Schwalbe Tyres

[flecc]

Sometimes I do struggle to find the offending object in the tyre though, and have on more than one occasion repaired or replaced the tube only to find it punctures shortly after because I didn't diagnose correctly the first time. I also use self adhesive patches rather than glue which shortens the process even more.

I always pass the tyre round with my fingertips in an angled line across the inside of the tyre so that they catch on any protusion, and that works most of the time. The problem comes with thorns etc that don't protude in until the weight of the bike passes over them on the road, and I've never found a sure-fire solution to finding those.

I have tried the self adhesive patches but on two occasions they've failed some while later, one of them becoming porous and letting air seep through the patch. It could have been the brand or batch at fault of course, but I prefer to stick to thin feathered edge patches as the most reliable of all and which never peel.
.

 

[Cyclezee]

4K on M+

This the rear Schwalbe Marathon+ tyre on my Agattu after 4000 miles, centre tread is virtually a slick now.

Anyone notice anything other than the tyre that is unusal in this photo?
The number 3 is a clue



J hn

 

[flecc]

Only the "foreign body" that's penetrated the third whole centre tread segment down John?
.

 

[Cyclezee]

Good guess Tony, but it is not tyre related and slightly 'off tread'

The answer is broken rear mudguard No.3 on my Agattu.
I'm fitting a new one tomorrow with 'proper' rear stays to give better support. Should have done this when the first one broke
I have not noticed anyone else reporting this misfortune on a Kalkhoff?

J hn

 

[Barnowl]

Good guess Tony, but it is not tyre related and slightly 'off tread'

Groan. So bad it made me laugh. Flecc you walked right into that one.

 

[flecc]

Groan. So bad it made me laugh. Flecc you walked right into that one.

Yup, I was only thinking of the MP tyre, not which bike it was fitted to,

What are you doing to those muguards John?

A to B and I hacked an Agattu around for a few hundred miles, not sparing it at all, but no mudguard breakages despite the deliberate rough road testing I gave it to test the sprung forks.
.

 

[Cyclezee]

And today with new SKS Chromoplastics mudguard fitted. These are much more stable and secure than the standard ones which are supported via brackets atttached at the rear by the carrier.
The problem with the standard rear guard, which has been ackowledged by the supplier, is that too much of the guard is unsupported. Flexing (not fleccing) around the point of the attachment bracket leads to fatigue. Added to this there are also holes to accept the lighting connectors which further weakens the structure.

The bike has covered 4147 miles on road and cycle routes, how many others have travelled that distance?

Whilst I was at it, I changed the M+ for slightly used spare. The original M+ was impregnated with glass, flints and thorns, but never punctured!



J hn

 

[flecc]

Unusually good rear coverage on that mudguard John.

Very sensible and not needing a mud flap.
.

 

[Cyclezee]

Sorry Tony we crossed over on that one as I was editing.
They are 50mm section guards and I feel sure not having the flap will also help from a strength point of view.
The new guards are SKS Chromoplastic Mudguards - Black - Hybrid 700c - 50mm from Chain Reaction Cycles.

J hn

 

[flecc]

Yes, that is a high mileage, but we do have some other high mileage Kalkhoff commuters, mostly on Pro Connects though.

My MPs are like that. I never bother to dig out the penetrating bits and don't suffer from them. In six years of using MPs, one rear wheel only and two bikes with full sets, I've only had one puncture when I ran over some heaps of cut blackthorn on a cyclepath and an exceptionally long thorn got through to give a slow enough puncture for me to ride home without repairing it.

However, I've also done a total of nearly 1400 miles on the eZee bikes Kendas without any punctures, so those aren't bad either.

Over the same six years I've had a vast number of punctures on my trailer wheels which only do a fraction of the mileage the bikes do, so the MP and Kenda protection has been very real.
.

 

[jerrysimon]

Fitted

Went and collected my tyre and tube from the sorting office this morning. I purchased a Schwalbe schrader valve inner tube at the same time.

I actually went on my e-bike. Its such fun passing all the Saturday town traffic queues

It was really easy to fit even though I have not changed the tyre in 10 years

Its actually not as big (fat) as I thought it would be, in fact its not much larger than the previous all terrain tyre which had very heavy tread.

I pumped it up to 40PSI. Up to about a week ago before I started reading here I been running my tyres just until they felt hard which was about 25PSI

Anyway been out and its nice and bouncy on the back

I will post some pics later. I am pretty sure I am going to buy another for the new front electric hub wheel too.

Regards

Jerry

 

[flecc]

You'll certainly feel the comfort difference, especially once both wheels have them.
.

 

[jerrysimon]

Well just fitted the front tyre. Now that I have "tyre suspension" all round I can really tell the difference with lumps and bumbs being better ironed out.

I need to post some pics.

Thanks for all the advice. I am glad I settled on the big apples. Now that I have changed both tyres and inner tubes I am also more confident that given a puncture I could swap out an inner tube without too much trouble

Obviously I will need to carry a spare tube and the right spanners with me but hey whats a little extra weight, its electrically assisted after all

Regards

Jerry

 

[jerrysimon]

I was worried the new apples were going to be REALLY fat. Anyway I need not have worried.

A couple of pics

Clearance before

My old tyres were quite big 1.9s.

New Tyre & Inner Tube

Clearance After

Plenty of room. That mudguard needs adjusting though.

 

[jerrysimon]

Finally both tryes fitted

I love these tyres and glad I chose them in the end.

I like the reflective stripes though they don't spin symmetrical. I think its how they fit into the rim

Regards

Jerry

 

[jerrysimon]

Oh and what happends when you run the same tyre for ten years and don't keep it up to pressure

They were well overdue for changing.

Jerry