tyres/pedal changes after injury

Nasty1

Hi

About 16 months ago I was involved in a motorcycle accident that destroyed my right knee and busted up the right ankle...all this just after spending £1200 upgrading my mountain bike. Anyway I am now allowed to ride my mountain bike but preferably on road according to the doc's.

So, I am no longer allowed or could use clipless pedals and I need to change over to some more suitable road biased tyres. I have to wear a Donjoy sports brace near on all the time to support and give stability to the knee so no form of clipless pedals are going to be allowed.

My question is what other choices do I have for pedals - is there a good pedal out there with maybe a strapless toeclip type affair? Most of what I have seen like this are cheap and cheerful and cannot see them going the distance of regular use.

Finally I am using Mavic 819 tubeless rims so need to go to a road tyre of sorts. I want something grippy and good for all weathers that will suit the Mavic 819 tubeless rims - any recommendations?

Cheers for any advice you can give on pedals or tyres to meet my new requirements.

Adie

The Northern Monkey

Do you need toe straps? They're probably more dangerous than SPD's!

Get a good grippy pedal and some decent riding shoes.

Superstar Ultra Mag Lites if you want super light and super grippy.
Or the Wellgo mg-1
or the Gussest Slim Jim Magnesium.

Shoes wise, there is the 5:10 but they may be a bit bulky to ride on the road.
Shimano have some nice offerings in the AM40.
You could just get a cheap pair of skate shoes though.

sanchez89

i agree with Northern Monkey on pedals, a decent set with some skate shoes should be fine.

as for tyres, you will have to look into the semi-slick/full slick mtb tyres.

like the high roller semi slick http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=5846 thats heavy though

or this from schwalbe http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=24629

Nasty1

Thanks for the replies so far - I guessed that flat pedals may have been my only/best option but remember the pain from my younger days when they slipped and made shin contact

The potential trouble with tyres is the tubeless rims I have, anything wired is not going to fit I doubt or if it does possibly damage the rims?? I have been looking at the Kenda small block 8's as these are available tubeless and even smaller in standard and maybe even foldable. Do the normal (not UST) Kenda tyres hold up well to being run tubeless?

Cheers guys

Adie

supersonic

Most normal tyres fit on UST rims - just use a tube.

Northwind

Nasty1 wrote:

anything wired is not going to fit I doubt or if it does possibly damage the rims?

Nope, no problem at all putting wired on UST rims, don't worry about it. Is it pure road or just fast dual-use you're after? Small block are pretty rapid on the road, not as fast as a road slick but not drastically far off when run at high pressure. But will not be much fun offroad this time of year if you stray off armoured/surfaced trails.

As for pedals, I'm in the same boat, can't use SPDs as my leg's held on with some coach bolts. I just use normal flat pedals... Yes you'll possibly gouge yourself horribly from time to time but once you get used to the footwork needed to stay attached, you should be fine (SPDs allow you to get away with moving in a way less coordinated with the bike, flats require you to move with the bike- which is better all round in fact) So lots of heel dropping, soft joints, etc.

Is your knee otherwise funcitoning normally- ie can you pedal, support weight at a bend etc?

Nasty1

Northwind wrote:

Nasty1 wrote:

anything wired is not going to fit I doubt or if it does possibly damage the rims?

Nope, no problem at all putting wired on UST rims, don't worry about it. Is it pure road or just fast dual-use you're after? Small block are pretty rapid on the road, not as fast as a road slick but not drastically far off when run at high pressure. But will not be much fun offroad this time of year if you stray off armoured/surfaced trails.

As for pedals, I'm in the same boat, can't use SPDs as my leg's held on with some coach bolts. I just use normal flat pedals... Yes you'll possibly gouge yourself horribly from time to time but once you get used to the footwork needed to stay attached, you should be fine (SPDs allow you to get away with moving in a way less coordinated with the bike, flats require you to move with the bike- which is better all round in fact) So lots of heel dropping, soft joints, etc.

Is your knee otherwise funcitoning normally- ie can you pedal, support weight at a bend etc?

I would have liked a narrow road slick to start to minimise resistance.

My knee only bends to about 90 degrees...maybe a little more when warmed up. Other than a static gym bike I have yet to venture out on a proper bike, I am dubious as to whether the knee will take my weight and shock absorption of off road riding but then I have been told to avoid off road for the future. First things first though I have to get the bike set up again and start slowly.

Cheers

Adie

Northwind

Aye, makes sense (I had way less movement than that in the knee initially, just enough to sit on the motorbike, but it did come back with hard work, hope you're the same. Or better!)

26 inch slicks are easy enough... You could maybe consider a Schwalbe Big Apple, they're still fast but they're more cushioned than a narrow slick. Also don't look as silly I like Marathons myself. But no shortage of ones to try. Just like with mtb tyres it's worth spending a little, cheap slicks can be pretty damn slippy, good ones very grippy.