Tyres - What to get?

[happy grandad]

I have just bought a Kalkhoff Tasman for my wife. We went for our first short ride yesterday (4 miles) and on return I have noticed a tear in the side wall. There is no other damage around the rear tyre so I am not sure if it was there when we got the bike.

Nevertheless, I now have to remove the wheel etc to replace the tyre. At present it is a Continental TownRide. What should I replace it with? What are the best puncture proof tyres?

As someone who is extremely cackhanded I have thought about buying some of these ( Greentyre - tyres without air Bicycle tyres) to alleviate the problem of punctures.
a) Would they fit the wheel (Rodi Vision double wall 622-19; 26" 559-19)
b) Are the comfortable enough for short journies?

Thanks for advice

Happy (or not so at the moment because I have to repair bike) Grandand

 

[WALKERMAN]

I got punctures early on when I first got a Giant Lafree and found out about the excellent Marathon Plus tyres on this forum. I fitted them and had no more problems.
When I got my ProConnect last year the first thing I did was to fit some Marathon Plus to it.

 

[Jordad]

Ditto about the Marathon. If you want something cheaper Schwalbe has a lot of other good options as well.

Also get a good floor standing pump with a meter from your bike store since the best protection against punctures is to have properly pumped tires.

 

[flecc]

Another vote for the Marathon Plus or the equivalent and often less expensive Continental Contact Security. Both these types have thick inner protective layers which are very puncture resistant.

Solid tyres have never been successful since they have the same characteristics in all planes. Good tyres need to be vertically compliant to absorb road shocks but laterally stiff to ensure stability. Solid tyres are the same in both planes, so either vertically stiff and very uncomfortable or laterally flexible making the bike insecure on corners.
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[JamesC]

I have just bought a Kalkhoff Tasman for my wife. We went for our first short ride yesterday (4 miles) and on return I have noticed a tear in the side wall. There is no other damage around the rear tyre so I am not sure if it was there when we got the bike.

Nevertheless, I now have to remove the wheel etc to replace the tyre. At present it is a Continental TownRide. What should I replace it with? What are the best puncture proof tyres?

As someone who is extremely cackhanded I have thought about buying some of these ( Greentyre - tyres without air Bicycle tyres) to alleviate the problem of punctures.
a) Would they fit the wheel (Rodi Vision double wall 622-19; 26" 559-19)
b) Are the comfortable enough for short journies?

Thanks for advice

Happy (or not so at the moment because I have to repair bike) Grandand

I have also just collected a Tasman last Wednesday on behalf of my daughter-in-law, Keesje.

Keesje will be doing a 6 mile commute on the Tasman, and their son Billy (coming up to 8 months old) will be on board for 2 days a week, en route to nursery.

I am the resident mechanic, and endorse completely the choice of Schwalbe Marathon Plus (700x38C) tyres, together with Schwalbe AV17 tubes.

I have used these first on my Torq and then on my ProConnect and have clocked up about 3,500 miles without a puncture.

Fitted the MP tyres to Keesje's bike on Friday, unable to imagine the havoc of fixing punctures, whilst keeping an eye on a small child.

Points to note:
1. Although the Tasman comes with a small, rack mounted, pump which matches the Woods valves on the tubes supplied, I favour tubes with the Schrader auto type of valve as on the AV17's.
The pump supplied cannot be used with Schrader valves, and needs checking out on Presta.

2. Likely you will want to remove the wheels to change the tyres, but consider taking a couple of vallium before attempting the rear.
Unlike the Agattu and ProConnect, the Tasman is equipped with an all enclosed chainguard, with one half outboard of the chain and sprockets, and the other inboard, behind the chain and sprockets.

The good news is that this is a hugely safe arrangement in respect of little fingers etc., but it demands tools (pedal crank has to be removed) and patience that can put you off. I will post a description in the technical section.

But before I forget, the outer case is fixed to the inner case with 5 bolts that look the same. In fact the 2 bolts at the pedal end are shorter than the 3 bolts around the rear sprocket area. If the longer bolts get used at the front, they foul on the chainwheel.

3. You will love the ease of releasing the Magura HS11 brakes on the side with the lever.

Marthon Plus tyres are stiff and unforgiving when brand new. Use 3 or 4 electrical ties to hold the tyre in place as you work round the rim.

James

PS Lloyd and Simon at 50Cycles were very helpful when we were reviewing the best bet for mum and child, and the Tasman has been great on the first two full discharges - 34.0 and 34.8 miles on maximum assist and the standard 23T sprocket.

 

[happy grandad]

Thanks everyone - it looks like the Marathon Plus although the description of removing the wheel is a bit of off-putting for someone who is not very good at these things.

James, I am very glad you gave all the advice because I know I would have messed up but there are a couple of questions:

a) The brakes - are they easy or difficult to get off. I have had a quick look and they look rather complicated - is there anything I should know.

b) Why do we have to take the pedal crank off to remove the wheel. It does seem overly complicated to repair a puncture. (I just hope the tyres are as good as you say as far as punctures are concerned. I don't want to be stuck in the miles from home with a puncture)

Thanks again.

Look forward to the instructions coming in the technical section.

 

[happy grandad]

"Solid tyres have never been successful since they have the same characteristics in all planes."

Shows how thick I am - I was wondering for sometime if plane tyres were all solid and what they had to do with my bike

Thanks

Thick Grandad

 

[JamesC]

Thanks everyone - it looks like the Marathon Plus although the description of removing the wheel is a bit of off-putting for someone who is not very good at these things.

James, I am very glad you gave all the advice because I know I would have messed up but there are a couple of questions:

a) The brakes - are they easy or difficult to get off. I have had a quick look and they look rather complicated - is there anything I should know.

b) Why do we have to take the pedal crank off to remove the wheel. It does seem overly complicated to repair a puncture. (I just hope the tyres are as good as you say as far as punctures are concerned. I don't want to be stuck in the miles from home with a puncture)

Thanks again.

Look forward to the instructions coming in the technical section.

a) The brakes are easy - the Magura hydraulic rim brakes have a cylinder on both sides of the rim. One side has a silver lever arm.
Swing the lever arm out and round. This cylinder then comes away from the fork and can be left hanging whilst the wheel is removed.
Replacing is the reverse, with the line on the wheel rim running approximately central with the brake block.

b) The outer chain casing has a slit which wraps around the frame beside the rear sprocket. The casing has to be eased towards the front of the bike to clear the rear frame. Unfortunately it can't be twisted to clear the pedal and crank arm. So the solution is to pull the crank arm off the square taper.

More to follow.

There are a number of postings on the forum about fxing punctures without removing the wheel.

James

 

[Patrick]

b) Why do we have to take the pedal crank off to remove the wheel. It does seem overly complicated to repair a puncture. (I just hope the tyres are as good as you say as far as punctures are concerned. I don't want to be stuck in the miles from home with a puncture)

You don't need to take the wheel off a bike to fix a puncture, here's a thread all about it:

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/3811-tips-puncture-repair.html

 

[JamesC]

You don't need to take the wheel off a bike to fix a puncture, here's a thread all about it:

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/3811-tips-puncture-repair.html

Patrick
Thanks for the link through to repairing punctures without removing the wheel.

Does anyone know whether countries such as Holland and Germany with higher cycle usage than the UK, place greater emphasis on keeping their cycleways free of debris ?

I am a huge fan of the Marathon Plus tyres where puncture resistance is top of the priority list for the tyres, yet many bikes that are perfect for commuting and other important utility functions seem to come into the UK market with relatively thin tyre constructions.

Do we suffer from punctures any more than cyclists in other countries ?

James

 

[flecc]

many bikes that are perfect for commuting and other important utility functions seem to come into the UK market with relatively thin tyre constructions.

Do we suffer from punctures any more than cyclists in other countries ?

James

I think in part we may suffer from more civil indiscipline than many of the cycling countries, things like smashing glass bottles in the streets, in part from poorer street maintenance (sweeping etc), and in part the most cycling oriented countries like Holland may have a population more skilled in rapidly dealing with punctures.
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[geostorm]

why not take the easy (lazy )route now there are many of these self seal inflater packs , i used on rear tyre motorcycle effective , they tell me this can be messy when you replace tyre.

 

[flecc]

why not take the easy (lazy )route now there are many of these self seal inflater packs , i used on rear tyre motorcycle effective , they tell me this can be messy when you replace tyre.

They are good on tubeless tyres for which they were designed, but often very ineffective on cycle tyres, not surprising since they weren't originally intended for use with tubes. We've had threads on the various slime type sealants and a large majority of members have found them failing to seal the puncture and causing a mess, making subsequent repair difficult.

I've personally tried three different brands over time and had all fail on every occasion. For me it's quicker and easier to mend the puncture in the first place and avoid the sticky mess.
.

 

[RedSkywalker]

I cary a couple of Sidewinder tubes which I find a lot easier to fit than conventional tubes and at 75p each they don't exactly break the bank either.

You can see them here: Sidewinder Easy Fit Inner tube 24 & 26 Inch Wheels

 

[flecc]

I've never found the Sidewinder type for 700c/28" wheels though, probably because that size is used more on sport/race bikes in the UK.
.

 

[flecc]

"Solid tyres have never been successful since they have the same characteristics in all planes."

Shows how thick I am - I was wondering for sometime if plane tyres were all solid and what they had to do with my bike

Thanks

Thick Grandad

Sorry about that, but "in all planes" was preferable to the less accurate mouthful "axially, radially and circumferentially".

Of course the abbreviation for aeroplanes is strictly speaking typed as 'planes.
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