Put on my new SKINNY tires today...

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

OK, so I've spent about 6 months biking on my "training wheels"- my big cushy fat grippy safe 700c x 38c tires. A few weeks ago I began to feel as though they were holding me back and unecessarily wide.
This evening I was very proud of myself- I changed both my tires and tubes all by myself- never had changed a flat before. (only watched a couple of times and had read about it). Had a little trouble at the end getting the back wheel coaxed back in with the chain etc. DH helped for a moment. I think I could do it myself alone next time though, with a few attempts. The CrankBros. Zip lever I have is a truly fantastic simple tool- the tire beads just glide on and off like magic, like turning the hand of a big clock. The whole proceedure was fascinating and exciting to me, and made me feel empowered and very self sufficient. Now I don't have to worry about that first flat on the road someday- I'm ready!

Anyway, I have my usual 21 mile daily route timed, and I can't wait to see if the new skinny tires shave off some additional time. My new tires are 700 x 28c instead of 38c wide. It really is a huge difference. They seem so hard and thin! I hope the ride won't seem TOO uncomfortably bumpy. We'll see tomorrow on my ride. (maybe I should wear a double chamois the first time?)
The new tires are Pasela Panaracer "TourGuard" which should hopefully help avoid flats on gravel roads (which we ride a lot).
Another bonus is the extra half inch or so of standover room I have now. I will have to reset my wheel circumference size setting on my bike computer. But the ride timer/clock will not be affected by the change.

Will report back after first impressions tomorrow.

[Triskeliongirl]

Hey Lisa- big congrats!! It does feel good to take care of your own bike doesn't it! Do you ride gravel roads? If not, even the tires you got may be wider than you need for general purpose and go fast riding. For touring I like the panaracer pasela tourguard 32s, for city use (i.e. commuting) I started with panaracer pasela 26s, but found I like schwalbe stelvio 23s even more and they actually flat less so I use them now both for commuting and go fast club riding. I think the thing about comfort on wider tires is overated unless you are riding very bumpy roads. Your 28s are still very much on the wide side. Looking forward to your ride report! -e

[Thistle]

Hey Lisa ... like you i recently went to skinny tyres. I took the advice of Velogirl (i think?) and put slightly lower pressures in my front (100) to my back (110). This seems to make the ride a bit more comfy.

Dont they make a huge difference to rolling resistance though?

Cant wait to hear how you went!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Do you ride gravel roads? If not, even the tires you got may be wider than you need for general purpose and go fast riding....Your 28s are still very much on the wide side. Looking forward to your ride report! -e

Yes, we often ride VERY rough gravel back roads here in the country. By rough I mean hard packed dirt with sharp gravel and rocks that range between 1/2" up to 2"...it can get pretty hairy. We also ride over some cow fields in the tractor ruts sometimes. I'd really be risking frequent flats by going thinner, I think.
Will stick to civilized paved roads tomorrow for my "maiden voyage" though!
Next year we hope to do some touring through New England...NY,MA,VT & NH.
That's why I'm trying to get stronger!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Dont they make a huge difference to rolling resistance though?

I'll find out tomorrow on my ride!

Thanks for the tip about lower front pressure...good to know!

[momof4greatkids]

I'll be watching for your report! Good luck w/the new wheels, Lisa.

Colleen

[Triskeliongirl]

Yes, we often ride VERY rough gravel back roads here in the country. By rough I mean hard packed dirt with sharp gravel and rocks that range between 1/2" up to 2"...it can get pretty hairy. We also ride over some cow fields in the tractor ruts sometimes. I'd really be risking frequent flats by going thinner, I think.

In my experience skinnier tires don't give you more flats if properly inflated and with a flat resistant compound like kevlar, TG, etc., but they do present handling problems on rought surfaces. When I toured in Chiapis on packed dirt I used ones similar to your panaracter pasela TGs and they were fine. I have used paselas with and without TG and the TG ones definitely flat less. But, I also find all tires flat more when underinflated so be careful about that too. I actually have two wheelsets, one I keep 32s on for touring and one with 23s for faster riding on smooth pavement. Where you live you may want to keep a wheelset with your original tires for those very rough roads, and use your new tires for packed dirt and pavement. But you'll just have to see how it goes.

[snapdragen]

I've been very happy with my Pasela TG's - they are the tire I used on the AIDs ride. I never had a flat.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

TOTAL BUMMER!!!!.....
Like a fool I had attempted to fix some minor shifting problems by myself yesterday at the same time I put on the new tires. After an hour and a half tinkering and reading derailleur tuning instructions, I seem to have gotten the shifting working smoothly on the stand, thought all was ok.
But today's ride was a total bust. I couldn't even tell much about the new tires at all- because my rear gears kept popping in and out every time I shifted, cable tensions were all wrong, and the chain was coming off. The more I tried to adjust on the road, the worse it all got. I simply screwed up.

So I aborted my ride today, coasted/walked home, swallowed my pride and called the LBS. Am bringing my precious 6 month old BABY in for the very first time to have a STRANGER work on him and tune the shifting/indexing/cables etc.
I guess I'm lucky that the mechanic is coming in tomorrow afternoon and it will likely be ready to pick up tomorrow evening. He only comes in twice a week.

My tire report will have to wait until the shifting is back in order again.

[mimitabby]

TOTAL BUMMER!!!!.....
Like a fool I had attempted to fix some minor shifting problems by myself yesterday at the same time I put on the new tires. After an hour and a half tinkering and reading derailleur tuning instructions, I seem to have gotten the shifting working smoothly on the stand, thought all was ok.
But today's ride was a total bust. I couldn't even tell much about the new tires at all- because my rear gears kept popping in and out every time I shifted, cable tensions were all wrong, and the chain was coming off. The more I tried to adjust on the road, the worse it all got. I simply screwed up.

So I aborted my ride today, coasted/walked home, swallowed my pride and called the LBS. Am bringing my precious 6 month old BABY in for the very first time to have a STRANGER work on him and tune the shifting/indexing/cables etc.
I guess I'm lucky that the mechanic is coming in tomorrow afternoon and it will likely be ready to pick up tomorrow evening. He only comes in twice a week.

My tire report will have to wait until the shifting is back in order again.

oh, what a drag! I am sure he'll dial it in nicely and then you can wipe his fingerprints off everything when you get home.
But why are you changing now, with Snow coming? I'd want the fat tires for the winter!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

oh, what a drag! I am sure he'll dial it in nicely and then you can wipe his fingerprints off everything when you get home.
But why are you changing now, with Snow coming? I'd want the fat tires for the winter!

Because I CAN'T WAIT! I'm just that way.
Also, I don't plan on riding unless the roads are clear- no ice, no snow riding for me.
Yeah, I'll have to scrub all the STRANGER's fingerprints off when I get it home. Maybe a tiny spritz of cucumber green tea body mist over the Brooks saddle too...

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

So I aborted my ride today, coasted/walked home, swallowed my pride and called the LBS. Am bringing my precious 6 month old BABY in for the very first time to have a STRANGER work on him and tune the shifting/indexing/cables etc.
I guess I'm lucky that the mechanic is coming in tomorrow afternoon and it will likely be ready to pick up tomorrow evening. He only comes in twice a week.

My tire report will have to wait until the shifting is back in order again.

Well, got my bike back the next day. The best $50 I ever spent! I think I was very lucky to have a guy who knew what he was doing.
My bike is shifting and working about 25% better than EVER before- even when it was new! It's LIKE BUTTER. Happy day!!!

Interesting story: When I called to make the appt, I talked to a guy named Dave. He said the bike mechanic, Peter, was coming in the next day, so I could probably pick up my bike that evening. I brought the bike in and handed it over to Dave (in his 40's) and went over the long list of problems I thought there were. (Turns out the back wheel was out of true as well as the shifting problems.) I told him how I cherish my bike and hoped all would be well and that Peter knew his stuff. I nervously left him with my bike and my written list.

Next evening I went to get my bike and it was ready to go. There were only two employees in the shop at the time (7pm) and they both looked about 17 years old, like two little Greg Bradys. I asked who was Peter the bike mechanic, and it turned out he was the one who looked about 16 (more like Peter Brady). This did not give me much confidence. But when they brought out my bike they said that it actually was Dave who did the work on it. Whew!! I knew Dave knew how obsessed I was with my precious bike. Dave had written notes next to each item on my list and trued the wheel and tuned all the shifting & derailleurs. Replaced some stripped barrel adjusters, and tightened my loose crank arm that I didn't know was loose but could later feel the lack of lag in my pedaling. He lubed the cable on my front bar end shift lever so now it was SMOOTH instead of really hard to shift. Raining and dark, so I couldn't test ride it or anything, had to wait til this morning.
So, today I rode two hours and marvelled at my wonderful silky smooth shifting!!! My bike was now BETTER than new! I called Dave to personally thank him and tell him how great he was.

As to my new skinny tires....
They seem fine, but honestly it was hard to tell much today because there was a lot of gusting light winds during my ride and I also went a bit slower than normal downhill and on turns because it was raining lightly and the roads were wet. With all that I still made the ride in 3 minutes less than my best previous time of 2 hours. Will have to wait for dry weather to really be able to tell more accurately whether they are indeed "faster" than my fat tires. My sit bones were just a bit achey at the end, probably because of the skinnier tire=harder ride thing. I also notice my steering was more sensitive/quick- will get used to that. But one nice thing I did notice was that I was able to stay in my big gear ring up front more than before- perhaps there is less drag with the thinner tires? Maybe it was the tuneup?...
Will wait for a good dry road day with no winds and then time the same ride again.

Mostly, I'm just so happy to have my bike purring like a kitten.

[mimitabby]

well, that's good news. Make sure your new tires are not overinflated.

I was told during a workshop this summer that it's not necessary to inflate tires above 90 unless you are racing or something.

I finally got DH to listen and the last time I rode (with 90ppi instead of 120)
it was better.

Now you can get to know your bike again, happy days!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Mimi, I took some of your advice and lowered my tire pressure- a bit. The max said 105 and that's what I had them at. I lowered the back one to 100 and the front one to 95. The ride was nicer, and the bike seemed to be less skittish.

By the way, today i timed my usual ride again. There was still some wind pushing me around a bit, but not that strong. It seems my new skinny tires are clocking in not any noticably faster than my old fat tires. This does puzzle me, especially with such a big change in width, but it doesn't really bother me too much. They do "feel" faster, it's an odd thing. And I do notice the bike is a bit lighter in weight when I pick it up. Maybe my results will be better with no wind at all, just like when I timed the fat tires last. But hard to get a no-wind day to test them these days, it seems!

In the end, I am so hugely pleased with the buttery smooth shifting after my LBS tuneup that the tire thing doesn't dampen my spirit at all!