In going to be building a 29" make it as light as possible build for light gravel and road touring, with a second 29" x 2.6" light build for rougher terrain.
I was wondering what people’s experience running 28c - 45c tires were and if anyone would have a specific size they’d recommend for unipacking?
Currently looking at some 45c Pirelli grave tires, the build is on the aluminum hub with a 22 ID carbon rim and will be paired with 90/114/140 cranks for speed and no brake.
The Pirelli tires are around 550g and close to a 2" tire so I imagine they will be quite comfy on road but in curious about those who have run smaller sizes as it could save some weight.
Smaller tire means higher PSI. Higher PSI means responsiveness and also higher bumping on lower debris.
I tried tubeless, latex and TPU tubes… right know I’m oriented to 2.4-2.6 range with TPU (it is more firm with less rolling resistance at lower PSI). I was considering Pirelli scorpion gravel light tire, but it is my son’s unicycle so I bought a stronger and long lasting all round tire (continental e ruban about 27.5x2.6 900gr).
For my 29er awaiting for a Schlumpf I 'll go with a Scorpion XC light (cannot remember the name, but I remeber the lightest casing about 2.3 or 2.4 paired with a TPU tube is great about rolling resistance).
Hi, it’s depends from your rim wide. The tire should be although a little wider of the rim. Beside it, you must know, the real diameter of the will will be 26". The 700c slick gives to you great anjoy on flat surfaces, we can meet it sometimes in downtown in parks, but it is not comfortable on common roads.
@toutestbon rides such a rim; he may give you advice for such a setup.
Regarding the tire: I have ridden a 29x2 (= 700c x 50) tire and I don’t think I would ever go lower for road riding or light gravel. As @Vogelfrei80 said, a narrow tire will make you feel all bumps and make your ride less enjoyable. IMHO, you should strike for a wider tire. A really light tire is the Schwalbe G-One Speed. Good news, it is available as 60-622 (= 29 x 2.35"). And it’s only 560g!
BTW, be aware that lighter tires may be more prone to punctures. Do you think about setting your wheel tubelees?
2 months ago, I mounted a G29 wheel with the XC924 carbon rim mentioned by Maxence. I use the schwalbe gone speed 28x2 tire. I really like this combination and I don’t see any advantage to go on a narrower section. For me the best for road riding is between 2" and 2.2".
Funny enough I’ll be using the same frame, I did look at the CX rim but settled on a cheaper one. There was an option to go for a 280g version of the rim but it has a 190lbs weight limit and I talked with the company and they recommended the 360g version just for a bit more strength.
Great to know ok the g one speed though, there’s a local shop that sells those:
Second option was also this one:
Regarding tubeless, I’m probably going with TPU tubes by Pirelli for this build, it’ll be about 50g vs the 250g in my current Decathalon tubes.
Part of the narrow tire is also experimental to see get practice on a narrower tire but having ridden a 2.2" and 2" on a previous 29" I get your point about comfort.
Also I guess why go below 2" for the tire too is to also get some more practice on thinner tires.
I’ve seen some nice Rene Herse tires and there is a G one Speed I can order in Canada but I’m trying to source from local shops where possible and most seem to have a choice of 45c or 1.75" that are around the weight I’m aiming for.
The Rene herse looks nice but at 450g for a 2.2" tire I’m sceptical about the amount of puncture protection so the 45c seems to be a good compromise between having some tread and such to help with traction and a bit of puncture protection while still being around the same weight and just a smidge smaller than the 2" line most don’t go under and the 2.25" that I’ve ridden as my smallest uni tire on gravel.
Because I’ve got my 2.6" wheel I’m building too I figure I’ll have that as an option for trips where I’m riding on flight terrain but I’m excited for the challenge this smaller wheel will bring and to see how light I can get it within reason.
The 280g rim linked above was my first choice but it’s where some of the budget and practical considerations come in. Like I’m using an air saddle for this build and though lighter ones exist it’s a very comfy saddle for my riding.
Are you sure you will be able to fit a 2.6" tire on a 22 ID rim? This seems quite tricky to me. I’m no expert but charts seems to tell that you wouldn’t want to go wider than ~2.3".
So the 2.6 will be on a 40ID nextie rim with a 36h steel hub with D-light spokes, and the 45c will be on a second wheel with the 36h aluminum hub with the same spokes.
Yeah, I’m going brakeless for both builds too. I don’t do any muni so I figure save the hub and equipment weight on both.
I’m running the 100/125/150 VCX on the 2.6", and bought a set of the 114 that Jakob is going to modify for me to be 90/114/140 so if I do need that extra leverage I’ll have it.
I’ve been running smaller cranks all winter though and not too bad for climbing and stopping once you adjust to them.
Brakes are pretty light. They won’t had more than a few hundred non-rotating grams to your build. Please remember that non-rotating mass is usually not a real issue.
Having a brake lets you rest way more than riding brakeless and having to brake with your legs. So, the few grams you’ll save won’t be enough to compensate the force you’ll have to put to compensate the lack of brake.
I agree with you on these points, the reason I’m forgoing them though is I’ve used my brake less than 5 times in the past year of riding I’d say. I don’t live in a particularly hilly area and those hills that we do have are not very steep and not very long.
It’s translates over for unipacking as well that for the 1 or two trips I have that may have significant climbs and décents, having the longer cranks holes for the extra 100-200g (my rotor was about 160g on the previous 29" I had listed a week ago), I’m okay with that trade off.
The aluminum build is me trying to be as light as possible, and the steel hub build is more of a weight savings while still having more control.
So while having one does have merits as you say, when the goal is weight reduction for this build I figured it would be an easy way to shave some weight (160g for rotor, SRAM brake was 350g, steel 36h brake vs non is about 100g or so in savings), so it takes an extra pound off the total build.
With unipacking this year I want to be doing days where I’m going for back to back metric centuries and though there are more expensive brakes I can get that reduce the weight, because it’s such an infrequently used part for me I chose to put that budget towards other parts of the build like a 2nd wheel because I don’t trust a 45c tire and the aluminum hub in winter conditions with road salt. I know the steel hubs hold up well though so I can continue to ride year round with both.
