Friday

Contact Speed

 A long time ago, in Olden Times (the 1970s), I had a 1966 Mustang Fastback. SUPER cool car. Naturally I modified it - pipes, suspension, tires... I put a set of bigger wheels and much bigger tires on it. Boy did it look cool! First thing, I jumped in and headed for my "test track" - a near by street with a few bends in it - to see how they cornered. Well, they were a disaster. Probably would have been great for drifting, but that wasn't even a thing then. The point is, even though they were oversize tires, they were NOT grippy.

I've been mostly a road rider all my cycling "career". I like pavement. But I don't like skinny tires, never have. I was always the guy who rode 700-28 & 32, while my friends were suffering with 700-18 & 23 tires. My last road bike (the blue one that I took the little overnighter on) had 700 x 42.

Well, I seem to have finally reached a limit - oh, not my limit! It seems that on the old steel frames I like to ride, my 700x42 are about the upper limit, size-wise.

So, when my son started trying to get me back on a bike so I could go gravel-grinding & adventure-riding with him, I eschewed 700c tires. Yup, I decided I wanted some truly FAT tires. So, I bought a Mountain Bike with the intent of turning it into an All-arounder. I suppose I could have sought out a Cross-over bike like the Bridgestone XO-1, but do you even realize what those puppies (still) cost? Never mind the fact that they are all being hoarded. Anyway, to make a long story short, I found a Bridgestone MB-3 and snapped it up.

Where was I? Oh yeah, chubbies - I mean fat tires.

One of the greatest things about off-road bikes is the room they have for great big tires. I started looking for something that would roll well on pavement, have a lot of grip and still tolerate gravel roads. SO a true slick was probably out. Likewise those "City" tires that have slickish tread that's reall thick (adding to the weight). 

These new Continental Contact Speed 26 x 2.0 tires are GRRRRR-IPPY. They feel a lot like tubulars. Smooooth.

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