Best Schwalbe Lugano HS 384 Clincher Road Bicycle Tire - Wire Bead Deals

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List Price: $25.99
Sale Price: $18.93
Today's Bonus: 27% Off

I ride daily, regardless of weather. The best tire I have found to date is most definitely, for this application, the Schwalbe Lugano (HS 384). Quite simply, they are superb in ride quality, traction, and tread life. I have run many tires over the years, and though they all have their individual strengths, there are few tires that have the overall performance of the Schwalbes.

The tread shell offers excellent puncture resistance, though for the summer attacks of the dreaded tribulis terrestris, the goat head thorn, it's best to supplement the tire with a Tuffy Strip. Those little bastards are tenacious no matter what brand of tire you run.

These clinchers are very hard to find locally, so I've gotten into the habit of grabbing a spare pair here online. Shipping is convenient and fast! It's always a good idea to be prepared for that possibility of a road hazard, like a large piece of glass.

These tires mount readily; after the initial stretch, roadside repairs can be done even without the assistance of tire levers. The tread lasts an amazingly long time, typically 4000km on the rears, and 9000km is possible on the fronts. At 9000km, the "herringbone" tread is still in good shape, but many miles of little glass cuts have accumulated. The Luganos fare amazingly well under the "glass attack", with excellent cut resistance beneath the tread band. No deformations here, or bulging inner tubes.

I've used some really expensive tires over the years, both folding and conventional wire bead, including the top of the line Vittorias, Michelins, and Continentals. They all have good feel, but fail in the tread wear category. Amazingly, on sprints, I could really get the Vittorias to squirm about; though one would think that rapid tread wear is a trade for grip, the Schwalbe is far more predictable.

Overall, I cannot speak strongly enough for the Schwalbes. If you run anywhere near the 20,000km I do per year, decent tires are a must. These weenies won't let you down!

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Have put nearly 2000 miles on these and they still have usable tread left. As long as you keep them inflated properly the colored portion lasts for a long time, still have plenty of color left on the yellow ones I'm riding on right now. I commute to work with these tires and go through a lot of road debris but have not had a single puncture yet with these. The ride quality isn't the best but for the price it's just fine and they corner better than other tires I've used in the same price range. Definitely buying another set of these soon, great deal!

Best Deals for Schwalbe Lugano HS 384 Clincher Road Bicycle Tire - Wire Bead

I installed the red version of this to my rear wheel at the same time that I mounted a yellow Michelin Orium to my front wheel. During the 2 months that I rode on it, I did not experience any puncture caused by road debris. It truly is puncture resistant as the company claims it to be. If you want a tire that performs and saves you from punctures at around 20 dollars, this is the one.

Honest reviews on Schwalbe Lugano HS 384 Clincher Road Bicycle Tire - Wire Bead

These tires are a good value, especially since they appear quite durable despite a lite weight. I bought two pairs. More specifically, I bought a red pair for use on a Felt T43 Triathlon Bike and a black pair for use on a Felt Z80 Road Bike.

The tires were easy to mount on my Alex rims. They are cleanly finished, not a lot of burrs. The stripes on the red pair are straight even when mounted.

They have excellent dry traction on asphalt and concrete. However, the tread pattern does add a little vibration to your ride.

I definitely perfer these over the stock tires they replaced, which I tended to skid. In addition, I would recommend them to family and friends without any doubts.

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I have a greg lamond, (yellow frame) and I have Vredestein Fortezza TriComp and I was very happy with them. But didn't have the funds to purchase another set after have my road bike overhaul. It took a couple of days online to locate Schwalbe Lugano HS 483 Racing Bike Tires. The price was outstanding and all the reviews on this tire. But was really impressed me was how they look on Bike. Wow!!!. I hope they live up to the review because I can see myself buying another set just to have on hand. I purchased them from Amazon and they came right away.

Reviews of STRIDER ST-3 No-Pedal Balance Bike

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List Price: $110.00
Sale Price: $99.99
Today's Bonus: 9% Off

After extensive research on the right balance bike for my 18 month old, I went with a red ST-3 Strider. While I didnt want to pay this kind of money, the expectation is she uses it for 3 years or so and when she is done with it she'll hop on a big-kid bike and ride away. My son, who is older can ride a bike fine now but he is still hesitent and that's because he started on training wheels and the transition is scarier.

I first Spotted these balance bikes at a car show and was amazed at the kids ability to ride around on it so I started my research and was hooked on the idea.

Primary reasons for choosing a Strider over the other manufacturers was that it's seat can go as low as 11", it has a steel frame, and the new ST-3 has the small grips. Given that this was being given to an 18 month old, the smaller the better. Reviews on various sites also helped seal the deal over the wooden bikes and some of thec omposites. I would've considered a kinderbike but besides their own website, they seem hard to find. The wooden ones Ive seen all look pretty beat up and more like a 'craft' instead of an actual bike. Their website marketing showing kids riding their striders like BMX bikes brought me in too, although it'll be a while before my little one does that!

The bike itself is really tiny. The best way to tell this online is to watch the assembly video on their own website (an excrutiatingly boring video however). Its really light weight also which is good for someone so small to pick up off the ground, which she can. Assembly was easy, although I has to use a mallet to attach the quick release on the handlebar stem because its a little tight. Took about 5 minutes with the help of my 6 year old. More time to take all the packaging off than putting it together. The stem is attached to the handlebars directly, there is no neck clamp as in a traditional bike. I was a little worried about this since I thought maybe I wanted some adjustment backwards to make it easier to reach but the bike is tiny and really doesnt need this. Overall construction is fine (paint, weld points, bolts, screws etc seem to be of decent materials) but they could've sprung for some painted on 'Strider' emblems instead of the cheap stickers which I can see peeling off quickly. It would've added to the belief that $99 was worth spending on something so diminutive and simple. My sons Schwinn, complete with metal pedals, front, rear and pedal brakes cost about this and it's got 18 or 20" wheels on it, so a lot more material and engineering over this little bike. (That said his bike is all stickers too, but with orange flames and racing stripes on the seat!)

The seat itself is a hard plastic, not like a standard bike seat which is cushioned. We'll see how the comfort of that is over time. She'll need to learn some new words first before she can express that though.

My tiny 18 month old (girl) saw the bike and hopped right on and immediately started walking with it. She didn't want to get off. Its the reaction I was hoping for, so that's great. She is very small for her age but she can straddle the bike fine and the seat is as low as it can go. With shoes on she should be just right for it. She can reach the handlebars and the smaller grips of the ST-3 are definitely a good thing.

The tires are interesting. They are a semi-soft-hardish solid plastic mold, not the inflatable kind. We'll see how long they last, but I doubt my tiny one can do anything to really mess them up.

One thing I do wish Strider would do is let you customize the bike more on order. I would've ordered straight from their site (instead of amazon) had I been able to choose wheel colors, seats or handlebars to match the bike instead of the all black. They do let you configure it, but not actually buy it. The red on black is great though and I chose that over pink (for resale value, LOL) and in case she wanted to share with her boyfriends (LOL) who may not want to ride a pink bike.

We'll see how she does with it over the next few days as these are first impressions. I am looking forward to seeing her balance with it. She really loves bikes and trikes and now that she has one her size, she's really going to get going.

UPDATE (10/2012):

So she didnt take to the bike as much as I thought she would gravitating more to her brothers old tricycle and scooter. She's maybe used it 10 times so far and only for short spurts of time before switching to somethign else. When she does get on the bike, and she is small for her

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XLC Thorn Resistant Boxed Tube - 29" x 1.9/2.3", PRESTA Review

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After the first 25 mile ride, the tube went flat. It was find for the entire ride, but the next morning it was flat. The shaft of the stem is not threaded like other presta valves (It is quite long though) I have been riding and working on bikes for 30 years and I made sure the tubes were in strait, and the valve stem was perpendicular to the rim, and I filled them to 65psi. But, right at the base of the valve stem it broke. I can't even patch it now. I hope the other one I purchased doesn't have the same problem. The tube is quite thick, and there are no other holes in the tube. Maybe I just got a bad tube, as the one in the other tire is still holding up. I will definitely make sure that valve stems are threaded on future presta tube purchases. That way I can cinch them down to the rim.

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This tube is very thorn resistive. Where I ride there are a lot of goathead thornes that can eat up a standard tube. Been riding on this for a year now and still going.

Pedro's Pro Bicycle Spoke Wrench Review

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List Price: $15.00
Sale Price: $7.04
Today's Bonus: 53% Off

This is a great spoke wrench, but it's terribly confusing how amazon has them listed. I ordered the one labeled black (red in the photo), and I got the black one. Also the sizes:

3.2mm black dt

3.3mm green

3.5mm red

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You don't get it wrong very often Amazon, but when you do....

The colors of spoke wrenches aren't decorative. Each color wrench is a different size. So when I order a black one and you put a green one in my cart? That's not a fashion faux pas, that's the wrong dang wrench. Even better when you show the picture of the black wrench but the selected item is actually the green one. Duh!