Friday, January 13, 2012

That's Just How I Roll....Yo'

At some point in December I decided to double up on the rubber goodness that is the fat tire.  I was running a Surly Nate on the front and a Larry on the back.  I noticed that the Larry would lose traction on some steeper downhill sections on dirt.  It is somewhat of an iterative process to figure out the right PSI and tire combo for both front and rear tires which is also variable on conditions.

I tend to run a little higher pressure (around 10 psi) on dirt in order to minimize pinch flat situations.  This was probably a little on the high side but the last thing I want to deal with is swapping out tubes in the cold.  Snow conditions call for even lower pressures and the optimal pressure still eludes me...as mentioned before it is an iterative process and it will take a little time to find the right combo.  In the interim, let the permutations continue as the smile factor will also continue...

In terms of tires....an order was placed for another Surly Nate tire.  The tire came in this week and was promptly swapped onto the rear tire in the opposite rolling direction as the front.  The front has been mounted in the 'fast' rolling direction with the little 'V' running for most efficiency.  On the rear, the Nate was mounted in the opposite direction in order to maximize traction.  The theory is the rear tire will be working harder for traction.

since pix speak volumes (pun sorta kinda' not intended, but maybe)....

 the direction the front rolls:
 direction the rear rolls - notice the direction of the little "chevron v's" in the middle - shades for scale
 mmmm....love me some knobbbies

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