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

New tires

Here's the details:

Old tire setup:

Front tires Schawlbe Marathon Plus - 35/406 (20x1.35)   1,120g (2.4lbs) weight of both tires

Rear tire Schawlbe Maratho Plus     - 37/622 (700x35c)     900g (2.0 lbs)

                                                                                  2,020g (4.4lbs)  Total weight

New tire setup:

Front tires Schwalbe Tryker             - 40/406 (20x1.50)     640g (1.4lbs) weight of both tires

Rear tire Schwalbe Marathon Racer - 35/622 (700x35c)     465g (1.0lbs)

                                                                                 1,105g (2.4lbs) Total weight

Trykers on the front

Marathon Racer on the rear

Sunny Ride...

...at least it began that way. Today's ride started out cool and sunny. Towards the end of the ride the clouds won out and the sun retreated. It was still a nice break from the cool cloudy days and occasional rain.

To Ride or Not To Ride

This morning is a most excellent morning. Perfect for a ride...but also perfect to sit in the garden with ma doggie and do nothing.

A night of heavy rain followed by a cool sunny morning is my kind of morning.

Oh well tomorrow is another day. I'll let the motorized crazies have the road and it's puddles today. You'll find me enjoying the quiet in my garden.

More pics on My Home & Garden Journal

"Red's" Winter Fenders

"Red" is ready for puddle diving. The fenders are easy to put on and take off in preparation for whatever season is upon us. The setup is basically the same as it was on my old Catrike Expedtion with the exception of the Catrike mirror mount posts instead of the handlebar posts used on the Expedition.

Perfect Autumn Day on the 700

Today was one of those perfect So Cal Autumn days when you don't want the ride to end. So I took two breaks at the local parks. Below are some pics of my "Black" Catrike 700 taken at Oak Canyon Community Park in Oak Park.

It was back in February of 2013 that I sold my old 700 with the 16" front wheels and bought the new version with 20" front wheels. To date I've put 2,352 miles on my "Black" 700 while at the same time taking a break to have two hip replacements.

Infographics at "I Am Traffic"

Something to check out when not riding. Infographics at I Am Traffic.

Infographics here include:

Vehicles and Lanes - Diversity - Exclusion Zones - Speed (seen below)

These are only a few of the many infographics at I Am Traffic.

Kirke Johnson

On November 15th I posted some thoughts on the "right hook" an all to common nightmare for cyclists. Then on November 20th the "right hook" took down long time recumbent cyclist Kirke Johnson of Portland. He was killed by a large Fed Ex truck that made a right turn into him. Let the memory of  Mr. Johnson remind us to think about safety while riding in the company of vehicles that are much larger and faster then us human powered pedal pushers.

Here's an interactive graphic about the right hook and trucks at 

I Am Traffic website. Check out the entire site for more good information about cycling in an urban environment.