Brompton tyres sucking the life out of me

[ianrauk]

I would expect 100psi to lose a lot of energy bouncing you up and down on our shoot roads, as well as do your nuts in.

Does neither

 

[potsy]

Sounds more like the bike than the tyres to me.

I can understand they might be useful for certain occasions but have never fancied getting one myself.

Are you doing short trips or decent mileage?

 

[T4tomo]

I use straight Marathon and don't find them too draggy.
Sufficiently so that I've toured on them.

me to, but nit sure you'll notice so much of a difference to change new to new, being a tight Yorkshireman, Id just replace them with standard Ms when they wear out.

 

[ianrauk]

Sounds more like the bike than the tyres to me.

I can understand they might be useful for certain occasions but have never fancied getting one myself.

Are you doing short trips or decent mileage?

25 mile round trip daily

 

[potsy]

25 mile round trip daily

You need a good road bike for that kind of distance

 

[ianrauk]

You need a good road bike for that kind of distance

I'm surprised you remember what riding a bike is Pots

 

[mjr]

Ive done one 100 miler on the Brommie. Tyres weren't a problem. Sitting upright into the wind was.

One of the advantages of a Brompton is a choice of handlebars, isn't it? Is it the S bar which is thought to be lowest/most aero?

Does neither

Sorry. I thought you said it was slow and doing your nuts in.

 

[ianrauk]

One of the advantages of a Brompton is a choice of handlebars, isn't it? Is it the S bar which is thought to be lowest/most aero?


Sorry. I thought you said it was slow and doing your nuts in.

Nut - head

 

[dan_bo]

Sounds more like the bike than the tyres to me.

I can understand they might be useful for certain occasions but have never fancied getting one myself.

Are you doing short trips or decent mileage?

Go on you must be bored of tripping over the other 6 by now.

 

[dan_bo]

Nut - head

Bonce? Swede?

 

[Pale Rider]

Bicycles built for speed and distance have big wheels, so I suspect the laws of physics mean there's no way to cure your problem while the bike has 16" wheels.

I think you have a six-speed?

On any view you are a strong cyclist, so it would be interesting to see how you would get on with a two-speed Brommie on Kojak slicks.

What I can't think of is any financially viable way of carrying out that experiment.

 

[ianrauk]

This was my biggest reason for not buying a Brompton. The 16" wheels were too much of a compromise, and hence a Dahon with 20" wheels feels more "bike like"

Thing is my commute is broken up by a train journey hence being forced into buying a Brompton. I may start to look at other options like 20"ers

 

[ianrauk]

Bicycles built for speed and distance have big wheels, so I suspect the laws of physics mean there's no way to cure your problem while the bike has 16" wheels.

I think you have a six-speed?

On any view you are a strong cyclist, so it would be interesting to see how you would get on with a two-speed Brommie on Kojak slicks.

What I can't think of is any financially viable way of carrying out that experiment.

Yup 6 speed. And that's another thing. I just can't find a comfortable cruising gear out of the 6. They are all either too high or too low, no good inbetween.

 

[jefmcg]

My default tyres on 16" wheels are Marathons. I gave up on M+ after getting 3 punctures on them and taking the best part of an hour each time to get them on made me murderous. Kojaks are good but a rubbing brake will cut through the sidewalls before you notice there's a problem (DAMHIKT) and a discard Stanley blade will cut through them like butter (DAMHIKT, either)

There's nothing inherently slow about 16" wheels, btw.

 

[Fab Foodie]

As mentioned, wind resistance from the more upright riding position of the Brommie is the major issue speedwise, not tyre rolling resistance.

Also, rear wheel removal on a a Brommie is not that great a faff compares to any other hub geared bike.