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Wheels, Tyres and Brakes / Re: In praise of riding low pressure tyres fast
« Last post by Andre Jute on Today at 01:22:00 AM »
Quote from: in4 on September 18, 2025, 08:06:41 PM
As Sod's Law would have it, last week I got a double puncture in my front tube, the first time in years. That was caused by hawthorne hedge clippings not being collected up by landowners et.al. I doubt if I'd have rolled through/over that using lower pressures.

Without insisting on it being the only possible mechanism, I'm of the opinion that cause and effect is the other way round, that lower inflation and therefore greater bulging would be more likely to capture the hawthorne, and that higher pressure would be more likely to lead to smaller contact patch and more rounding of the tire with the result that the hawthorne clippings stand a better chance of being swept aside before the thorn can find purchase in the tyre and perhaps penetrate it.

In effect I'm trading off some puncture proofing, and maybe a buck or two of extra wear per thousand kilometers, for greater comfort plus greater roadholding at the limit. Since in the last 11,000km, for which I kept a note, I had two punctures, both pilot error (hopping a step at speed on a building site, riding through a deep pothole at 55kph), I'm pretty pleased with my choice of compromise.

Quote from: in4 on September 18, 2025, 08:06:41 PM
I must give this a bit of thought...

You don't want to think too much about tyres: their illogic and irrationality and nonlinearity will drive you mad.
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Wheels, Tyres and Brakes / Re: In praise of riding low pressure tyres fast
« Last post by in4 on September 18, 2025, 08:06:41 PM »
I must give this a bit of thought, if only out of curiosity. I've tended to ride my loaded (ish)  Nomad with 45psi rear and 40psi front in my 26 x 2 duremes ( as per Andy Blance's last mega brochure ) I've found lower pressures create a dragging sensation ( of course  I could just be an 80kg weakling!) I am however intrigued by the notion of having a smoother ride over mixed  surfaces using lower presssures.

As Sod's Law would have it, last week I got a double puncture in my front tube, the first time in years. That was caused by hawthorne hedge clippings not being collected up by landowners et.al. I doubt if I'd have rolled through/over that using lower pressures.
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Muppets Threads! (And Anything Else) / Re: Tent query
« Last post by Danneaux on September 18, 2025, 05:53:47 PM »
Quote
...to glow in the dark plastic...
My faves as they can be really useful for finding the tensioner (runner), picking out the lines at night to avoid tripping, even spotting the tent when returning from toilet runs. Tip: For the latter, charge them at bedtime with your flashlight or headlight and they'll glow extra-bright all night.

Best, Dan.
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Wheels, Tyres and Brakes / Re: In praise of riding low pressure tyres fast
« Last post by PH on September 18, 2025, 05:44:04 PM »
Quote from: Andyb1 on September 17, 2025, 05:34:48 PM
Looking at different tyres I was quite surprised by their minimum rated pressures (all about 80psi max).
I largely agree with Andre about the manufacturers stipulations, though I take a different approach to determining what pressures suit me.
Those manufacturer's  minimum and maximum stipulations are based on the pressure they require to keep them on the least acceptable rim, in the worst permitted scenario, at the maximum permitted load, plus a safety margin that is an unknown.  It's so vague that IMO it's pretty useless.
For example, Sheldon's rim/tyre width chart, which he describes as cautious, says the ideal rim width for a 44mm (1.75") tyre is anything from 19mm to 25mm.  Obviously the min and max are not going to be the same at either extreme. Then the actual load could be anything from the permitted maximum to maybe a third of that.
As a starting point I base the pressure of any new tyre on the 15% drop standard, I have a handy app, unimaginatively called "Bike Tire Pressure calculator"  which calculates that for me.  I'll add a bit if it feels squishy, drop a bit if it feels hard, make any adjustments if I dislike the handling, and within a couple of hundred miles I've decided that's how I'm aiming to keep it.  That's never put me close to the min/max boundaries, but if it exceeded them by a bit and I knew all other factors were acceptable, it wouldn't bother me.  A lot of this is subjective, it's as much a matter of finding what you like as it is anything else.
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Muppets Threads! (And Anything Else) / Re: Tent query
« Last post by PH on September 18, 2025, 05:04:31 PM »
Quote from: UKTony on September 18, 2025, 08:07:57 AM
Back in the day we used to call them runners.
Still do.  If you put "Guy runners" into google you'll get plenty of options, from the very basic to some quite needlessly complex, from aluminium to glow in the dark plastic...
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Muppets Threads! (And Anything Else) / Re: Tent query
« Last post by UKTony on September 18, 2025, 08:07:57 AM »
Back in the day we used to call them runners.
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Wheels, Tyres and Brakes / Re: In praise of riding low pressure tyres fast
« Last post by Danneaux on September 18, 2025, 04:39:03 AM »
FWIW, unladen I ride my 26 x 2.0 Duremes at F29psi (1.99bar)/R39psi (2.68bar). I weigh 172lbs/78k. Bike usually has about 3-4liters of water aboard and a lightly loaded HB bag and tool kit underseat for this inflation. My Nomad Mk2 weighs 44lbs/19.95k dry and has drops fitted for a 45° back angle. My sweet spot for comfort/rolling resistance and very close to the Berto 15% drop. Flats are no problem, as the tires seem to deform around hazards.

Best, Dan.
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Muppets Threads! (And Anything Else) / Re: Tent query
« Last post by Danneaux on September 18, 2025, 04:32:03 AM »
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So the wee yokes that adjust the tension  on tent guy lines what are the called ??? Thanks in advance.

Tent line tensioners? ClamCleats (what I fit and use)? LineLocs?

Bst, Dan.
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Wheels, Tyres and Brakes / Re: In praise of riding low pressure tyres fast
« Last post by Andre Jute on September 18, 2025, 01:59:35 AM »
Schwalbe confusingly groups different types or tyres, for different functions, achieved by different constructions and operating characteristics, by the same generic name, Marathon. It's probably a marketing strategy to group its top, most expensive tyres together.

Two bar is 29 pounds. Two bar is where a bicycle designer I know who weighs 350 pound routinely inflates his Big Apples.

Unless you're enormously heavy, or your bike is heavily loaded, you would do Schwalbe tyres no harm riding them on their minimum inflation, such is German-engineering asscovery indulged in by Schwalbe (and just about every other engineering firm in the West) to protect their brand and avoid chancers bringing dicey liability suits. I actually find it reassuring to think of it as the manufactures I paid for being over-specified.

You could start with the recommended minimum pressure, ride it a bit, and go up a couple of PSI, and see if you have noticed a difference, then come back to the baseline long enough to fix it in your mind again, and go down a couple of PSI from the baseline, and see if it makes a difference. Generally speaking, in that range of four or five PSI difference around the Schwalbe number you should be able to decide something.

Good luck.
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Muppets Threads! (And Anything Else) / Re: Tent query
« Last post by Jags on September 18, 2025, 12:28:45 AM »
 ;D ;D
sorry andy they have a name but  just cant remember what there called.
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