Touring - Tire Width Advice, Please?

I have a new bike on order and when the time comes to specify parts, I am thinking of trying the 35mm, or (1-3/8") tires instead of the 1-1/4" (or 32mm) tires I've been riding on for decades. This is about tires for the Long Tour that I plan to take once I am free of current obligations. I wonder if anyone has thoughts on the issue. For example, the 35mm would seem to me to be throwing more weight out at the greater universe as it revolves (ie creating a greater "apparent weight"), and the faster, the more. Is this true? Is the weight too high a cost to pay for the comfort?

I've light toured on 23's, OUCH! I have also been on 32's, which is much better for comfort. I currently run 38's and love them! I run dirt and gravel roads with no problem and as the center tread is nothing but a single water grove they're easy rolling on pavement as well. I don't think I would ever do loaded touring with any tire narrower than 35.

It's a tough question because every brand and model of tire is different. One 28mm tire is as wide as another 32mm tire. And that's not even counting the ride differances.

With that said, I like 32mm tires with nylon or Kevlar belts and lots of rubber. Conti grand touring are a good choice

Keep in mind that tires don't always measure out to what their indicated sizes are. For instance, I have 700C Schwalbe Marathon XRs on my commuter/cyclocross bike in what Schwalbe calls 32s but they look and measure 4mm narrower. This is fine for my commuter.

Everything is a personal choice with gear selection. I'd do 32s (that really measure 32) on tour that sticks to the paved surfaces. Any rough stuff and I'd want 35s or larger.

Cheers,

Schwalbe have a recommended weight limit for each tire size. This is very important b/c the tire profile should not be reduced by more than 15% when loaded. An overloaded tire generates excessive heat in the side wall through the excessive deformation.

i think it depends upon your size, load and road.
i'm large and ride on rough roads;
42 mm Marathons work best for me.

I have a pair of Marathon XR 700 x 35 and they are very heavy and seem slow. I removed them and replaced with Panaracer Pesala Tourgard 700 X32. The Pasala is much lighter. The Pasala Tourgard sells for about half the price of the XR. In my opinion the XR is overkill for about 98% of N. American road riding. As others have pointed out, much depends on your weight and the types of roads you will ride.

I use the Panaracer Urbanmax 700x32 (true 32mm width) and plan on 37mm tires for my other bike. I am 260 pounds and I think big,heavy and wide= big,heavy and wide, tires!!!:eek:
Lightweights can get by on narrower tires but what is the point of risking damage to your expensive rims, especially if you are loaded up. You can't de-weight your load, only your own bodyweight, over bumps. Your tires are the cheapest form of suspension. If your bike has the clearance, I'd go wide and not worry about the added weight. Proper gearing will make the added weight moot. You are not racing on a tour and maximum acceleration is not important, in most cases. Comfort and load carrying ability, on a long haul, is king......so I vote wide!!! :D

Wider tires will give you the option of using the occasional dirt road (to avoid traffic, see more scenery, find a better campsite, etc.), and will make life more pleasant on rough paved roads. They also don't need to be re-inflated as often, and you can ride a little further with a slow pinhole leak before you absolutely have to stop and fix the leak. The softer ride will reduce your fatigue level on long days, which may compensate for the extra weight you are hauling around. I happen to think that the extra cushioning offered by wider tires reduces stress on the spokes, reducing the chances of a broken spoke.

On the down side, they do weigh more, and they take distinctly longer to inflate with a hand pump, which can be a real drag if you've been forced to deflate your tires by airline baggage people, or if you've just had a puncture.

On my last tour I ran Panaracer Pasela TourGuards in a 26 x 1.75, and I was really glad to have the extra width on some of the gravel roads I was on. I don't think I would want a narrower tire for touring with camping gear.

I use marathons now that I have seen the light and love them....28 in the front and 32 in the back. I am 250 lbs and carry a lot of gear for the family. I do not like the feel of wide tires, they seem to add a "squishey" feel to the bike. Its interesting the range of tires people use, tells me that most everything works.

I'm glad you two are having luck with the Panaracer Pasela TourGuards. Everyone I personally know that's had them (3 people), had a sidewall blow out. I was riding with a friend when the front TourGuard blew on his *unloaded* Surly LHT. The tire had less than 100 miles on it. The next day I was down in SLC at the REI and picked up a pair of Conti TT 2000s for Brandon and the Paselas went in the trash. I wasn't surprised to see something similar at the beginning of the tour for these two: http://www.erck.org/ "Only 30kms into the trip and Sarah’s tire was already trashed!"

On Marathon XRs being heavy. They are fine for my needs. Each year our roadways here in the mountain-west feature a blue light special on goathead thorns. I wouldn't be shocked if we sell more Slime in this state than any other. I get what you're saying about places not needing that much protection though.

A little article on goatheads from Velonews (http://www.velonews.com/tech/report/articles/5191.0.html)

Cheers,

Wow! Great information. Thank you people.

i've toured on pasela TG's 700x32 and though them to be fast and comfortable, but two sidewall blow outs led me to switch tires. I now use continental contacts 700x37 and have had no flats on them for 2200ish miles. they are heavy though (660grams) but not particularly slow. they are nice for gravel roads too. I think i will be going with schwalbe marathon supremes this summer and keeping the conti's for commuting. I am 220# and tour with about 30lbs of gear/food, 20lbs in front 10lbs in back.
using less than 32's seems desireable if touring with a lighter load (under 200 lbs total..maybe...) 35-40mm seems to be the sweetspot for me though.