I'm well over the absolute need for a light bike -- the Fargo in its lightest form is probably no less than 28 lb and the trike is probably about 30 lb -- tho' I do very much appreciate the effect of weight on the "feel" of a bike, particularly handling, climbing and acceleration; my Rivs take over the chores of being light. But I am very sensitive to tires and I think you will like the narrower Kojaks. Too bad no one makes a, say, 28 mm, supple, folding, 220 gram 559 road tire -- it should not be hard. The folding 1.35s in the 559 size weigh a claimed 295 grams, which isn't too bad -- the non TG Paselas in that size weigh 240 grams -- and, once again, much to my surprise and pleasure, they **seem** at least to roll as well as the very nice old stock 559X23 Turbos that they replaced. The Turbos IME roll as well and are softer than the 559X25 mm Conti GPs. Note again that I am comparing the cheaper, heavier -- 395 gram, which I've confirmed on a postal scale -- wire bead Kojaks to the Turbos. And of course you get the additional benefit of more cushioning (tho' again the Turbos are very, very smooth for their skinny width) and more rim protection.
I think you will be pleased with the Kojaks, even the cheaper wire bead ones. Frankly, having ridden my 1.35s, I see no need to continue to wail about the excessively fat Compass model; the Kojak is all that I want. (Well, make it look less "agressive.") On Fri, Feb 3, 2012 at 11:27 AM, Tim McNamara <tim...@bitstream.net> wrote: > In 26 x 1.0 I used the Ritchey Tom Slicks, the Continental GPs and Pr1mo > Racers in particular. The Specialized tires I have never even seen. The > Ritcheys were prone to casing failures so I stopped using them although they > were pretty fast. The Pr1mos were really fragile- but fast- and I stopped > using those. I used the Specialized Fatboy 1.25s and was underwhelmed by > those. > > The smaller wheels seem more susceptible to tire performance than 700C > wheels, IME. Something I don't get about 26" wheels is that almost every > tire maker that makes tires for that size seems to think they have to be > built like tanks with thick rubber, honking tread patterns, puncture proof > BS, yadda yadda yadda. You end up with a 1.25 or 1.5 wide tire that weighs > 600 g. A light high performance tire for 559 wheels is hard to find. > > Thanks for that. I am trying to remember if I have seen the Kojaks at > Hiawatha Cyclery (since that's the only bike shop I go to, I wouldn't have > seen them anywhere else). I've had one pair of Schwalbe tires, some racy 355 > size ones back when I had my Birdy folder. They were better than the stock > tires (which were cheap and cheesy). But Schwalbe's over-emphasis on flat > protection leaves me cold. The tires end up being way too heavy and at least > in one's hand seem like they would be slow and lifeless on the road. I am > usually not that bothered by flats, I normally only get 3-4 per year with the > Paselas which have thin rubber and no puncture protection type stuff (I don't > use the TGs). We've got no goatheads around here and while there's some > broken glass it's not as bad as many places. > > Too many years of bike racing- performance and speed are still a primary > interest for me when riding a bike. I am not happy on a bike over 25 lbs and > not happy if it doesn't feel fast. I want lightness, nimbleness and speed > since I ride for fun almost exclusively (even when riding to work- I do it > because it's fun). But I also dislike plastic frames and wheels with too-few > spokes, and I prefer DT friction shifters... and I've reached an age where > Lycra is not such a good idea. -- Patrick Moore Albuquerque, NM For professional resumes, contact Patrick Moore, ACRW http://resumespecialties.com/index.html -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
