I have a 26" Pashley since a couple of years back. I’ve learnt to ride it, but not as well as I would like to.
Spring brings sun an enthusiasm. I’ve done some riding the last week and I don’t think that I’ve gotten any worse after a rather long break.
I have the original tire that I got with the uni and I’ve read some posts here on the forum suggesting that it isn’t very good, so I suppose i should change it. But what should I get instead? I will mostly use the uni on asphalt and on some gravel roads.
I prefer if I can buy a tire in a LBS, what width and type of tire should I look for?
If you’re using it for roads and gravel tracks, Schwalbe Big Apple 26x2.3" is very fun to ride on this kind of terrain.
Alternatively, you could go all out and get a narrower road tyre for it, something about 1.5" wide or so. This wouldn’t be much good on the gravel if it’s bumpy though.
If you decide you want to use it for riding off road and Muni I can recommend the gazz 26x2.6", but it’s a rubbish tyre for roads, so probably not what you want right now.
I have a 2.3" Continental mountain bike tyre on my Pashley, and if it is pumped up quite hard it is fine for a bit of road work, and really good for gravel.
You could buy any tyre like that from your Local Bike Shop as well.
my friend has a 26" pashley equipped with some 2.5 Nokian tire. It´s not a Gazzaloddi, its something else, quite similar as the gaz in threadpattern but not as good sidewalls.
When I had my Pashely I liked the 2.1" Panaracer Fire XC Pro tire. It worked well at the time (still nothing like riding a fat tire). But it’s more knobby than what you want for pavement. The good part is that it’s a well behaved tire.
I’d try a 2.1" or 2" XC tire with a tread similar to the 29er XC tires that have a road friendly and unicycle friendly tread. So find out what 29er XC tires are unicycle friendly for pavement use and dirt road use and then look for the 26" version of that tire. There’s lots of options in the 26" size for an XC tire with minimal tread designed for hardpack trails.
The IRC Notos is an okay both things tyre, I commuted on it for ages.
Although I’d say that if you’re wanting one tyre for both on and offroad, the best compromise I’ve had is a big apple or similar. I’ve still not found a good tyre that is road friendly and works on mud and in the dry, the slick tyres are cool on trails.
By the way, if you buy a gazz for the offroad, don’t buy a 26x2.3" one, as Keg tried one and found it really bad for unicycling, the 26x2.6" one was a real revelation to him.
I’m not sure about the clearance on a pashley. I know when I had a 26" wheel on mine a 2.4 tire looked pretty close to maxed out. I know you cannot fit a 3.0.
Lots of room is relative. Fitting a Gazz 26x2.6 in the Pashely requires that the wheel be true and that it stays true.
The Gazz also likes to pick up rocks and sticks in the lugs. The tight clearance between the frame means that those rocks and sticks can get wedged between the frame and the tire. That can stop the wheel leading to an ejection of the rider from the unicycle. Not ideal.
I’d rather go with a slightly less wide tire in the Pashley. Or at least go with a tire that has a less aggressive tread than the Gazz Jr. that is not as likely to pick up small rocks and sticks.
John Drummond and a few other riders have reported problems with rocks or sticks getting wedged between the frame and the tire causing the wheel to lock up. It is rare though and the likelihood of it happening would depend on the types of trails you ride.
I never tried a Gazz Jr. in my Pashley. I didn’t have a suitable rim for that wide of a tire. I was using a Sun Rhyno Lite rim at the time. It was old school muni back when everyone was using XC tires and XC rims. The Rhyno Lite is actually pretty wide for an XC rim but it’s still not wide enough for a DH tire. I tried a 2.3" Panaracer Fire DH Pro tire in my Pashley but I had problems with the tire popping off the rim when pecking up a hill. I had to abandon the idea of using a DH tire and go back to the 2.1" Panaracer Fire XC Pro tire. My how things have changed. It’s hard to imagine using an XC rim and XC tire for muni now except for XC racing style riding.
These things really evolve! It took several wheel changes for me. I finally went to the doublewide because of the same issue. I was losing so much energy from the tire sliding around on side hops. I still have a Suzue hub on it though. I’m not a rider of big things.
My favorite tire for a 26" uni on hard surface / light XC is the DMR Moto R/T 26x2.2. It’s not quite a slick, but the knobs are low and dense, so it’s very steerable on the street. I think it’s more off-road suitable than the Big Apple, although I haven’t actually been on one of those.
It was fine for me for a couple of years too, even in wet very muddy winter riding in the UK. I used it on the Salisbury Plains Challenge, which is reputedly the muddiest race in the world when it doesn’t freeze (it didn’t) and it gooed up a lot, but I had no more problems than people with narrow tyres.
I didn’t have to true my wheel any more than normal.
the Pashley frame will handle a Gazz 26x2.6 on a Sun Doublewide. So there’s lots of room.