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Tyre dial emma

Winston Leg-Thigh

Maximum Pace
Mar 31, 2015
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A couple of weeks ago I gave my bike a cheapo gravel make-over; 46/30 chainset and pair of gravel king sk 700x32. The bike was only supposed to be able to fit 28c tyres but it turns out a 35mm will easily fit in the back and a 32 just about fits in the front (obviously I have to deflate the tyres to get the wheels in and out through the brake calipers). I've taken it on a few off-road / gravel / unmade rindo jaunts and it's been superb except for the distinct lack of braking power (long drop calipers x relatively crap wheels). A few rides in and I've noticed some marks on the fork where there's been some tyre rub (one side only). As far as I can tell, it's the little bobbly bits on the side (vent spews, apparently) that are rubbing; the wheel spins freely and there's a bit of daylight between the tyre and the fork. I suppose I could mess about with trying to shift the wheel a mm or two on the axle but I haven't really got the technical skills or time to do that. I want to keep taking the bike off road so my question to the good folks of TCC is do I:
a. not worry about it, the fork blades aren't going to snap, b, put some electrical tape on the fork, c. cut the bobbly bits off and see what happerns, d. get a gravel king sk 26mm for the front (only available in all black but the tyre on the back has brown sidewalls, e. get a regular gravel king in 28mm with brown sidewalls (even though I've not had much luck with 26mm gravel kings in the past), f. get a regular gravel king in 32mm and hope it runs small on my rims like the sk does, g. something else entirely

Cheers
 
Is replacing the fork out of the question? It would make the problem go away...

Good suggestion, thanks. Definitely possible in the slightly longer term, although the bike is nothing special so I'm not sure whether the money I'd pay for a fork would be better put towards a better bike.
 
Found a solution for the time being - a couple of layers of gaffer tape in the top of the drop out opposite the rub and the wheel is centred perfectly.
 

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Bad news! This appeared to be the perfect excuse, I mean reason, to get a new bike.
 
Bad news! This appeared to be the perfect excuse, I mean reason, to get a new bike.

Haha - yeah it has put getting a new bike back even more. On the plus side, I'm getting a better idea of what I want / need now (2x with 46/30, threaded bb, 35mm tyre clearance, aluminium or steel, sub 10kg in stock build)
 
Haha - yeah it has put getting a new bike back even more. On the plus side, I'm getting a better idea of what I want / need now (2x with 46/30, threaded bb, 35mm tyre clearance, aluminium or steel, sub 10kg in stock build)
Know what you mean about this. I've been riding a bit less than 18 months and it's only now that I'm beginning to understand bikes. Btw, nice photos. Where did you take them? When I saw the thumbnails, I thought it was the Lake District or one of the moors in the UK but I guess it's somewhere in Japan. Looks open, not like the mountains where I live.

Edit - sorry, didn't want to suggest you're a beginner. It's just I've found a lot of trial and error is needed to find what works for me.
 
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Know what you mean about this. I've been riding a bit less than 18 months and it's only now that I'm beginning to understand bikes. Btw, nice photos. Where did you take them? When I saw the thumbnails, I thought it was the Lake District or one of the moors in the UK but I guess it's somewhere in Japan. Looks open, not like the mountains where I live.

Edit - sorry, didn't want to suggest you're a beginner. It's just I've found a lot of trial and error is needed to find what works for me.

No worries - definitely on the beginner / casual side of things. Trundled around on a mountain BSO for around a year then picked up a second-hand road bike off here a few years ago. Defo a lot of trial and error for me, too. The bike I've got now is pretty much all I need (obviously I'd like something better) now I've got wider tyres and lower gears on it; if I could upgrade the brakes it'd do me fine.

The photos are on HIraodai (edge of Kitakyushu City). It's always reminded me of the Lakes or parts of Wales, too. It's about the only open area of grassland in the area until you get down to Yufin/Kyuju/Aso, and it's only about 10-15km from the front door.
 
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