We had a beautiful weather this weekend so I decided to explore Carlisle a little more by bike. I left my house on Sunday morning, very shortly after sunrise and took Minuteman Bikeway towards Bedford. At this time of the day this usually busy path was completely empty and dead silent. No cyclists, no joggers, no dog walkers and no cars on intersecting streets. I quickly reached Bedford and entered the Narrow Gauge Trail north.
It was still quite chilly and the early morning sun was still too shy to peek between the clouds. But I was moving forward rapidly and I quickly reached Concord River.
I crossed it and found Moran Rd to eventually reach North Rd and enter Carlisle. North Rd is a fun place to ride a bike. This winding, hilly road runs through the forest and sees little traffic. There are several places along the road worth checking and stopping for a moment such as bogs, ...
Once I reached Lowell St I decided to continue on its other side and take Curve St towards Cranberry Bog. The huge field of cranberries was glowing brownish-red even though we would have to wait until October to see fresh cranberries on it.
I continued on Curve St to Cross St, then South St and eventually I reached Concord center and I ended on the Battle Road Trail. I was back home 58km (36mi) later at exactly 9:00 am - right for breakfast and at a perfect time as it was just starting to rain.
It was a good ride, especially that I had a chance to try something new. I started running my Clement X'Plor USH tires with less air in them and I really like it! About 30psi in the front and 35psi in the rear tire seems perfect. The USHs are still fast rolling at this pressure and definitely don't feel sluggish on pavement. At the same time they become very cushy and swallow all small bumps of the road much, much better. The only real drawback is a significant deflection of the front tire when riding out of saddle but that's minor compared to all the benefits mentioned above. For my 84kg (185lbs) this pressure seems optimal but I wouldn't try anything lower than 30psi as this would mean asking for pinch flats to happen. USH tire continues to please me and seems to be a perfect road tire for off-road use.
Are you using the 60tpi or 120tpi? I'm only at 100 miles on my 60's and noticed a strange vibe with them any less then 60 psi on all surfaces. Wilson
ReplyDeleteI'm using the 60tpi version and didn't notice any problems. I'm running my USHs on Velocity A23 rims with tubes. Could this make a difference? Isn't 60psi too much for this tire? I don't think i have ever tried more than 45psi.
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