God I hate 650x23c handcycle wheels

[Curt Leatherbee]

Originally Posted by tooley

jeebus I hate stupid frenchman tubes.

So I ain't rode my FRH for a month due to a sprained thumb. Go to get on it this morn and they's all squishy. I realize tire pressure is a part of life, but with a cervical-level spinal cord injury dinking around with presta valves sucks buffalo gonads.

so I'll pose this question before I pump up my shit and head out.

Is there a way to put some schrader valves in those skinny little Mavic's?

patM, what's involved in putting 559s on this rig? Scrawny little road tires aren't my style anyway.... I feel like designing a completely new front-end for this bike and having it built.

Damn it I want a Nuke.

You should just put on Schrader adapters on each wheel and just leave the presta valve in the open position, that way you just pump the tire each time as if it is a Schrader valve without having to remove and replace your presta tubes. I've had no issues leaving the valves in the presta tubes in the open position, they seal with a internal valve.

[Curt Leatherbee]

Originally Posted by Patrick Madsen

Hey Tooley. You could drill out the holes in the rim to accept a Shcrader valve.

To change to a 559 we need to of course get a 559 wheel and change out to a longer caliper brake. I'm looking into it my self.

I know it's not my rim tape, it's hitting the small uneven ridges in the road causing a pinch flat.

The Conti Triathalons are great, no problems on my bike with those down south. The bike up north I've got Tufo Tubeless tires and never get flats, they are expensive but very little rolling resistance with these tires, they take up to 175 lbs. I have not had a flat in riding these for two years up north here and they still look in great shape, probabley around 1500 miles on them so far.

[totoL1]

Originally Posted by tooley

Is there a way to put some schrader valves in those skinny little Mavic's?
.

You only need to drill the hole of the rim for fit the schrader valve, i think you will need to use a 8mm drill bit, but not sure, but will not be so far.

[Dado]

I already used:

Conti GP4000S
Conti Gatorskin
Michelin Pro Race 3
Panaracer Stradius
Kenda Kaliente

- Gatorskins are the best for training! I´ve rode 5k miles with them and had no flats at all.
- Conti GP4000S are fast, but I started getting flats after 1-2k miles and got lots of them after 3k miles
- Michelin Pro Race 3 is super fast, but super fragile too. They´re difficult to mount and I got two flats under 100km. After that, I blew the sidewall on a small rock.
- Panaracer Stradius is the standard tire that comes with top end handcycles. They´re ok for training.
- Kaliente´s are my current training tire. Cheap, foldable, easy to mount and good for training, altough not as sturdy as Gatorskins.


All of them were 650c. I´ve heard Top End can customize the handcycles to use 700c wheels. I´m trying to confirm that with Scott from Bike-On and will post any updates.

[Dado]

BTW, those are clincher tires. I also used Tufo (S3 and S3 Lite) and Vittoria (Corsa Evo) tubular tires if you need info on them.

[Curt Leatherbee]

Originally Posted by Dado

BTW, those are clincher tires. I also used Tufo (S3 and S3 Lite) and Vittoria (Corsa Evo) tubular tires if you need info on them.

Have you had good luck with the Tubular tires? Like I said no flats in 2 years for me with them and that's running over clam shells and all sorts of things and they still look great. I've yet to try changing one but understand they need to be glued to the rim so they are little more tricky to deal with than a clincher.

[Dado]

Originally Posted by Curt Leatherbee

Have you had good luck with the Tubular tires? Like I said no flats in 2 years for me with them and that's running over clam shells and all sorts of things and they still look great. I've yet to try changing one but understand they need to be glued to the rim so they are little more tricky to deal with than a clincher.

Unfortunately, not much

I just got one flat until today (after 300 miles), but had lots of trouble glueing the tires and using sealants.

Of course they´re the best for racing, but my biggest concern is about changing a flat tire during a competition or training session. I´m thinking of selling them and getting a set of carbon clinchers. Heavier, but way more easy to change tires and you also have more clincher tire options.


And I just checked Top End RX´s order form and they have a 700c wheels options (for $750).

[The_Wheel_Life]

Originally Posted by Dado

And I just checked Top End RX´s order form and they have a 700c wheels options (for $750).

When TE builds a bike for 700c wheels, they use the same frame and make the fork a little longer. Although it rolls down the road well, it puts the riders shoulders awfully close to the back wheels. A lot of people with the 650 bikes hit their shoulders on the tires, and TE's 700 bike make the problem even worse! Just something to consider if you're looking at that option. If I were going that route, I would talk to the folks at TE and see if they might be able to add a couple inches to the length of the frame.

[Tman9513]

Originally Posted by Curt Leatherbee

Have you had good luck with the Tubular tires? Like I said no flats in 2 years for me with them and that's running over clam shells and all sorts of things and they still look great. I've yet to try changing one but understand they need to be glued to the rim so they are little more tricky to deal with than a clincher.

Use Tufo gluing tape. http://www.biketiresdirect.com/product/tufo-gluing-tape Leave a few inches not taped so you can get your hand in there to pry off flats. The tape is super easy.

[nvmxskier]

Originally Posted by Tman9513

Use Tufo gluing tape. http://www.biketiresdirect.com/product/tufo-gluing-tape Leave a few inches not taped so you can get your hand in there to pry off flats. The tape is super easy.

Can't beat Tape. I switched a month ago and liked it so much I cleaned all the glue off my wheels and re did with Tufo Tape. It is so easy, a T4 para can mount in about 6 minutes. I haven't had one issue with them either since I mounted, even in some technical crits.

P.S. 700c's seem to work pretty well.