Fast(er) road tire setup for a Platypus?

[Stephen Martinez]

TL;DR: Looking to make my Rivendell Platypus faster and more efficient for long century rides on rough chip seal without losing comfort. Considering narrower/faster tires (38–40mm) and possibly a lighter wheelset. Curious what’s worked for others.

Spring rides are coming up, and I’m thinking about taking my Rivendell Platypus out for a few local century charity rides this year.

In past years, I’ve done these rides on my faster steel road bikes with ~28mm tires, but several of the routes have long stretches of chattery chip seal, potholes, and general road roughness. Comfort can become a limiter later in the ride. I’d like to try the Platypus instead—ideally still riding in sandals on flat pedals—but with a setup that’s a bit quicker and more efficient over distance.

Right now the bike is very much in winter/comfort mode:

*Rear: René Herse Antelope Hill 29 × 2.2 (700 × 55)

*Front: IRC Marbella 29 × 2.25

*Wheels: Velocity Cliffhangers (30mm) with a Peter White Cycles dynamo hub up front and a Rivendell Silver hub in the rear.

It’s extremely comfortable and stable, but once I hit a certain pace, it feels like I’m pushing against a speed ceiling—especially on longer climbs.

I’ve been considering swapping to something narrower and faster, like:

*René Herse Barlow Pass (38mm)

*or Pirelli P Zero Race ~40mm

I’m also curious what something in the 32–35mm range would feel like on a Platypus—whether it would still play nicely with the geometry while offering a meaningful bump in speed and climbing efficiency.

I’ve also briefly thought about a lighter wheelset, but I haven’t gone very far down that path yet. I’ve even wondered about putting together a second, more performance-oriented wheelset—something like a carbon deep-section setup—and what that would look and feel like on a Platypus.

Has anyone here experimented with setting up a Platypus (or similar Riv geometry) with lighter, faster road-oriented tires or wheels? I’m not chasing aero road-bike speed, but I am hoping to improve cruising speed and climbing comfort over long endurance rides while still keeping the Platypus character intact.

Would love to hear what’s worked (or hasn’t) for others.

[Kim H.]

@Stephen,

Interesting to see you over here from your Reddit post on r/Rivendell_Bicycles. I hope you find what you are looking for.

Kim Hetzel. 

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[Steve]

I say go for it - the lighter wheel set and 38 - 40 slicks - but please share your results. As a Platypus rider I'd love to hear your assessment of the difference. (if you don't mind running plastic rims and 32-35mm tires, that would also be interesting to hear about).  

I'll share that the 42mm RH slicks I initially built my Platypus with were possibly maybe a bit faster than the current RH 48mm  Switchback Hills. Both were on Velocity 650b Quills with White Industry hubs (a sweet wheel set).  The bike is fully fendered with a random rack and bag up front.  

Steve in AVL

[Hoch in UT]

I would highly recommend getting a second wheelset.  It makes it so much easier to swap, which keeps me from being lazy in swapping the set up, and the difference in performance, especially at the century distance, is very noticeable.

The set up I'd recommend is Velocity Quill and Pirelli P Zero in 35 or 40.  They are my favorite road tires.  They're fast and you can set them up tubeless very easy (especially on Quills).  I've not tried Barlow Pass, but I've had Bon Jon's and they've also worked well.  But I did get less flats on the Pirelli's and they rode about the same (meaning, they both rode really really well).

Last thing:  I'm assuming you've ridden longer distances on an upright bike.  For me, my sit bones take too much of a beating.  I need to be leaning slightly forward, so if I were doing this on my Appaloosa, I'd swap handlebars so I'm not so upright.

[Tom Wyland]

I've tried a lot of different tires on my Platy for my 95% asphalt commute. I have Velocity Dyad wheels, which are lighter/narrower than the cliffhangers. I mostly stick to 42-45mm tubed tires (various schwalbe, sawtooth, RE knobbies, RE slicks, etc). I'm currently running  45mm Schwalbe Energizer plus at 70(!) psi, which are stout and not particularly plush. The frame really sucks up much of the chatter when the roads are bumpy (or on sidewalks). I can still hop curbs just fine with this setup, and I've seen generally quicker times on my rides. I personally find 45mm to be the sweet spot, but your results may vary. Taking weight out of your build (handlebars, racks, saddle, etc) is also a better way to gain speed, of course. Off topic for this thread, I guess. I'm mostly a commuter, so my priorities are different.

Tom

Reston, VA

[Michael Cinibulk]

I've been thinking about this on and off for several years. I don't have a good suggestions but here is some anecdotal info for you to consider. 

I ride three of my bike on the road regularly.

Bike 1 is a Waterford 1250 sport tourer with ~1700 g wheelset, not including the 700x28 mm Conti 5000 tires. Total bare bones weight ~22 lbs.

Bike 2 is a Rivendell Sam Hillborne with ~2300 g wheelset, not including the 700x38 mm Gravel King slicks. Total bare bones weight ~27 lbs.

Bike 3 is a BMC Mod-Zero with ~1700 g disc wheelset, not including the 650x52 mm UD Cavas in JFF casing. Total bare bones weight ~27 lbs.

After riding the first two for over 15 y over the same routes at similar effort in SW Ohio, I consistently avg 1.5 mph faster on the Waterford.

After riding all three the past year on the same routes at similar effort in SW Ohio, I seem to avg maybe 0.5 mph slower on the Mod-Zero than on the Hillborne.

Routes vary from hilly to fairly flat and the difference in avg speed is about the same regardless of route. I suspect that the main difference has more to do with rider position than anything else, since the bars on the Waterford are 1 cm lower than saddle, on the Hillborne are about level, and on the Mod-Zero are about 2 cm higher.

-Mike

Bellbrook OH

[Eric Daume]

According to RH, you're not going to gain any speed by going to a narrower, supple tire:

https://www.renehersecycles.com/bq-tire-test-results/

Eric

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[Garth]

Sure, a light-er wheelset would be noticed, but at what price are you willing to pay for it ? I mean will it really make enough difference to justify it for a relatively stiff/heavy frame to begin with ?  Only you can answer that for yourself. A 38mm tire is as low as you'd want to go on the frame. Mostly you'd be reducing weight on the rim and possibly the freehub, depending on what you already have. 

Dare I say if you rode a frame in which a 32mm(+/-3mm) tire is optimal, those GP 5000's sure would be a fast tire. I know that isn't what you asked, but the Platy isn't a great choice for long ride and caring about the speed/effort on a regular basis. 

[Armand Kizirian]

Some extralight barlow pass's are available just a few threads down: https://groups.google.com/g/rbw-owners-bunch/c/h9h5TnWoA8g 

I say do what you want, experiment, and see what the results are, especially if you have the money to spare. I saved just shy of 3lbs in wheels/tires/tubes alone from the stock alex wheelset on my platypus to a white ind/velocity quill/herse setup. That's significant. My intention was just for a more pleasurable feel of the bike, not speed. 

If you're attempting to ride centuries on a platypus, try it with what you have first, then decide. Forget the deep dish carbon, that's just nonsense, especially on a rim-brake bike.

I'd recommend the 44mm version of the herse tires, the extralight variant is the same weight as the 38mm. I would say that is the best combination of rolling resistance/comfort they offer in their catalog. 

[Tom Powell Davies]

Hi Michael,

Thanks so much for these interesting observations!

Without getting too much off track - I'd be very interested to hear any reflections you might have about how the Sam handles compared with your Mod.Zero!

I ask because I have a Mod.Zero (like you, in a reasonably upright position) and am contemplating getting a Sam as an addition. I'm after something really smooth and compliant, and wondering if the Sam would add anything there, or if you find it similar to the Mod.Zero.

Thanks in advance for anything you're happy to share, and apologies one and all for going slightly off track!

Tom 

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[Stephen Martinez]

Hi all — thanks very much for the thoughtful replies. This has been really helpful, and I appreciate the range of perspectives.

Kim — yes, thank you! I did end up joining the RBW group as suggested, so it’s good to be here.

To give a little more context: I do have a Waterford 1200 road bike with 28mm GP5000s that comes in around 9 kg, and that bike is very comfortable and capable for faster rides and 100 km–style endurance days. I know what this lighter, more performance-oriented setup feels like, and I’m not trying to turn the Platypus into that bike.

That said, I’m also quite comfortable on the Platypus for 4+ hour rides and can cover ~100 km on mostly flat routes at a social group ride pace. I’m running what I believe are Nitto Tosco bars, and on solo rides I’ll sometimes bring my hands in close to the stem and tuck down for a sort of faux TT position. I’m sure it looks a little goofy, but it does help with wind and feels fine for me over distance.

The main takeaway for me right now is that I probably want to start with tires. I initially went as big as I reasonably could—55mm René Herse (which I managed to destroy one of…) and now a grippy IRD up front—but over the past year I’ve realistically done almost no gravel or mixed surface riding. Since I’m sticking to pavement, it makes sense to tone down the size and gravel bias and move toward something more road-oriented.

So I’m leaning toward a simple tire swap first: either P Zero Race in 35 or 40 mm, or an all-road René Herse option in the 35 / 38 / 44 mm range. I don’t currently have a spare wheelset with an ideal rim width for those tires, nor a rear wheel that works with the 135 mm spacing, so I’ll likely keep my eyes open for a suitable second wheelset while starting with tires on the existing rims.

Longer term, I agree with those who mentioned that wheels and tires are where the biggest gains are likely to be. Dropping a few pounds of rotating mass would be very noticeable. I’ve already stripped the bike down and can always add my racks, dynamo light, bags, and fenders back as needed. I could save more weight by swapping the Brooks saddle or removing the kickstand—but those are staying. This isn’t a weight-weenie project, just a reasonably lightened Platypus meant for enjoying a well-paced century: scenery, spring air, and not slogging up hills or overheating unnecessarily.

For reference, I rode the Trek Pedal Around Dallas event last year on the Platypus and completed the full route (ended up around 87 miles). The posted 16–17 mph B-group pace seemed reasonable for me on this setup—especially if I could sit in and draft—but I don’t think I fully accounted for the amount of surging required to maintain that average, along with the frequent stop-and-go accelerations from traffic lights and the repeated regrouping when lights and small hills split the group. I would get dropped at some point after each regroup/rest stop, but I did finish the complete route—at least 20–30 minutes behind the B group. There were a few others who also got dropped that I could link up with between stops, and quite a few riders who didn’t end up finishing the whole route. The hot dogs at the end were worth it, and every Trek rest stop was very nice. I’m confident I could have stayed with the B group on a road bike, and that really highlighted the “wall” I hit on the Platypus—where beyond a certain speed, repeated interval, or gradient, the required effort ramps up quickly compared to a lighter bike with a more forward position.

Anyway, lots to think about. I appreciate everyone sharing real-world experience, and I’ll be happy to report back once I’ve made a few changes and logged some miles.

I also have a few bike photos here, for anyone curious: https://www.instagram.com/stephenfromchico/

saginawsteve

[Rusty Jefferson]

I think the sweet spot for comfort and speed is the RH 32mm Stampede Pass in Extra-light. I couldn't quite fit these on my Waterford RS-22 so I picked up another frame that will allow me to run them with fenders. You can certainly try them on your current wheelset. In fact the 25mm (inner) width of the Cliffhanger should give them excellent shape. Decide then if you need another lighter wheelset if you like the ride.

Jim in Annapolis

[Gabe]

Hi Eric et al., 

Sometimes i feel like Jan's experiments always lead to the conclusion that one should buy something he is selling!!! However, he DOES sell tires of various widths, so his research could go either way on this one. I currently have Rene Herse 48mm tires in the endurance casing (the knobby ones) on a big Appaloosa. Before, I had some 37mm WTB tires with a fine tread of mini knobs. The narrower tires definitely made the bike "feel" a little lighter and more appropriate for a longer road ride. The bike was still close to 40 lbs but I'd say the skinnier tires felt better on the road.  And I feel like nice quality 38mm tires should still be fairly forgiving on crappy roads, while, at the very least, being lighter. I can't imagine the lost "suppleness" / squishiness/ bounciness would cost you much speed (if any) and if the bike feels easier and more spry that could help morale the last hour or two of the long ride. I feel like that could be a middle ground without putting 23mm slicks at 105psi on the bike!  Feel lighter, still have not-to-skinny tires. 

Happy Friday!!!!

Gabe

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[Michael Cinibulk]

Tom,

To be honest, it’s difficult to compare given the different setups. I think the ride of the Mod.Zero is similar to the Hillborne, in stripped down mode. Both ride well. I would not call the Hillborne ride compliant, that would be apply to my Waterford with 753 tubing. But the Hillborne is definitely a smooth ride, as is the Mod.Zero with the wide tires. I have the two as I bought the Hillborne some 15 y ago as a commuter and road touring bike. I built up the Mod.Zero last year as an off-road tourer. Both could be great all round road bikes if built up for that purpose. 

Mike

Sent from my iPhone

Tom Powell Davies <tom.powe...@gmail.com>: Jan 10 02:32PM +1100

[Josiah Anderson]

Gabe, this sort of thing comes up a lot with people accusing Jan of bias in his studies, but what people miss is that the science came before the products. Compass/RH sells the products they sell because they like them and because the Bicycle Quarterly research says they work well. The first several rounds of tire tests happened before Compass even existed, and the tests are what informed the design of the tires, so OF COURSE the tests say that RH and similar tires perform well - that's the point of the tires!

I don't work for RH/BQ and am only vaguely acquainted with most of that crew, I just don't like seeing false accusations go unchallenged. 

Josiah

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[Tom Powell Davies]

Thank you so much for sharing those comparisons, Mike, I really appreciate it! Sounds like we are both lucky to have either one or both of the bikes :)

Tom in Sydney

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[Will Boericke]

I think total system weight is a significant factor here as well.  At 150# on my 17# carbon bike, a nice 28mm tire is totally comfy for me for 100 miles.  I can't really tell the difference if I move to a 32mm tire, but my 220# friend for sure is not going to give up his 32s.  I have a bike with 38s that's otherwise light and stiff, but I can tell I'm pushing around more tire after about 1.5 hours on that bike.  Perhaps if I was confident I could get away with an extralight tire, that time frame would be larger.  On a platypus, I think maybe 35-38 would be a sweet spot, and there are many more manufacturers making good tires in that size range (Conti Urban Contact is one I am planning on trying soon).  You could probably get a lighter wheelset, but I'm not sure you'd notice that difference as much. 

Will near Boston, relishing those 38mm today on winter-pockmarked streets

[Peter Oberbreckling]

I picked up a 55 Platypus in the last lottery, and recently built it up with 38 mm RH Barlow Pass tires on Velocity a23s.  I can't speak to how that setup compares to others.  But, I do live in Plano, and if you find yourself in the neighborhood you are  welcome to take my Platypus for a spin, or if you brought your bike we could see about swapping my wheels into yours.

[Rusty Jefferson]

Per my previous post about the RH 32mm tires, attached 2 pictures of one mounted on an internal 19mm Open Pro rim and an internal 25mm Velocity Cliffhanger.

Jim in Annapolis

On Saturday, January 10, 2026 at 5:11:17 PM UTC-5 tom.powe...@gmail.com wrote:

[Gabe]

Hi Josiah,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I apologize if I came off like I was making false accusations, especially in a thread about how to make a particular bike faster (and not a debate which tire brand is the "best" or if company stakeholders are the best people to publish scientific studies about their products). I've never read any of the peer-reviewed and/or scientifically rigorous tire studies that pre-date Compass (and I probably wouldn't understand the physics/ math involved anyway!). I'm only familiar with the advertising copy on the RH website and I read The All-Road Bike book. It definitely references "science" often but I've repeatedly found that RH marking talks about science often but isn't written up like a scientific paper that clearly explains how to replicate their experiments, their methodology and results. 

This is what I associate RH promo materials with: "That got me thinking: How can we maximize the interlocking between tire and road? Pavement is made up of irregular little stones. If the tire has many little edges, some will interlock with these road irregularities. More edges allow for more interlocking. Obviously, the edges need to be stiff enough, so they don’t just fold over when they push against the road irregularities. How stiff they need to be, and how much rubber we need, is something we can calculate." However, none of the calculations are shown. Then, in the same passage, very anecdotal claims are made: "When we received the first prototypes of our Rene Herse tires, I put them on my bike. The next morning, I headed to the gym, still sleepy at this early hour. On familiar, empty streets, I was riding on auto-pilot. When I turned onto a side street at the bottom of a long hill, my front wheel almost hit the curb on the inside of the corner. My bike was turning much tighter than it usually did, because the tread was interlocking more with the road surface" or "In the 12 years since we introduced our tires with their optimized tread pattern, I haven’t lost grip once. I don’t ride any slower than before—if anything, I’m probably descending faster, now that I can really trust my tires…"

Of course, none of this means that they didn't do robust studies and publish their results in reputable, peer-reviewed journals. And it does not mean that their tires aren't faster, grippier and more comfortable than any other tires available. I was just making a wisecrack about the tendency to reference science that indicates you should buy their products if you like things like speed, comfort or traction without sharing the actual science (on the parts of the website I've been too, at least). 

EIther way, I definitely want to try their extralight tires at some point. I've just been intimidated about them being "fragile," especially because me plus my bike weigh about 270lbs. 

As for the speedy platypus, it sounds like any extralight RH tire with or without knobs  and at any width over 38mm will be faster.

Gabe 

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[Stephen Martinez]

OP here with a quick update:

I recently picked up a Heron touring frameset (Waterford/Riv/Grant mashup) and will post about that build soon.

As for the Platypus — I bought it last year as a fully built adventure setup (38/24, 11–32, Cliffhangers w/ dynamo, ~55mm tires). In reality, I’ve mostly used it for slower paved endurance miles around the park.

Out of curiosity, I mounted a pair of 38mm Schwalbe Pro Ones (intended for the Heron) and took it out.

Big difference.

Holding 15–18 mph felt easier, and tapping into 20+ came more naturally compared to the 55s. For my current paved riding, the 38s feel much more aligned with how I’m actually using the bike. I still plan to move them to the Heron, but now I’m considering something similar for the Platypus — maybe the new Michelin Pro 5 in 40mm (if anyone has feedback).

I also ordered a 165mm New Albion XDD 46/34 crankset. The 173mm arms felt long, I’d occasionally spin out the 38–11, and I rarely used the 24–32. The new gearing should better match my riding.

Lastly, I’m considering a lighter 135mm rim-brake road wheelset for paved duty. The Cliffhanger/dynamo setup is great, just too robust for my mostly road miles.

I'll attach photos of the Heron, current Platypus, and a mock-up with lighter wheels.

TL;DR: 38mm tires feel much better than 55mm for how I’m riding the Platypus right now.

[Stephen Martinez]

[Stephen Martinez]

Sorry for multiple replies, I'm getting errors for the messages being too long (combined file sizes might be too high?)

[Piaw Na]

On Wednesday, January 14, 2026 at 9:39:47 AM UTC-8 carm...@gmail.com wrote:

Of course, none of this means that they didn't do robust studies and publish their results in reputable, peer-reviewed journals. And it does not mean that their tires aren't faster, grippier and more comfortable than any other tires available. I was just making a wisecrack about the tendency to reference science that indicates you should buy their products if you like things like speed, comfort or traction without sharing the actual science (on the parts of the website I've been too, at least). 

EIther way, I definitely want to try their extralight tires at some point. I've just been intimidated about them being "fragile," especially because me plus my bike weigh about 270lbs. 

I don't trust anything Rene Herse says about their tires.  (The tread pattern in particular is a bunch of hogwash, as I'll describe below) For instance, I think that at 32mm or less, there are plenty of other comparables from major manufacturers at 1/2 to 1/3 the price that will work well for most riders. I run Michelin Power Cup 28s on my single bikes ($35 each) and are very happy with them.

Having said that, for 35mm tires and up, there really aren't any comparables that are as light. And at the prices RH is charging there's no point (for my use cases) to using anything other than extralights, since if you're happy to carry extra weight there are plenty of large sized tires that are heavy.

As for your weight and size, I use extralight Bon Jon Pass tires on my tandem/triplet. When we're unloaded  as a 2-seat tandem the bike is 250 pounds, when fully loaded we're 270 pounds. The bike survived last year's tour of the dolomites and alps (including off roading) for 730 miles and over 57000' of climbing and the tire still hasn't worn off the center tread pattern yet. The year. before that, we did 823 miles and over 73000' on a much tougher tour with 700x32 Stampede pass extralights. Within 4 days of that sort of treatment the center tread pattern disappeared (which is why I think the center tread is just marketing --- how could it make any difference if it wore out after 4 days into an 800+ mile tour), but the tire kept going. We got the bike home, put the bike into 3-seat configuration and it wore out when we rode it in Santa Cruz on a day ride. (In triplet we were 350 pounds) That was when I started shopping for the Bon Jon Pass 700x35 tires, which measure 38mm on our tandem. So if you want to try the extra-light Rene Herse tires I think we've tested that tire way beyond your weight class for you and you can buy with confidence. I'd wager that I'm also a much more aggressive rider off road than most folks. :-)

[Nick Payne]

For 700x35 tyres I've switched from Bon Jon Pass to Conti GP Urban, as to me they feel the same to ride, and in this country the Contis are about half the price.

Nick Payne

[Micah Turner]

Hey Stephen! I ran into you at one of these T-shirt rallies! I think you were on a blue waterford? I was probably on a green Bianchi touring bike or maybe a salmon velo orange neutrino? 

Anyways, I was playing around with a lower end mixte bike with swept back bars, and even when I took the wheelset off the Bianchi (running 32mm RH tires), I was much slower on it. At lower speeds it was about the same, but the body position makes it an absolute parachute. Getting above around 16mph took noticeably more effort, and if there was a headwind, it was slow going. Really comfy though, and makes me want a platypus for shorter rides.

I don't have a ton of experience with the wider RH tires but I do have a 26" 55mm RH set of slicks for my 90s MTB in "gravel mode". It feels on-par with my 700x32 set on my Bianchi but the MTB is heavier, different body position, 26" vs 700c etc so it's not exactly apples to apples. My understanding is that they all use the same casing layup, so I would expect them all to be pretty quick.

Basically if you're already running RH slicks on your platypus, that already seems like a pretty quick setup. (Not sure how fast the IRCs roll though).

Hope to see you riding around!

[Guy Jett]

Interesting data on tire wear, but a lot of info is missing.  In you seen to report the distance ridden or the time ridden.  In no case have you reported the tire pressures used.  In other cases I found terms are poorly defined limiting my understanding of your points.

                                A Compilation of Your Data

                                                                                                        RH rec. psi      Your
     Tire            Width    Load      Dist.     Time       Result               Soft     Firm      psi
Stampede Pass    32       270?      n.s.      4 days     Tread smooth      60        74      _____
Stampede Pass*  32       350        n.s.     <1 day     Worn out             88       110     _____
Bon Jon Pass       35       270       730        n.s.        OK                      69         85     _____

=============================================================
    All tires: 700c    Width: mm         Load: lbs.         Dist.: miles         n.s.: Not Stated

    *  Using the above smooth-treaded tires.

You don't mention any performance issues such as slippage.  While the center tread pattern of your Stampede Pass tires did wear smooth the tire "kept going" meeting the marketing claim made by RH.  On the follow-up ride with three people on the Stampede Pass tires you mention they were "worn out".  Does that mean the center rubber was worn away down the the casing threads, or something else?

For myself, running a total weight of about 175 lbs, I'm on my second set of Loup Loup Pass tires (650b x 38).  These are consistently run at the RH recommended soft pressure of 40 psi front and rear.  I haven't tracked my mileage till last year (1,000 mi. in 7 months) but I estimate both sets have gone over 2,000 miles.  While the center of the tread has worn smooth it looks like there's a lot more distance before they're "worn out").  And what does that really matter?  

But anyway, I'm converting my old Raleigh Competition from 27-inch wheels to 650b (for a lower standover height).  42's will definitely fit while 48's would be an upper limit.  In any case, as much as I love the RH tires, I'll probably go with a pair of 650b x 42 Panaracer GravelKing Slicks saving about $32 in cost and about 30g over the RH extralight Babyshoe Pass tires as based on advertised weights.

GAJett

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[Stephen Martinez]

Hey man! Yep — you were on that really nice Neutrino on that ride, riding with your brother too I think. I was riding with the MBBC guys for a bit on my blue Waterford (below).

Funny enough, I also have 26" Rat Trap Pass on a 90s hardtail with a rigid fork — a Waterford 1400. I’ve been thinking of doing the Cotton Patch Challenge Gravel Grinder in Greenville later this September on that bike, though I don’t really ride gravel, it looks like a fun t-shirt ride though. It’s quick for what it is, but with the 1x gearing I do spin out on road rides once speeds creep up.

On the Platypus side, I originally started with 2x Rene Herse Antelope Hills in 55mm. I actually took a spill last year cornering down a small hill in the park — my fault for not realizing how high my center of gravity is on the Platypus compared to a road bike. After the usual “is my bike okay?” followed “welp, there goes $100.” The brakes took a hit and tore through the sidewall, so that tire was done.

After that I swapped on a spare IRD to the front. It’s not a true slick like the Rene Herse — more of a micro-dot tread — but it’s been fine for riding around this winter. I did run the Rene Herse setup on a faster group ride (Ride Around Dallas 100), and I got dropped pretty quickly after each regroup. Short rolling hills and rubber-banding speeds above ~18 mph really added up on the heavier Platypus with cliffhangers. That said, I’m stronger now, and I do think lighter wheels (down the road) would help if I want to use it for faster rides like that.

I’m in no rush to change things up all at once — I can take a long-term, one-change-at-a-time approach. For now it’ll just be lighter tires and a different crank length / chainring combo, with wheels maybe later in the year. No matter how it’s set up, the Platypus (and mixtes in general) are just super fun in that upright position.

Like you mentioned, body position is huge. I can tuck a bit when needed — I'm running Nitto Losco bars, so I can slide my hands onto the straight section near the stem. The stem is a fillet-brazed Nitto faceplate, around 100–110mm. It looks great and works well as-is, though I could see going slightly longer or lower to stretch things out a bit while still keeping the comfy upright sweptback bars option.

Hope to see you out riding again this year — your Strava rides always look like a good time!

[Stephen Martinez]

100km ride report: Well, I ordered a set of Michelin Pro 5 in 40mm in tanwall and installed the 165mm New Albion XDD 46/34 crankset to go with my 9 speed 11-32 cassette. The Michelin Pro 5s seem pretty good, compared to 55mm gravel tires, and they look very good in tan. I only got to ride about 30 miles on the Schwalbe Pro One in 38mm before I swapped them out, but I do think that those felt a bit lighter and faster on paved roads with my Platypus. Both tires measured true to size on the wide cliffhanger rims that I have. The 165mm crankset works well for me compared to 173mm in 38/24.

I spent most of the ride in the 46 up front, shifting my way through the range of the cassette. The 34 came in handy for spinning up gradients and for recovery. It's a very satisfying build right now, rolling along upright for 100km puts a smile on my face. Slow enough to not scare anyone in the park, fast enough have fun ride on. I tucked in occasionally to deal with the wind and pick up speed, but over 100km the bike’s weight and wheels show up — which seems more about the engine than the machine. I’m happy with the build as-is and plan to ride it this way for a little while. That said, on longer rides with rolling terrain or false flats, a lighter wheelset would help take some of the edge off. Forgot to take photos on this ride, but I’ll post something interesting next time.

[Mike in BK]

The AI mock up is funny because the cranks don't line up. Lol!

[Chris Halasz]

For others reading, 100% agree with Nick - Conti GP Urban 700 x 35, and with TPU tubes. I sold one set when I sold a bike, and am on them again with another. 

I run them on my upright bike, and hang with the other folks born in the 50s and on their 28mm GP5000 equipped carbon fiber road bikes. 

As for bigger tires not being slower, well, that's just silly as a general rule. Take a ride up the deliciously smooth HC Gibraltar Road here in California, first with 2.6 knobbies, then with the Conti GPs (and lighter wheels!). I like to climb, but in my seventh decade, extended zone four and five rides are no longer recommended! 

The physics of tires and road surface is a matter of impedance matching: A 28mm Conti GP won't be as generally efficient over ruts, roots, and rocks as will a nice 2.6 knobby, and conversely (see above), and likewise gravel riding is great on a 38-42mm tire, but with our smooth roads (the Montecito residents just will not stand for chipseal) 35mm is my max! 

- Chris  

[Bill Lindsay]

Chris

You claim you run 35mm Continental tires and you keep up with others running 28mm Continental tires.  Then you say it's silly to claim bigger tires are not slower.  So which is it?  Are your 35mm tires a lot slower than other guys' 28mm tires, and you are just a much stronger rider?  -OR- are 35mm tires and 28mm tires actually pretty close in speed, provided they are similarly constructed?  My vote would be the latter.   

I think that the claims around bigger tires not being slower boils down to tires of similar construction and tread, and comes down to "ride the widest that your bike will take and that you want to ride, and don't worry about losing speed to the next size skinnier".  Nobody says 2.6" knobbies are just as fast as 35mm slicks on smooth pavement.  Not a single person

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[Chris Halasz]

Bill 

Neither. I'm just way more fit than those guys. I'm also bolt upright while they're relatively tucked, bless their pelvic floors. I am confident I'd be faster on my Dutch bike with 28s, but think the 35mm tires fill the bike better, cost less, and I get lonely off the front. So it's a cost/ visual/ performance / comfort trade - pick any three? 

The 2.6" to 28mm comparison was an extreme, to the 'bigger tires aren't slower' axiom, also an extreme. 

I do personally sense a 28mm GP5000 is faster than the 35mm, or even a 32mm, as does my wife (still fast), and personally most sense the difference on a climb. (Friends who've climbed both Gibraltar and Diablo - many times - tell me they're similar efforts - you owe it to yourself to ride Gibraltar sometime!)

I like the "ride the widest ... that you want to ride, and don't worry about losing speed to the next size skinnier", for me, but the Cat 1s I've ridden with take to differ, and I sure can't keep up with them (on the flats) anymore, and my medical friends tell me folks my age shouldn't be riding with them on the climbs any more either! They have their modern 32+mm tire bikes, but prefer their go-fasts with the 25mm Contis. YMMV. 

Maybe my take is, "be wary buying a bike that needs an embiggened tire to visually fill it out, as the a too big tire might dampen (pun) the experience"? 

As to the original poster, I was surprised how much I liked how the deep rims and narrower tires looked on the Platypus! Made me wish I'd kept mine! 

Cheers, 

- Chris 

[Lawrence Marcus]

Chiming in with another vote for the 35mm Conti GP Urban. I don't know if they make my Charlie any faster than other tires I've tried (Conti Contact Urban 42, Ultradynamico Cava JFF 39), but I'm certain they make it feel faster — which is actually what I care about.

The Cavas, in particular, felt sluggish to me on pavement, presumably due to the "supple" construction transmitting less road vibration. Ride quality was very comfortable, but it wasn't the right tradeoff for me.

On Wednesday, March 4, 2026 at 10:40:29 AM UTC-8 Bill Lindsay wrote: