Posts tagged tires

Even if you are a hardcore vintage/retro/used bike nerd, you will still most likely need to buy new tires from time to time. So it's nice to know that companies like Vittoria are starting to use more recycled materials. The Vittoria Terreno Pro T60 gravel tire uses 92% renewable and recycled materials, including recycled nylon fishing nets. This tire helped Vittoria win a green prize at the Taipei Cycle last week. Via Bicycle Retailer and PinkBike

When I started riding road bikes in the 80s it was simple: you pumped your 23 or 25mm tires up to 100 or 120 psi. And when I started riding mtbs in the 90s, you just pumped your 26 x 2.1 tires up to 40 or 45 psi.

I started riding wider tires on the road in the 2000s, first with the 700 x 33 Rivendell Jack Browns. I was still riding with inner tubes, mind you, but now I was riding my tires at around 60 psi. Which seemed low!

Flash forward to today, I'm riding my tubeless 29 x 2.4 mtb tires at around 24/22 psi and my tubeless 700 x 48 gravel tires at around 28/26 psi.

How low can you go? Good article and video from the folks at GCN. And you can find a nice tire pressure calculator here.

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I was amused by the recent rant on BikeRadar about tanwall tires. It’s kind of like the letters in vs letters out debate for muscle car guys. I grew up with tanwall tires in the 80s so they aren’t really that special to me. And I admit I kind of resisted them when they started to come back and become a fad a few years ago. I still dig a no-nonsense blackwall tire but I like to mix it up a bit, too–my new DeSalvo gravel bike has tanwall Rene Herse tires. Of course, most of my vintage bikes have tanwalls, although my 1995 Ibis Mojo sports blackwall Maxxis Holly Rollers!

What look do you prefer?

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