Recognize these ? I have now found a use for the “wonderful” Dahon Special Edition Schwalbe Stelvio tyres, a belt !
My friend Bettina of velo-re.com fame, got the tyres and turned them into belts, of which I got one. Pretty much the only use I have for these “great” tyres after only 1800′ish miles.
Bettina and velo-re take old bicycle tyres and inner tubes and turn them into belts, wallet and bags. Velo-re have just started to use inner tubes as belts too – they’re rather funky.
Velo-re not a bad place to retyre (see what I did there, ok getting my coat) your old tyres into something useful.
LINK : velo-re.com – We make belts from recycled bicycle tyres, inner tube and assorted stuff…

A few weeks ago I blogged about Ghost visitations and since then we have had more.
First it was my Surly LHT that had its back wheel playing up, then Peli’s Eva front wheel and now Tuesday night Pia was haunted.
Eva hasn’t been used for a while and as normal the tyres were a bit soft the front was a bit more than the back. So we pumped the tyres up to see if there was a visit and a few minutes later the front tyre was well soft. So Peli took out the inner tube and set upon fixing the one that was p*nct*red. As you do you pump the inner tube up and look, feel, smell and listen for air coming out but nothing. So Peli pumped it a bit more, nice and big now and still nothing to find, she then let it hang on the door while checking the tyre for cuts and splinters and then fitting the new inner tube. Two or so hours later nothing to see on the “supposed flat” inner tube, go figure.
Tuesday I dug out Pia my MTB come around the town commuter and because I haven’t used her for …

Today I passed the 2000 miles mark on my little Tank the Surly Long Haul Trucker \o/ Why haven’t I listened to others before, kinda kicking myself here, when they talked about a touring bicycle. Because it is such a joy to ride. Worth every penny.

Me and Chutney (a Dahon Speed Pro TT, 2008) on the top of Tourmalet.
Description: (From their site) The Speed Pro TT is the bike for the serious roadie who wants it all: a bike that can take on a century as easily as it can pack into a suitcase for travel. The SRAM DualDrive gearing delivers 27 gears for anything from the steepest hills to hammering on the flats.
As seen on the blog: Label : Dahon Speed Pro TT
I have now had this bicycle for a little over a year now and I have collected all the blogs I have done into this review, and will update as time permits.
I have ridden it in London, the Pyrenees and on a long hilly ride, and it is one of the best rides I have had.
After a little getting used to that everything happens so low to the ground, and the twitching handling, it just flyes. I have never ridden a folder before and it have been many years since I was on 20″ tyres.
Cycling in London’s traffic it is fast, responsive, comfy and light. It comes in at 10.4kg, but I do not feel it at all. Because of the 28″ …

… will know about me and my tyres by now.
I managed to hunt down some new tyres for my Dahon Speed Pro TT \o/
I had a look at the Schwable Durano and they felt just way too thin and flimsy, really didn’t feel like I could trust them to keep the fairies away.
So I went for the Continental Sport Contact with SafetyGuard, 20″ x 1 1/8″ (HS 28-406). They look and felt much more solid that the Durano, and had a great offer of a free inner tube and one year guarantee in the deal.
I managed to put them on the wheels after a bit of fighting, must remember to take my time and not rush it, because I will end up snapping a tyre lever.
And because of the free inner tube deal, I did not get any extra. And while fitting the tyres I found out that the valve is schreda not presta. Which I find quite weird, you sell a thin road bike tyre for small wheels, and you do not use presta valves ?
Here’s hoping that the SafteyGuard lives up to what they should do and I do not over heat the rims on these long downhills. …

… my kingdom for some tyres that work.
I got 4 bikes that I use a lot, and all run different tyres. I pretty much tend to ride on road surfaces with them all and in all kinds of weather all year around.
Dirty Pia, MTB Principia, 1995.She was converted to a flat bar “road bike” some years ago. Last year I fitted some Schwalbe Marathon Plus Evolution, 26″ x 1″. Which have already clocked up over 3400 miles, on roads and dirt track/canal/towpath in all kinds of weather.
And got a fair few cuts in them as you can see in this photo.
 
I find these tyres very “grippy” and very fast, I think I have gained up to 6mph with changing from 2″ MTB tyres to these.
Total count of visit = 0 vs 3400 miles, that is a win.
Stella, 1980′s road bike now fixie.I fitted some Specialized Armadillo, 700 x 28c, around 3.5 years ago. I have cycled on and off road, on dirt track/canal/towpath and a heck of distances on roads in London. They are a bit heavy to ride but I got used to that and plenty of grip and feel very comfy to ride on bumpy surfaces. …

… 20″ ?
Ordered some Schwalbe Stelvio with RaceGuard (20″ x 1″ 1/8) at my local bike shop. Only to find out that 20″ x 1″ 1/8 is not 20″ x 1″ 1/8, yes they thickness is the same but my old tyres can easily fit within these new one.
I know that there is this number system, 28-406 (20″x1″1/8) HS 350 …
The 28-406 is the width and diameter of the tyre, a standard which is set by set by E.T.R.T.O – The European Tyre and Rim Technical Organisation.
I’m not sure what the HS 350 is, though I think that is a Schwalbe number to describe the tread.
And the 20″x1″1/8 is simple to understand, 20″ in diameter and 1″1/8 is the width.
But why the heck does that not fit to each others? The last time I measured 20″ it was 20″ which is 50.8cm or 508mm, it is not that hard to figure out.
This only leads to mistakes.
I also learned from Schwable or Bohle who is Schwable’s contact in the UK, that the Stelvio’s have been discontinued and been replaced with Durano.
So the hunt goes on for some tyres that is puncture proof and that fits my Dahon Speed Pro TT.
I …

As you might have seen I have had my fair share of a moan about these tyres. 1200 miles. And then I spotted this recall which I just had to write to Schwalbe about.
Hi,
I just saw the recall you have for the Schwalbe ULTREMO R tyres. The problem rings a bell to my tyres.
 
This is what Dahon said about the tyres on their website.
Dahon Special Edition Schwalbe Stelvio, Mango/Black, 28-406, foldable Kevlar bead, DualCompound Silica casing, RaceGuard anti-puncture protection, 120 psi
 
I have done just over 1700 miles on them over the last 11 month, they have brilliant grip and are very fast, not scared at all going around corners at speed and you can really lean in.
 
But when it come to keeping the punctures away they are no better than soft Swiss cheese with holes. It’s not much use, that RaceGuard. They have simply been cut to pieces, and I only ride on roads on these tyres.
 
The numbers of flats I have had on these tyres is unknown, because I have given up counting. Every journey I now do on these tyres I count in extra time for a “break” to fit a new inner tube.
 
In the last 100 or …

… or as they are also called a visit by the fairies. And a good defense against then is to get some tyres that have Kevlar (Specialized Armadillos) in them. I have been using armadillos with great success over the years. Well until the buggers started to use the heavy artillery, like a nail that went strait tru’ and made a hole in my wheel.
 

… my armadillo tires survived 7 months of riding trough one of London borough that is well known for not putting street cleaning high on it’s list.
Back in April I went over Hammersmith Bridge, the very day after the boat race, and was greeted with a road paved with glass, and 2 flat tyres later, a walk the rest of the way to work.
I then invested in some Specialized Nimbus Armadillo tires and they worked a treat, when pumped with a high PSI gives a great roll, I even managed to do the Dun Run on them.
But today I heard the tell tell sign/sound of a flat, and low and behold in seconds I was riding a wobbly bike, yet another walk to work.
I have been thinking about getting the slim version of the armadillo’s and used today visit of the p+unt+re fairy to get a set. So let’s see how they are when I fit them on tonight.