Devil Tires!

So, my Bianchi Pista came with 700×23 Continental Sport 1000 tires on it. Cheap, but they wore well and I never had any problems with them. Until I had to change one, that is. While airing them up, I managed to seperate the stem from the tube in my front tire, necessitating a tube swap. Normally this is a fairly quick process. Not with these tires, though, noooo… Nearly two hours of wrestling with it (and two more tubes with holes in them) later, I realized that it is impossible (for me) to change one of these tires without pinching the tube. They are just insanely tight on the Pista’s rims (I did not, nor shall I, try them on any other rims).

Disgusted, I finally gave up, snagged a spare wheel from the Fuji, and went for a ride. Then, at my earliest convenience, I swapped the sinister stock circles of Satanism for some new tires. 700×25 Continental Ultra 2000’s. I’ve had good luck with these in the past, I like mine with the kevlar bead; I find that in addition to the obvious benefit of making the tire foldable (and lighter), it seems to make them easier to mount and remove.

I wish I had made this swap earlier. I’ve never really ridden anything wider than a 23, but those 25’s really give the Pista a plush (for a track bike) ride. Not that you care, but here’s a photo of her wearing her new shoes.