RecumBum

After my recent adventures riding my recumbent on gravel roads, and thinking that perhaps I should try it with wider, lower-pressure tires, I decided to take the plunge.

The key realization was that I could switch to fat tires without messing up my existing tire setup. How? By using the wheels off my EZ-Sport.

The EZ-Sport has the exact same wheels as the Django: 20″ front and 26″ rear, with an 11-32 8-Speed cassette. So, if I took the wheels off the EZ-Sport, changed the tires from the stock Kenda Kwests to something fatter and softer, I could easily change the Django back and forth from fast to soft tires.

And a further realization, that I already had a fat 26″ tire (from my Katy Trail ride) and tubes, made the decision even easier.

I went ahead and pulled the rear wheel off the EZ-Sport, swapped the Kenda Kwest for the Kenda Komfort (26″ x 1.95″ (50-559), 40-65 PSI), and used one of the tubes I had lying around. Unfortunately, the EZ-Sport was set up for Schrader tubes, while the Django uses Presta. I used the tube anyway, aired it up, and all seemed well. Then a few minutes later, while I was busy with other tasks, I heard a loud explosion from behind me, and turned back to find the tire blown off the rim, and the tube shredded near the valve. Hmmm, I only pumped it up to 40 PSI, so the pressure wasn’t too high. Must have pinched the tube as I was putting it on. Sigh.

I’d also noticed, while I was putting the wheel back on the bike, that the rear brake pads were worn down to nubs and needed to be replaced. Rather than make a trip to the nearest bike shop (12 miles distant), I ran to the local Wal-Mart (4 miles away).

They didn’t have my size of brake pads, but I did pick up a cheap 20″ tire for the front wheel, along with a 20″ tube. Unfortunately, all they had was Schrader valves. So I went ahead and bought a 26″ Schrader tube as well. Might as well have the two tires match.

The 20″ tire is sold under the “Bell” brand name, but the nameplate on the tire is actually “Heng Shin Tire”. The box identified it as a “Freestyle” tire, but I didn’t really care about that. I chose it because it seemed to be midway between a mountain tire and a road tire – some tread, but no huge knobbies.

Got back home, installed the new tubes and tires, and all was well except for those darn brakes pads. So I had to make a run to the bike shop after all. They set me up with some Avid Wrangler 2 pads. Once home, I got those installed and adjusted, and they seem to work fine.

I did run into one problem with the front tire: after installation it was rubbing against the fender – not enough to stop the wheel from turning, but enough to cause some friction and make some noise. No amount of fiddling with adjustments seemed to improve the situation, so ultimately I just took off the fender entirely. So now I have a fender on the rear, but none on the front. Oh well.

Once everything was all back together, I took the bike out for a short spin, and all seemed well – a very cushy ride.

In the picture on the right, you can see the big difference between the road and off-road tires. Question: How much will this affect my speed? I’ve read conflicting reports, ranging from “none” to “huge”, but I’m anticipating at least a 10% hit. Guess I’ll need to run a test at some point.

But for now, I need to do some longer rides on some rougher roads, and see how well these fat tires really work!