Hey there, just wanted to mention quickly that I used to be HistoricalGoof on here but have really grown tired of that moniker and decided to change to something a little less ridiculous. Just so you know…anyways, on to my question:
I’ve got a 26" with 125mm cranks and a Hook Worm tire, which I originally expected to be riding mainly on streets, that I have found myself riding off-road much more often. I haven’t experienced any trouble, besides having it slide out from under me on one or two occasions going around a corner too sharply, using the slick tired in the woods, but I’m wondering how big of a difference there would be if I switched to an off-road tire. I’m not good at MUni by any means, but I’m getting better, learning how to do rolling hops and conquer terrain previously too difficult for me. Basically, I’m wondering what the benefits of an off-road tire are besides added traction. Would I be able to hop better or climb steep hills more easily? Any advice would be much appreciated.
The larger volume and more suitable construction will mean that it soaks up rough ground much more easily, bumps that would normally throw you off will be much less severe. You’ll be able to hop more and take bigger drops.
Well the hookworm itself is already relatively large volume. depending on if the trail isn’t too hardcore if you just let some air out of the hookworm you should be alright. I found that the hookworm performs better offroad than an offroad tire performs on the road.
Thanks Brian…I like what you’ve said about the Hook Worm performing better off-road than an off-road tire performs on the street. For me this is important because I still do ride on the street and some of the trails are very hard-packed dirt. I think I’ll try to let out some of the air as right now it’s pretty full and doesn’t have much of a cushy feel at all. Does the tire really bounce better, allowing for better hops, with a lower psi? It would seem to me to be otherwise, i.e. a full basketball versus a semi-full one.
Yeah I never said that a muni tyre would be better for your particular uses, just the areas in which a muni tyre exceeds a hookworm. From the sounds of it a hookworm would suit you better, muni tyres aren’t great on the street and if you’re not having traction problems then I wouldn’t switch.
Yes it does, trials riders regularly run around 15 psi for just this reason, they go as low as they can without bottoming out the rim to get more bounce. Just try it, pump your hookworm right up and see how dead it feels, then drop it to 20 pounds and see the difference.
Thanks for the advice Kington. I’m definitely going to let some air out of my tire before I ride again tomorrow. Unfortunately, I don’t have a gauge so I’ll just have to do it gradually.
I recently rode a 29" big apple off road for a month, then swapped over to a (slightly lower volume) 29" mtb tyre (Kenda Klaw). The difference is tons, basically any time you go down a little drop, or ride anything steep, you really notice it.
For on road use with a mountain bike tyre, I find a rounded profile tyre is best, ie. not a gazaloddi, one of the other mountain bike tyres. I’ve done a few hundred miles of road riding on the Kenda Klaw and it isn’t really that much worse to ride than a road tyre, I’d totally go for a knobbly tyre for riding a mixture of on and off road.
Well, I just let some air out of my tire and tried it out. I didn’t let out too much, but enough to make a difference, that’s for sure! I need to get a gauge so I can keep track of what works best. Anyways, I took it out and immediately hopped on it and noticed that I had a little more spring in my…step. I got to the forest and that’s where the big difference was apparent. Roots that had been a problem were no longer an issue…I could just hit them head on and bounce right over them. I really felt a lot closer to what I see on MUni videos…granted, I’m still a long way from that level of expertise. I found that I’d been riding on a tire that was way too full, even for the street. Riding it home, things felt way smoother and I feel more confident to hop. I really need to keep practicing my hops…I’m still having trouble getting up curbs. I think it’s more of a psychological thing than anything though…I bounce a few times and then when it’s time to really lift off, I just bail at the last second. I’ve been successful a handful of times, but not anything near what you could call consistent.
Thanks again for the advice…it made a big difference!
(and Joe, sometime soon I’ll try out a knobby tire, but I may as well get my money’s worth out of this one first)
Well, I was a historical goof…I used to work in the archives of a historical institution in Western New York called Chautauqua, but now I’m a teacher and got tired of that goofy name. It came from a Jack Kerouac quote that I would be surprised if anyone recognized…I can’t even really remember it now.
It’s genreally thought that the unicycle came from people realising they could ride penny-farthings on the front wheel alone, either by deliberate experimentation or by braking too hard. Someone then must have removed the rear wheel, whether for speed or to show off to impressionable young ladies no-one knows.
Oh and i’m glad this thread helped you get more out of your uni.