Tires and caps

Some of you know about my unshakable devotion to Schwalbe Stelvio Plus, the most durable, puncture-resistant road tires I've ever used. (The Plus is important; regular Stelvios are a completely different breed of tire.)

Now that my current pair is begging for retirement, I've found out that they're out of stock. Apparently, those lazy Germans don't produce them fast enough... Still, if you can find them, BUY THEM. But if you can't, Panaracer is coming to the rescue with their own version of an ultra-strong road tire: the RiBmo (hat tip to J/Tati).

I'll write up my impressions as soon as I get my hands on them and use them for a while. For now, their "facebook profile" is rather unattractive. Panaracer seems to be marketing it as an unashamedly strong, urban tire, with a deeply marked tread pattern and all. (Schwalbe tried to disguise the sturdiness of its little beasts by putting very shallow tread patterns on them and calling them "race tires.") Plus, the Ribmo's only come on 25c or wider--the Stelvio Plus are 23's, althought they look more like 25's. The weight of both Panaracers and Schwalbes is around 340g.

Yes, I know, I know: in a world of ceramic bearings and titanium derailleurs, a tire that weighs more than your iPod is completely unacceptable. But Stelvio Plus tires are meant to be for training and commuting in urban settings. (And by the way, Schwalbe claims that the Ultremos are as puncture-resistant as the Stelvio Pluses, at almost a third of their weight. In my experience, that is absolutely false.)

If you stick to the lakefront path you probably don't need Ribmos or Stelvio Pluses. But city streets in the south seemed to be covered by a blanket of glass, nails, metal shards and what not, and rare is the day when one person or another in my training group doesn't get a flat... Plus, I believe the old-fashioned theory that training on heavy, slow components makes you stronger...

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Today Carly was wearing the most stylish, well-fitting cycling cap I've seen in recent eons. She had it custom-made (no wonder) at little-package.com, a one-woman operation in Portland, OR. You'll have quite a few decisions to make before you place an order: style, fabric, ribbon and size, at least. As for me, I think I will order a "Carly special" (black, cotton twill, with two asymmetrical orange stripes). Enjoy.