pcb 

Grand Bois Cerf Green Label Extra Leger* 28-622/700c - 2pr: $65/pr shipped conti USA; paypal g&s

I'm trying to move out some tires, maybe clear space in my tire drawers for tubes, then have more shelf space?

Two pair of GB Cerf/Greens EL&. All are low use, low mileage, minor tread wear. No cuts, slashes, gouges, etc. These are pretty close to at-spec width on narrower vintage rims, with plump out to 29-30mm on wider 23-25mm outer-width rims.

I'm putting an asterik on the Extra Leger* (Extra Light) because I'm pretty sure I got these direct from I-Cycles in Kyoto as slightly out-of-spec, at maybe 20% off new? They have the EL casings, but EL spec is 210g +/- 5%, which should be 200-221g, and 3/4 are at 230/232g. The one at 224g might be a legit EL, just a couple grams over spec, but since there's no way to differentiate these by looks/label/etc, I'll partner this one with one of the heavier ones.

Both pair have one tire with essetially no wear and one with a little center wear, likely each pair installed front/rear. The wear band on the 224g tire is a little wider. Note that the tiny knobs on the tread are very, very tiny/low, so that's not much tread wear at all. However, also please note that these are lightweight tires, with pretty thin tread, so don't think you're getting Paselas that went on a little diet. You probably don't want to use these commuting on glass-strewn streets.

Current US distributor retail pricing for new is $138/pr for in-spec ELs.

Flickr album:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/263834...57648060578763

Unca_Sam

Ok, I'll ask.

A total of 4 tires for $68?

nlerner

"Grand Bois Cerf Green Label Extra Leger* 28-622/700c - 2pr: $65/PR shipped conti USA; paypal g&s"

I believe that's $65 per pair, but pcb will need to confirm.

That's an excellent deal, btw.

Unca_Sam

Thanks, I was in my afternoon "stay home to work and homeschool 3 kids" fog.
@$65 (or 68) for the whole kit-n-kaboodle this is a very hearty yes. I'll have to measure the 5200, which was designed around 23's, I think. These should be an upgrade from the ultra sport II's.

pcb 

Golly gee willikers, folks, I'm sorry I missed these comments/questions. Just after posting these my ISP went dark, meaning the email provider I'd been using for like 25yrs. Panic ensued.

So, yeah, I had 2 pair available, priced at $65 per pair, so it'd be $130 for all four. One pair already sold, however, the 230/232g set.

The other pair is still available, but I do have them up on ebay right now. If someone wants to snag the last pair, I can take it off ebay before a bid is placed. After a bid is placed, they'll stay there till the auction ends.

Unca_Sam

Thanks for the update pcb. I measured the bike I'd install them on and determined that the extra 3-5mm around won't allow enough clearance at the brake bridge for that bike, or the other 'light' bike. GLWTS!

pcb 

Thanks for checking! I had a 5200 way back, very nice machine.

If I might make a kinda boring suggestion, maybe snag a pair of Conti GP5000 in 25mm, or maybe even scope out if 28mm will fit. They're great all-around tires, one of the bestest, and the sizing is more consistent than the GP4K they replaced. They'll be 28mm on wider rims, a little undersized on narrower rims----narrower and lower all-around than my listed Grand Bois 28s. They're not as light as the Gran Bois, but a little more rugged and flat-resistant, while being a lot more supple and faster than the Ultra II.

Pair 'em up with latex tubes and you'll be flying! And inflating the tires every 2-3 day, but, you know, worth it.

Unca_Sam

I appreciate the suggestion! I don't doubt that the GP5000 are excellent tires, but are overkill for my current use. I like rummaging around in the Co-Op's used tires box of foldable 700c tires, though they're short on the tanwall tires. If I can't be satisfied that way, there's a steep discount on Vittoria Corsa G+ 1st gen at Excel.

norskagent

I bought the first pair, and they barely wouldn't fit my merckx (rear brake)...so I took the same size (28mm) turbo cottons off my McLean and put them on the merckx, and they fit. Put the grand bois tires on the Mclean, and they fit!

mountaindave 

One time I had the same issue and I beveled a brake washer (placed between the brake and bridge) so that it ever so slightly angled the brake up. Worked on a tire that just kissed the rear brake otherwise.

I think this may be why some people put their rear brakes forward of the seat stays... but I could be just making that up.

Unca_Sam

The brakes sit clear of the tire, it's the wishbone seatstay...

mountaindave 

Yeah, not much one can do there without a torch. But at least you got the correct tires on each bike now!

pcb 

I'm glad the ol' switcheroo worked! The Merckx looks sweet. Creep the rear wheel any further forward and you'll need to indent the seat tube! She's tight!

As for seatstay fore/aft caliper mounting and clearance, I tried to play with high school geometry, but it doesn't work any more. I was drawing tangential lines and measuring stuff with a ruler, and all I got was a headache.

Mounting the caliper forward of the seatstays _decreases_ reach/clearance in my experience, at least it did on my Hetchins. I did a reverso mount on the Hetchins because the Campy caliper didn't have enough reach aft of the seatstays. Now the shoes at slot-bottom just reach the rim. Plus the bike was originally built for centerpulls, and a sidepull mounted aft got fouled by the rack mounts.

norskagent

I moved the rear wheel back a bit after I took the pic, there's about 1cm gap now, way more than up at the rear brake caliper! Took it for a ride and all was well!

Spaghetti Legs 

Thanks for the nice tires pcb (got em on another forum!). While we're all here, anyone care to comment on gravel durability of these tires? As best I can tell these are precursors to the Compass then Rene Here brand which are marketed for gravel use. I couldn't really find too much in the way of gravel success/failure stories on line. Mine are the standard, not the extra light BTW.

noglider 

@pcb, how do you shoot with a perfect white background?

pcb 

If you promise to keep it a secret, this is the super-secret basement skunkworks/studio/bunker/man-cave. Remember that it's about what you show, not what you don't show. If it ain't in the frame, it don't exist.

So a big seamless white background, lotsa light, and some rudimentary photoshop. Lightroom would be better, but I'm a reluctant student. The hard part is getting the background white without blowing out detail on the bike, and the Hetchins shots kinda fail there. Lots of blown highlights on the silver componentry, but I was in a "can't be bothered" mood at the time. Ideally you've got more room between the bike and background, and you can position lights to just hit the background. So no shadows, and all the white you want. Also ideally you have enough room to change out the paper, so you can shoot with gray or black or even chroma key if you want, depending on the color of the frame. I'm squeezed in pretty tight wall-wall; the background paper isn't more than a few inches longer than your average big frame wheel-wheel distance. Lighting the background is hard, and camera position and lens choice matters.

noglider 

Wow, you're a photographer! I can now give up the idea that I can (or am willing) to do the same.

dmark 

Same here.

Dfrost 

I’m still using my last Grand Bois Cypres (nominally 30mm, actual is 33mm on tb14 rim) on the rear of the Marinoni. Over 3500 miles on the rear after about as many in front. Probably replace it within the next 500 miles. Not all that many of those miles were on gravel, which I don’t particularly enjoy, but I don’t worry about it’s durability when I do encounter some. Sorry that doesn’t quite answer your question.

Are those Crank Brothers pedals holding up OK?

Impressive work for your photos, pcb But I always enjoy your shots taken out “in the wild”.

norskagent

I'm just thankful the grand bois tires weren't "tubeless ready" like the current rene herse tires are (I run clinchers)... the grand bois went right on, but I had to take some rene herse tires to a bike shop to get them mounted on another bike, a first for me. And they managed to ding a rim while mounting them!

Spaghetti Legs 

They're great. I still think about your ride to the rescue when I use 'em. They're on my Ciōcc all-rounder bike now and been getting a lot of use out of them. Thanks for the tire info. It's kind of the sense I've been getting - fine for missing in gravel sections on routine rides, but maybe stay with something beefier for heavy duty rides.

pcb 

Anybody can do the same by following Ray Dobbins' guide. He did it all with stuff bought on the cheap from Home Depot & such. It's much easier to do if you have plenty of space to work with, but the principles are the same regardless of space: seamless background and lotsa light. The tricky part in tight quarters is getting enough light on the background.
MY PHOTO SETUP

tricky 

I had the same problem with some Rat Trap Passes! I had to take the tires to a bike shop to get them on the rim. I also bought some Panaracer Gravel Kings and had the same problem. I finally broke down and bought this and it is amazing. I fought the tires for an hour and couldn't get one of them seated but with this tire bead jack I was able to get it done in 10 minutes. https://www.biketiresdirect.com/prod...tire-bead-jack

mountaindave 

This!! ^^^ Kool Stop Tire Bead Jack is an awesome tool!