pic and tires

Tires can make or break a ride. Too heavy, flat prone, too stiff of a sidewall can make a great ride miserable. I've tried different company's tires, and my three favorites are Schwalbe, Specialized, and Continentals, but so far, I just have two pairs of the Schwalbes, so here they are.



Here is a picture of the clearance of my Paul Components Racer M with a Schwalbe Durano HS 700x28 tire. On the rims they measure 26mm, so I don't know if they will be my do everything tire, but for faster road rides, they weigh nothing, have good flat protection, and should be pretty durable. Wish they made a folding version in 700x32, I'd get them in a heartbeat. I might try the non-folding ones in the 32s just to see.

Also have a pair of the Marathon Plus HS34s. On the DTSwiss 465's they run true to their 700x28 size, but they are HEAVY, 740g - compared to 290g for the Duranos. Upsides are extremely durable and flat resistant, so except for the weight, they would be perfect. The downsides are the weight, and the fact that the sidewalls are so thick, I actually have to snap on one bead, and take toe clip straps to attach the other bead so I can the tires set in the rim. Good thing they are so damn flat resistant. I'll have to see how they ride, usually something with this thick of a sidewall ride like bricks. So these might be for the early spring and rides where I know that flats might happen more, like long gravel rides and off-road.

I'd like to find a lighter 700x30ish (measured - I don't know why companies [except Kenda] don't make that width) tire with good flat protection, and mid 500g weight, I'll have to look at some more Contis - oooooooooo like a 4 Season in a true 700x30 width with some more stiping....

More to come, I think I'll do the handlebars, headset, and brake levers next, and the stuff my ass sits on.