Slicks on an RST

[Paulson]

My previous comments regarding gatorskins no longer apply.  After a very forthright bit of advice from Robin Thorn, I have moved to 1.5" Panaracer Crosstowns and sent the gatorskins back to wiggle.

My rims (Mavic XC721) are not designed to manage such narrow tyres; Robin's advice was 1.5 is the bare minimum width.

So far the crosstowns are riding like a dream, tho'.  Almost the comfort of 1.75's but without the dragginess.

[stutho]

Paulson,

I too have being running TG 1.25 but I have to say that although I am impressed with the weight I am not so impressed with the longevity.  I got less than 1 year out of my rear tyre - it wore right down to the carcass.  As a temporary measure I have got a Schwalbe jet city fitted but as of next week I will (for the winter) be fitting a set of Marathon Plus 1.75"

Next spring I will (probably) go back to the 1.25 TG  but only if I can't find anything better!

[Paulson]

Stu, my problem was the rims.  EX721's are built for downhill mtb'ing, and can take up to 3" tyres!!!

The 1.25's are barely wider than the actual rim, so you can imagine what Robin's reaction was.  I'm guessing the risk is of the tyre rolling off the rim under extreme lateral pressure?

The other issue is pressure - at 3" the maximum pressure the rims will manage is some 40psi, so I was worried about running narrow tyres at high pressures, having read about rims going pop!