Guess I'm a clyde....newbie

[spazdog]

Been lurking here after buying a new road bike and have concluded that I'm a clyde. Too funny..I gotta name.

Anyway, just picked up a new Trek 2.1 road bike. I love it!!! However, when buying it I knew nothing about Clydes..It comes with stock 23 tires so thats my first concern. The LBS says no issues as long as I keep them up in the psi dept. I forgot to mention I'm 45 and had a heart attack about 12 weeks ago. My cardioligst gave me the OK to ride my fanny off :)

I'm lookin for a nice ride with as little rolling resistance as I can get but also have the tire fit my stock rims etc. I was thinking of trying a Conti gatorskin (for puncture help) as well. I have read here till my eyes are bleeding and still can't come to any conclusions on tire width and PSI

Love the forum and look forward to any help.

BTW Wife and I did a 70 mile ride this weekend. We had a riot

Joe
225 lbs and 6'-3"

[adrien]

Hello, and welcome.

23s should be fine as long as you keep them near the top of the pressure range. The weak point will be the wheels, especially the rear, but at 225 if you ride light you may well be ok. Get the wheels re-tensioned and trued after a few hundred miles and keep an eye on them.

Many (me included) prefer a slightly wider tire -- i run gatorskin 28s, but contis run small -- so my 28s look a lot like 23s or 25s and smaller than other folks' 28s. A slightly bigger tire gives you a little more cushion with very little impact on rolling resistence (if any -- there are many who espouse that biggere tires can actually be faster and there is some evidence of this).

One more thought -- check your clearance. With tight tolerances, there's a limit to how big a tire will fit past your brakes and stays.

I'd recommend wearing out the tires that came withh the bike, settling and breaking in the wheels and making the switch in about 1000 miles

[bautieri]

Hi Spazdog, allways nice to hear another introduction.

At 225lbs your on the pony end of the clydesdale spectrum. Your wheels will likly be fine with little more than a retension around 250 miles and a truing as needed. I'm a bit lighter than you and run 23's, no problems whatsoever. I run mine about 125psi and see no need to switch up to a wider tire. Not saying that I won't ever do it but for now I plan on running the stock tires till they are no longer servicable. If you want to use a wider tire take it to your LBS to have them check clearances for you, gota make sure the wider tire can pass the brake calipers or fit in the fork at all.

So lets see some pics of this 2.1

[spazdog]

Great info so far. I'll try to get some pics latter today. Funny thing about the 2.1 Before that, the wife and I got some Trek Navigators (comfort bikes) and been puttin big miles on em....Now we got road bikes as well. So, 4 new bikes in the family. The Navigators got me on the right road after the heart attack. Now 12 weeks latter I want to ride the road bike :)

[txvintage]

Welcome Spazdog!

I'm 240, and just keep my psi up at the top and I'm running 23's on 32 spokes! I recommend getting a serviceable floor pump with air Gage and inflating prior to each ride.

Glad to hear you are on the road to recovery, both literally and figuratively. If your doing a 70 mile ride you have me beat by a long shot:twitchy:

[bautieri]

I recommend getting a serviceable floor pump with air Gage and inflating prior to each ride.

+eleventy

The tires I run loose about 30-35psi over night, makes a huge difference riding when your short that much air.

[Sage23]

+ 1

Mine don't loose that much air overnight, but proper inflation for every ride is critical.

As for 23s, I don't have any problems with mine (6'2", 255#). I've had problems with the stock rims on my Trek 1500 coming out of true, but you're lighter than me, so it might not be a problem for you.

[Bone Head]

Welcome !! Glad to hear there is one more Clyde on the road....

+1 on retensioning after a few hundred miles and on maintaining pressure.

I'm 5'10 & 240. I ride 23s on the stock 20 and 24 spoke wheels (Xero XSR-3). I had the wheels retensioned and no problems.

Congrats on the 70 miler! Sounds like you are on the road to recovery -- pun intended. We'll be looking for a ride report after you and the wife do your 1st century ride!!