Butchering my Nimbus Nightrider 36" x 2.25" multi surface tyre.

Having not been able to ride for 10 days due to extreme faceplant / wrist in splits, I was getting frustrated having no contact with my Uni. Couldn’t keep my hands off of it - so I’m changing the inner tube to a 29" saving more than 260g.

Also carving up my tyre . . .its scary (bit of a hack and slash job)! Cut off the outside tread on both sides saving over 200g - getting overall weight of the outer area’s of the wheel down by almost 1/2 a kg.

I’m hoping that this is gonna help me with all the hill’s on the way to from London to Brighton (between 55 and 60 miles of ups and downs, the biggest up being a 16% plus gradient).

P.S. - - - I’m thinking I orta order a new Nimbus Nightrider 36" x 2.25" multi surface tyre as a backup.

dude :open_mouth: youve butchered that tyre, brave move but i suspect the weight saved on the tyre will be cancled out by the fear of tight cornering my fear would be that the remaining tred will get pushed in by the road surface and youll be riding on the part of the tyre youve removed the tred from you can probaby geuss what im thinking but i might work out fine. i wouldnt do it though.
andd what have you done to get yourself in splints ??? :open_mouth:

Ohh now you voided the warranty. But ya I would get a back up tire

that last hill is gonna sting anyway man :smiley: cant wait for it

I also have deep concerns about the tyre working :astonished: , and Yes . . . I think I went a bit mad with the amount of material I removed - still I’m not a heavy rider so there is still a small chance that it might work out - if it doesn’t and cornering also is an issue, I might end up with splints on my other wrist:).

Think Roger will be getting an order for a new one sooner rather than later:o.

wow, that’s nice clean cuts. what did you use to cut the rubber?

Haden’t seen much for 36er tire modification since RTL.

Could you take a picture from the centre of the tire so we can see what’s left a bit better?

I don’t think you should have any problems with your tire if it is going to be used on the road. Some people have also removed the outer rib of the TA tire with no ill effects.

saskatchewanian . . . Thanks:D, I used just a plain old Stanley knife (with new blade) and water with washing up liquid in to lube the blade. This tyre’s strictly for road use. Here is a pic from the top showing one side done and the beginning’s of work on the other.

acctully from that angle it dosnt look too bad i think youll get away with that

We need people to experiment with things anyways. I will be curious to see what comes of this. Props to you :slight_smile:

Awesome, thanks for the pic. I will be doing this soon to mine, but I understand your need for a backup spare. Please post a review once you get some good time on the road with it.

Tyre tempreture while modifying.

Just wanted to add that when cutting I found it significantly easier to get smooth cuts when the tyre was warm (almost hot). Working on it when it had been left out in the sun for a hour meant that blade work was much easier to control.

For finishing of with sandpaper the opposite is true, a cold tyre to work on provides the best results . . . Not surprising really, but hadn’t thought about it - - - so some of it is has a smooth finish and other parts are more ugly.

Explosive decompression

I put Bontrager 29" 2.20 - 2.50 inner tube onto my 36’er yesterday morning, It had been pre-stretched for 24 hours. Pumped it up to 20 psi and left it for 12 hours, all seemed good. Took it up to 40 psi and left it overnight.

The next morning I rolled it out into the garden to inspect it and sat down next to my wife who was drinking her coffee, neighbours were out in their gardens. Was chatting with her when ‘BLAM-O’ - - - It went off like a shotgun. Coffee all over my wife, neighbours went silent and a hole right through the light weight green rim tape in the middle of one of the 36 18mm lightening holes.

Should I have:

1.) used a heavier rim tape?
2.) used a different make of inner tube?
3.) inflated it in smaller stages?

#1 or two layers of the one you had.

Also you may not have adequately checked it when you mounted the tube and the tape was off that hole.

I think the normal tape + a layer of cut to size duct tape would be ideal.

Stronger tape

I would put a layer of glass fibre packing tape on the tube side of your coloured tape. Should be plenty strong.

The unmistakable sound. I had it on a cycle ride (John O’Groates to Lands End), as I was pumping up my tyre, the bead popped over the rim and the tube just expanded (I was thinking ‘Oh sh*t’) and as I was desparetly undoing the pump from the valve and trying to let some air escape, the thing blew right in my ear. Probably the loudest thing I have ever heard.

POW!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySJx1GVWn1w

Seems like a waste to me to save a few grams and sacrifice a reliable tire. Why not spend the time doing some wall-sits to strengthen your legs while the rest of your body heals?

Interesting point of view, my wife said the same thing as you. Also, what makes you think that I’m not doing wall-sits?

I enjoy experimenting with things and am interested in how the wheel will behave having that amount of rotational weight removed.

Having now put in a Schwalbe 28" 700c AV17 that weighs 150g instead of the tube it came with that weighs in at 480g

330g (inner tube) + 200g (tyre tread) = 530g overall weight reduction:D.

(WARNING: Modifications of this sort will void your warranty - do NOT try this at home) :roll_eyes:

P.S. I’m almost ready to ride again, so I’ll write up my findings once I’ve put in a few distance rides.

The rotational weight of a 36-er wheel is an issue for all of us. The OP has found ways to cut almost a pound off. This should be significant and the part of the tread he cut off might not be needed. As far as doing wall sits, it’s not going to 100% translate to 36-er unicycling. A lot of our gear progression has evolved from “tinkering”.
I think the tire looks good and am excited to hear more. I’m not going to Do it to mine though :slight_smile:

1.168 pounds - a little over ;).