Crazy On Three: Two Pounds of Tire

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Two Pounds of Tire

What does two pounds look like?

A LOT of marbles

A large water bottle filled with water plus a few marbles.

Now imagine what it feels like when those two pounds are extra unwanted pounds on your tires.

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By switching the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires that I had on "Red" with lighter ( but tour worthy) tires I cut off two pounds of weight from the tires. With the Marathon Plus tires the total weight was 2,020grams (4.4 lbs). Now with a Marathon Racer on the rear and two Trykers on the front the total tire weight is 1,105grams (2.4 lbs). In addition the thick Plus tires seemed to suck up my energy and felt sluggish. Yes I must admit I'm spoiled by my my fast "Black" Catrike 700 with it's skinny Ultremo tires.

By looking at the Schwalbe charts I've sacrificed some puncture protection and durability but gained speed and grip. Also the Plus tires are a bear to slip on and off the wheel rim. I would hate to have to deal with repairing a Plus while on the road.

Bottom line...the Plus tires are great tires for peace of mind but that peace of mind comes at the cost of more energy from my old legs to make the things turn. I'm good at repairing flats (thanks to the miles I've been putting "Black" and it's fast but thin Ultremos) and I'm willing to accept the possibility of a flat or two.
I know that "Red" will never go as fast or handle as well as "Black" but at least the high end performance of my Catrike 700 "Black" serves as a basis for measuring the performance of other trikes. Now for a few rides to see if the change makes a positive difference. Stay tuned.

Old tires