Road Cycling - Cyclocross tire for my road bike?

Sorry for the repost here. It seems nothing much is going on in Cyclocross forum.

Could you recommend any cyclocross tire for my road bike?

I ride my road bike to work. The route that I use don't have dirt . So it won't have problem with dirt clogging between brakes and rims. It's just that there are few gravel paths that I have to go through.

I'm afraid I might hurt myself and my bike one of these days. I thought cyclocross tire might save me from it.

I have Raleigh R500 with 700c rim. I'm planning to keep using my center pull brakes. So the cyclocross tire should fit 700c and between the brake shoes. There is some clearance between the brakes and rim.

I thought about Michelin 700x30c. but I wasn't sure if it will fit mine. Anyone tried it on your road bike?

I won't be using my bike for off road that often, so I feel that changing tire should be sufficient, instead or converting my bike to cyclocross bike or buying one.

I would appreciate any recomendation. Thanks for the wonderful forum. Hope I can participate more in the future.

-hirochun

take your bike to your LBS and ask them what is the largest tire that would fit your bike. I think a 28 would fit but you have to check it with them to be sure. I'm sure they have wheelsets already built with different tire sizes that you can fit on your bike.

28s are usually the biggest it will take because of the brakes. I would recommend Conti Gator Skins or 4 Seasons or Specialized Armadillo tires. All strong and flat resistent...

Thanks a lot for reply, guys.

I actually went to near by LBS (which is about 20min away) last Friday, but they only carry either MTB tires or road tires. No luck there. There's another one but it's like 40min away, and not sure when I will be able to go down there.

I will try out 28s and see if it works. I think I also should look for a little bit bigger pull brakes, just in case.

Are there any bigger pull brakes for road bike, or just bigger one that would fit 700c frame set? Could you please recommend any?

Thank you again.

-hirochun

Tyre clearance is set by the bolt hole that holds the brakes. If you simply put longer drop brakes on, they will miss the rims. Frames for long-drop brakes have longer forks, and a longer rear end to give more space for tyres.

Dont go for CX tyres, use a medium size light-touring/commuting tyre. 28mm, if it fits your brake clearance, will cope will rough tracks quite well. I use mine on muddy trails every day.

You also need to know the inside width of your rim; too wide a tire on too narrow a rim can risk tire/rim damage and handling problems. Some road rims are as narrow as 13mm, and are not really intended for anything bigger than a 700x25c at most.

RichC