mikeschn wrote:All the 700c tires I see are 35 wide. Is that wide enough?
http://www.benscycle.net/index.php?main ... rrency=USD
I have 40mm wide on my Crosstrail right now... Seems that I should be at least that wide...
I'd be riding on an unplowed trail... do I need studs on the side?
Mike...
or do I need this after all...
mikeschn wrote:Glenn,
Since I am not on a plowed road... do I need studs on the side? See below...
The trails don't really have ruts in them, so I guess the answer is no.
Mike...
Nokian 700c Hakkapeliitta W106 35mm Studded Rd Tire
$49.99
Nokian Hakkapeliitta W106
700c x 35mm with 106 carbide studs
4 mm tread depth
The 35mm should fit any touring, hybrid, or cyclocross bike. Awesome tire for potholes, snow and ice on all roads. This is the mother of all winter commuting tires!
Even though the 700c Hakkapeliitta W106 has only 106 studs, they are positioned just where you need them for riding on a road that gets plowed. Plowed roads don't develop deep icy ruts, so you don't need studs towards the sides of the tire to get you out of a rut.
The 700c Hakkapeliitta has all of the studs in towards the center of the tire. It's the perfect tire for snow and/or black ice on good roads.
Sabby wrote:Fenlason,
That is the most incredible thing I have seen on a bike! Studded tyres! I cant fathom how people can ride in conditions like that! But, at the same time I am in awe of the resourcefulness of a bike! Thats amazing!
Now, when you ride, does snow block your chain, or derailleur wheels? Or does it melt with the friction? Please bare in mind that I have not had the pleasure of ever riding in snow...as well as the fact that here in Johannesburg it has only ever snowed 3 times in the last 27 years! And even then it was only like -1 (centigrade) but still too cold for me to ride!
Mikeschn...is that a Morewood bike with the snowmobile'esque rear drive train? Is that an actual piece of equipment? Or a fancifull invention? Its amazing, but more amazing is the fact that Morewood are South African! Never thought they were widely available!
Please pardon my ignorance....not only have I zero knowledge of the snowy conditions in which you ride, but I am also a road rider! So my MTB knowledge is limited!!
Sabby wrote:Fen...
Thats awesome! I just cannot get my mind around riding in snow! Or that your derailleurs can freeze up! It must be great fun...
But surely you have to be carefull of sweating too much in such cold conditions?
Now, we have a Safari Park near to where I stay. Its called the Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve, and it has a perfect tarred road that runs about 35miles in a loop. You ride on roads amongst the animals, there are very few cars, and the climbs are amazing, almost Alpine. Its the best training ride you can have out here!
Few years back we had a stage from a Masters Tour go through there, and a group of Eland (Its a large type of Gazelle) ran through the bunch injuring one rider! Its raw Africa, seen from the saddle of your road bike! There are also MTB trails there, but I have not been on them.
I may not have snow, but I suppose thats as "Polar" opposite as you can get to this thread?!
Sabby wrote:Are Raccoons vicious? I thought they were able to be kept as pets?!
Wood Chuck? Whats that?!
Years ago, I had a friend come and visit me from Switzerland. We had raced together in Europe, and he came to utilise the sunny South African December for his off season training.
The day he arrived, we collected him from the airport and immediatly he was on the look out for wild life...and rather shocked when he saw that SA is in fact a pretty modern place.
However, once we got to our family home, which is out in more of a country setting, he started asking his questions again...
"Where is de Lion? Or ze Giraffe?" (insert French accent)
We assured him there ws nothing of the sort near to us, and that even we dont see those animals outside of a Game Park.
The next day we decided to head off early for our ride, and just 2km (1.24miles) from our house I punctured. We stopped and I quickly set about fixing the wheel while Mr Swiss chattered on.
But, all of a sudden he went dead quiet and when I looked up at him he was frozen in disbelief.
"Zer is an Elephant behind you" he said, almost whispering!
I laughed and just carried on with the wheel, but then he became a lot more insistent,
"ZER IS AN ELEPHANT BEHIND YOU!!!"
I rolled my eyes, told him to stop goofing around, and then turned around myself...and lo and behold, there were two Elephants grazing in the field right behind me!! Along with a small herd of Zebra, a couple Camels and some horses!
I was shocked...but suddenly made sense of it all when I remembered that the Circus use this farm as their home base!
So what he imagined to be wildest Africa was in fact just Bozo the clowns tame Circus pal!!
To this day, he still refuses to believe me that animals dont roam wild here!!
In Switzerland I did see a wild Squirrell, but it just lacked the impact of the Elephant!
mezmo wrote:What's with the Hammer and Sickle and the Cyrillic [Assuming Russian]
printing at the top of the video screen on the web site:
http://www.ktrakcycle.com/
Just curious.
Also, I have a book somewhere, that I can't locate at the moment, that
has a picture of a bike with dual wheels front and back for snow traveling.
It looked like they widened both forks to accommodate the dual wheels and
tires. I think it was in a photo spread about snow biking in Canada. I thought
it quite inventive, don't know how hard it would be to pedal though.
Norm/mezmo
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