tire selection for young child
First "serious ride" (100kms) this weekend with our 9 year-old. Went well, and we've learned that her (new) bike may benefit from a couple of tweaks, although not entirely clear what exactly should be done.
Her bike is a 24" Islabike (Luath). It came with road tires. Probably 1" wide (bike is in the shed, and I am lazy). Great when riding on pavement. Not so when there are patches of loose gravel. She lost control a couple of times, including one tear-inducing spill. We (adults and older child) ride Almotions 2". So the idea is to change her bike's tires for something wider.
First impulse is to swap for Marathon Pluses 24x1.75". However, a quick look at rollingResistance raises questions in my mind -- these tires are rated at 25+Watts (quite a bit more than the 2" Almotions). This is a lot. She did OK this weekend on something that was almost certainly requiring less than 10Watts.... not clear to me what will happen if we put wider tires. A 2x15W difference may be worth putting her feet down when there's a loose patch.
FWIW -- her previous bike was equipped with 20x1.75 Pluses. BUT this was when mommy did most of the work in a tandem-like set-up (follow-me trailer).
I'll scan rollingResistance trying to find a 1.5" lightweight tire. Something like the Almotions/Supremes would be great, but they're not available in 24". Maybe you have something to suggest?
Her bike is a 24" Islabike (Luath). It came with road tires. Probably 1" wide (bike is in the shed, and I am lazy). Great when riding on pavement. Not so when there are patches of loose gravel. She lost control a couple of times, including one tear-inducing spill. We (adults and older child) ride Almotions 2". So the idea is to change her bike's tires for something wider.
First impulse is to swap for Marathon Pluses 24x1.75". However, a quick look at rollingResistance raises questions in my mind -- these tires are rated at 25+Watts (quite a bit more than the 2" Almotions). This is a lot. She did OK this weekend on something that was almost certainly requiring less than 10Watts.... not clear to me what will happen if we put wider tires. A 2x15W difference may be worth putting her feet down when there's a loose patch.
FWIW -- her previous bike was equipped with 20x1.75 Pluses. BUT this was when mommy did most of the work in a tandem-like set-up (follow-me trailer).
I'll scan rollingResistance trying to find a 1.5" lightweight tire. Something like the Almotions/Supremes would be great, but they're not available in 24". Maybe you have something to suggest?