Bestrider Pump Pro 20: Assembly Part 2

Although I already had new tires for the Bestrider Pump Pro 20 kids bike, they were not ideal. The stock Kenda tires were too knobbly and not suitable for smooth roads. On the other hand, the Innova slick tires that I got earlier were too narrow. The claimed tire width is 37 mm, but the actual measured tire width is just 32 mm.

For road bikes, 32 mm is considered wider than usual. However, on kids bikes, 32 mm feels too narrow to be safe. It is still quite easy for the tire to fall into a crack or drain grille. Therefore, I decided to keep looking for wider slick tires.

Finally I found a tire that seems to be suitable for kids bikes. A suitable tire in my opinion needs to be relatively wide (35 mm or more), slick (light treads are OK), and hopefully not too heavy.

This is a relatively new-to-market 20 inch 406 tire, which is not commonly seen on folding bikes or small wheel bikes.

Continental Contact Urban tires

A size of 20x1.60 translates to 42-406, which means a claimed tire width of 42 mm.

Also available in a narrower 20x1.25 width.

Some light patterns and treads on the tire, which is fine. The centreline looks to be nearly continuous, which is good for lower rolling resistance.

The rotation direction should be followed, as the directional grooves will help to displace water safely.

Unfortunately these tires are heavy, at 347 grams each. Just a bit lighter than the stock Kenda tires which are 369 grams each.

One downside of these tires is the weight. Due to the steel wire bead construction, relatively thick rubber, and the wider width, this all adds up. The claimed weight is 330 grams, so actual weight is about 5% more. I think this weight is similar to the Schwalbe Marathon Racer (40-406 spec).

Decided to change to a high quality Zefal cloth rim tape as well, instead of the flimsy stock plastic rim tape.

Actual width when mounted on the rim is 40 mm! Safer for kids to ride without worrying too much.

Remember, these tires are mounted on the same stock rims, which have a good internal width of 20 mm.

Innova Tire Width: Claimed 37 mm, actual 32 mm

Continental Tire Width: Claimed 42 mm, actual 40 mm

Even for the Continental tires, they are slightly undersized when installed, although not as much as the Innova tires. When choosing tires based on the width, you never know what you will get, as the actual width can turn out to be narrower (Birdy AXS) or wider (Avanti Inc 3) than the claimed width, with the internal rim width playing a big part. Or you might be lucky and get the tire width spot on (Cervelo Aspero).

Tire height of previous Innova tires is about 26 mm. 

Tire height of Continental tire is about 36 mm. This radial increase of 10 mm will increase the tire outer diameter by 20 mm.

Overall wheel diameter with the new Continental tires is 490 mm, a significant increase from 470 mm with the Innova tires.

Comparing the front and rear wheels, when I have changed the rear tire but not the front tire yet. Due to the brown sidewalls and shorter tire height, the Innova tires look a lot smaller.

Comparing with tire tread side by side

The tire width difference of 8 mm can be seen clearly in this comparison.

Lastly, new pedals for the bike! These are high quality Early Rider pedals, which was also used on the previous Bestrider Pump Pro 16.

Front tire also changed to the Continental Contact Urban.

Still plenty of clearance with the V brakes even with a taller and wider tire.

Using lightweight titanium quick release axles to save a tiny bit of weight.

The tread pattern on the tires look pretty good! And I think I prefer black sidewalls over brown sidewalls.

Max tire pressure is 87 PSI, but I found that around 50 PSI is sufficient based on the kid's weight.

Nearly continuous centreline on the tire, apart from the grooves for displacing water.

I'm happy with the new tires, as they are nice and wide at 40 mm, which makes it much safer for riding, without worrying about falling into cracks. Although they are relatively heavy, this also makes them pretty tough which I guess is a fair tradeoff.

Giant TCR Advanced Disc 2: Ultegra Wheelset Upgrade

After introducing the Ultegra C50 wheelset in the earlier post, it will now be installed onto the Giant TCR Advanced Disc 2 road bike. This bike comes stock with an aluminium wheelset, so changing it to a carbon wheelset will be a big upgrade with lots of weight savings.

Other than changing the wheelset, new tires will also be used, since it will be very messy to transfer the tubeless stock tires (already with sealant) from the Giant wheelset to the Ultegra wheelset. The top tier Continental GP5000 tires are chosen, because they are one of the best. The normal tubed version is used instead of the tubeless version, since I still think it is easier to use inner tubes for road bikes rather than mess around with sealant. For off-road, sealant and tubeless tires are great, but not necessary for road bikes in my opinion.

Ultegra C50 wheelset with brand new Continental GP5000 tires!

Fresh wheelset and fresh tires!

Continental Terra Speed Gravel Tires

On the Polygon Bend R5 gravel bike, the 1x13 speed Campagnolo Ekar groupset will be installed, along with a new wheelset. The stock wheelset is a 650b wheelset, while the new Fulcrum Rapid Red 300 wheelset is a 700c wheelset. In this case, the stock WTB Venture 47 tires in 650b size cannot be used as it is a different size.

This gives me the freedom to choose a brand new set of 700c gravel tires. As the Bend R5 frame can fit a 650x47 mm wide tire, I was very confident that it can also fit a 700x40c gravel tire. This is from my previous experience on the Cervelo Aspero, where I used both 700c and 650b wheelsets.

I have heard many good reviews of the Continental Terra Speed gravel tires, which is why I decided to try it myself. It is claimed to roll well on tarmac, yet has a knobbly pattern that grips well on loose dry gravel.

Continental Terra Speed TR, which stands for Tubeless Ready.

Specialized Aethos: Dura-Ace C36 Wheelset and GP5000 Tires

Building a lightweight bike requires a lightweight wheelset. For the Specialized Aethos, I decided to get a relatively lower profile carbon wheelset to help save some weight.

Previously I got the Dura-Ace C50 wheelset for the Focus Paralane, during the change to 12 speeds. That C50 wheelset with a 50 mm tall rim profile weighs 1493 grams, which is a good weight but not really lightweight.

This time, I got the Dura-Ace C36 wheelset, which is exactly the same as the C50 wheelset, except for the lower 36 mm rim profile. Due to the lower profile, the wheelset will be lighter. Check out the details below.

Dura-Ace C36 R9270 wheelset

Dura-Ace wheelsets are available in 36, 50 and 60 mm rim profiles. The C36 is the lightest but also least aerodynamic.

Focus Paralane: Dura-Ace Wheelset Sub-Assembly

Time to set up the wheelset! I will be transferring the Continental GP5000 tires and the XTR RT-MT900 brake rotors over from the existing Ascent Zenith Elite wheelset. This new wheelset will then be reinstalled onto the Focus Paralane for a 12 speed setup.

GP5000 tires installed! No issues faced during installation, looking good so far.

Focus Paralane: RS770 Wheelset Aesthetic Improvement

Remember the new wheelset that I got for the Focus Paralane? It is the Shimano RS770 wheelset, which is an Ultegra-grade disc brake wheelset with aluminium rims, Centerlock hubs with E-thru axles. Details of the wheelset can be found at the link above.

Overall, this wheelset rides well, and I don't feel the weight of the wheelset at all, even when climbing hills. It is actually considered quite lightweight for aluminium rims, at 1666 grams. I have ridden carbon wheelsets that perform worse than this, so I think this is a great aluminium wheelset.

I have been testing this wheelset by riding up some slopes, such as Jurong Hill as you can see below. At the same time, I was also testing the gearing, as it is now a front single drivetrain with 11 speeds. It will be harder to climb long and steep slopes, as the low gears are not as low as if I had a front double drivetrain.

View of the completed bike! From far, the SKS Bluemels mudguards are not really visible.

Great view of the scenery from the top of Jurong Hill

Front single drivetrain, with a 38T Wolf Tooth chainring and 11-32T 11 speed cassette. This gives a gear range of 32-93 gear inches.

While looking through the pictures, I can see the silver band around the rim of the wheelset. This is due to the uncovered area at the edge of the rim, where it is not covered by the carbon wrap.

Aesthetically, it is not so nice, as it spoils the continuous black appearance from the tires to the spokes. In this case, I decided to improve the appearance by doing some touch up on the edge of the rim.

Silver line around the rim is very obvious when seeing up close

The silver area is the exposed aluminium rim that is not covered by the carbon wrap.

Simplest way to touch up is to use black paint marker to cover up the silver aluminium surface.

Same surface, covered with black paint from the marker.

Looks better without the silver band showing on the rim

Did it for both the wheels, to make them look nicer. This should have been done by the factory.

With a bit of effort and a couple of big paint markers, the silver band around the rims have been completely covered. I am now happy with the wheelset after the aesthetic improvement.

As for the gearing, I think it is quite suitable for my usage. The gear range of 32 to 93 gear inches is a good range, as it is low enough for climbing Jurong Hill as well as going relatively fast on the road. 

Focus Paralane: Shimano WH-RS770 Wheelset and GP5000 Tires

The new Focus Paralane all-weather road bike will need a new pair of wheels. My previous all-weather road bike was the Fabike C3, but that wheelset with Alfine 11 Di2 internal hub is not suitable for this new bike. Although the DT Swiss front wheel can be used, I would rather get a pair of front and rear wheels that matches.

What I needed is a proper road wheelset, with 12 mm E-thru axles and disc brake hubs. This was what I had, the Reynolds Assault wheelset. However, I had already sold it, which I regretted a lot. At that time, I did not plan to use it on any other bike, since I already had the new Zenith Elite wheelset from Ascent Bikes. Therefore, I decided to sell the Reynolds wheelset to free up some space at home.

If I did not sell that Reynolds wheelset, it would have been perfect for this Focus Paralane, as a used carbon wheelset for all-weather duties.

Therefore, I had to get a new pair of disc brake compatible, 12 mm E-thru wheels. I did not want to fork out over $1000 for a pair of carbon wheels, for all-weather riding. Therefore, I went for the more budget option, which is a pair of aluminium wheelset.

This Shimano RS770 wheelset is a peculiar wheelset, as the rim is made of a hybrid of carbon and aluminium. More details below.

Looks totally like a low profile lightweight carbon wheelset. I like the stealthy look of it.

It has a wavy rim shape, similar to Princeton CarbonWorks wheelset. Probably a coincidence...

The rim is actually made of aluminium, but reinforced with a layer of carbon on top. Probably only Shimano is mass producing this type of rims.

Why does Shimano use carbon reinforced aluminium rims? This actually dates back to some years ago, when carbon wheelsets for rim brakes were getting popular. At that time, road bikes were predominantly on rim brakes, therefore the braking surface is still on the rim.

Some other manufacturers have a full carbon rim, which means that the braking surface is made of carbon. This tends to have poorer brake performance and heat dissipation properties compared to conventional aluminium rims.

Shimano wanted to make carbon rims, but still retain the superior braking performance of aluminium rims. Therefore, this hybrid construction was created, so that the braking surface is still aluminium, but the rim profile can be made thinner in aluminium, and cladded with carbon fibre for strength and also appearance. Check out the Dura-Ace WH-7900 C24 wheelset to see what I mean.

Somehow, this construction has endured even to this day, on the mid-range disc brake wheelset, as shown here by WH-RS770. It is Ultegra grade, but not labelled under the Ultegra series. There is no advantage to having the aluminium braking surface on the rim, since disc brakes are used.

Black spokes and spoke nipples are used, to match the black rims.

Although the braking surface seems to be present on the rim, it is not to be used.

The wheel comes with tubeless rim tape already installed.

However, the end of the rim tape was not pressed down properly, and tends to detach. If an inner tube is used, it is not a problem. However, if a tubeless setup is used, sealant will get underneath the tape and may leak.

External rim width is 22 mm, which is old school. Nowadays external rim widths are easily 28 mm or more.

Internal rim width is old school as well, at just 17 mm. Most new road bike wheels now have a wider internal rim width of at least 19 mm, or 21 mm.

Rim height at the shallowest areas are 28 mm.

If measured at the taller areas, the rim height is 30 mm.

The hubs look nice with a shiny anodised silver finish, with black areas as well. Still using traditional cup and cone bearings, but for 12 mm E-thru axles.

Centerlock disc brake mounting, which makes installing or removing rotors so much easier compared to using 6 bolt type.

WH-RS770 is the model number of this wheelset. Bladed straight pull spokes are used.

Rear wheel has a steel freehub body, to prevent gouging caused by the steel sprockets. Adds some weight over an aluminium freehub body, but lasts much longer.

Weight of front wheel is 743 grams, heavier than the Zenith Elite but lighter than the Reynolds Assault.

Rear wheel is pretty heavy at 923 grams, due to the steel freehub body and cup-and-cone bearings.

This gives a total wheelset weight of 1666 grams, which is slightly more than the Reynolds Assault (1637 grams) and heavier than the Zenith Elite (1504 grams). Not too bad for an aluminium wheelset!

Using the same Continental GP5000 tires on this wheelset as well, for maximum speed.

GP5000 tires on the RS770 wheelset. However, a silver band can be seen at the interface between the rim and the tire.

This silver band is from the exposed aluminium at the top edge of the rim, which is not covered by the carbon fibre layer.

This silver line does not look good, as it spoils the integrated look of the wheelset and tire. Does not affect function, but it lowers the aesthetic value of this wheelset. Will do something about it later.

Actual tire width is about 27 mm, when mounted on this wheel with 17 mm internal rim width. In comparison, actual tire width is 28.5 mm when mounted on internal rim width of 21 mm.

Added the Dura-Ace RT900 rotors as well. Now it looks fast!

Comparing the RS770 wheelset with the Zenith Elite wheelset, both with 28 mm GP5000 tires. Rim height is obviously different. The silver line on the RS770 wheelset stands out too much, unfortunately.

For pure academic purposes, I installed the previous Continenal Grand Prix 4 Season tires on this new rim as well.

Using Continental Grand Prix 4 Season 28 mm tires on different internal rim widths:

20 mm rim --> 31.8 mm actual tire width

18 mm rim --> 30.8 mm actual tire width

17 mm rim --> 30.8 mm actual tire width

As you can see, the previous generation of Continental tires are generally oversized, even when mounted on narrow rims. The new generation (GP5000) is more true to size.

Later on, after the wheelset is installed on the full bike, I will be able to evaluate the ride quality of this RS770 wheelset with GP5000 tires.