Monday, February 13, 2017

Fat tires on the road

Since my daughter bought her new Ti bicycle a couple of years ago she has had numbness in her hands at the 300km distance and beyond. We have tried double-wrapping the handlebars and buying new gel gloves but that hasn't worked completely.

I have read several articles over the years that say the size of your tires has more effect on comfort than either frame or fork material. My daughter's bicycle can handle up to 40mm tires or 34mm with mudguards. She recently bought some 32mm Schwalbe Durano tires from Amazon and mounted just the front tire.

We went for a 50 mile evening ride yesterday and she can really feel the difference. She is going to mount the rear tire too and I'm hoping we can find a day of good weather to ride my Four Rivers 200k permanent. Doesn't look like it's going to happen this weekend.

Michelle Brougher recommended "supple wall" tires from Compass. I can only mount 28mm tires on my bike so I might give these a try when the Gatorskins wear out. I really like Gatorskins, though.

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