Compass 650b 38 vs. 650b 42 mm tires question.

[lungimsam]

Loup Loup vs. Babyshoe

Wonder what the ride quality diff is. They are so close in size.

Flat diffs?

Trying to decide on one or t'other for my smooth road riding with my 175 lb. body on my Hillborne.

The 38's might get me some more clearance under my fenders, vs. my 42 Hetres. Can use the Hetres as spares for my other bike.

So thinking of going that-a-way if they will perform the same.

Thanks for any info.

[Steve Palincsar]

On 08/08/2014 01:22 AM, lungimsam wrote:
> Loup Loup vs. Babyshoe
> Wonder what the ride quality diff is. They are so close in size.

You'd be surprised: 38 & 42 really aren't "so close in size" at all.
There's more difference in volume there than there is between 23 and
25mm, or between 25 and 28mm, and nobody would call either of those
pairs "so close."


> Flat diffs?

Probably not much. There's much too much random variation there.

[Anton Tutter]

I can't speak to a direct comparison since I've not tried the Loup Loup's, but my Babyshoe Passes (extralight version) are supremely fast and supple tires, and clearly superior in both regards to the Hetres they replace. I'm 165 lb, and ride a lot on dirt and gravel, so I tend to keep the pressures relatively low (35 front, 40 rear).  Magical tires.

If you had said you wanted to use these on rough roads/trails, I'd recommend the wider Babyshoes without reserve.  But for smooth riding as you mentioned, I don't know how much extra benefit the additional air volume of the Babyshoes would have.

Anton

[Jan Heine]

I'd recommend the Babyshoe Pass 650B x 42 mm if you have room. If 42 mm tires are a squeeze, take the 38 mm Loup Loup Pass. There are many bikes (early 650B Rivs, Kogswell P/R, etc.) that cannot accept the full 42 mm "Demi-Ballon" with adequate clearances, especially if you use fenders. For those, we developed the Loup Loup Pass. Both are extraordinary tires, and you cannot go wrong with either.

Jan Heine
Compass Bicycles Ltd.
www.compasscycle.com

[Jay B]

Plenty of 650b Rivs can take 42mm tires with fenders.  My Bleriot, for example, swallows Hetres, SKS longboard fenders, and Paul Racer brakes with room to spare.  I've even mounted some of the Schwalbe fatties RBW used to sell under some fenders on that bike.  

-Jay

[franklyn]

Jan's point is well taken, but the Gen2 Kogswell actually take Hetres and VO Zepplin (52mm) OK. I recently did some bike camping on the San Juan Islands and rode on some mixed terrain, and the Kogswell with the mentioned set-up work perfectly. 

I have both 42mm Hetres (40.5mm on synergy rims) and 38mm Soma B-line tires (37.5mm on synergy rims) and the difference in appearance and feel are noticeable. I would say that if you can fit, use the wider tires. 

Question for Jan and others: my Hetres have never stretched beyond 40.5mm, even though a pair is now at around 5000 miles. Are the Babyshoe Passes wider than the Hetres (do they measure to a true 42mm on Synergys? Do they stretch beyond 42mm on Synergys or A23s?)

thanks,
Franklyn

[franklyn]

Here is a picture of my P/R with the said setup on Lopez Island: https://www.flickr.com/photos/franklyn/14667199819/

Franklyn

[lungimsam]

In what ways would the 42 be superior to the 38?

That is what I really need to know. Thanks. 

[Steve Palincsar]

On 08/08/2014 03:34 PM, lungimsam wrote:

In what ways would the 42 be superior to the 38?

That is what I really need to know. Thanks. 

They're wider.  Obviously.  Which means you can run less pressure.  It also means a wider contact patch, which in my experience translates to better stability and grip on gravel.

[ted]

I recently changed tires from ~32mm GB Cerfs (very nice tires) to ~41mm Soma GR Greens (also very nice tires). On reasonable pavement I have not been immediately bowled over by the differences. Therefore I don't think I would find the difference between 38 and 42 significant. However it seems the common wisdom round here is that 42 is much better than 38, so I guess most who have tried em both feel otherwise.

One reason to run wider tires is to allow lower pressure, for improved comfort, without getting pinch flats. But I find I can run 32mm tires soft enough to feel a bit squirmy or wandery without getting pinch flats. So I am not convinced this purported advantage really works for me.

Another purported advantage of a wider tire is the larger contact patch. At a given pressure, a wider tire feels harder than a narrower one. When you reduce the pressure in the wider tire to account for that, you get a larger contact patch. 

[Anton Tutter]

I have 32mm Grand Bois Cypres extralights on another bike, and agree that at the right pressure (about 55 psi front, 60 psi rear, in my case), they feel almost as good as a 42mm tire, at least on reasonable pavement.  And the added advantage is significantly lower rotational weight, which I can definitely feel. But for any kind of rough road surface, the lower pressure of a 42mm tire over a 32mm tire makes a huge difference.

Anton

[ted]

Anton, thanks for the insight.
My Cypres tires were the standard variety. I think they start to feel a bit loose between 65 and 60 psi in the rear. I'm just beginning my experiment with 42 mm tires. My first take is the GR Greens get a bit loose between 50 and 45 psi in the rear, and that 50 psi in the GRs feels similar to the Cypres at 65. What 42 mm tires have you used, and what pressures work well for you?

[Anton Tutter]

I've had Hetres and now have Compass Babyshoe Passes.  For smooth pavement, I've been running 40 psi front, 45 psi rear, and drop about 5 psi for rough roads or gravel.

Anton

[Jim Bronson]

I run the 38mm LoupLoups on both my Riv and my Soma GR so that I can stock one tire size, even though the GR can take 42 mm.

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Keep the metal side up and the rubber side down!

[Steven Frederick]

I put a set of those on the Stag and they're pretty great. 

On Fri, Aug 8, 2014 at 11:26 PM, Jim Bronson <jim.b...@gmail.com> wrote:

I run the 38mm LoupLoups...