Spring is sprung

On Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:17:45 -0400, "(PeteCresswell)"
wrote:

Per bigwig:
I have
never had and never will have a bike that is so badly designed and
over priced that I need to show off about the fact my hands are too
weak to remove a tyre.

My experience has been that most wheel/tire combinations aren't
that hard to get tires on/off, but that some are really, really
tight.

My 55mm WTB Mutano Raptors practically fall off the Mavic 618
rims on my FS. No tire levers needed.

OTOH when I had to remove a pair 40mm Continental "Cross Country"
tires from those same rims, I needed (*really* needed... there
was no hope whatsoever without them) three tire levers. In the
process I almost broke one lever and pioneered a few new
profanities.

Makes one question product quality design doesn't it... I've been
there, done that (broke the lever too!) with rims that some tires will
almost fall off of, and other tires are almost impossible to remove.

However, I always remove the wheel when patching, just seems easier to
me to do it that way.

On Wed, 25 Mar 2009 17:20:39 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

On Mar 25, 9:44*am, PeterD wrote:

Good idea, care to lend her out?

Um... no. She is a paid minder. Didn't you know that Andre is not
permitted outside the walls without such?

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

bg

Saying that Schwalbe's Marathon Plus is "particularly intractable" is
a polite way of putting it, Chalo, though I'm glad to hear it isn't
just me who finds their stiff casing an impediment to fitting them. On
the other hand, in about 6000 klicks with Marathon Plus and the
similar Bontrager Satellite Elite Hardcase I never had a single
puncture, and those tyres don't show any wear at all, so they could
last that long or several times that long again. Looks like I got the
lunch I paid for, and dinner and breakfast the next day too.

If the Big Apple Liteskins do that well, I shall be well pleased with
them.

Which raises the question: How much of the Marathon Plus's
punctureproofness is due to the Kevlar Guard, which it shares with the
Big Apple, and how much is due to the unique 5mm layer of tough rubber
under the "tread"? In short, how puncture proof is a Big Apple
Lightskin compared to a Marathon Plus (which I rate 10/10 for
punctureproofing, and pretty near perfect on several other parameters
as well, a class act among the tyres I've tried)?

Andre Jute
I'm not a know-all. I don't need to be. I know who to ask.

On Mar 26, 1:05*am, Chalo wrote:
On Mar 24, 4:43*pm, Andre Jute wrote:

Though
I've never changed a Big Apple tyre, I understand they can be hell to
get off and on the rim. I had a very hard time getting the related
Marathon Plus on the rims when I was working on a table, so I don't
fancy my chances of getting a Big Apple off and then back onto the rim
when I'm working in the ditch beside a lane,

snip

Fear not about your ability to remove a Big Apple tire from any rim
that it fits on. *The single most relevant factor in how easily a tire
off is how strongly it tends to flare its beads apart, and in this
regard the Big Apple is a pussycat.

In order to buy enough slack to lift a tire's bead up and over the rim
edge, some other portion of the bead must fall into the deep center of
the rim channel. *The more of the bead can do this, the more slack you
get at the point where you are attempting to jump the rim edge.
Supple sidewalls help in this regard, and fat casings help too. *So
the Big Apple (and I would guess the Lightskin version is even better)
is easy to dismount.

The Marathon Plus has a slab of rubber embedded between tread and
casing, and this tends to hold the beads wide apart even when you
might like to fetch them together into the bottom of the rim channel.
But if you insist with them, you'll discover that they're not
particularly tight, just particularly intractable. *Schwalbe Marathon
Pluses were the only tires in my LBS that I could tease onto a
notoriously tight Torelli Master rim on my wife's bike. *Fortunately,
because of the flat-resistant nature of these tires, I've rarely had
to remove them since.

With the thin-skinned and commodious Big Apples, all you have to do is
apply a little lift to the side of the tire you are trying to remove,
while pinching together the beads on the opposite side and teasing
them into the bottom of the rim. *Unless your rim is anomalous, there
should be no need at all for tire levers.

Chalo

On Mar 25, 11:17*pm, "(PeteCresswell)" wrote:
Per bigwig:

I have
never had and never will have a bike that is so badly designed and
over priced that I need to show off about the fact my hands are too
weak to remove a tyre.

Ooh, doesn't this fellow "bigwig" wear his place in the class struggle
on his sleeve!

OTOH when I had to remove a pair 40mm Continental "Cross Country"
tires from those same rims, I needed (*really* needed... there
was no hope whatsoever without them) *three tire levers. *In the
process I almost broke one lever and pioneered a few new
profanities.

Three words of advice: Big steel levers.

Two even better words of advice: VAR 425.

and pioneered a few new profanities.

Nah, not you, Pete. You're too nice.

Andre Jute
Visit Jute on Bicycles at
http://www.audio-talk.co.uk/fiultra/...20CYCLING.html

Andre Jute wrote:

Which raises the question: How much of the Marathon Plus's
punctureproofness is due to the Kevlar Guard, which it shares with the
Big Apple, and how much is due to the unique 5mm layer of tough rubber
under the "tread"? In short, how puncture proof is a Big Apple
Lightskin compared to a Marathon Plus (which I rate 10/10 for
punctureproofing, and pretty near perfect on several other parameters
as well, a class act among the tyres I've tried)?

The Marathon Plus's first and best defense against flats is the
thickness of the sub-tread urethane belt. If that were all it had, it
would still be one of the most flat-resistant tires around. No object
can violate the air chamber unless it is longer than the thickness of
rubber and casing. My Big Apples (26x2.35", 700x50, and 700x60) have
all been admirably, though not completely, flat-free. I have
encountered sharp rocks or metal bits that scalped away chunks of
tread from the Big Apple's casing but were unable to penetrate
further. The few punctures I have had in them were due to slivers of
glass-- which is not surprising since my commute crossed a wasteland
of smashed bottles and shattered car windows in the vicinity of
Seattle's sports stadiums.

Low inflation pressure seems to have a protective effect against
punctures. My guess is that it sets a limit on the local pressure a
sharp object can generate before being enveloped by the tire.

Chalo

On Mar 26, 2:36*pm, Chalo wrote:
Andre Jute wrote:

Which raises the question: How much of the Marathon Plus's
punctureproofness is due to the Kevlar Guard, which it shares with the
Big Apple, and how much is due to the unique 5mm layer of tough rubber
under the "tread"? In short, how puncture proof is a Big Apple
Lightskin compared to a Marathon Plus (which I rate 10/10 for
punctureproofing, and pretty near perfect on several other parameters
as well, a class act among the tyres I've tried)?

The Marathon Plus's first and best defense against flats is the
thickness of the sub-tread urethane belt. *If that were all it had, it
would still be one of the most flat-resistant tires around. *No object
can violate the air chamber unless it is longer than the thickness of
rubber and casing. *My Big Apples (26x2.35", 700x50, and 700x60) have
all been admirably, though not completely, flat-free. *I have
encountered sharp rocks or metal bits that scalped away chunks of
tread from the Big Apple's casing but were unable to penetrate
further. *The few punctures I have had in them were due to slivers of
glass-- which is not surprising since my commute crossed a wasteland
of smashed bottles and shattered car windows in the vicinity of
Seattle's sports stadiums.

Completely off topic and mostly irrelevant. But I thought you lived
in Austin Texas Chalo? How are you riding by Seattle's sports
stadiums?




Low inflation pressure seems to have a protective effect against
punctures. *My guess is that it sets a limit on the local pressure a
sharp object can generate before being enveloped by the tire.

Chalo

russellseaton wrote:

Chalo wrote:

The few punctures I have had in them were due to slivers of
glass-- which is not surprising since my commute crossed a wasteland
of smashed bottles and shattered car windows in the vicinity of
Seattle's sports stadiums.

Completely off topic and mostly irrelevant. *But I thought you lived
in Austin Texas Chalo? *How are you riding by Seattle's sports
stadiums?

I lived in Austin until 2001. Then Seattle until 2007, then back to
Austin. The last regular commute I had was from Seattle's Central
District, through the International District, past the Seahawks and
Mariners stadiums and into the Port of Seattle.

The area around the stadiums was Glass City due to drunken sportsgoing
louts and constant car break-ins. The Port had post-Armageddon-style
pavement from all the heavy container truck traffic and rail crossings
on a base of wet landfill.

Chalo

On Mar 26, 9:41*pm, Chalo wrote:
russellseaton wrote:

Chalo wrote:

The few punctures I have had in them were due to slivers of
glass-- which is not surprising since my commute crossed a wasteland
of smashed bottles and shattered car windows in the vicinity of
Seattle's sports stadiums.

Completely off topic and mostly irrelevant. *But I thought you lived
in Austin Texas Chalo? *How are you riding by Seattle's sports
stadiums?

I lived in Austin until 2001. *Then Seattle until 2007, then back to
Austin. *The last regular commute I had was from Seattle's Central
District, through the International District, past the Seahawks and
Mariners stadiums and into the Port of Seattle.

The area around the stadiums was Glass City due to drunken sportsgoing
louts and constant car break-ins. *The Port had post-Armageddon-style
pavement from all the heavy container truck traffic and rail crossings
on a base of wet landfill.

Chalo

Sounds like you were in a position to give your tyres a thorough
workout! -- Andre Jute

On Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:36:23 -0700 (PDT), Chalo
wrote:

Andre Jute wrote:

Which raises the question: How much of the Marathon Plus's
punctureproofness is due to the Kevlar Guard, which it shares with the
Big Apple, and how much is due to the unique 5mm layer of tough rubber
under the "tread"? In short, how puncture proof is a Big Apple
Lightskin compared to a Marathon Plus (which I rate 10/10 for
punctureproofing, and pretty near perfect on several other parameters
as well, a class act among the tyres I've tried)?

The Marathon Plus's first and best defense against flats is the
thickness of the sub-tread urethane belt. If that were all it had, it
would still be one of the most flat-resistant tires around. No object
can violate the air chamber unless it is longer than the thickness of
rubber and casing. My Big Apples (26x2.35", 700x50, and 700x60) have
all been admirably, though not completely, flat-free. I have
encountered sharp rocks or metal bits that scalped away chunks of
tread from the Big Apple's casing but were unable to penetrate
further. The few punctures I have had in them were due to slivers of
glass-- which is not surprising since my commute crossed a wasteland
of smashed bottles and shattered car windows in the vicinity of
Seattle's sports stadiums.

Low inflation pressure seems to have a protective effect against
punctures. My guess is that it sets a limit on the local pressure a
sharp object can generate before being enveloped by the tire.

Chalo

Dear Chalo,

Yes, lower inflation reduces punctures:
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.b...0ffe788c0c2275

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

On Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:40:02 -0600, wrote:

On Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:36:23 -0700 (PDT), Chalo
wrote:

Andre Jute wrote:

Which raises the question: How much of the Marathon Plus's
punctureproofness is due to the Kevlar Guard, which it shares with the
Big Apple, and how much is due to the unique 5mm layer of tough rubber
under the "tread"? In short, how puncture proof is a Big Apple
Lightskin compared to a Marathon Plus (which I rate 10/10 for
punctureproofing, and pretty near perfect on several other parameters
as well, a class act among the tyres I've tried)?

The Marathon Plus's first and best defense against flats is the
thickness of the sub-tread urethane belt. If that were all it had, it
would still be one of the most flat-resistant tires around. No object
can violate the air chamber unless it is longer than the thickness of
rubber and casing. My Big Apples (26x2.35", 700x50, and 700x60) have
all been admirably, though not completely, flat-free. I have
encountered sharp rocks or metal bits that scalped away chunks of
tread from the Big Apple's casing but were unable to penetrate
further. The few punctures I have had in them were due to slivers of
glass-- which is not surprising since my commute crossed a wasteland
of smashed bottles and shattered car windows in the vicinity of
Seattle's sports stadiums.

Low inflation pressure seems to have a protective effect against
punctures. My guess is that it sets a limit on the local pressure a
sharp object can generate before being enveloped by the tire.

Chalo

Dear Chalo,

Yes, lower inflation reduces punctures:
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.b...0ffe788c0c2275

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Aha! The original test about nails and tire pressure vanished from RBT
during the great Google Groups Goof-Up, but it still exists in the UK:
http://groups.google.com/group/uk.re...93e56242f3a16f

Cheers,

Carl Fogel