The Friday Cyclotouriste

The Fabled Mitsuboshi Trimline

Three millimeters seems insignificant, but to the growing number of 650B wheeled bicycle riding nerds like myself, 3mm is a big deal.

The Quest for a 38mm tire. This is considered the sweet spot for optimizing the handling of many French-style, bicycle frames (designed for carrying stacks of newspapers, bottles of wine, food, camping gear, or what have you, on a front rack, in panniers, or in a handlebar bag).
Yet there are very few 650B x 38mm tire choices. The Col de la Vie, which I have on my Ebisu, is marketed as being 38mm wide, but it’s really only about 35mm.

There’s also the Hetre, by Grand Bois, a new and beloved tire which is a full 42mm wide. Unfortunately, when properly fendered (with at least 8-10mm of clearance), not many frames can accommodate this width.

The Mitsubishi Trimlines pictured above once filled the hallowed 38mm niche, but they have been discontinued (I’ve been trying to locate a pair for 4 years). A replacement for the Trimline has been the Holy Grail of the 650B biking community for a number of years.

Finally, a replacement (or two). It seems there will be not just one, but perhaps two true 38mm tires to fill this void.

First, the Pari-Moto; you can place your orders now. Second, a new and as yet unnamed, Grand Bois model (expected to be a true 38mm wide) rumored to be coming in the first part of 2010.

Three cheers for more wide tire choices!

P.S. Searching for a photo of the Col de la Vie I came across a similar post at velo-flaneur, which reported this news months ago. This is a great blog; check it out!