Cycling UK Forum

Hi Skicat,

late September 2014 - Scotland....... King Alex will demand a passport, layers are the least of your worries!!!!

Nah, even the midges are still alive then, you'll be good in a couple of T-shirts,

Have a good trip,

Simon

I'd say a little bit less than 32mm on a Sputnik rim..... in the region of 31.5mm (measured a few times for increased accuracy!!).

Hope that helps, all the best,

Simon

Yes, same here.

The Paselas have been on the utility bike for about 3 weeks now & so far travelled almost 300 miles. No problems yet, managed just shy of 40 mph the other day & was waiting for the bang but fortunately they performed well!

I put Ribmos on the tandem & they are pretty good also, although they appear quite 'peaked' when inflated.

See how it goes,

Simon

Yes, you were right there Brucey, it seems the threads were a little duff & with a bit more force it went on OK.

Luckily it came off again fairly easily & now both Shimano & Sturmey freewheel turn up nice & easy. I must admit it does sound pretty cheap (not a nice regular clicking of pawls) compared with the Shimano one (which isn't really that much better).

thanks, Simon

Hi,

I put together a single speed bike for the 15 year old daughter late last year using a 44 tooth stronglight chainring & 16 tooth shimano freewheel. The freewheel screwed onto the rear hub (King Kong 219R) without problem. I believe the shimano freewheel is a standard 1.37" x 24 TPI fit.

Recently while out on a ride she complained that it was too hard to pedal (slightly undulating) so I said I'd put a bigger freewheel on. After a bit of experimenting on another bike (geared) she reckoned a 19 tooth freewheel would be preferable. The Shimano freewheel seems to be only available in 16, 17 or 18 teeth flavours & thus I purchased a Sturmey Archer 19 tooth instead form Derek's cysles (E-Bay).

That arrived this morning so I thought I'd fit it quickly & try it out. However, it doesn't 'feel' quite the right thread when attempting to screw it on. It's a bit of a stiff fit with a little 'swarf' emanating from the hub after a couple of turns (then I stopped)- I'm pretty sure it was screwing on square. No damage done (yet) but does anyone know whether all these 'off the shelf' freewheels have the same thread....?? It would be nice to keep the daughter happy as she is at that age of angst when 'the dark side' beckons & the cycling may act as a conduit to normality.

Or does anyone know if Shimano do a 19 tooth single speed freewheel?

Thanks, Simon

Hello Bikepacker,

I've just finished my contract on a Chinese LNG ship & am currently in Shanghai waiting for my flight home to Inverness. Due to some earlier fog delays (ship not plane) my flight is not due into Inverness until April 3rd pending some tight connection at Manchester.

I should be home for around 3 months more or less & live pretty central (IV2 4AG). I have 3 school age kids so will probably not be venturing too far afield this time home.

If your mate gets stuck then I have space off road in my front garden (my car lives in a carport when I'm away & the wife doesn't drive).

It would be free/gratis but obviously I cannot guarantee the security etc (my car has been OK these past few years so I would say it would probably be acceptably safe).

Anyway if you are interested then get in touch via PM, bearing in mind I may not be in a position to telephone until I get home.

All the best, Simon

P.S your friend doesn't drive a stretch Hummer by chance??!!

New Zealand is good but I did feel a little jaded after 3 months in South Island. You can only tramp around in similar scenery for so long....

West Coast South America is fantastic, well it was in the eighties when I spent quite a lot of my leave periods down there.

From the mangrove swamps of Guayaquil, to the foothills of the Andes at Vilcabamba. Being robbed in Buenaventura & taking a bus through the Nazca lines. The dryness of the Atacama desert to the tranquility of the Chilean Lake District. Excuse my reminisences, wish I was 20 again.....

Anyway, I'd say go for South America, NZ too much like Oz & Europe. Latin American Spanish muy facil to learn. I learnt it acceptably from an Ecuadorean crew on an old LPG boat in a couple of months. OK, 'paint the deck' & 'raise the derrick' didn't come in very handy when ashore but it gave you the confidence to try.

Wherever you decide, I hope you enjoy it,

All the best Simon

'ello elio elio,

for pure, unadulterated big sky, big air & inspirational rides then head out to the 'cul de sac' Glens in the region of Inverness.

Try Loch Affric, Loch Mullardoch, Loch Monar, Loch Quoich & Kinlochhourn, Stratchconon, Strathdearn or even head East to the dunes at Culbin Sands.

Magical places unencumbered by cars but never more than a few hours from the nearest 'civilization'. Great for wild camping but better outwith the midge season.

A couple of tasters:





All the best Simon

Go here - beautiful, a closed single track road up through Glen Strathfarrar.

About 20 miles or so each way upto Loch Monar, accessed from Struy on the A831.

A little bit North of Inverness.

I go here quite a bit when home from sea & need to get away from the brood.

It might not be a corner but it's a nice end.

All the best Simon

No John, I'm not really in a position to sell them at the moment. But if someone with their eyes wide open, & who was fully aware of any potential deficiency with the design wanted them, then that would be a different matter...(?)

Anyhow, I think I'll stick with utility tyres for the utility bikes, & the lighter tyres for the road bikes. Bit of a dumb idea my original purchase of these but they were cheap!!

May try the Ribmos as reohn2 suggested, just anything not quite as leaden as the Marathon Plus,

All the best, Simon

Many thanks the informed responses,

I think I'll fit the Paselas to my runaround, & put a set of similar sized Gatorskins on the Tandem (Gatorskins picked up quite cheap same time as the Paselas).

Although the Marathon Plus have served really well for the last couple of years I did notice a few circumferential 'splits' on the tandem front tyre last time home. I believe this can be attributed to running them at too low a pressure. I probably check & pump up the tyres every couple of weeks or so to about 85psi on the front & cannot recall ever noticing they were much below that pressure when replenishing. Tread wise they are still good.

Anyhow, thanks again & hope I'll notice the extra swiftness this Spring with the new tyres fitted......

All the best, Simon

Hi,

I bought a new pair of Paselas in December at a very good price ready to fit to the tandem this Spring. I think they were 700 x 32’s – I made a point of avoiding the 28’s through some previous blow out correspondence on these boards.

The tandem I use regularly with the wife, & almost daily with the kids (when I’m home – 3 months on/off at sea). My daughter sits on the stokers saddle, & my son on the modified & strong rack.

I fitted Schwalbe Marathon Plus to the tandem & town bike about 2 years ago & after a combined say 8000 miles can report zero punctures. Northern Scottish roads though so that probably helps. However, the tyres do make both bikes feel quite sluggish & once that gets in your mind they will never get any lighter.

After purchasing a couple of decent lightish steel framed bikes from these boards (a Bob Griffin 531 road bike & an OLMO frame & forks ex ‘Kenster’ – for the daughter) I do find the extra oomf available from these lighter steeds shod with their pencil pneumatics a breath of fresh air. Hence, when dragging 75kg of non pedalling children behind me I would like to see whether the ‘marginal gains’ attained from fitting a more lightweight & supple tyre would assist my performance.

So, back to the original question……Having knowledge of the potential sidewall problem on the Paselas (& apparently not just the 28’s) conscience says it would be a bit irresponsible to fit them to the tandem, and then bomb downhill at upto 40mph with the wife or kids onboard.

Can these Paselas really be that dodgy!! Does any other brand of tyre suffer similar deficiencies?

If I were to offer my unused Paselas for sale now, could I be accused of culpable manslaughter if the purchaser subsequently was killed following a blowout?

Maybe that’s a bit extreme but from the recent info to hand these tyres do really sound as though they should be removed from the market. Or are we just looking at a very, very tiny sample failing which by being reported here is rather skewing statistics.

My gut feeling says get rid of them – I’ll be home in April - £25 the pair, posted!! Any takers…..??

All the best, Simon (and I do not normally dwell so much on health & safety issues)

Currently at Sea so internet access a bit erratic.

Steve in Spain - beautiful perspective, well put.

Horizon - majestically poetic.

If the topic of bicycle sub forums are our biggest woes, then the World can't be that bad a place after all.

Worse things happen at sea......

All the best, Simon (who has just spent an hour arguing with his wife on a shipboard satellite phone over why his 15 yr old daughter shouldn't have 20 'friends' around for a birthday party). Ho Hum. Perspective.

OK thanks for that Brucey.

I don't mind (too much) paying a 'quid for a spoke' when out on a ride & the rim has jammed because a spoke has popped, but a 'quid for a spoke' from an online retailer seems fairly OTT.

It pays to shop around, & obviously outwith the borders,

B/Rgds Simon

The 'Treasure Island' effect?

Is that the Robert L Stevenson or San Francisco,

Pardon my ignorance, what does that mean.......is the cheap spoke a lure to bigger things??

Cheers Brucey, Simon