Commuting - Tires for cummuting

Good morning,

I'm glad I found this board. I commute about 20 miles per day on my new cyclocross bike. Right now I'm running Ritchey Speedmax tires (700x32) (they came on the bike), but I'm finding these to be a little slow on pavement--My commute is all paved trails and roads. What's a great commuting tire that is somewhat light? I weight about 140 lbs. and never carry more than a 15 pound load. Tell me what tires your running, including the size, and why you like them.

Also, can I run a tire as narrow as 700x25 for commuting, or will I risk damaging my rims?

Thanks very much.

What type of rims do you have. If they are standard road bike rims, you can fit 25mm.
If they are wider hybrid/touring rims, then 25 is a bit narrow. One of the narrower 28mm tyres should be fine. Panaracer Pasela is a fast tyre that is favoured by century riders.
You need to pump it up as hard as possible, it's pressure rather than diameter which is important, its just that narrower tyres usually take more pressure.
With a floor pump, you should be able to get them to 100psi.

I have Mavic 221 rims. I believe they are "touring" rims. Thanks for asking.

Mavic helpfully provide tyre and pressure info at:

http://www.mavic.com/eng/user/pression.htm?ou=g_t221.htm&rep=rim#touring

Fastest tyre for the 221 is a 28mm at about 100psi.

Ellen, Welcome to BF.

I commute 14 miles one way on Atlanta streets. I ride my "old" road bike with Mavic CXP11(??) rims (they came on the bike). I have 700X25 Continental Ultra 2000 tires inflated to 120. The thought of 700X32 makes my legs tired. ;)

Have you talked to your LBS about putting 700X25 tires on the rims you have? Or will they swap wheels for something that 700X25 will mount on?

Good luck.

Ellen,

I am glad you found these forums, too. :)

In addition to the great advice already given, I would like to add something. The streets I ride on vary from smooth to very rough.
But I do not have any problems with my 700 x 25 Michelin Tracers
(or the "equivalent" size 700 x 28 Continentals.) I think the reason is I've mastered my various routes and know almost every pothole and irregularity. Yet I still am very vigilant to look out for new obstacles as they come up from time to time. For me,
the greatest danger in this regard is that I should come unexpectedly upon a large steel plate or some new pothole before I have time to slow down enough to avoid it, or at least roll very slowly over it.

Happy commuting/riding!

Ellen, Welcome!

Wow, 20 miles commute per day. That is significant. Keep it up. Do you bicycle commute EVERY day?

Anyway, Pete brings up a good point. Road condition and road hazard has a lot to do with how your tires and wheels will hold up.

Thin and hard wheels/tires are, of course, easier to propel. However, they are also more easily damaged. This is an age old compromise. Much of my route is nice and smooth (and getting better), but I have to go over two sets of railroad tracks each way. That's four sets of really bad bumps each day.

If you only had to ride the bumps occassionally, it wouldn't be a big deal. However, when you ride it EVERY day, it adds up to some extra maintanance and shorter life of your wheels/tires.

I find that most utalitarian bicycle riders such as daily commuters do not use hight performance bikes or gear. The reasons are the threat of theft loss and the high cost of frequent replacement.

These kind of riders save the good stuff for recreational riding.

Welcome to the Forums, Ellen!

I'm going through a similar quest.

My Trek came with very old Matrix 700x35 inverted tread tires. I want to replace them with 700x28 slicks to cut a little drag - and have less-worn tires.

In 700x28, my LBS only has the Continental Ultra 2000, which is a good tire, but I know it's not the only option. The condition my rear tire is in, though, may make it the only option. :)

Jonathan

Forget the quest part. I have officially replaced my worn tires. Yesterday, on the way home, I noticed a bad worn spot on my rear tire's sidewall.

At lunch today, I rode to the LBS and just had them put new ones on. I was going to put them on myself, but I've yet to find a nice, big, quick frame-fit pump, so I wouldn't have been able to fill it right away. I had to have them right away. :)

Now, I have nice, new, slick Conti Ultra 2000s (wire bead) 700x28. The mile back to work was nice. Of course, it was rougher, but it was faster and easier feeling.

I felt like I was able to keep up with traffic better without killing myself.

Yea!

Jonathan

Thank you all so very much for your replies. I'm tempted to attempt a 700x25 tire on my touring rims, despite Mavic's recommendation to go no narrower than 700x28 (I guess I"ve always been a bit of a trouble maker). I very much appreciate the tips.

I commute 20 miles roundtrip about 3 times per week, and only in the Spring and Summer. I guess that makes me a fair weather commuter. My day is so much better when I ride!! WAshington, DC has a fabulous network of trails, so I"m fortunate that little of my ride is actually with cars.

Today I had a bit of a commuting snafu. One of the bolts which attaches my rack to the bike flew off never to be seen or heard from again. Yikes! I had to rig up a quick fix using a couple of paper clips. PLease cross your fingers that I make it home!

Please let us know how the Ultra 2000s work out. They seem to be fairly popular.

Ellen, fingers crossed for your return trip powered by paper clips!

Jonathan, I don't understand about your new tires: why "rougher"?

I was going to suggest 700x25 till I read that you already got the new ones.

Originally posted by JonR
Ellen, fingers crossed for your return trip powered by paper clips!

Jonathan, I don't understand about your new tires: why "rougher"?

I was going to suggest 700x25 till I read that you already got the new ones.

I just meant that my narrower tires will be less cushy than the 700x35 75psi tires that I had. They are much faster, though.

I would have bought 700x25, but my rims are too big. It appears that 700x28 are the smallest I can put on them. These are nice. I feel like my old self starting from intersections and uphills.

Thanks.

Jonathan

Originally posted by Ellen
Today I had a bit of a commuting snafu. One of the bolts which attaches my rack to the bike flew off never to be seen or heard from again. Yikes! I had to rig up a quick fix using a couple of paper clips. PLease cross your fingers that I make it home!

Please let us know how the Ultra 2000s work out. They seem to be fairly popular.

I have had that problem with my rack. It sounds like you actually hear it coming off. With mine, I just think the stuff in my rack trunk is noisier than usual. Twice this has happened to me, and it took me a while to realize that one of the screws that attach the rack to the bottoms of the stays is gone. My rack doesn't seem to move about too much under these circumstances, so I made it to work and back home both times without incident.

Now, I check them every week for tightness, and I keep a lot a spares at hand. :)

I hope everything worked out ok with yours.

My new tires are great. Of course, with what I had, anything new would seem great. These Ultra 2000s ride very well, nice cornering, low resistance on hills, and smooth transition from a stop.

Now, I just need a full size frame pump. I see the ones I want online, but the LBSs around here seem to think everyone wants a pump that fits in that little "key" pocket on their jeans. Where are all the Zéfal DoubleShots? That's what I always used to use on my road bikes. I see them on Ebay, but they are always the wrong size, usually XXL. Alas.

Jonathan

Originally posted by jramsey
...Now, I just need a full size frame pump...Where are all the Zéfal DoubleShots? That's what I always used to use on my road bikes.

Don't ever recall frame pumps with that name. Full-size frame pump of choice for me these days would be the Zéfal HP-X. The handle twists to lock out the spring that holds the pump in the frame, which makes it easy and fast to air up a tire.

Alternatively, you could also go the CO2 route...

SteveF
Classic Lugged Steel Rider

Originally posted by SteveF


Don't ever recall frame pumps with that name. Full-size frame pump of choice for me these days would be the Zéfal HP-X. The handle twists to lock out the spring that holds the pump in the frame, which makes it easy and fast to air up a tire.

Alternatively, you could also go the CO2 route...

SteveF
Classic Lugged Steel Rider

I gave in and ordered an HP-X from Nashbar this morning.

The DoubleShot is still on the Zéfal website; and still on Nashbar, but only in size XXL. I need an XL. The DoubleShot is just like the HP-X, and has the twist to lock feature you mentioned. The difference is that it has two coaxial chambers that allow it to fill on the pull as well as the push stroke. It was very fast.

The LBS near my work has a drawer full of parts from the DoubleShot. They must not be shipping them anymore.

Jonathan

Originally posted by jramsey
I have had that problem with my rack. It sounds like you actually hear it coming off. With mine, I just think the stuff in my rack trunk is noisier than usual. Twice this has happened to me, and it took me a while to realize that one of the screws that attach the rack to the bottoms of the stays is gone.

Try using a product from your local hardware store called LockTite. It helps keep the screw or bolt in place much better.

Originally posted by AlphaGeek


Try using a product from your local hardware store called LockTite. It helps keep the screw or bolt in place much better.

I have some LocTite, but I don't like to use it a lot. Strange magic make screw not turn.

:)

Jonathan

But, I've been thinking about it.

Jonathan

Lock Tite is a company who make all kinds of adhesives and stuff. Some of their products are thread-locking compounds.
Make sure you get a thread locking liquid, rather than a glue.

I've never used LocTite, but I understand there is, or at least used to be, more than one "strength" and one kind would allow removal after a good tug, while the stronger kind would be fairly resistant to any normal effort.... I think they were identified by colors?

Hi all, Just wanted to thank Jonathan for the tip about the Ultra 2000 continental tires. i bought two the other day, 700 x 25, and it was instant love. They are much lighter than my previous set, and they corner very well.

Love 'em,and thanks.

Regarding Loc Tite I have heard of this but I'm a little wary like another poster, "strange magic" and all.

Happy commuting folks. I'm loving my ride these days and hoping you all have wonderful commutes.

Ellen,
Please post an update after using the 25s on your rims for a week or so. I have an extra wheel on a Mavic T519, which has the same dimensions and tire recommendations as the 221. I have been thinking about trying a 25 on it to use on one of my bikes.

I will be in DC the week of Labor Day. Too bad I won't have a bike. It would be fun to take a ride with you. I hope to try to get together with BikeForums people for a ride when possible. In June one of the guys from west Texas was in town. My wife and I met he and his wife for dinner, and Carl and I went for about a 13 mile ride. You can read about it back under the General Discussion forum.
Regards,
Raymond

I have three sets of tires: 700x25, 700x32(rear) and 700x28(front) and 700x35.

Generally I like 700x25 better. I especially like the fact they support more psi (though it makes it harder to satisfactorily inflate them on the road in case of a flat). I did not notice a huge difference switching from 28/32 to 25.

My 35 tires are for the winter (especially in case of snow) or off-road. I got that great brand new pair for $1 at a yard sale yeah!

The quality of the road in not great here and with smaller tires one does feel bumps more, also there is a little more risk of falling in holes sometimes but generally I know the road well enough to stand up when a bump is coming.

Originally posted by JonR
I've never used LocTite, but I understand there is, or at least used to be, more than one "strength" and one kind would allow removal after a good tug, while the stronger kind would be fairly resistant to any normal effort.... I think they were identified by colors?

Yes, there are at least two for thread locking. One is "permanent" and I think comes in a red tube. The other is for screws that may need to be removed. It is blue. I can't imagine a use for the "permanent" variety on a bike, but the blue is handy for things that you don't want coming undone. You just put a little dab on the last couple of threads as you tighten a screw or bolt. I would only use it on rack screws and possibly a couple of other screws that you don't want moving. Everything else gets greased to prevent sieze up and you check them regularly for tightness.