Cheap and cheerful tan wall tyres
- Thread starter grey-beard
- Start date
Yes, they're ideal pub bike material. I bought a pair a good few weeks back for such a project (based around a '91 GT) but then turned my attention elsewhere and sold this on.
They certainly look the part with that nice orangey gum wall. They also have more of an old school carcass (i.e sidewalls not too tall) so they actually fit most things retro.
Fill your boots I would say guys
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I just thought that before we all consign these to the "cheap tyre" bin, it might be useful to put a few miles on some etc. So we did.
We bolted them to doris's " stealth" 92 orange prestige, so not a pub bike......well it is, but its not......in fact they are all pub bikes at some point.
Weight wise the site says 880g each.....this wildly optimistic. One weighed in at 1035g the other at 995g. If you compare this your average cheapo tyre at about 830g (doro raiders for instance) they are a bit " chunky".
Size wise, the tyre is stamped 2.125" ( which seems overly specific). On a 23mm rim, they actually measure out to 1.811" (46mm). Which could be major advantage if your using them on an older bike.....for example my 87 swallow only just squeezes in a 1.95. If you compare this to a mythos (48mm) or smoke (50mm) it could help in tight squeezes.
Style wise, the gum wall is a little orange.....its a bit too "girl behind the Debenams makeup counter" for me, but its not that offensive imo.
On the road, you can feel the weight on start off, but once rolling ( much like a 29er) the problem is quickly forgotten. The saving grace is the road belt, which makes for quiet, smooth ride and hides some of the weight. Maneuverability is fine on the road too and can pushed onto the sides with no loss of traction or steering.
One thing i would point out is that the max psi is 36. You will want all of this on the road.
Off road, they went suprisingly well on fire break xc riding, we only did one 10m loop in the forest, but they held their grip well, only really becoming an issue if pushed hard onto the sides. This is probably due to the rather inflexible sidewalls, even at 20-25 psi.
I would say that mud and clay, just wont be their thing as the blocks are just too close to shed it and not aggressive enough.
So in conclusion, im quite impressed. If you consider a pair delivered in half the the price of ONE panaracer smoke, thars quite a bargain. Whilst they do scream "pub tyre" i think this may be a little harsh; if you can live with the weight, they are not half bad. In fact, im going to leave them on for the moment and see how they wear.
We bolted them to doris's " stealth" 92 orange prestige, so not a pub bike......well it is, but its not......in fact they are all pub bikes at some point.
Weight wise the site says 880g each.....this wildly optimistic. One weighed in at 1035g the other at 995g. If you compare this your average cheapo tyre at about 830g (doro raiders for instance) they are a bit " chunky".
Size wise, the tyre is stamped 2.125" ( which seems overly specific). On a 23mm rim, they actually measure out to 1.811" (46mm). Which could be major advantage if your using them on an older bike.....for example my 87 swallow only just squeezes in a 1.95. If you compare this to a mythos (48mm) or smoke (50mm) it could help in tight squeezes.
Style wise, the gum wall is a little orange.....its a bit too "girl behind the Debenams makeup counter" for me, but its not that offensive imo.
On the road, you can feel the weight on start off, but once rolling ( much like a 29er) the problem is quickly forgotten. The saving grace is the road belt, which makes for quiet, smooth ride and hides some of the weight. Maneuverability is fine on the road too and can pushed onto the sides with no loss of traction or steering.
One thing i would point out is that the max psi is 36. You will want all of this on the road.
Off road, they went suprisingly well on fire break xc riding, we only did one 10m loop in the forest, but they held their grip well, only really becoming an issue if pushed hard onto the sides. This is probably due to the rather inflexible sidewalls, even at 20-25 psi.
I would say that mud and clay, just wont be their thing as the blocks are just too close to shed it and not aggressive enough.
So in conclusion, im quite impressed. If you consider a pair delivered in half the the price of ONE panaracer smoke, thars quite a bargain. Whilst they do scream "pub tyre" i think this may be a little harsh; if you can live with the weight, they are not half bad. In fact, im going to leave them on for the moment and see how they wear.
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Good writeup!
I never had the chance to test mine in anger, but otherwise I can agree with everything you say. Love the sidewall colour description, it is definitely a but Donald Trump in colour, but not quite David Dickinson...
One thing I would say is that the Ebay seller mentions inflating them a bit more, closer to 50psi? I'm not sure If I would chance that but I think the sidewalls might cope with a bit more air, they're definitely thick enough.
I'm almost starting to think about buying another set to keep for a rainy day
I never had the chance to test mine in anger, but otherwise I can agree with everything you say. Love the sidewall colour description, it is definitely a but Donald Trump in colour, but not quite David Dickinson...
One thing I would say is that the Ebay seller mentions inflating them a bit more, closer to 50psi? I'm not sure If I would chance that but I think the sidewalls might cope with a bit more air, they're definitely thick enough.
I'm almost starting to think about buying another set to keep for a rainy day
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My pair just turned up and they look great for the money and probably a much safer bet than retro tyres for a user. Rubber feels quite sticky too!
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given how thick that tread is, then probably well into the 2040's. Unless you're a teenage boy who needs to do the longest skids in a competition between friends. Then may just 2030's
Black_puma
GT Fan
My '99 GT Tequesta came with those tyres when I bought it about 18 months ago.. Got rid of the tyres as they looked cheap and not a great look for this bike.I just thought that before we all consign these to the "cheap tyre" bin, it might be useful to put a few miles on some etc. So we did.
We bolted them to doris's " stealth" 92 orange prestige, so not a pub bike......well it is, but its not......in fact they are all pub bikes at some point.
Weight wise the site says 880g each.....this wildly optimistic. One weighed in at 1035g the other at 995g. If you compare this your average cheapo tyre at about 830g (doro raiders for instance) they are a bit " chunky".
Size wise, the tyre is stamped 2.125" ( which seems overly specific). On a 23mm rim, they actually measure out to 1.811" (46mm). Which could be major advantage if your using them on an older bike.....for example my 87 swallow only just squeezes in a 1.95. If you compare this to a mythos (48mm) or smoke (50mm) it could help in tight squeezes.
Style wise, the gum wall is a little orange.....its a bit too "girl behind the Debenams makeup counter" for me, but its not that offensive imo.
On the road, you can feel the weight on start off, but once rolling ( much like a 29er) the problem is quickly forgotten. The saving grace is the road belt, which makes for quiet, smooth ride and hides some of the weight. Maneuverability is fine on the road too and can pushed onto the sides with no loss of traction or steering.
One thing i would point out is that the max psi is 36. You will want all of this on the road.
Off road, they went suprisingly well on fire break xc riding, we only did one 10m loop in the forest, but they held their grip well, only really becoming an issue if pushed hard onto the sides. This is probably due to the rather inflexible sidewalls, even at 20-25 psi.
I would say that mud and clay, just wont be their thing as the blocks are just too close to shed it and not aggressive enough.
So in conclusion, im quite impressed. If you consider a pair delivered in half the the price of ONE panaracer smoke, thars quite a bargain. Whilst they do scream "pub tyre" i think this may be a little harsh; if you can live with the weight, they are not half bad. In fact, im going to leave them on for the moment and see how they wear.
This Tequesta is now sporting black wall Michelin Country trail tyres which look better than these cheap ones.
