Two Wheel Blogs

Anyone out there enjoy watching or riding Trials (Observed Trials Riding)?

Even during my earliest days of riding, I was into Trials riding...I did not know it at the time, but I was. If you take everything that looks cool and can be done on a bike...there is a pretty good chance that it is common place in a cycling niche known as "observed trials" or "Trials Riding". The bunny hop, the track stand, the pivot, the rock walk, the drop, the lurch, the manual, the nose wheelie....just about every "trick" either came from or ended up as a staple in Trials riding.

I have seen this done before, and people have reported very good results. Among the results are unrivaled (even by commercially available studs) traction, and unparalleled rolling resistance. Regular studded tires just do not bite like these will, but they will roll better.

I decided to give this a go, so here goes....

My secret to racing success next season. I plan to mount these babies up for all the big races. Nice and light, what with all that unnecessary tread removed. Who needs the part of the tire that's under the surface anyway? All you need is the inside to hold the air in, and the outside to roll on and grip the road. Anything in between is just extra weight.

And you know those threads showing through will surely offer just that little extra grip.

Recently I posted up a how-to for adding a layer of protection to your favorite MTB tire.

I thought that perhaps I should give a bit of follow-up on performance of this abomination....

First ride, I noticed that the necessary air pressure in these "upgraded" tires was a few p.s.i. less than when run in a more conventional manner. I also felt like poo during this first ride and gave a great deal of consideration to the possibility that the additional weight in the tires REALLY effected my ability to go fast in a more negative manner than I had anticipated.

I used my last 16gm CO2 cartridge today fixing a double flat. Fortunately the flats weren't mine. They were Jen's. She and her kids and her friend and her kids had driven to the park with bikes and helmets and drinks and snacks. But Jen forgot to check her bike's tires until she unloaded it from her monster SUV at the park. She also forgot to bring anything she might need to inflate her tires.

So I'm grounded until I can snag myself some new cartridges. Me, I won't leave home without them. Particularly now. The red Continental GP 3000 I've been running on the back this year started showing little spots of casing a little while back.

OK, so this makes like 8 tires that have failed me in the past few months....

Sure usually they are my fault (running over a sharp rock, or tearing a knob off the tire). I am hard on my tires, I like to slide, drift, and occasionally I skid. I know, I know skidding is bad, but when done properly (never on the trail) it can be neat and fun.