Hi,
The last thread I can find about your preferred tire preferences was here, from this summer, which was helpful:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=445861
I've been thinking about increasing my tire size on my long-ride bike from 25c to 28c (I'm currently running Continental 4000's but am thinking about going to 28c Continental 4 Seasons or even heavier Gatorskins). While I've had no flats at all on my bike in 2000 miles, my reasoning on moving up to bigger tires is:
- Have been reading lots about wider tires in back issues of Bicycle Quarterly...lots of tests there seem to indicate there are more benefits to bigger tires on long-distance bikes than drawbacks (e.g., gains from increased comfort outweigh any possible negatives).
- In the "real world," the long-distance rides I am on feature pebbles and rocks on the side of the road, questionable pavement / cracks / potholes on rural roads, and miles and miles of chipseal. Seems to me that a 28c tire at slightly lower pressure would deal with this better than the narrower tires.
I *almost* made the switch this weekend before a long mountain ride Sunday, but didn't. While I had no flats on my ride, I saw lots of other riders w/flats, and in some cases the pavement quality was atrocious. On some steep descents, dodging cracks and potholes at high speeds, I found myself missing the 32c tires I have on my commuting bike! And about 95 miles into the ride we ran into 10 miles of chipseal, and I really felt I would have been happier and less fatigued at that point in the ride w/bigger tires.
I hate to switch out a set of tires that still have some good life on them, but I'm ready to pull the trigger on some 28c's.
So: anybody here regret moving up to bigger tires? Has anyone every moved up to 23c to 25c or 25c to 28c and regretted it?
Oops, I hate it when I haven't seen the other threads on this topic; just saw this new one:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=462956 )
And another tire thread from January:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=377902