Pete Hindle

I like cycling. Over the summer I got into doing long-distance cycling, and I discovered that the tyres that came with my bike could be replaced with something called ‘slicks’. Slicks are bike tyres that have very little or no tread on them, meaning that you get the maximum return for the effort you put in.

If you have bumpy tires, like regular ones that mountain bikes come with, you get more grip. However, I didn’t need grip – I needed speed. However, the penalty of having a complete lack of grip on my wheels is that rainy days become challenging to ride in. On the first time I took my shiny new Schwalbe “Marathon Slicks” out in the rain, I ended up coming off and sliding on my side for about five metres, bike stuck between my legs.

(I still have a pair of jeans with the imprint of what was in my wallet that day, but not the corresponding bruise.)

Today I woke up and I felt itching for a ride. I’ve been chewing slowly through some quite unpleasant work, and I really wanted to vent. However, the weather forecast for today was, in a word, shitty. I’m fed up of fearing for my life in downpours – visions of my back wheel sliding out from underneath me – so I got some new tires.

It’s a bit blurry, but this picture shows the difference between the two treads; on the left, the Schwalbe Marathon Slick. Slick being the operative word – although they share a name with the classic Marathon, they are basically bald tyres with kevlar inside. Fast! But deadly in this season, owing to rainfall.

On the right, my new Nimbus Armadillo tyres – I’ve been fitting the regular non-Armadillo tyres to my friends bikes, so I’ve had a chance to ride this style a little bit, and I was impressed by it’s grippyness. Is grippyness a word?

I had heard that putting the new tires on can often be an arse. Thankfully, my old tires were pretty loose by now, and I’d had plenty of practice getting them on and off.

I must also say that my choice of tyres was swayed by the red sidewalls. I know that I could have got the classic Schwalbe Marathon, that every cyclist in Berlin seemed to ride on when I visited during the summer, but I miss having different coloured sidewalls. They seem so retro! So, the distinct colouring of the Nimbus Armadillo’s made an impact on me.

Okay, so it won’t last, but it’s pretty enough for now. Also, most of the reviews state how puncture-resistant these tyres are, which would be nice. I feel like I’ve spent a lot of money on inner tubes over the past year of riding, thanks to the local youth.

Tomorrow it’s forecast for more horrible weather. If you are about in the Gateshead area, along the river, keep an eye out for a cyclist that keeps trying to stare at his own wheels.