Thread: Favorite tire
View Single Post
Old 12-20-20, 10:48 AM
  #20  
Barrettscv 
Have bike, will travel
 
Barrettscv's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Lake Geneva, WI
Posts: 12,284

Bikes: Ridley Helium SLX, Canyon Endurance SL, De Rosa Professional, Eddy Merckx Corsa Extra, Schwinn Paramount (1 painted, 1 chrome), Peugeot PX10, Serotta Nova X, Simoncini Cyclocross Special, Raleigh Roker, Pedal Force CG2 and CX2

Mentioned: 46 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 910 Post(s)
Liked 288 Times in 158 Posts
Originally Posted by Cougrrcj
Me - then a 'near Clyde' at almost 100kg. (220 lbs) - now 195 lbs
Bike - 1986 Miyata 710

I only have one 700c bike - my '86 Miyata 710. This was my Arizona bike - kept out in Phoenix at my mother's so when I'd visit her I'd have something to do when she napped in the afternoons... When I bought it, it had a 23mm wire-bead Vittoria Zaffiro in front, and a flat 25mm somethingorother on the rear. The LBS only had ONE Vittoria Randonneur 28 in stock (and $60! ) , so I put that on the rear -- temporarily. It rode like a truck. Sluggish and dead. I thought to myself that I had bought a lemon - I thought Miyata was a good bike... I was disappointed. Hmmmmm...

As bought - kinda. New rear tire, new saddle



On my next visit to see mom, I brought along a bunch of parts to refurb the bike. Tires, tubes, cables, dual-pivot brakes, SunTour barcons, bar tape. When changing out the tires, I found out WHY it rode like a truck - the front tire was fitted with a heavy thorn-proof tube filled completely with Slime, and the 28mm Randonneur I had on the rear weighed as much (502g) as both of the new tires I had brought along. I had fitted it with Vittoria Rubino Pro Tech III - 150tpi (280g each) and a puncture-resistant belt under the tread. Those tires are discontinued, I believe, not sure what replaced it. Had initially put 28/28 on it due to the rough 'cobble-pebble' road surfaces out there -- it is so hot in the summer out there that the tar binder in the pavement goes away and leaves the pebble aggregate behind. I settled on inflation pressures of 85f/95r to balance ride comfort and speed. Anyway, the 28 front tire left only 1mm clearance at the fork bridge. I had also bought a pair of 25s (260g ea) at the same time, just in case the 28s wouldn't work.














Mom passed a few years ago, and I shipped the Miyata back home to the Cleveland area...

So after I got a pinch flat on the front this year - concrete chunk that I couldn't see on the shoulder of a concrete surface train track overpass on my dim dawn commute - I put one of the the 25s up front, and still running a 28 on the rear. Now with the 25 up front I have 3-4mm clearance at the fork bridge. Still ~90psi(f) / 95(r)

BTW, the original wheelset was replaced this in June of this year with a set of 36h Mavic Open Pro laced to DuraAce 7400 hubs with 15/16ga Sapim stainless butted spokes. VERY LIGHT wheels at 770g front without skewer, and 882g rear without skewer or freewheel.

The ride now is a night-and-day difference from when I bought it!
Excellent narrative, tires can make an enormous difference in the performance and character of a bike. I also put the Rubino Pro Tech on a bike that was going to see some hardpack gravel along with pavement use. Another excellent tire.

Last edited by Barrettscv; 12-20-20 at 10:54 AM.
Barrettscv is offline