There is something absolutely wonderful about new tires. It makes me wish I were a better photographer because the magic is there but I can't capture it. No luck with my phone and a real camera only improved the focus. I want to see the soft depth of the rubber contrasted against the gun metal of the rim.
It's not just the contrast. New tires hug the rim; tubulars doubly so. Even just stretching on an old rim, tubulars have a lower profile. That first photo was too tight. The context of a worn out OpenPro rim and a Campy hub with about fifty thousand miles is completely lost. Here's the the wider view:
Of course, it looks just like an ordinary old bicycle wheel. It's not. Photography is clearly not my medium. Even I can't find the spark that I see as I hold the wheel here in my hands.
New rubber has such perfection: no nicks, no wear. I stopped myself from posting a photo a while back after inflating a new Conti Force. The tubulars were just too much. The other tire is stretching on a old Bontrager rim. The tire has it going on but the rim is missing the eclat of the OpenPro/Campy combo.
For the record, I don't have a secret cache of tire photos. I know a dog that is crazy for latex. She'll eat gloves, bandaids, anything made of latex. There's no creepy fetish or compulsion here. My day involves a regular parade of handy work. It is rare that I stop and admire a finished project, especially one where 99.9% of the craftsmanship happened somewhere else. But I always stop to bask in the warmth good, newly mounted tires.
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