faster tyres for my sherpa

[blazingsaddles]

Just joined the forum today. I've recently bought a Thorn Sherpa from our hosts and I'm very pleased with it. Sometimes when I use it it will be carrying a lot of weight i.e. me at 16 1/2 stone plus luggage, therefore I've gone for xt hubs with sun rhino rims and Panaracer pasela tourguard  1.5" tyres. As this combination increases wheel weight a bit I reckon a lighter tyre might help. Has anyone tried the Panaracer Pasela Rigid bead 1.25" tyre? It only weighs 285grams! Any other suggestions please?

Regards
bs

[stutho]

Hi blazingsaddles,

Welcome to the forum.

I have being running a pair of 1.25 TG Pasela (on my RST) for the last 6 months ~ 2000 miles.  Most of my riding is unloaded commuting in a rural setting.  In this environment the tyres are great, light and reasonably quick.  However being a light tyre I get the feeling that they are not going to last,  the side walls in particular seem very vulnerable.  I personally would go for a  heaver / fatter tyre if my bikes main duty was touring.

Stutho   

[jags]

hi bs,welcome to the sherpa club, i changed my marathon plus for conti city contact 559x1.5, there pretty fast enough for me.you could always fit a pair of slicks.

[rualexander]

You might notice the difference between the 1.5 and the 1.25 Paselas but you would definitely notice the difference with lighter rims, Rhynos are really a bit of overkill for most of the time apart from far flung world touring I would say. I had a Rhyno on the rear a few years ago and I certainly knew it was there! But it did save me once when a hub flange broke and I lost about four spokes but was able to roughly true  the wheel and continue the trip, I doubt if a lighter rim would have coped in that situation.

[freddered]

I think that you have a well-matched tyre in the 1.5" tourguard.

16 stone plus luggage renders a few grams here and there irrelevant.

Any speed gained from a high-pressure tyre may be lost in time spent fixing punctures.


I finally arrived at Schwalbe Marathon 1.5" becasue they can be pumped to 100psi.

[blazingsaddles]

Thanks for the replies.

I've done a couple of hilly 40 milers recently and found the wheels heavy going up hill. On the flat I find them fine. Although at times I'll be fully loaded most of the times I ride it won't be loaded.

What I don't quite understand is on a 700c wheel a 32mm touring tyre would be very acceptible. 32mm is 1.25 inches. Yet on a 26" wheel bike it seems better practice to fit 1.5" or 1.75" for road touring. Why is this so? Also many people fit 28mm tyres on 700c touring bikes which is 1".

I must say although the wheels are heavy the bike is very comfortable after 40 miles in the saddle I've had no aches and pains!

regards
bs

[jags]

bs,i find any wheel hard going when the road rise's.to be honest i want smooth comfy miles when im ridind a fully loaded bike,and i think the sherpa is the perfect bike for this,i ride my carbon road bike when i go out the wannabe racers ,that goes up hills pretty fast,(when the engine is going well) it take's a while to get the feeling of the smaller wheels ,well it did me, but now everything just hum's along so enjoy that new bike .

[spoon boy]

I ride motorcycles as well and am always amazed when people buy carbon this and carbon that with titanium is the new god

Then proceed to loose £200 to save 20 grams....then mention the rider is 18 stone

for me the weight issue is more likely to be effected at it's 1st instance by...the weight of the rider

[freddered]

BS, what bike did you ride before the Sherpa?

What tyres size wheels and tyres did it have?

I've kept a log of my times around a 14 mile training loop for several years now.  There is no appreciable difference in my times between my Thorn Raven Tour (26x1.5") and my 'fast' tourer (700cx28mm).  It can vary either way.

The significant difference comes from what I weigh at the time (I fluctuate by 14 pounds through the year).

Moving 16.5 stone up hill takes a significant effort, gravity sucks (and it sucks harder the more you weigh).

Poorly inflated tyres?  Maybe.  Get a track pump and some 100 psi tyres (Schwalbe Marathon 1.5") then inflate them to 100psi.

[jags]

just on the question of titanium, does it make for a good or even great  touring frame.would it handle rough stuff  as well as the sherpa or any thorn bikes,certainly would make things lighter.

[blazingsaddles]

I ride motorcycles as well and am always amazed when people buy carbon this and carbon that with titanium is the new god

Then proceed to loose £200 to save 20 grams....then mention the rider is 18 stone

for me the weight issue is more likely to be effected at it's 1st instance by...the weight of the rider

Hello Spoon boy,

I wasn't after a light bike. I was after a robust bike that would take weight yet still feel pleasant to ride with or without it. The Sherpa is all of these and I'm happy with it. There's no point in me spending money for carbon accessories and I've no intention of doing so. I'll loose 2 stone instead and save the dough.

From what I understand though saving weight on the wheels makes a big difference to the ride. That is why I'm inquireing about faster tyres. For that reason alone. As it happens I may even just keep the 1.5" tyres, but I thought the best people to ask about alternatives would be other Thorn riders. I've certainly no intention of getting rid of the sun rhino's, but it should be mentioned that our hosts have removed the Sun Rhino's from their adobe reader catalogue for the Sherpa and now recommend a lighter rim for expedition touring.

Regards,
bs

[blazingsaddles]

BS, what bike did you ride before the Sherpa?

What tyres size wheels and tyres did it have?

I've kept a log of my times around a 14 mile training loop for several years now.  There is no appreciable difference in my times between my Thorn Raven Tour (26x1.5") and my 'fast' tourer (700cx28mm).  It can vary either way.

The significant difference comes from what I weigh at the time (I fluctuate by 14 pounds through the year).

Moving 16.5 stone up hill takes a significant effort, gravity sucks (and it sucks harder the more you weigh).

Poorly inflated tyres?  Maybe.  Get a track pump and some 100 psi tyres (Schwalbe Marathon 1.5") then inflate them to 100psi.

Hello Fredderd,

My other bike is a Hybrid 700c wheel with 28 spokes so I know its much lighter in the wheel department. Tyre size is 35c I think. I don't really use it now, I just use the Sherpa.

Fair play, 16.5 stone is a lot to shift up a hill, but its great coming down!

You've a point on the 100psi. The max for the Pacaracers I have is 65psi.

Interesting your log. what wheels/tyres do you have on each and what is your fast tourer?

Regards
bs

[blazingsaddles]

bs,i find any wheel hard going when the road rise's.to be honest i want smooth comfy miles when im ridind a fully loaded bike,and i think the sherpa is the perfect bike for this,i ride my carbon road bike when i go out the wannabe racers ,that goes up hills pretty fast,(when the engine is going well) it take's a while to get the feeling of the smaller wheels ,well it did me, but now everything just hum's along so enjoy that new bike .

Hello Jags,

I reckon thats about right. The Sherpa aint ever going to break speed records. Built for comfort. In the future I'll probably buy a faster bike for longer rides without luggage. Perhaps the mk3 audax or even a club tour.

Regards
bs

[freddered]

BS, Fast Tourer:

1986 British Eagle Touristique
28mm Schwalbe Marathons.  Not exactly a fast tyre but rugged and dependable.



Going from a 65psi tyre to a 100psi tyre will make a noticeable difference.  Unless you use a track pump and/or a pressure guage you may be shocked to see how little pressure there is in your tyres.

[brummie]

You need to be aware that tyre pressure is dependent on tyre size/volume - a fat tyre will be pretty rock hard with 65 PSI. Skinny tyres have a smaller volume so the pressure will naturally need to be higher for the tyre to be hard ! Stick to manufacturers recommended works best - They do test 'em you know !