I just have to say after getting back from my tour that I fucking love big apples. On my fully loaded tour bike I rode over almost every type of surface. Blacktop, cobbles, gravel, mud,sand, train bed stone and they were great on everything. Even on steep sandy gravelly sections I had no problems getting traction. The cornering down steep country roads is also so rad, they just hook up with more confidence than I’ve ever felt in any tire.
edit: reference picture.
Good assessment of the Jack Browns, Rusty. I couldn’t decide, so I went blue in the back and green up front. Had a flat on my first ride (on the blue!) and none since. I find 90 to be nearly unrideable with them. They roll great on smooth pavement but in turn give you almost none of the benefits over a narrower tire, and I think I remember them getting scary around that pressure with any kind of water on the road. With the bone-rattling cobblestones here I sometimes let them get down to 65/55, but that’s definitely not optimal either. In their sweet spot, they’re great, but I can’t give an accurate number because I inflate them + or - about 10 psi depending on where I’m riding and haven’t really been keeping mental notes.
And I’ve heard that the BA’s are indeed BA. I think they have a folding 700 x 50 that I’d like to try on the BJ without fenders, but I think I can’t go over 45mm. Even though I’ve been lucky with the Jack Browns, I should probably make myself use something fatter and more durable for tours. Just checked the BA’s weight and the folding 50mm is pretty heavy: 880g. It’s tough to switch out a nicer tire even when it’s a prudent decision.
[quote=halbritt]
Here’s my review for Seth:
Jack Brown Greens at 290g. Planning on using the Challenge latex tubes, but they haven’t arrived yet, so I just have standard butyl in there. On a set of TB14s/32H/Ultegra 6500 they don’t really feel much heavier than 28c Conti GP 4 Season on an Open Pro/6600. Ran the Contis at 100/110. Had the Jack Browns at 90/90, which was obviously too much pressure. Even still, they feel nice and comfy at cruising speed. They spin up really well. They feel a bit “bigger”, but not sluggish. Got a stiff tailwind and TT’d 'em for a few at something over 25mph. When I let off the gas, they just rolled and rolled and rolled. Did my normal bay farm loop, which has big square uneven manhole covers in the rightmost lane. I normally avoid them. I didn’t today and didn’t get tossed around. Of course, I’m not on my old Cannondale, but they obviously roll over uneven pavement better. Went over a section of pave (in Alameda!) and it felt pretty good. Then I rode a couple of miles of hard-pack single track and fucking hell these tires are fast. Hit a couple of patches of sand and they felt surprisingly confident.
It wasn’t like the clouds opened up and it was all sunshine and roses, but they are an incremental improvement over the 28c (27mm) GP 4 season in terms of comfort and speed in bumpy conditions. I’m not sure they gave anything up in terms of speed in non-bumpy conditions. However, I wager they should be run a few PSI lower than I have 'em, probably 80/90 or thereabouts. In short, they’re awesome. They have the same casing as the other Pasela gumwalls and the PariMoto. The tread on the green (no kevlar belt or anything) is still noticeably thicker than the tread on the PariMoto, which is a very, very delicate tire. Grant says to use the blue on gravel, but fuck that guy, I’d ride these and carry a boot.[/quote]
Nice. I’d really like to get my hands on some of these now.
I’m not Rusty at all. I’m Heath and my pressure recommendations are based on the fact that I weigh 210ish.
[quote=VT tallbike]I just have to say after getting back from my tour that I fucking love big apples. On my fully loaded tour bike I rode over almost every type of surface. Blacktop, cobbles, gravel, mud,sand, train bed stone and they were great on everything. Even on steep sandy gravelly sections I had no problems getting traction. The cornering down steep country roads is also so rad, they just hook up with more confidence than I’ve ever felt in any tire.
edit: reference picture.
[/quote]
what size BA’s? what frame is that?
26 x 2.15 BA’s Frame is an 88 Stumpjumper.
[quote=bexley]
And I’ve heard that the BA’s are indeed BA. I think they have a folding 700 x 50 that I’d like to try on the BJ without fenders, but I think I can’t go over 45mm. Even though I’ve been lucky with the Jack Browns, I should probably make myself use something fatter and more durable for tours. Just checked the BA’s weight and the folding 50mm is pretty heavy: 880g. It’s tough to switch out a nicer tire even when it’s a prudent decision.[/quote]
880 grams? yeah fuck that.
just get some marathon supremes or vittoria hypers and call it a day.
…vittoria hypers are where it’s at, btw.
light, decent puncture protection (no punctures yet on debris-filled commute), supple, fat (32s measure 35) and inexpensive.
I think they ride almost as nice as JBs, a little better than marathon supremes, and way better than pasela TGs.
Ughh, sorry Heath. Reading multiple threads and brain not handling multithreading so well.
I’ll try the Vittoria’s. Thanks.
BAs are totally worth the weight penalty for the incredible ride and supreme longevity. They pretty much never flat and the sidewalls are tough as hell. The main reason I want to build up my Marin again is because my life doesn’t feel complete without a big apple bike.
[quote=bexley]Ughh, sorry Heath. Reading multiple threads and brain not handling multithreading so well.
I’ll try the Vittoria’s. Thanks.[/quote]
Not offended, it’s just that Rusty is a skinny fucker and I’m not, makes a big difference when I’m talking smack about running a 35mm tire at 80-90PSI when it should be more like 50-60.
80-90 psi on JBs is still high…
if you weigh 210, I’d drop down to 65-75…
This. BA’s are like riding on a couch. A couch that coasts forever.
[quote=do]80-90 psi on JBs is still high…
if you weigh 210, I’d drop down to 65-75…[/quote]
I typically run 32mm tires at like 60/65 for street and I weigh 185 on a good day.
What is the point of fat tires if you don’t run them soft?
Got to get that 15% of sag on: http://www.bikequarterly.com/images/TireDrop.pdf
that chart makes me feel better about running absurdly high pressure in my skinny tubs
Plus tubs just eat up the pressure like candy compared to clinchers
I’ve followed this & have been pleased:
Tire Width=20: Pressure(psi) = (0.33 * Rider Weight in lbs) + 63.33
Tire Width=23: Pressure(psi) = (0.33 * Rider Weight in lbs) + 53.33
Tire Width=25: Pressure(psi) = (0.33 * Rider Weight in lbs) + 43.33
Tire Width=28: Pressure(psi) = (0.33 * Rider Weight in lbs) + 33.33
Tire Width=32: Pressure(psi) = (0.17 * Rider Weight in lbs) + 41.67
Tire Width=37: Pressure(psi) = (0.17 * Rider Weight in lbs) + 26.67
This is all good information, but it’s not like I intend to keep these guys at 90PSI. I pumped 'em up to max pressure to stretch 'em out as quickly as possible and also to tension the rims.
My girlfriend weighs very little, what pressure should her 20" BAs be on her cruisy thing?
20-30 psi. I’ve run them as low as 15 psi without them rolling off my rhynolites, though cornering was hardly confidence-inspiring below 20psi.
