Im off for a weekend in cambridge, chasing tail 😉

the loverly young lady in question is a rower, and has let me know she will be required to help train some of the freshers on saturday afternoon.
this involves riding bikes chasing boats up and down the river,
she says “bring a bike or sit and wait at the boat house”
Ive decided my SS XtC hardtail with 105mm bombers on it would be the bike of choice,
im gonna go with 32:16 to get some spinning in
but most importantly

What Tyres???!!!!

2.1″ Gravities (bit large?)
2.1″ Explorers (my good tyres, currently already on a bike, kind of ruling them out
1.5″ Cross country Mud tyres (expensive, not wanting to waste mud tyres on a towpath
1″ Ultra Gators (i understand this is quite a bumpy towpath

Decisions decisions 😉

in retrospect, i realise “good tyres” was the wrong choice of words, i would go more with “predictably sh!t, but predicatble”

1″ gators, for the featherlite touch…

Bizarrely I have something constructive to add to this thread… the river bank in Cambridge is largely unpaved (it is tarmac and then hardcore for the first mile or so only) and gets very muddy. The mud is largely clay and very sticky. I once rode down there on Gravities and they turned in to hoops of mud almost resulting in my sliding in to the river on numerous occasions. Given all the rain we have had I bet the banks are pretty muddy so go for something that clears mud easily.

I should add that I haven’t been there for about 3 years so they might have paved more of it by now.

Surely you should be deciding upon rubber of an entirely different kind, for such a trip

EDIT: Although I ‘spose you’re still seeking something with at least some puncture resistance…

if you’re thinking about tyres in such a context you are a hopeless dweeb and will only ever score with letterboxes 🙁

At the risk of being terminally dull and continuing to take this thread seriously, thinking about it the Freshers won’t row very far and you may not get as far as the muddy towpath in which case any old tyres will do.

“bring a bike or sit and wait at the boat house”

I like the sound of her ! – reckon you won’t be walking by Monday

For once I think I agree with SFB

maxis exciters?

Christ that first line scared me i live near cambridge, and was thinking why am i being chased. 😯

In answer to your question depends which part of the river. Could be grass or paved, I’d go for some old tyres. If it’s the grass bit I’m sure last time i passed the grass was knee high! But if i remember correctly where the boat house is you’ll be on paving as they’ll be rowing out of town.

Keep the xcs on you tart 😛

slaps hand to head…doh!

Are you a virgin?

I graduated in ’03 but I gather they surfaced the entire towpath a couple of years ago so tyre choice is pretty redundant. I coached lady rowers for 3 years on a fully rigid GT with worn-out semi-slicks and never had any problems – but then again women don’t row that fast, more like assisted drifting… having said that, I did see a few nasty accidents on the towpath. some hilarious ones too, including where one of our bank-party got over-excited (M1 in the Mays, about to bump) and accidentally cycled into the river. anyway, back to your weekend… make sure you pull a nice long manual over Chesterton footbridge since you’ll be in full view and I’m sure they’ll love you for it. out of interest, which college is your friend at? I still have a few friends there coaching so may know her…

I am deeply saddened.

If I was chasing totty I don’t think I’d be thinking about what tyres to put on my bike…..

Get a grip man!

Get a grip man!

get a grip on what exactly ??

Are you a virgin?

perhaps we need some new, even more innocent classification, that even worldly-wise virgins can ridicule ?

don’t worry, I think she’s gonna make a man (or meal?) of him

*puts hand on shoulder* (son, maybe you should wait in the boathouse – keep your strength up)

None.
If you want to impress her swim alongside the boat.

the only rubber i would be asking advice for would be for the erection protection.
if you are only thinking about what tyers you need your missus is in for a boring weekend

Surely the answer is which ever ones allow you to pull the best skids. After all you want to impress her no?