The tire on my 20" freestyle has worn down to the point where it has
absolutely no treads (this took less than a year somehow). When I realized
I couldn’t get enough friction to glide down a steep hill, I finally
decided it’s time to replace the tire. I find myself considering a mildly
knobby tire, if for no reason besides bringing me one step closer to
learning to glide on my muni.
Should I expect a knobby tire to make my freestyle tricks much more
difficult?
> The tire on my 20" freestyle has worn down to the point where it has > absolutely no treads (this took less than a year somehow). When I > realized I couldn’t get enough friction to glide down a steep hill, I > finally decided it’s time to replace the tire. I find myself considering > a mildly knobby tire, if for no reason besides bringing me one step > closer to learning to glide on my muni. > > Should I expect a knobby tire to make my freestyle tricks much more > difficult?
The main trick that’s affected by a knobby tire is gliding. Most people
tend to find a knobby tire bad for gliding. But if you’re doing it on
steep roads, you may need some tread to help slow you down.
Other types of riding should be less affected. Wheel walking should be
improved, due to better grip. But the main factor that affects freestyle
riding is the roundness or cross-section of the tire. Some tires are very
round, others are more square, and others come to a point for lower
friction on the road. I especially don’t like the pointy type. Avoid tires
with a center ridge. These are great on a bike, but tend to pull to one
side or the other on a unicycle. My favorite are the square kind. An
extreme example of this is the Fireball tire that Kris Holm is using and
many people have been discussing on the newsgroup. This tire is like a big
square. Lots of flat contact with the ground.
My advice is to look for either square or smoothly rounded tires, and
avoid anything with a point. This is often hard to see on loose tires. You
sometimes can’t see a tire’s shape until it’s inflated.
I got my first uni 2 months ago and have already bent a crank arm and worn
a tyre down to nothing, I am now working on the second tyre. Maybe I
shouldn’t have gone for the cheapest uni I could get!
Jeff Lutkus <lutkus@unicyclist.com> wrote in message news:1205.129.21.147.67.999661208.squirrel@www.unicyclist.com… > The tire on my 20" freestyle has worn down to the point where it has > absolutely no treads (this took less than a year somehow). When I
realized > I couldn’t get enough friction to glide down a steep hill, I finally > decided it’s time to replace the tire. I find myself considering a > mildly knobby tire, if for no reason besides bringing me one step closer > to learning to glide on my muni. > > Should I expect a knobby tire to make my freestyle tricks much more > difficult? > > Jeff Lutkus >