It's finally arrived! New croix de fer 20

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Pale Rider

Legendary Member
Love the colour, dislike the noisy freehub.

Sound of quality, as some say, but I prefer the sound of silence.
 
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Wafer

Wafer

Veteran
Marathon Supremes were factory fitted to my trekking bike, they lacked grip on cinder tracks and light mud.

Now replaced by Marathon Pluses which do offer that little bit more grip in those conditions.

No detectable difference on asphalt.

Not keen on the weight of the pluses! I like the idea of taking this one along tracks and stuff, in which case the current tyres are probably fine, but I know I'll end up mostly on rough roads, country lanes and the hard pack canal paths. So something a little thinner and more road oriented I think should be ok.

I'll try what I've got some more first, the Supreme's aren't cheap so not likely to suddenly order a pair!
 

Pale Rider

Legendary Member
Not keen on the weight of the pluses! I like the idea of taking this one along tracks and stuff, in which case the current tyres are probably fine, but I know I'll end up mostly on rough roads, country lanes and the hard pack canal paths. So something a little thinner and more road oriented I think should be ok.

I'll try what I've got some more first, the Supreme's aren't cheap so not likely to suddenly order a pair!

Aye, the Pluses do weigh a ton.

Another thing to consider with your nicely close fitted mudguards is clearance.

Any new tyre will have a slightly different profile.

While there looks to be some room on the bike to adjust the mudguards, I can tell you it's the least favourite job in the bike shop because it's a faff to get right.

My change from Supremes to Pluses nearly hit the buffers, the rear is a shade too close to the mudguard and there's no tinker room because the guard is hard up against the underside of the rack.

I didn't see that coming, particularly as I went from 2.00" Supremes to 1.75" Pluses.

As regards cost, I've found Bike Discount to be good for Schwalbe tyres.

The website is not the easiest to navigate, but have a root around here:

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/shop/non-folding-tyres-250/l-24/o-hersteller
 
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Wafer

Wafer

Veteran
Oh I absolutely do not want to faff with the mudguards, that's why I got the lbs to fit them! Anything I change to will need to fit in the space that's already there. Seen some people say the Supreme's come up small as well so the 32s are more like 30s, which is about what I was aiming for anyway. Seems there are some good tubeless options about that size as well, I'm pretty sure the wheels are compatible but not sure I have confidence in my own ability to handle them yet!
 

Pale Rider

Legendary Member
Tubeless does seem to be limping its way from mountain biking into the trekking/touring/roadie arena.

Extra rim tape and sealant still looks like a faff - and a bodge - to me.

What I would call 'true tubeless' - air tight rims and no need for sealant - seems some way off.

I can't see the point of tubeless in your case, you are prepared to run puncture resistant tyres and your bike has quick release both ends, so fixing a puncture is not hard.

I only had one puncture on my Supremes, and that was after a few thousand miles when they had some wear.
 
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Wafer

Wafer

Veteran
Yeah, only looked at tubeless because of available products, like schwalbe s-one, not because of a need/desire for them. And they seem too much faff for that.
 
The new bike looks great - very classic in that colour; a bike to last a lifetime that I reckon :smile:
Not keen on the weight of the pluses!

I run Marathon Deluxe on my commuter - better grip, puncture protection and cheaper than Supremes, and significantly lighter than M+. I think 35mm is the smallest size though
https://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/schwalbe-marathon-deluxe-tyre/aid:643283

And they seem too much faff for that.
Yeah, I'd like to try tubeless on my road bike but I have a friend who went for some Schwalbe Ones and since having a puncture he can't get it to seal properly at the rim so is back to using inner tubes. His experience has put me off somewhat.
 
Just in case anyone was wondering how clicky those hope hubs are....


Not sure I mind it but even expecting it i was still surprised how loud it was!

Wow! Are those wheels built on Pro4 hubs? If so those are the hubs I have earmarked for a wheel build later this year. And I thought my current Fulcrums had a nice click....
 
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Wafer

Wafer

Veteran
Wow! Are those wheels built on Pro4 hubs? If so those are the hubs I have earmarked for a wheel build later this year. And I thought my current Fulcrums had a nice click....
I keep meaning to double check which hubs they are actually on and keep forgetting. I'm assuming it's the pro4's as i don't think they do the wheels on the older hubs any more but I'll try and remember to check when I leave work.
 

benb

Evidence based cyclist
Location
Epsom
Yeah, I'd like to try tubeless on my road bike but I have a friend who went for some Schwalbe Ones and since having a puncture he can't get it to seal properly at the rim so is back to using inner tubes. His experience has put me off somewhat.

I think the key is getting a lot of air into the tyre quickly to force it onto the rims.
I've got a track pump, and I just went for it - pumped it very quickly and that worked. I did have to try a couple of times though.
Some track pumps have a special mode where you pump up a reservoir and it can then release all that air at once.
 
I think the key is getting a lot of air into the tyre quickly to force it onto the rims.
I've got a track pump, and I just went for it - pumped it very quickly and that worked. I did have to try a couple of times though.
Some track pumps have a special mode where you pump up a reservoir and it can then release all that air at once.
I'll pass on your tip to him and see if he can make it work. Cheers.
 
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