My bike tyres finally gave away. I have been riding on them on my daily commuting for almost 12 months. Treads are still left, but the tyres have developed cracks on a few places. They looks like they can split apart on any day. So, I put a set of new tyres last week, Schwalbe Marathon standard this time. It is said to be tough and long lasting, having deeper treads than its smooth-skinned cousin, Marathon Racer, which was rather short-lived.

Knobbier Marathon classic tyre however rather rides like a donkey though. Some people claim that it has a better than average rolling resistance, but I don’t feel it. It is noticeable harder for me to pedal with it than with other tyres I have tried on Brompton. With this set of heavy tyres, I am barely able to keep pedalling on the top gear. So, I have swapped a chainring from 50T to 44T to make it the 6th gear remains spin-able and to get enough top speed to over take grand pa and grand ma on e-bikes.

I went onto an extended shopping ride to Fremantle the other day to test the new chainring set up as well as to score some goodies. There is a couple of shops in Fremantle who sell exotic imported snacks and sweets which I thought to give them try. Anyway I think the smaller ring suits me better with the new set of bumpier tires. Pedalling is lighter and it doesn’t feel like as if I was dragging a zombie’s arm behind after accidentally running it over.

一年前に買ったブロンプトンに履かせてあったシュワルベのマラソン・レーサー。トレッドは少々残っているが、二箇所ほど深い切れ目が発生。通勤ライドで困るのは、やっぱりパンク。ということでタイヤを新調することにした。

今度のタイヤは、同じくシュワルベ社の元祖マラソン。ドレッドが深くて見るからに頑丈で長持ちしそう。ただ、このタイヤにしたらギア一段分くらい漕ぐのが重くなった感じがする。

そこで、チェーンリングを５０tから４４tにチェンジしてみた。先日テストがてら、ちょっと遠くの店までレアなお菓子などを買いに行ってみたけど、小さいチェーンリングの方が調子が良い感じ。気づかずにひいたゾンビの腕でも引きずっているかのような漕ぎ具合の悪さが無くなった気がする。