my tyre choices. Their conclusions:
* Soft grippy rubber is the most important thing on most surfaces
* 'Clever' tread patterns don't work as well as simpler ones
* Smaller knobbles are generally better than bigger ones.
Their best all rounder recommendation was
Front: Kenda Nevegal 2.1 (630 grammes)
Rear: Kenda Blue Groove 2.1 (also 630 grammes)
In general the sub 500gramme tyres didn't do very well overall, although
some were rated good on particular surfaces; the best all rounder of the
sub 500gramme tyres were the Maxxis Larsen TT (490 grammes, rated at
least three stars for everything except traction on roots).
Lighter weight tyres are likely to be more puncture prone, which will be
an issue on a long treck, and softer compounds wear much faster.
From personal experience I use and like WTB Velociraptors (635 grammes),
which weren't tested; however, although durable and very sure footed on
all surfaces except wet roots they aren't either light or fast rolling.
--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
;; Skill without imagination is craftsmanship and gives us
;; many useful objects such as wickerwork picnic baskets.
;; Imagination without skill gives us modern art.
;; Tom Stoppard, Artist Descending A Staircase
