Reflex Tyres

[beasley]

Hello guys

At the end of March I'm doing a bit of touring going from Sheffield in South Yorkshire to Sheffield in Penzance, Cornwall in aid of Amnesty International.

So, I'm after some tyres that can aid me on my way! I've found some Continental Travel Contact tyres which have a lovely slick middle and nobbly edge - they seem perfect.
But there's three different types of this one tyre... I'm hoping you can clarify what the difference between them all are:

Reflex
Wire bead
Folding bead

I'd appreciate it greatly if someone could clear up what those mean so I can make a better decision on which type to buy!

Cheers guys
Ross


P.S. If you fancy sponsoring my journey, or reading more info about it go to http://www.justgiving.com/374miles

 

[jags]

go for the folding bead,oh and they are a great tyre make sure you get extra inner tubes ,always good to have several extra tubes.

 

[willem]

Reflex means reflective sidewall, i.e. if you ride at night you are much much better visible from the side. They are compulsory in my native Holland, and I think with good reason. As someone who also drives a car, I think they can make the difference between life and death - at night.
Wire bead is the slightly heavier and cheaper kind with the traditional stiff metal wire at the edge of the tyre. Kevlar beaded tyres on the other hand can be folded, and are lighter. However, they usually cost more, and if you have a puncture on a fast descent, the tyre may part more easily from the rim, and that could just killl you. Also some brands don't do reflective sidewall folding tyres. So I prefer wire bead tyres with reflective sidewalls, but I like to have one light folding tyre in my bag as a spare.
Willem

 

[beasley]

Yo dudes

Me again

So, I've had a quick look at the walls of my current off road tyres and they're 26x2.10
Those Continentals I mentioned up above are 26x1.75

How can I tell whether 26x1.75 will fit rims that are obviously designed for 26x2.10? Oh and what does this 1.75 and 2.10 stuff mean, cos it sure ain't the width of the wheel rim is it!

If I can be lame enough to ask for explainations in the MOST basic lamens terms ever too, that'd be great cos I'm new to cycling spec and tech stuff. It's an adventure.

Ta!!

RB

 

[andym]

Beasley

The sizes you are referring to are the width of the tyre in inches (and 26 is of course the diameter of the wheel). Main issue is the internal distance between the rims. IIRC on most MTB rims this is about 17mm. These will happily take a 1.75 inch tyre.

BTW it's worth paying extra for the 'Protection' tyres - normally these also have a kevlar bead.

 

[beasley]

Yeah those continental demons I mentioned up top have kevlar under the tread and some sort of special side wall too?

Halo Twin Rail tyres are 26x2.2 - now to me, logically if I'm running 26x2.1 now those Halo's should fit no bother... my only concern is that I've got a friend who runs them and he's got wider rims than the standard rims I've got. So does anyone know if they're likely to fit a standard rim?

I quite like the Twin Rail tyres because they've got good grip for on and off road, and the twin rail is obviously brilliant for limited road friction, which I'll need for the trip (PLUS they come in lovely colors instead of just black!)
But if I'm trying to cut back on weight and give myself as much speed as possible, would thinner tire actually be more ideal for my purposes?

 

[andym]

Yeah those continental demons I mentioned up top have kevlar under the tread and some sort of special side wall too?

Halo Twin Rail tyres are 26x2.2 - now to me, logically if I'm running 26x2.1 now those Halo's should fit no bother... my only concern is that I've got a friend who runs them and he's got wider rims than the standard rims I've got. So does anyone know if they're likely to fit a standard rim?

I quite like the Twin Rail tyres because they've got good grip for on and off road, and the twin rail is obviously brilliant for limited road friction, which I'll need for the trip (PLUS they come in lovely colors instead of just black!)
But if I'm trying to cut back on weight and give myself as much speed as possible, would thinner tire actually be more ideal for my purposes?

I'm confused where did the Twin Rails come into the equation.

I don't know what rims you or your friend have. The 'standard' MTB rim is a Mavic 717 (reflecting the internal distance between the two rims of 17mm). Pretty much any tyre will fit it although the wider you go the greater the risk of a 'pinch flat'. Some people ride 719s or even 721s but the tyres will fit fine.

But all of that is a wee bit academic. I'm assuming that your tour is on-road in which case I'd have thought you'd be looking at thinner tyres.

In general the thinner the tyre the higher the pressure you can inflate it to and the less the rolling resistance. On the other hand wider tyres are more comfortable and so less tiring. Something like a 1.75 inch is probably a perfect compromise between the two - though you could easily go thinner. Conti sport contacts are also nice tyres.

 

[e-rider]

sport contacts are nice (either 1.6 or 1.3") but rubbish in wet conditions - very fast in the dry though

there seems to be a trend in wider touring tyres - esp. if carrying a heavy load - conti top contact (top of the range touring tyres for mtbs) come in 1.9" version only

I guess if you're not racing and you can cover the miles easily, there are many advantages to having wider tyres

 

[beasley]

Well we're not racing - it's all on road, but it's much more of a steady stroll sort of thing really. We're doing 374 miles (give or take - probably give), in 7 days. That's an average of 53 miles a day. So at a steady 10mph that's just over 5 hours. That's nothing.

But it's the first either of us have done and a bit of a trek, so not sure what we do and don't need to take, so trying to maximise on speed and minimise on weight etc to make everything cock on.

Sounds like the 1.75 bad boys are the tires to go for!

Watch this space for questions about panniers





thanks for all the help by the way guys, muchos appreciated!!! x