Timor tyre suggestions

[casnell]

Tour de Timor next week and I was going to use a 2.2 Race King or 2.25 Racing Ralph rear, 2.25 Ralph front. The first day is mainly bitumen but the weather lately (and forecast) is for rain and more rain, and the route goes through some big clay hills which will be quite muddy for the following days.
I was planning on the Racing Ralph still on the front, but thinking something a bit narrower and knobbier on the rear - any suggestions?

 

[jathanas]

Tour de Timor next week and I was going to use a 2.2 Race King or 2.25 Racing Ralph rear, 2.25 Ralph front. The first day is mainly bitumen but the weather lately (and forecast) is for rain and more rain, and the route goes through some big clay hills which will be quite muddy for the following days.
I was planning on the Racing Ralph still on the front, but thinking something a bit narrower and knobbier on the rear - any suggestions?

I found the Rocket Ron to be very good at shedding mud (CTS3). It is also narrower than the Racing Ralph given the same width. Smaller bag I think. Either way, I now run them front and back on the ASRc, no penalty that I can detect in speed/rolling resistance but more grip!

Best of luck on the TdT mate.

 

[casnell]

Good ! I've got a RoRo sitting in the box in the shed, didn't know how it went for speed.

 

[deboat]

Hi,

I'm trying the race kings but the narrow 2.
I was thinking of using a 2.2 for the front but if the rain comes the skinner the better. Imagine five days of racing in mud and clay without washing the bikes. This is going to be epic!!!
Viva Timor!!!

 

[Stevob]

Good luck with the epic casnell & deboat. Be sure to let us know how it pans out.

 

[casnell]

Thanks guys, should be great fun, I'm so excited !

 

[davzab]

TdT

Take a few types of tires if you can afford it in your bags..
conditions vary alot over there weather and terrain alike.. (Although last year we had picturesque conditions..). I'd say the rain/wet that does fall will dry up quickly this time of year over there with the day time heat.
A low rolling tire is going to be best on those road days or even an intermediate if there is dirt involved. I ran Maxxis wormdrives
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=28278
for the whole race last year without a problem other than one flat. (ps. Tubeless is a must I think, there are nasty thorns both dead and alive lying around everywhere over there..)
these should hook up enough on the dirt unless its crazy clay.. NN or RR would be good if it really is bad and claylike..

Either way unless your looking to take Neils crown away from him up there, don't stress too much about the tires, RK's will be alright for the mud but narrower for less resistance on the the road, which will also help cut through some mud to the harder stuff

The race is awesome and the place is ever better, just enjoy it!

 

[andrew_spencer]

I was planning on the Racing Ralph still on the front, but thinking something a bit narrower and knobbier on the rear - any suggestions?

I'm planning on running a Maxxis Worm Drive on the rear. It's narrow, knobbly on the sides and semi-slick in the centre. The side knobs are pretty chunky and I am hopeful they'll be enough for any mud or clay, but will also roll well on the tarmac and gravel.

Another semi-slick option is the IRC Mythos XC. Also narrow-ish, knobbly on the sides with minimal tread in the centre - but more tread than the Worm Drive. The 1.95 folding version is very light although the sidewalls are thin and easy to slice.

If I was looking for more grip than a semi-slick I'd consider an Aspen. Although the tread on these tyres is quite shallow I've found them surprisingly good in wet and slippery stuff. They're also light, fast rolling and shed mud very well.

 

[*rach*]

I think one of the recommendations was to run tubeless if you can - apparently there were a lot of punctures from thorns etc. last year. Depending on your skill with tubeless decide if you will want to change a tubeless tyre with your track pump (assuming you pack one!). If you don't then you need to choose something you would ride (unless something like a cyclone comes through!) for all days.

It's up to you to decide of course, but I am going to stick with one set of tubeless tyres.
RR front, Crossmark back I think. Unfortunately we can't swap wheels - or I would have done it that way to have something slicker alround for at least day 1!

 

[casnell]

One set of tubeless sounds good, I've spent too many hours busting a gut with a track pump getting tubeless to seat. Sometimes they pop first go, other times....

I now use a compressor at home and it's fabulous but I'm not taking that!

I think I'll go Ralph front, Ron rear.

 

[gixer7]

Hi,

I'm trying the race kings but the narrow 2.
I was thinking of using a 2.2 for the front but if the rain comes the skinner the better. Imagine five days of racing in mud and clay without washing the bikes. This is going to be epic!!!
Viva Timor!!!

STOP!!!!!!

The Race King 2.0 is very bad and in mud is dangerous in my opinion. Don't ask me how the slightly extra width makes a difference but it does.

I tried the 2.0 and I pulled muscles in my back/neck from so many violent front end washouts in just small mud puddles. No problems after using the 2.2 size.

I would not recommend the 2.0 RK.

 

[casnell]

Either way unless your looking to take Neils crown away from him up there, don't stress too much about the tires, RK's will be alright for the mud but narrower for less resistance on the the road, which will also help cut through some mud to the harder stuff

The race is awesome and the place is ever better, just enjoy it!

lol, not exactly worried about Neil, i'm interested in the 50+ cat.

 

[Warwick]

Good for you Chris. Good luck and enjoy it. Are there dragons in Timor, or just Komodo and Flores?
First couple of times I did the tubeless fitting thing it was so very difficult with just a track pump at home, until in desperation I read the instructions and unusually followed the advice of people that know and used lots of bubbles on the rim. Got them inflated in a minute that way!!
The Rons are my preferred tyre, but they are a much lighter and more fragile casing than a Ralph, and you would reckon puncture resistance would be just about your number one aim in the TDT

 

[casnell]

Good for you Chris. Good luck and enjoy it. Are there dragons in Timor, or just Komodo and Flores?
First couple of times I did the tubeless fitting thing it was so very difficult with just a track pump at home, until in desperation I read the instructions and unusually followed the advice of people that know and used lots of bubbles on the rim. Got them inflated in a minute that way!!
The Rons are my preferred tyre, but they are a much lighter and more fragile casing than a Ralph, and you would reckon puncture resistance would be just about your number one aim in the TDT

Thanks Warwick, punctures seemed to be a big issue last year mainly due to thorns, which I hope we've addressed by using tubeless. They've had quite a bit of rain and there's a lot more dirt this year, and it has been described as "slippery clay " so I'm thinking that will be an issue as well this year.
No dragons...

 

[deboat]

STOP!!!!!!

The Race King 2.0 is very bad and in mud is dangerous in my opinion. Don't ask me how the slightly extra width makes a difference but it does.

I tried the 2.0 and I pulled muscles in my back/neck from so many violent front end washouts in just small mud puddles. No problems after using the 2.2 size.

I would not recommend the 2.0 RK.

Good advise!!! I now using the 2 on the rear and 2.2 on the front. After a short test ride yesterday I dismantled the bike and started packing it up.
Thanks for the heads-up Gixer7!!!

 

[*rach*]

Good for you Chris. Good luck and enjoy it. Are there dragons in Timor, or just Komodo and Flores?
First couple of times I did the tubeless fitting thing it was so very difficult with just a track pump at home, until in desperation I read the instructions and unusually followed the advice of people that know and used lots of bubbles on the rim. Got them inflated in a minute that way!!
The Rons are my preferred tyre, but they are a much lighter and more fragile casing than a Ralph, and you would reckon puncture resistance would be just about your number one aim in the TDT

soaping up the rims assumes you have a bucket of water right?
not sure you can bank on having that ..... water is a precious resource in some of the places the race heads.
though - apparently there is a lot of it falling from the sky at the moment!!! so much for the dry season!!!

 

[casnell]

soaping up the rims assumes you have a bucket of water right?
not sure you can bank on having that ..... water is a precious resource in some of the places the race heads.
though - apparently there is a lot of it falling from the sky at the moment!!! so much for the dry season!!!

Apparently last years wet season has rolled into this years.

Should be fun ! Packing the bike tonight...