New to me revolution country premier

[Aquila]

I've just bought a second hand revolution country premier touring bike. I'm really pleased with the purchase. According to the previous owner its only done around 30 mile it's condition would reinforce this, its in mint new like order and i got it for a bargain price.

My original plan was to setup my old faithful hardtail 26" MTB for touring but this bike was to good to pass on. Given my MTB would of cost me in the region of £200 to put right.

The only downside appears to be the tyres, conti sport contact's.They would seem more at home on a road bike than on a tourer so im hoping i can fit chunkier tyres. Can anyone recommend tyres to fit for 50/50 road off road use, coming from a MTB background i would prefer somthing quite wide but I'm not sure what size maximum width tyre will fit, the rim size given is
700C x 1.50 does this mean the maximum width tyre i can fit is 1.50?

[m-gineering]

I've just bought a second hand revolution country premier touring bike. I'm really pleased with the purchase. According to the previous owner its only done around 30 mile it's condition would reinforce this, its in mint new like order and i got it for a bargain price.

My original plan was to setup my old faithful hardtail 26" MTB for touring but this bike was to good to pass on. Given my MTB would of cost me in the region of £200 to put right.

The only downside appears to be the tyres, conti sport contact's.They would seem more at home on a road bike than on a tourer so im hoping i can fit chunkier tyres. Can anyone recommend tyres to fit for 50/50 road off road use, coming from a MTB background i would prefer somthing quite wide but I'm not sure what size maximum width tyre will fit, the rim size given is
700C x 1.50 does this mean the maximum width tyre i can fit is 1.50?

Usually the frame clearances are the limiting factor, not the rims. Wider tyres are also taller so check how much room you have around your current tyres and take it from there.

[foxyrider]

Sport Contacts are a touring/commute tyre and quite capable of most people's off tarmac riding. My riding this winter has often included good stretches of non tarmac and i'm largely riding 700x23 tyres (GP4000, Rubino Pro's etc) without issue. My only recent deflation was a stone impact on a tarmac lane.

Not saying you should do that but just making the point that you don't have to run super wide treaded tyres to leave the tarmac.

1.5 is a reasonable touring tyre size, for more heavily laden riding 1.75 might be nicer. But frame clearance really is the kicker. If you like the idea of open cut tread CX tyres are one route to take or something like a Marathon XC (if you can lift them!) my heavy duty tourer ( ) runs 28 Gatorskins on any surface. I might look at something more robust for Icelandic roads or more open for constant mud but neither is most people's usual riding.

[pjclinch]

The Schwalbe Marathon is a well used and tough touring tyre. It's no mud-plugger, but if your off-road is a landy track then they're fine for that. They come in 700c x 38 which deals with most things and should fit most touring frames including with 'guards.

Pete.

[irc]

The Sport Contacts get good reviews. Why change them? Unless you were going to be using muddy paths in which case swapping the front tyre for something with a more aggressive tread may be worth it. I've found semi slick touring tyres to be fine in dry conditions for places like towpaths and gravel roads.

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.co ... ntact-2016

If you are going to be hitting mud regularly then maybe on the front

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TYVTCRXMP ... lding-tyre

I'd suggest leaving the back tyre to get the benefit of low rolling resistance while a knobbly front lets you brake and steer. The odd slip when accelerating the rear wheel won't crash you whereas wiping out the front wheel will.

[pete75]

enquiries@edinburghbicycle.com 01313315010

Edinburgh Bike Cooperative made and sold these. Perhaps asking them might get details of the biggest tyre the bike will take.

[Aquila]

Thanks for the input, I think my best option as Pete75 has suggested is to cycle up to Edinburgh co-op cycle co in Newcastle and ask in store.

The Sport Contacts get good reviews. Why change them? Unless you were going to be using muddy paths in which case swapping the front tyre for something with a more aggressive tread may be worth it. I've found semi slick touring tyres to be fine in dry conditions for places like towpaths and gravel roads.

Well i took the the bike on a 14 mile quick blast, a ride I've done often on the MTB hardtail and good mixture of tarmac paths, road, gravel tracks and mud also quite a bit of kerb jumping involved...... The verdict is pretty much as i assumed the bike is way faster and more comfortable on the tarmac and gravel bridleways but mud and rough paths you can feel every large stone and lose traction and grip quite alarmingly. Dropping off high kerbs didn't appear to bother the unladen bike however the thud of the back wheel whilst climbing kerbs is worrying and theirs no chance of bunny hopping this machine

So for me personally i feel i definitely need wider beefier tyres it suits my type of riding

[foxyrider]

Thanks for the input, I think my best option as Pete75 has suggested is to cycle up to Edinburgh co-op cycle co in Newcastle and ask in store.

The Sport Contacts get good reviews. Why change them? Unless you were going to be using muddy paths in which case swapping the front tyre for something with a more aggressive tread may be worth it. I've found semi slick touring tyres to be fine in dry conditions for places like towpaths and gravel roads.

Well i took the the bike on a 14 mile quick blast, a ride I've done often on the MTB hardtail and good mixture of tarmac paths, road, gravel tracks and mud also quite a bit of kerb jumping involved...... The verdict is pretty much as i assumed the bike is way faster and more comfortable on the tarmac and gravel bridleways but mud and rough paths you can feel every large stone and lose traction and grip quite alarmingly. Dropping off high kerbs didn't appear to bother the unladen bike however the thud of the back wheel whilst climbing kerbs is worrying and theirs no chance of bunny hopping this machine

So for me personally i feel i definitely need wider beefier tyres it suits my type of riding

You don't have to bunny hop the kerbs but clearly a more sympathetic approach is needed to avoid hard impacts - it is not an MTB! If you unweight the front wheel and pedal through you can ride up a 6in kerb without too much effort even loaded up.

As for the performance in gloop and gravel, it's not an MTB! you need to take a different approach to those surfaces, I could show you but I can't actually explain it in words.

[Aquila]

As for the performance in gloop and gravel, it's not an MTB! you need to take a different approach to those surfaces, I could show you but I can't actually explain it in words.

You mean ride like miss Daisy ☺

[foxyrider]

As for the performance in gloop and gravel, it's not an MTB! you need to take a different approach to those surfaces, I could show you but I can't actually explain it in words.

You mean ride like miss Daisy ☺

Not neccesarily, just differently, like I said before, I do trails with all sort of surface on slick 23's, the technique is different is all.

[pjclinch]

As for the performance in gloop and gravel, it's not an MTB! you need to take a different approach to those surfaces, I could show you but I can't actually explain it in words.

You mean ride like miss Daisy ☺

Here's an example of the sort of thing that some people can manage on a road bike (quite a bit lighter than a tourer) where Miss Daisy might complain...

[youtube]vIFhL-FtsyM[/youtube]

MTBs are designed to routinely take serious knocks and chug through gloop. As the Roughstuff Fellowship proved for years before MTBs existed, you can take a normal drop bar tourer to all sorts of daft places without treating it like a lace hanky, but that's not the same as "can be treated like an MTB", particularly regarding traction in soft stuff.

If you want to do stuff that needs a build or tyres like an MTB, use an MTB, otherwise learn the limits of the care that need to be exercised. There's no problem bunny-hopping an unladen tourer. Similarly, there can be a big problem bunny-hopping an MTB loaded for touring. I'm quite happy taking my tourer (a recumbent, so bunny-hops absolutely out under all circumstances) along bits of NCN that say "unsuitable for loaded tourers": it's far more about attitude than the limits of the bike, but if you're in gloop there's no substitute for 2" knobbly tyres, and when you're on the road 2" knobbly tyres are an ongoing pain every meter of the way.

You choose, you lose...

Pete.

[Matt25]

I've recently been running 1.9“ Schwalbe Marathon Plus on my tourer. These are a road based tyre, so not so great in mud, but fine on gravel and rocks and other rough surfaces. They can be run at low pressures (I run mine at 40psi) which makes them nice and comfy on rougher surfaces. If your bike will take these, they are a great all round option.

Mat

[pete75]

Some new things for me in this thread. Who on earth is Miss Daisy and what is gloop?

[pjclinch]

Some new things for me in this thread. Who on earth is Miss Daisy and what is gloop?

See "Driving Miss Daisy", Oscar winning movie.
Gloop is kinda self descriptive...

[pete75]

Some new things for me in this thread. Who on earth is Miss Daisy and what is gloop?

See "Driving Miss Daisy", Oscar winning movie.
Gloop is kinda self descriptive...

Yes I know about the film but she didn't ride a bike did she so I'm wondering who the cycling Miss Daisy is.

Gloop I've looked it up. Can't beleive folk ride their bikes through this stuff https://www.learning4kids.net/2012/05/0 ... ake-gloop/. Each to his own I suppose.