I was – honestly – looking at 29er frames on On One when I discovered cheap Kaffenbacks on there, which made me wonder about a commuter project instead.

Clearance is for 32mm tyres, apparently, but will it take 28mm tyres with full mudguards?

And with 28mm tyres, will it cope with a stretch of unmade towpath and bumpy Sustrans tarmac?

Cheers

surly lht takes 40mm tyres
look over there>

pompino (same back end i think) will take 35c tyres and mudguards.

I’s have thought that kaff will be similar.

And with 28mm tyres, will it cope with a stretch of unmade towpath and bumpy Sustrans tarmac?

as long as the pressure is not to high you’ll be fine. bigger the better though ime. i use a 35c michelin world tour they are fine for gravel/ even a bit of dirt as long as it’s not wet.

Can get 42mm conti fighter2s on the back of the pompetamine, and just about enough room for a mudguard. Haven’t run it like htis though as htey are crap at being tyres…

I ran 32mm Conti Twisters with mudguards, the clearances were silly tight and I sat with the rear tyre and cut all the side knobs off the night before I toured on it.

Schwalbe Marathons are fine for Sustrans type routes and that’s what I use now

DSCF2119 by paulosoxo, on Flickr

I have 28mm Panaracer T-servs and full SKS ‘guards on mine. And I off road it with panniers when I really should be on a MTB.

I have 28mm Panaracer T-servs and full SKS ‘guards on mine. And I off road it with panniers when I really should be on a MTB.

Ooops. Have a third post with a photo.

Very versatile bikes. Who said crossers are good in mud? I got stuck here.

pualosaxo – just checking your post – do you mean that 32mm Schwalbe Marathons fit with mudguards? That sounds an ideal combination if it would work.

I have 28mm Conti ultragatorduraskins or whatever they’re called on mine with full SKS mudguards. A719 rims. They’ve coped with plenty of unmade towpaths and sustrans tracks, not to mention a fair few Peak District bridleways… All good so far. My preference when things get rough is for more pressure rather than less, so as to prevent rim damage and pinch flats. As there’s no tread to speak of there’s never going to be much grip in mud anyway, and they grip fine on the rocks round here no matter what the pressure.

It has to be said though that if clearance is top of your list of requirements then the equivalent Surly is probably the way to go (better cable routing too). The Kaffenback’s chainstays were a bit tight when I did a cross race with a pair of borrowed 32mm twisters, luckily it wasn’t a muddy one though.

I’m currently being battered with 28mm Marathons on the towpath on a cheap alloy frame – thought a cheap steel one would be more comfortable, 32mm would be ideal.

Can you buy the Surly for £100……?

That was 32mm twisters. I use Marathons on an uncle john now, with guards, can’t remember if I ever had them on the Kaff