On One Free Ranger - One Month In

[@ACTIVEPAIR]

Had the CX Comp on my old Boardman and never had a puncture👍🏽 Changed the tyres on the Free Ranger after 1st ride, now have Shwalbe Bite1 45mm now and they’re great on the rough Scottish forest roads😁

[@TheImprobableIronman]

Thanks for watching and commenting. I certainly hope the CXs hold up as well as yours have.

[@geoper2]

Great stuff! Got my 2nd puncture in a year on Sunday's ride on my free ranger. I currently ride with the stock panaracer. Both puncture holes were tiny and noticed it after 2 days... I changed the tube now so I will see how it goes until the next one! Thanks for the videos!

[@TheImprobableIronman]

Many thanks for watching and for the comment. I could have lived with two punctures in a year - but was almost up to two in a week, LOL. Sounds like the punctures you got were quite similar, though a tiny little hole (that I had to actually submerge the tube in water to find). I'll be interested to see how the Schwalbes compare.

[@grahamcotterill7819]

Hi, great videos! Because of your recommendation I ordered a Free Ranger this week, it will be my do it all bike with a set of road and a set of gravel wheels. Can't wait 😁 Keep up the good work and stay safe! 👍

[@TheImprobableIronman]

Many thanks for this and I’m really pleased to hear the review was helpful. I’m guessing you’ve got some 650Bs lined up for the trails - and maybe the OE 700Cs for the road. I love this bike so much - really haven’t ridden anything else since I got it.

[@grahamcotterill7819]

@@TheImprobableIronman Hi, I'm going to use the wheels that come with the bike for gravel and I've got a set of better Fulcrums that I'm going to put 30/32mm gator skins on for just road ride. I went for the Force option , my Kinesis G2 has Apex on and is great so I am hoping for big things going to the top of the range. Cheers G

[@mlegrand]

Dude, glad you’re getting along so well with this bike! Sorry about all the punctures! I’m thinking wider tires would have been something you like.

[@TheImprobableIronman]

Many thanks for watching Matt. Yep - think I'm going to investigate some 650b wheels - to give me some more tyre choices.

[@mokotramp]

Went tubeless on mine straight away, Schwalbe G One 40s. One puncture that I noticed in 7 months, which sealed almost instantly. Going tubed on these wheels really ain't worth it! If you must use tubes, use Stan's sealant, used on my road bike on 25s with no issues. Slime is a waste of space!

[@paulgordon7526]

I put Schwalbe CX Comp 35c on my Free Ranger when I got it and on my Planet X London had a year without a puncher on the London and 3 months with no puncher on the Free Ranger.

[@TheImprobableIronman]

Thanks for watching and commenting. Yep - these CX Comps look really solid. I was always a Schwalbe fan but then kinda switched to Continental (and I can't think why)! Their Duranos used to be my go to road tyre.

[@justinkalaker8427]

Maybe secure the tube with a small cable tie ? Interesting experiment tho , thanks for sharing.

[@TheImprobableIronman]

That's a good comment - I reckon that would be worth a try.

[@GogglesTyresandTrainers]

Really good to see you're pleased with the bike mate! Just a question, why don't you go full tubeless? I imagine blackthorn are pretty common around you like they are here and they just destroy standard tubes if I use them

[@TheImprobableIronman]

Many thanks for watching and commenting mate. I did consider full tubeless - but I'm kinda off of it at the moment. I had a tubeless tyre rip on me a while back and it sort of put me off. I do like the idea of a tube with sealant in though - best of both worlds, I think. Been running Smart Tubes on the MTB for months now and they are holding up really well.

[@br5380]

@@TheImprobableIronman c'mon guys it's 2022 not 2012. Just go tubeless @ Stans with decent tyres.

[@paulgordon7526]

RE: Roads even the recently repaired bits over Canewdon / Wallasea are bumpy :-/

[@TheImprobableIronman]

To be honest - the repaired bits are probably the most bumpy.

[@paulgordon7526]

How are you getting on with the CX Comp Tyres ?

[@TheImprobableIronman]

Love them. To be fair - they are a bit of a Jack of all trades - so they don’t have the confidence on the trail that a real trail tyre would and you always kind of ‘feel’ then on the road. But, to be fair, I’m not fast in either of those scenarios so they suit me fine. And (he whispers) I haven’t had a puncture since I fitted them!