With the LeMond homeward certain and the Roadini assuming all-around street bike responsibility it was time for the Milwaukee to step again right into a extra sporting function, 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 an identical 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 loads of tinkering to get all the things to work.
No, in fact I didn’t. We’re speaking friction shifting right here! If you happen to’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, by which case you may need to fiddle with them a tiny bit, massive deal.)
Anyway, I’ve been utilizing comparatively plump 43mm Panaracer Gravel Kings on the Roadini, and total 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 Highway-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 experience itself, whereas the tires had been actually just a little smoother and quieter on pavement and just a little firmer when climbing, total 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 foul factor, however one thing I observed. Additionally, whereas this shouldn’t matter, with the lowered tire quantity the bike form of appears to be like prefer it’s taking Ozempic:
I don’t know if that will 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 experience with the 32s I’d need to agree. Sure, the bike nonetheless felt nice, but it surely appears to me that going wider on this bike is just about all upside. The Gravel Kings go well with 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 can be preferrred.
Talking of tire clearance, take a look at what’s happening 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 making an attempt to mount a Rene Herse tire, which is notoriously tough.
This may not be onerous for me to imagine, as a result of you realize if manatees rode bikes they’d be everywhere in the complete Social gathering Tempo/Supple Life/Path Much less Pedaled factor:
The designer tires, the boutique frames, the costly machined high-performance elements…all to allow them to experience to the park with buddies 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 Cross with the Extralight casing, I wager there are no less than 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 concept 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!”