General Cycling Discussion - Raleigh Europa Tyre Sizes

Hi everyone!
I have a Raleigh Europa Anyway with the price of fuel for the car being a joke I have decided that I'm going to commute to work with my bike, I have not had it out in years! I was going to buy a new one but then I thought why should I when I have here a superb bike sitting in the garage covered in dust! The first thing I want to do is change the tyres and tubes on both wheels only problem I don't know what size tyres to put on it? I wish I still had the originals but I threw them out when I was given some that were to small and damaged :mad:

Can anyone help me with what size to buy, the wheels are 700mm and the rim measures 25mm from the outer side of the rims

Thanks guys :)

That's 700c, not 700mm. http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html
What information is written on the sides of the current tires?

If the rim is 25mm wide then you should get something a little wider. 700c tires are commonly available in 28mm, 32mm, 35mm, 38mm, 40mm (as well as narrower like 25mm, 23mm and 20mm, and many many in-between sizes). Choose a width based on the terrain you will be riding. IMHO, 28mm wide tires are enough to tackle all but the nastiest pavement if you are not too heavy or carrying too much of a load, 32mm wide are good for rough roads or smooth unpaved trails, or to run a little lower tire pressure for a softer ride on pavement. Wider tires than 32mm are still OK on pavement but can be used for quite rough terrain. Go to the LBS and see what they have in stock.

I weigh 260 lbs, carry 15 or 20 lbs of luggage on my 14km dirt-road commute, and I use 32mm and 35mm wide tires.

Also, many tires have built in flat protection in the form of kevlar and other synthetic belts and sheilds under the tread. These work really well but the tires don't roll quite as well with them... they slow you down less than having to fix a flat, though. Also, the flat protection tires tend to be a little more expensive. A basic non-flt-resistant tire will usually cost $20 or so, flat resistsn $35 to $50.

Thank you for your feedback, I will buy the 700x28c

Thank you for your feedback, I will buy the 700x28c

Cool. Make sure you keep them pumped up at or near the maximum pressure!

I measured the inner rim of the wheel and it' 20mm, I don't know what that is in C's as the charts don't make any sence to me!!!! Do you think the 28 c's are still ok or should I go for a 25?

I measured the inner rim of the wheel and it' 20mm, I don't know what that is in C's as the charts don't make any sence to me!!!! Do you think the 28 c's are still ok or should I go for a 25?

The C is just part of the 'name' of the tire size. Back in the day there were 700C, 700B, 700A, and even a few 700D. All have almost completely gone away except for 700C. If you go into a LBS and ask for a '700' size tire they will know what you mean. 700c rims have a bead seat diameter of 622mm, and just about any 622mm tire can be mounted on any 700c rim.

For some reason the common nomenclature is 700 x XXc instead of 700c x XX. THe XX referes to the nominal width of the tire in mm.

28mm wide tires will fit 100 % perfectly on your 20mm wide rims. So will 25mm wide tires. 23mm wide tires (pretty standard on performance bikes) are probably as narrow as you should go. You need your tires to be wider than the rim. Too wide can be a problem, but many mountain bikes use 2" (50mm) and wider tires on 20mm wide rims without a problem. And too narrow (so the sidewalls of the rim are wider than the tire) is also a problem.

Edit: Just re-read your original post and the statement that you measured the outside of the rim at 25mm - for that reason you should NOT use anything narrower than 25mm and even that is borderline.