Fred Whitton - advice needed

lightbulb

I got in (sorry). this is first time for me. i have ridden some of the climbs (wrynose, Kirkstone) but not all on the same day, I have a steel audax bike (Hewitt) which is hefty but very comfortable with 28c tyres on it. Would changing to 23c s on the day make any difference or indeed be advisable?

redddraggon

There's not a great deal of difference between 23c and 25c, so if you're going down from 28c I'd go for 25c. But I'm not sure how much of difference it would be.

rhnb

You say you're current setup is 'comfy', so why change it?
I don't know what time you're aiming for but 'comfy' on say an 8 hour ride is very important (apologies if you plan to do it in 6). If you changed to 18's, by the time you get to Hardknott at 100 miles, I can guarantee they'll have begun to look like tractor tyres and feel like they weigh more! ;-)

I've done it on a tandem with 'chunky' tyres (that means I've no idea what size they are - 32's?) and I've done it on my road bike with 23's and while I went a tad faster on the road bike the last thing on my mind were the tyres.

I wouldn't worry about it too much. If you'd feel 'faster' on 23's then maybe that'll give you a psychological lift? Otherwise, just enjoy the day and the suffering.

lightbulb

Thanks for that. I suppose when most of it is uphill faster tyres won't make a great deal of difference. I put 28s on because I use the bike for work and lug my laptop and a change of clothes on the rack. I intend not to do that during the Fred of course.

BeaconRuth

Just to give another point of view - I wouldn't dream of tackling a ride of that kind on 28's. I would have thought the performance difference between 28's and 23's is very significant indeed - why make those miles any harder than they are already? Get some decent 23's and they'll make a word of difference. You're not setting out on a ride like that to have a comfy touring ride are you? I could think of easier routes for comfy touring rides!

Ruth

The Mechanic

Whatever you use, make sure they have good wet grip. Some of the desents can be treacherous in the wet, especially Honister, Hardknot and and Wrynose

John C.

For what it is worth, I'd say if it's comfortable go with it. having said that if I thought I could get away with removing my seat and seat tube at the bottom of Hardknott to save weight I would . I have three bikes to choose from ,
My winter hack
very comfortable but heavy

Kenesis Racelight
reasonable comfortable 22 lbs but not brilliant brakes (deep drop)

Yellow Peril ( ill Volpe alloy frame with carbon fork)
harsh ride 20 lbs with Ultegra/105 kit

It's really down to the Kenesis and Yellow Peril , I think it will depend on the day as the Kenesis has mudguards and the Peril doesn't. The Kenesis has the lower gears the Peril has better brakes,
decisions decisions
Wish I only had one bike