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Hi Guys, My name is warren and I have been on the forum a lot longer than I had a bike. Let me confess from the outset, Im a newbie Ive just purchased my first HT Silverback Sola 1 and Im loving getting out onto the trails. The first thing I did before riding any trails was convert my tyres to tubeless, specifically Vittoria Barzo in front and Sugardo (Think thats how you spell it) in the rear. Its been fantastic until Sunday past. Went away for the weekend and woke up to a flat tyre. Ran the sealant over the area which seamed to fix the leak. The weird thing is that the leak was coming from a group of tiny blisters in the sidewall. I proceeded to ride the Wolwefontein trail and all was fine. Question is: Do I buy a new tyre and if so what do I get? I just want something with decent grip and decent puncture resistance. Doing my first 27km race in Piket-bo-berg on 9 September so dont want to chance anything. Your assistance is greatly appreciated. regards Warren

Hi Hubbers Don't miss our Monday Madness today!! 1. Ritchey 260 Carbon Stems - RRP R2995 now only R995!! https://www.evobikes.co.za/ritchey-wcs-carbon-c260-stem.html

As a distributor I have recently been getting calls more and more for disk brake off-road road wheelsets. It seems roadies are no longer content to stay on the lovely smooth road (ok its SA, so smooth road with the occasional pothole) but are keen to explore the back roads and dirt roads. This "go anywhere" style of riding is becoming the norm in Europe and at our recent distributor meeting in Annecy it is quite evident that most of the roadies are kitted out to get off the beaten path (including the Mavic road segment manager who was riding 35c tyres!!) - orange bike in photo Interestingly Mavics neutral service bikes (like Chris Froome rode in last years Tour de France) are kitted with 28c tyres standard. (the yellow bike in the centre) As it is the time of year where i need to commit to 2018 stock, it would be interesting to get some feedback from the roadies who want to get dirty, but not dirty enough to buy a MTB, specifically what are you looking for in your off-road-road wheels, high end?,lightweight?,durable? etc feel free to post some photos of your road/offroad machines too, I'm interested to see what you are all riding if anyone wants to contact me directly you can get me on gavins@dragons.co.za Regards Mavic

Who Needs A Bike Pump? Bridgestone Is Unveiling Eco-Friendly Airless Bike Tires One of the biggest annoyances of riding a bike—next to oblivious drivers and sudden downpours—is the threat of flat tires. Tokyo-based tire company Bridgestone has set out to save cyclists from this headache by introducing a new bike tire design that doesn't use air at all, taking pressure, punctures, and flat tires out of the equation.............................................................. https://curiosity.com/topics/who-needs-a-bike-pump-bridgestone-is-unveiling-eco-friendly-airless-bike-tires-curiosity?utm_source=androidapp

I have a bike with tubeless rims and tyres that is in need of new tyres. I also have a spare set of Maxxis Ignitor wire bead tyres that I'd like to use. I've read mixed reviews of using wire bead tyres for tubeless, and bike shops just want to sell me new tyres instead of fitting my existing ones. Who has experience with this, is it a reasonable idea or will it end in tears? Because from what I can see the bead looks identical between the different types of tyres so it should just seal up and work without drama.

Hey Guys I stopped riding DH, probably around 4 years ago after I crashed and broke my wrist and my bike. My wrist healed but I never got around to fixing my my bike. I am now keen to get back into doing a bit of DH riding and am busy putting my DH bike back together. One issue I am having is finding 26 in DH tyres. It seems DH bikes have also now changed wheel size. Is there somewhere I can still buy 26 in tyres? I popped into Freewheel cycology, Olympic cycles and Bridge cycles and they don't seem to stock any 26 in tyres but not sure if they ever stocked DH equipment. I currently have maxxis minions and high rollers installed and would probably replace with the same tyres if available but am also open to try something else if needed. Thanks in advance for any advice. On a separate note I will probably need new tires for my 26 in XC bike at some time but that is less urgent as I have two sets with very little wear on them. Any recommendations for this will also be welcome.

Hi Guys... Looking for 700c20 tyres in Continental range.....anyone know of a supplier in Cape Town that might have or does have stock ? Been using Continental Grand Prix 700c20's for the last 25 years and am very happy with the tyre Please forgive me if this is in the wrong section, perhaps a mod can please move it

First Look Friday is an introduction to the products that we are currently testing for review. This week we're previewing the Gobi M5 saddle and M5 BOA shoes from fi’zi:k and Vittoria's Mezcal G+ tyres. Click here to view the article

Hey Guys, My bike is about 5 months old now, and did the conversion to tubeless the same day i purchased it. I have the Chaoyand Hornet tyres fitted with this tubeless conversion. I got my 1st thorn that i took out, with the hope that the sealant will seal it as it should. To my surprise that was not the case, the sealant just seeped out, so i spun the tyre, rode with bike, and it just didn't want to seal. Now I'm not sure, must the sealant be replaced or was it just not the proper sealant put in, to begin with? In the 5 month of owning the bike, its done about 1500km's of all weather, all terrain, mainly road though. Your advice would appreciated.

Silly question but is there a difference in the tyre diameter for a 26" bike with v brakes vs disc brakes. My tyres on my bike I am using here in Angola are shot to pieces and I bought a set of 26x 2 tyres but they fall over the rim. The only thing I can think of is that there is a difference between the rims?

My first post on this forum was about my new cyclo cross bike and i have to admit that i still cannot get enough of it. Everything is better than i hoped for except for the disc brakes and wheels. I will discuss the wheels here. My requirements for a CX bike’s wheels are the following: · I ride mostly road and the traffic forces me to do a bit of off-roading every now and then. Large knobs for riding in mud like the Europeans are therefore not necessary · The UCI regulations limit tyre width to 33mm for CX. Pointless for the majority of owners of these bikes as it may work on grassy and muddy courses in Holland but you cannot ride over rocks at speed and I think a minimum of 35mm is required. · It must be tubeless. Non-negotiable. You cannot ride through the thorns we have everywhere in the Cape with inner tubes and you will also constantly be fixing pinch flats. RIMS I chose Stan’s Grail X which hooks up perfectly with tubeless tyres but they are simply too soft. I put 8 dents in them in the first 8 weeks. Alternatives would be a ‘ghetto tubeless conversion’ [you just build up the rim bed with a few layers of rim tape] but I have no experience with this. Another option would be to simply use 29er MTB rims [they are also ‘700c’ or 622 sized] but are quite a bit wider and I’m not sure how the tyres will sit on them. TYRES The bike came with Vittoria Xg pro 700x31c tyres and they are made for mud [very knobbly] and WAY too narrow [hence the 8 dents in my rear rim by the time my replacement tyres arrived] Next up I had a Challenge Gravel Grinder 700x38c on the back. Very nice tyre but although it is 38mm wide, it is not very high and you end up with too little volume to run it softer on poor terrain. Furthermore it’s not tubeless specific and climbs off the rim at higher pressures [more of this below]. The file thread did not last very long. I thought the answers to my prayers would be Continental Cyclocross Speed 700x35c. Perfect thread that should last much longer than the others and for the road, conti makes the only tyres I ever trusted to trained with. Also very light at 350gm. The first time I mounted them was fine but I took them off to try something else and a month later when I remounted them, my troubles started: · When I inflated them to anything over 45 PSI they would come of the rim. This happens suddenly. With no warning. And very loudly. I don’t like it. · They oozed Stan’s fluid through the sidewalls ???! this continued for 2 weeks and I have now put an inner tube in them. see picture So although they are brilliant tyres, I now have two of them that I will try to run with tubes through the winter when we have less thorns but will not buy them again The tyre I was least excited about was WTB cross Boss 700x35c. [heavy, large knobs so noisy and does not roll well on the road] . Man, was I wrong about them. Hooking them up tubeless is a non-issue. No punctures. Although they are 35 wide, they are about 38mm high and this volume makes it easy to run them at pressures down to 27PSI off road. If the thread design was closer to the Contis’, I would stop my search for sure TUBELESS Setting a T/L specific tyre and rim combo up is extremely easy. The problem is the paucity of options when it comes to my T/L tyre requirements and invariably you will use non-T/L tyre. They usually work well except that you have a very limited range of pressures you can run them at. Tyre pressure is much more of an issue on a CX bike than any other type. So if you ride off road, you want them around 30 PSI and on the road as high as you can. The indicated pressures on the side walls are completely irrelevant. The most revealing bit of info has been the very fine print on the Stan’s rim: depending on the tyre width, the max pressure for a 23mm tyre is 116, for a 28mm it is 100 and for 32mm it is only 45 PSI ! If you inflate a [especially a non T/L ] tyre to 46 PSI, it will come off. Suddenly. Loudly. You put a tube in it and you can go much higher – this is something I find mildly puzzling but it’s a fact. So as with most things, engineering is the art of balancing compromises and no set up will by flawless. I will settle for the WTB Cross Boss and may even try their 40mm Nano [weighs a tonne though] on the rear. When it’s time to replace my rims, I would hopefully have more options as tubeless disk rims should expand a lot in the next few years.

So due to a certain series of events I'll be doing Argus this year on my MTB not my road bike. So a couple of questions... 1. How badly will my tyres get eaten? Racing Ralph Snakeskins. 2. What sort of tyre pressure should I run at? 3. What should be my earliest start group given that I'm on an MTB? (This is obviously as a courtesy to the hardcore roadies...) Edit: Anything else I should be wary of?

Schwalbe launched the Hans Dampf, which roughly translates to "handyman" or a "Jack of all trades", in 2011 to much fanfare and anticipation. It was said to deliver all mountain (enduro was not invented yet) grip at trail weight and speed. Schwalbe had also promised to have solved their quick-wearing reputation. Click here to view the article

My apologies if there is already a similar thread. Can anyone tell me what is the widest cyclocross tyre I can fit on a Giant Comax 1? It is sold with 700 x 25 road tyres. Is it just the fork width that governs this or does the rim also limit the width? These tyres don't seem to be readily available - can anyone tell me the best place to look in the Fourways / northern Joburg area? Looking for something fairly slick but with a bit of grip for gravel roads / roadside paths - best suggestion for make & model?? Many thanks.

This year will be the first time I do a super long marathon, any recommendations on rubber choice for the event from hubbers who completed the race before?

Just got a set of AMC tubeless road wheel and now on the hunt for decent tubeless tyres. I"ve got a 2014 Cannonade Supersix Evo and after doing a bit of research it seems that they won't take 28c tyres but will take some 25c and all 23c ones. Been looking at the Schwalbe One and the Schwalbe One Pro's as they score well on the rolling resistance tests and I've been a firm fan of GP4000s for the last 5 years+ but they don't have a tubeless version. Vittoria have a good one coming out next year but even the agents don't know when. Wondering who has used what brands and if any one knows of any 25c tyres anywhere in the country! I've called most shops in the WC and can't find any. Most shops carry a few 23c ones (Ones, Hutchinson and 1 Spez Roubaix but none of the brilliant turbos) and to be honest for the price you have to pay for a tubeless tyre I'd rather get the one I want not one because everywhere is out of stock.

Not long ago we were rather skeptical of Tubeless on the road. On the trail, the benefits of tubeless are obvious - but what advantages does Tubeless bring to the road? Click here to view the article

I have a hardtail 29er which I use principally for my 14k commute (50/50 trails and road). I currently have Continental X-King Protection tyres set up with tape and sealant to run tubeless. I bought the bike second hand and the tyres have never been completely true - my attempts at taking them off and re-seating them have only made things worse. Both front and back tyres have quite a lot of lateral wobble that I am fairly sure is due to misshapen tyres rather than poor seating or a bent rim. Should I bother to replace the tyres? They seem to run okay, but they bug me quite a bit. Thanks in advance.

Hi Hubbers, Quick survey - I need to purchase new road tyres (700c). A quick run down of what you would recommend I get? 700x23? 700x25? Brand etc etc. Max R500/tyre. Thanks!

Onza has been around for longer than most will know, having started life in the late 80's producing tires, headsets, bar ends and other bits. For whatever reason (it was before my time) they disappeared from the scene until the mid 2000's when a Swiss-based company decided to revive the name. Click here to view the article

With the Procore double chamber system mountain bike tires can reach completely new levels of grip, control and puncture protection. In the inner chamber there is high pressure, and with 0.8 bar in the outer chamber the tire almost "sticks” to the ground. Both chambers are filled with air through only one valve. Click here to view the article

Hello fellow mountain bikers. I have read though many, MANY threads regarding mountain bike tyres, yet I am just as confused as before. In fact, I am probably more confused than ever before. What I have concluded is that its 50% preference, and 50% required riding type (terrain). With having said that, I am in search of advice for selecting the most appropriate tyres for me specifically. I live in Cape Town, and I ride mostly single track. I am 25, and weigh approximately 75kg (185cm tall). I am not a pro (no duh...), but I like to think I go pretty quickly down the single tracks, although I only started riding last year November. I ride a Large 2014 Giant Trance 02, which has a 650B 27.5" wheel-set. PLEASE NOTE: I am looking for Maxxis tyre options and combinations ONLY! If you are going to contribute to this thread, please comment with a combination of both front AND rear tyre options, rather than saying things like "aah, why Maxxis?", or "Continental is much better!" etc etc etc. I have used Continental's on my previous bike, and I am wanting to try out Maxxis tyres in particular, so please just accept that, and give me constructive advice... If any. Thank you in advance to those who find the time to give me genuine options and combinations Here is a photo of my exact bike below:

I ride a 26inch MTB for my commute. I am currently using Maxxis Crossmark Tubeless tyres, which I am quite happy with. For the last couple of months, I have not seen these available in the shops and I am starting to look at alternatives. What tyres would you recommend, keeping in mind that most of my riding is on tar.

Hi everyone I read some articles online, but I am still confused about what to do about thorns. Let me explain the scenario. Last weekend my wife and I took a ride on our local trails. She runs tubeless and I run tubes with slime. One section was very thorny (duiweldorings) and both of us picked up a number of thorns, which we left in place. Her tyres seemed to be fine during the ride, while mine lost a little bit of air. On Monday I went to check on the bikes and her tubeless was fine, and to my surprise, so was my slime tubes. So here are my questions: 1. Does one always leave in thorns (both tubeless and tubes with slime)? 2. Am I correct that should my tubes with slime be flat tonight, I must remove all thorns, and then patch up the holes? 3. What will happen if I give my tubes with slime some air, will the thorns cause more damage, leading to a flat, due to the increased pressure? 4. What do I do if her tubeless is flat tonight? Thank you!

So i wanted to know if anyone has experimented with wider rims and Tyres yet. I want to build a set of strong (read all mountain) carbon MTB rims for my MTB, and possibly a set of road rims as well. Road will likely be disc specific. Any ideas?