With the LeMond homeward sure and the Roadini assuming all-around street bike responsibility it was time for the Milwaukee to step again right into a extra sporting position, so I re-fitted it with skinnier tires and street pedals:
I then took the wheels and tires that had been on there…
…and put them on the Roadini to see the way it felt:
The wheels themselves are similar to those I’ve already been utilizing on the Roadini, however aside from the tires the opposite distinction between them is that’s an 8-speed cassette versus the 10-speed that’s on the opposite set. This meant I needed to do lots of tinkering to get every thing to work.
No, after all I didn’t. We’re speaking friction shifting right here! For those who’re switching throughout 8, 9, and 10-speed you don’t even have to the touch the derailleur restrict screws. (Until you’re going from Shimano to Campagnolo or vice versa, through which case you may need to fiddle with them a tiny bit, huge deal.)
Anyway, I’ve been utilizing comparatively plump 43mm Panaracer Gravel Kings on the Roadini, and general I’ve been fairly happy:
However I figured I’d attempt one thing just a little smoother and skinner for the sake of comparability, since it’s a Street-ini in any case.
These 32mm Paselas fill out the Milwaukee fairly good:
However on the Roadini it’s like feeding a hippo a Tic Tac:
I imply have a look at all that additional clearance!
[Bike to tire: “Is it in yet?”]
As for the trip itself, whereas the tires had been definitely just a little smoother and quieter on pavement and just a little firmer when climbing, general they didn’t really feel appreciably quicker. (The knobby Gravel King is surprisingly sprightly on the street.) The bike additionally sits just a little decrease with the skinnier tires–not a nasty factor, however one thing I seen. Additionally, whereas this shouldn’t matter, with the decreased tire quantity the bike form of appears to be like prefer it’s taking Ozempic:
I don’t know if that may have occurred to me if I’d been utilizing these tires from the start, however I’m used to seeing it like this:
And so now I can’t unsee it.
Right here’s what Rivendell has to say with regards to tires and the Roadini:
Based mostly on my trip with the 32s I’d need to agree. Sure, the bike nonetheless felt nice, however it appears to me that going wider on this bike is just about all upside. The Gravel Kings swimsuit the bike effectively, particularly in winter when it’s good to have the ability to search refuge from the wind on wooded trails, and so for now I’ll going to return to these. However finally I believe one thing within the high-30s with a easy tread could be ultimate.
Talking of tire clearance, try what’s occurring in America’s Wang:
Manatee caught in bicycle tire was final seen in Pompano Seashore https://t.co/6oaS6abrFj
— South Florida Solar Sentinel (@SunSentinel) January 15, 2025
Marine biologists imagine it was attempting to mount a Rene Herse tire, which is notoriously troublesome.
This could not be exhausting for me to imagine, as a result of you recognize if manatees rode bikes they’d be all around the complete Celebration Tempo/Supple Life/Path Much less Pedaled factor:
The designer tires, the boutique frames, the costly machined high-performance parts…all to allow them to trip to the park with pals at 6mph, have a picnic, and complain about how the bike business hates them. Along with the ocean cow caught in what I can solely assume should be a Snoqualmie Go with the Extralight casing, I wager there are at the least three different manatees on the market who’ve swallowed Ingrid drivetrains:
And this isn’t even the primary time a manatee has gotten caught in a bicycle tire, both:
He’s since been freed and has listed his Crust on the native Craigslist for nearly what he initially paid for it.
However sure, whereas the thought of a manatee caught in a bicycle tire might elicit emotions of guilt from environmentally conscious cyclists, there’s one group whose conscience stays clear and whose smugness stays intact, and it’s the Bromptonauts:
“Don’t have a look at us,” they’re saying. “Our tiny tires can’t match round a manatee!”