Tire size question... don't know where else to ask it.

[Rene Sterental]

With all the expertise in this group, I'm going to take the liberty of asking a tire question for a non-Riv bike. I apologize but I don't know where else to ask it.

I'm going to get a Bike Friday Pocket Llama so I can take a bicycle with me when I travel. I travel quite frequently for business and always feel that if I just had a bike with me on most places where I go to, I'd be able to enjoy myself more and also get to sight see the place rather than getting stuck in the hotel or having to rent a car. In the Riv spirit, the bike is steel and will have racks so I can also carry my bags and perhaps even do some touring with it.

I can get either a BF Llama or a BF World Tourer. The only difference is that the Llama can take Big Apples 2.0 tires while the World Tourer only takes up to 1.75" tires, the idea being that the Llama can be ridden on dirt trails more easily. I know very little about the properties of 20" wheeled bikes, but I wonder if the benefit of being able to ride the Big Apples are as relevant on these bikes as they are on the Rivendells.

Thanks for the feedback,

René

[cyclot...@gmail.com]

In a Rivndellian spirit, I would say get the bike that will take the
largest tires possible. Plus fenders! Even if you don't run tires
that wide 90% of the time, you still have the option of it for the
other 10%.

My $.02

[Robert F. Harrison]

I own a Bike Friday New World Tourist and have ridden both with 1.75 tires and my current 1.50 Schwalbe Marathons. Just to be sure I've got Riv content my NWT has actually visited Walnut Creek and sat with all the employee bikes while I fell in love with a Bombadil (but ended buying one of the last Quickbeams - still saving for another Riv). This was no small feat as I live in Hawaii and that's a long ride!. I've had the NWT in Mexico, the Bay Area, L.A., Las Vegas, and San Antonio since last 2008 and love it.

As for the tires, I'm a big guy 6'1" 250ish and the 1.50's seem fine to me - as did the 1.75's. I'd probably have stuck with the 1.75's but the only 20" tires my local LBS had when I needed a new set (sidewall rip on the old set) were the Schwalbes at 1.50.

I use the Bike Friday travel fenders and did with the 1.75's as well. 

I'll be riding it @ RAGBRAI this year.

You can find out more on the Yak - the Bike Friday list. The easiest way it is to search it with Google's site search. Something like this will work in a Google Search: 

site:http://store.bikefriday.com/pipermail/yak/ tires

Or just go to: http://www.axelafa.com/sftp/friday/searchBFArchives.html

San Antonio:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mgps-bob/4750091266/in/set-72157624269374247/

L.A.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mgps-bob/4407660253/in/set-72157623557922162/

Las Vegas

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mgps-bob/4106964435/in/set-72157622686950471/

Bay Area (when it visited Riv)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mgps-bob/3331869015/in/set-72157614789355569/

I really like the NWT, though I mostly ride my Quickbeam here in Honolulu, including centuries and such. I'd love to have a Riv for RAGBRAI but I'm not doing it single speed and the cost of transporting anything to and from Hawaii makes a Bike Friday really practical for travel as it's just luggage.

Aloha!

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[Peter Pesce]

I would say get the bike that is easiest to travel with, regardless of tire size, as that is the reason for your purchase to begin with.
You will then be more likely to have a bike with you, with is better than having no bike with you, regardless of tire size.

Just my 2mm.

-Pete

[rcnute]

Rene: I was in the same boat and ended up getting a NWT. The LLama
looked great but the bottom bracket was considerably higher and on my
standard bikes I like a lower bottom bracket.

Ryan

On Mar 15, 10:51 pm, Rene Sterental <orthie...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Rene Sterental]

Bob & Ryan,

 

Thank you very much for your feedback. I'll be e-mailing you off-list with a few additional questions.

 

René

[Minh]

I do not have a BF foldable, but i do have a small wheel foldable, and
i would prefer the biggest tires i could get on the small bike. Maybe
it's just me but i find it more difficult to 'absorb' the road with
the smaller bike then a regular one. I would think for urban riding
in unknown places the extra versatility would make more sense but the
difference is only 6mm.

[omnigrid]

I'll echo the notion that the ability to run wide tires is always a welcomed bonus, if even you do not have the intention. the option is a great thing to have.

[Mike]

There was a time when I thought BFs were absolutely ridiculous but
then, as with Rivendells, I took another look at them with an open
mind and now am really intrigued by them. Last year I was heading home
from a ride and started talking with a fellow who has toured
extensively on one. Although the conversation was brief he kind of
sold me on them. Photo:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41335973@N00/4604952537/

I'm a lot taller than this guy though and wonder how BFs handle and
fit for people with SH's of 80cm.

I've also been following this BF tourer's photo thread on Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/moralinefree/5511909015/

He's rolling fully loaded over some serious terrain. The bikes seem
quite functional.

Yeah, this thread is a bit off topic, but who cares, it's not about
helmets and at it's heart it's in the spirit of Rivish things.

--mike

[CycloFiend]

Hey there Mike -

If you haven't already, I'd ping Tarik - he travels with a small folder and
he's definitely your/my size.

http://www.tariksaleh.com/

- J

--
Jim Edgar
Cyclo...@earthlink.net

[Rene Sterental]

It's funny, the same thing happened to me when I first changed my carbon paradigm for the Rivendell steel/fit paradigm, and now see myself increasingly attracted to the Traveling Bike concept that is friendlier and more versatile than the S&S system which I've had in the past.

I had an S&S coupled Gunnar CrossHairs and only traveled with it 3-4 times in the span of 2 years as I found the whole assembly/disassembly to be quite a hassle, although byt hte last time I was getting it done in about 30 minutes. That meant that I hardly took it on trips with me, and as expected, couldn't bring the rear rack I used (no front rack capability). The reason I sold it, however, was its fit and that happened after I got my AHH.

 

Current decisions to be made regarding the BF are:

 

- Pocket Llama (2.0 Big Apples and BB 1" higher) vs. New World Tourist (1.75" tires and lower BB). Getting either of them with the heavy rider upgrade, which offers the choice of the standard looking frame or a diamond frame.

 

- Drivetrain: Using Sheldon's gear calculator, I've established that the widest gear spread with the highest high and lowest low gears can be achieved with a triple MTB crankset (22/32/44) and a Capreo 9 speed cassette. This gives me a higher gear than I have on the AHH and almost as low as I have on the Atlantis, that sports a 24/34/46 Sugino crankset and a 12/26 9 speed cassette. With the MTB/Capreo setup, my lowest gear is equivalent to the granny/3rd cogset on the Atlantis which is plenty low. I was considering the Sram dual drive combo, but not only is the gearing ratio not as wide, I'm reluctant to have any potential mechanical problems while on a trip plus the added weight is also a consideration as I've been told by others that packing the heavy upgraded BF on the suitcase gets close to the 50 lb limit for overweight luggage.

 

- Handlebar/shifter choice: Debating between a flat handlebar with bar-ends, a BF H-bar vs. a drop bar. The flat bars are easier to pack (and split in the middle) where the drop bar would be a bit more cumbersome. I've seen several pictures of H-bars with bar end shifters and road brake levers, but am concerned about the leverage needed as the BFs use V-brakes.

 

I find the BF concept fully in the Rivendell spirit as well, but don't want to upset the spirit of this list if this is considered off-topic.

 

René

[Ely Rodriguez]

We use 1.75's x 20" on our bike friday tandem.
So far, so good.
We've done several fully loaded camping trips with it. My son rides in
the back.
Any fully loaded bike is going to be a challenge to ride, you just
have to get used to it.
The smaller wheel size is the same, you have to get used to it.
In regards to travel, we have two S and S bikes and the BF family
travel tandem as well.
If you are a good mechanic, it is still a lot of work to pack a bike
and unpack it.
The first thing I do is get a large beverage, find some shade and a
large area to work, lay out my tools, relax, and stay focused, mindful
of damaged parts.
The cable splitters help a lot.
-Ely