Should tyre sidewalls be see-through?

[DavieB]

Was adjusting the tyre pressures before I went out on my 14.5 mile jaunt yesterday. Noticed the rubber was a bit puffy, gave it a rub and could see the inner tube some of the cords were burst too. Not good.

Anyway I went out and bought a specialized Armadillo all condition fitted it last night (in reference to another thread I used my fingers not levers ) I had no idea a good tyre would improve the comfort of your ride so much need to go buy a front one now.

Oh and managed my 14.5 mile in under an hour last night. (under an hour being 59:50 lol)

 

[fossyant]

Tyres are one of the first upgrades to make.

 

[DavieB]

I got peddles first, really should have invested in two tyres instead of the pedals. Really impressed with the ride off the armadillos though. I bought the steel rimmed ones as opposed to kevlar never saw the point in the extra 7 quid for kevlar.

For anyone contemplating new tyres for a stock bike - Get it done !

 

[fossyant]

Kevlar is much lighter, and weight is saved at an important part of the wheel - less weight at the rim/tyre area, the quicker the bike will respond.

 

[DavieB]

Kevlar is much lighter, and weight is saved at an important part of the wheel - less weight at the rim/tyre area, the quicker the bike will respond.

At the moment I climb hills at about 9mph, when that starts improving I will start worrying about saving grams lol. Think its my thighs that need to gain a few grams at the moment..

 

[Moodyman]

At the moment I climb hills at about 9mph, when that starts improving I will start worrying about saving grams lol

Good thinking. Get your base fitness up first and all the rest will come later.

It's only when you get near the top-end of your potentual that you start to notice the benefit of weight savings.

 

[homercles]

Tyres make by far the biggest difference in speed and comfort. I do a 16.5mile circuit that is about 60% off road. In the winter I need full knobbly tyres to grip in the mud but the tarmac sections are really hard work. When I fit narrower crossover tyres for the mostly dry route in summer the difference on the tarmac is ridiculous with maybe 5mph higher top speed, much better acceleration and almost silent running. They are a bit sketchy on the loose stuff though but in lap time terms as much as 12 minutes faster!

 

[jimboalee]

Some tyres have translucent walls.

I had a pair once and I could see yellow and orange crescent shapes through the translucent walls.

 

[battered]

Better tyres are indeed nice and may be a bit lighter than cheap ones. I'm going to concentrate on a weight reduction of a couple of kilos around my waist for now, then address the weight of the tyres.