Functional bikes. Not Porn not Anti

One day Sparky I dream of a piece of metal on the back of a bicycle that you can attach panniers sideways to.

We all dream...

functional bike question:

should i run 28s or 32s on my forthcoming surly lht? tires - conti contact. use - road, and some trails / tow paths. will regularly be ridden with low load but occassionally fully loaded.

I had planned on 32s as I figured they weren't much slower than 28s, would be better on dust / singletrack / gravel, not that much worse on road, and would take some of the sting out of the heavy frame when i'm riding unloaded.

what do you reckon?

The bigger the better.

yes, if you load it get the bigger ones.

The whole "smaller and frimer tyres = faster" is a myth, so don't worry too much about going too big.

The bigger the better. Low PSI for grip on trails and tow paths, with added comfort on the road.

Just get something with a soft sidewall, and a fast rolling tread pattern, and they'll be plenty fast on the road.

great, cheers, glad my logic seems right. my missus has 32's on her mixte and they don't feel sluggish at all, particularly if you up the PSI to the max level for road use. looking forward to not riding on 23s all the time, pinch flats + london potholed moonscape roads = total puncture misery.

right tyres pressure + size is of importance, so resist the urge to pump them too hard.

In fact, pumping them too hard can led to less grip and more discomfort on the 32c.

do you tend to sit in the middle of the pressure range suggested then? i've always gone top end to minimise the contact patch on 23s, but that's for a different type of ride.

it's very much personal choice, I tend to drop the pressure till I find the perfect point.

which for me on the CX with 33.3c - 60 front, 75 rear.

On the fixie skidder with 26c - 70 front, 80 rear.

Anyone who rode their over 100psi (unless they weight slightly more than the average) is a masochist.

You'll feel on the tyres, if I let mine drop I feel when I'm out on the road, but who knows maybe It's all in my head!

I'm used to riding with 2x panniers touring with just 28c tyres but my VN will only take 25c with guards now so don't know how i'll get on touring.

ha, yeah i run mine at between 130 and 145 psi!

Does anybody know what kind of low rider rack might fit a Kona Project 2 700c (DISC SPECIFIC) fork?

It has no braze ons for racks, but I am aware that some racks just clamp to fork legs or you can get adapters. My issue is more about physical proportions and fitting around the brake etc.

Also is it better for the rack to be eyelet mounted or QR axle mounted?

Here you go

http://www.oldmanmountain.com/Pages/RackPages/FrontRacks.html

OMM is too fancy for me unfortunately. I want to try the standard cheap racks from blackburn/spa cycles and such.

Either use a normal rack and these adapters;

or just a rack like this;

The issue I feel is more about how much weight you'll want to carry.

little to moderate weight - cheap alu will do.

moderate to heavy weight - good steel.

Isn't porn worthy but I do like this Cannondale;

found a cheap MTB one for disc brakes;

£22.50

But I think I would prefer to use a rack with a front joining bar for rigidity and also use the Tubus LM1 adapters, as they are less likely to damage fork.

ha, yeah i run mine at between 130 and 145 psi!

I use this calculator and it made a big difference for me.
Even with 23c front and 25c rear it feels comfortable and fast.
try it and see if it works for you.

http://www.dorkypantsr.us/bike-tire-pressure-calculator.html

I use this calculator and it made a big difference for me.
Even with 23c front and 25c rear it feels comfortable and fast.
try it and see if it works for you.

http://www.dorkypantsr.us/bike-tire-pressure-calculator.html

Wow, that's giving me a mad front to rear pressure difference, 70f to 110r.... I'd be worried about pinch flats with that sort of front pressure... but i'll give it a go out of interest

110r should avoid pinch flat as it's where you commonly get them.

Pressure sound about right, but pump it up* at least 5psi if you feel it's too low (i.e. felt sluggish) till you reach to your idea pressure where it doesn't feel sluggish but at the same time comfortable.

*or let out 5psi if you find them too harsh.

you also loose a bit of pressure during a ride so a bit of safety is good.

The calculation suggested on my bike I need 41psi front, and 62psi rear (32c tyres, 177lbs).

will drop the front do 50psi and the rear at 70psi and see what happen.

you also loose a bit of pressure during a ride so a bit of safety is good.

With latex right?