Cycling UK Forum

gaz wrote:Resurrecting this thread as I need to give thought to replacing the tyres on the tandem.

700x32/35 Mavic Module 4 rims, riding mostly tarmac lanes with the occassional rough but not muddy tow-path. Day trips not touring. Currently shod with Conti Top Touring / Top Touring 2000; broadly happy with Marathons on the solo.

Recommendations please.

Panaracer Ribmo,great tyres and last lot,lot,llooonnngggeeerrr than Marathons

Edit:-just read Brucey's post.
FWIW I've never had problems with tyres on the tandems,but I suspect that's mainly because I don't over inflate them(32mm@85f,90r 35mm@80f,85r,559x40mm@70f75r for a load of
crew=143kg,bike/daybag=22kg*),TP's are checked before we ride and I check tyres regularly for foreign bodies,cuts,splits etc.
They don't seem to suffer any more than solo tyres but of course rears don't last as long.I don't run flimsy tyres on the tandems ie;gatorskins or paselas,etc and I don't run anything less than 32mm.
We generally ride tarmac,some of dubious quality,but also ride some bridleways and towpaths though only those we know to be of a reasonable quality.

*tandems load distribution is very different to solos depending on the crew,it's not unusual to have a very light stoker,ie;my granddaughter who rides tandem with me is 10years old and weighs about 30kg,with me up front @ 83kg the distribution could front heavy(I haven't checked) and I run the 559x40mm at 65f&r.
The loading for MrsR2 and I is around 50/50 f&r but I put the extra 5 psi in the rear as a bit of insurance for any potholes I may hit as due to the lwb and extra weight the rear tyre takes a bigger hit and sometimes I can miss judge where the rear wheel will be exactly so if I miss with the front I occasionally get ear ache .

any load / pressure specs for these tyres?

cheers

Brucey wrote:any load / pressure specs for these tyres?

cheers

There's no load figures on Panaracer's site but tyre wall info states for 700x32mm 70 to 100psi with the 35mm being 5psi lower.

in the absence of any load data the the BQ/Berto tyre drop chart would suggest that;

32mm @ 100psi would be right for 77.5kg and

35mm @ 95psi would be right for ~87kg (using a little interpolation)

which leads me to suppose that heavier crews might want to exceed the maximum pressure, or be running the tyres a little softer than they might otherwise choose to do.

I've sent an enquiry to Panasonic re. the maximum load/pressure that their tyres are rated for.

cheers

Bruce, thanks for your detailed and informed reply. You are clearly a man who knows his rubber .

I think we were unlucky with the first Schwalbe tyre that blew up. Technically it was over loaded but only just I am sure any reputable tyre manufacturer builds a comfortable margin of error into the specification. The second tyre was a cheap MB tyre and did well to last as long as it did but it failed along the beading in the way you describe.

We are now running a tandem specific Schwalbe Dureme on the back which cost more than one of the tyres on my Ford Focus and so far, cross fingers, no problem.

re. the Panaracer tyres;

I enquired to Panaracer re the load/pressure rating of RiBMos and they did not clarify except to say that the tyres (despite not bursting until higher pressures on the right rims) were rated by them to 90psi. Given that it says 95 psi on some of them I am inclined to take this with a pinch of salt.

They asked me what load and use I was intending so I said I was thinking of;

1) loaded touring bike, up to 80Kg load on the rear wheel, or

2) tandem, up to 100kg on the rear wheel.

In each case fitted to a hook-bead rim with a 1mm edge radius.

They suggested Pasela PTs for this use, the implication being that the RiBMos perhaps are not up to this kind of load.

However they don't even have any details on their website

http://www.panaracer.com/urban.php

for the Pasela PT tyre, although it is meant to be basically similar to the TG version.

The PT tyre is listed on Wiggle as 410/500g for the 32mm and 35mm versions, so it is a fair bit heavier than the RibMo.

cheers

I'll stick with Ribmo's on the tandems 32's(Santana as it won't take 35s with m/guards)run at 85front 90rear,35's on the C/dale a run at 80f 85r.The load per tyre is approx 85kg.
No worries