A little while ago, I mentioned that the front tire on my Worksman Cycle Truck was developing dry rot, so the tire needed to be replaced. By itself, that's a simple problem, with a simple remedy: get a new tire.
But my bike obsession has entered new phases, where solutions to problems become more complicated than they should.
I started to think about what kind of tire to get. Obviously it would need to fit, so I would get one of the same size, 20" x 2.125". But what about color? Black is what I got on there, black would be easy. But no. I decided to try to get a creme colored tire, since Lovely Bicycle has corrupted me. Aesthetically, I think the creme would nicely contrast with the black frame, bringing more attention to the wheels. And then I would have an overall black/creme/brown color scheme to the Cycle Truck. Of course now this would mean I would also replace the rear tire, so I wouldn't have mismatched tires.
What kind of creme tire? Schwalbe Fat Franks would be the obvious choice. And indeed they have a 26" x 2.2125" in creme for the rear wheel. For the front? Nada. In fact, Schwalbe doesn't have anything in creme in a 20" size. Well, if not Schwalbe, then who? I did a lot of searching and the only thing I can find in off-white in a 20" size is a CST Classic Venice. They look nice, but the width is only 1.75", 3/8" of an inch smaller. I don't know how wise it would be to go with a smaller width tire on the front, especially since it's what's going to hold the load of the Cycle Truck.
Giving up in my personal search, I decided to let Sue from Oregon Bike Shop have a go at it. All she could find was a BMX tire, and it might be too knobby for my needs.
Is my obsession and concern about aesthetics getting the better of me? Should I capitulate and just get another black front tire? Should I risk it and get a narrower tire? Or do you know of this magical, mythical 20" x 2.125" tire in creme/beige/off-white and care to enlighten me?
Please weigh in through the comments, if you care.
I found the Odyssey LE Path BMX bike tire in white, 20" x 2.10, with some googling. It looks alittle less knobby than the others, at least, based on the black tire pictures which have a head-on view, on the sideview you can see online.
ReplyDeleteTHANKS SHAWN! :)
Thank you Esther! That might be the tire that Sue located. Doesn't look that knobby.
ReplyDeleteFor that you get a SHOUT OUT!
If I were in your shoes, I think I'd keep life simple and just go with the black tires of same width.
ReplyDeleteBut that's me. I tend to favour utility over aesthetics. Or more accurately, from my perspective, simple utilitarian design is a sort of aesthetic/beauty in and of itself (but not in all cases). But then who's to say whether white or black is more utilitarian or aesthetic?
And on the other hand, I understand the appeal the white tires offer as a unique and different alternative to the every-day black.
It's a perplexing decision to be sure.