Time for a Change
After much hemming and hawing, I've decided to make the switch from my beloved Panaracer Rampages to Schwalbe Racin Ralphs as my race treads for the remainder of the season. If my calculations are correct (Hill Junkie, can you confirm these?) by losing roughly 200 grams of weight per tire I'll be 14.3% faster over the course of a 1.5-2 hour race making my finish times 8-12 percent faster. By those numbers, I would have mopped up the entire expert field at the Horron on Harding Hill and made the elite winner, Matt Okeefe, drink from my saturated chamois. Why didn't I do this sooner?
Tire 1. Taaaahhhhh daaaaahhhh!
The Racing (racin) Ralph's (rick's) mounted up extremely well tubeless, not needing any fussing or swearing to get the initial seal (me likey) and only a few minutes of convulsive shaking to get the final seal (again, me likey). Things were so quick that I was done with the front wheel in less than 5 minutes which is probably about the same amount of time it would take me to change a tube (yah, I'm not too quick at tube changes. sue me!).
adding my secret sauce
Ralph's on the left, Rampage's on the right.
A match made in heaven. Even the name works. Who is this Ralph and what makes hm so special?
3 comments:
Some hill climbers must think that if they make their bike 10% lighter, say be shaving 2 lbs, they'll be 10% faster up the mountain. Never mind their carcass weighs 180 lbs.
I raced a pair of Racking Ralphs on my cross bike at Iron Cross last year with high success. I really wanted to mount a pair on my 29" Stan's rims, but was scared to because they are not "tubless ready." I'd like to hear how they ride. Try low pressure over roots and rocks to see if you can get them to burp.
I've never used tubless ready tires on my stans rims and have never had a problem. as a matter of fact, I used non tubeless in my stans converted 26'er rims for years as well.
don't be afraid of non tubeless ready tires. my rampages have never burped on me.
i;ve got both sets of tires and love them. i found ralph mounted easier - but both were much easier than kendas. don't be afraid to mount up non-tubeless specific tires
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