General Cycling Discussion - REALLY CONFUSED HERE! PLEASE HELP TIRE/WHEEL SIZING QUESTION. (700c question)

Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.



PDA
CrypticFixie
10-14-12, 11:47 PM
i have a fixie bike. the wheel is 700c i get that, and the original tire(s) are 700x38c i get that too... i ordered kenda kwest k193 700x38c tires, and im looking to order a new single speed/flip-flop hub wheel set but im having the hardest time finding a set or even just rims. i don't want to spend 150-250 bucks on a wheel set that maybe the wrong fit. i just need a regular road or hybrid wheel set nothing fancy really. so PLEASE someone help me figure out what size rim i need to perfectly fit those 700x38c kenda kwest tires! will any 700c rim do? ive read sheldon browns sizing charts but its to much for me to comprehend. lol. :bang:

this is from kendas website, i hope this helps.

SIZE: 700x38

TPI: 60

Etrto: 38-622

Bead: Wire

cruiserhead
10-14-12, 11:55 PM
700c is the diameter and 38 is the width of the tire.
any 700c tire will fit any 700c rim. Since you already have 38's I assume it will clear your frame no problem.

38 is pretty wide. Are you sure it's not 28? anyway, doesn't really matter.

velomine.com has good prices on fixed gear wheels and rims
CrypticFixie
10-15-12, 10:12 AM
yea im sure its 38. its a wide tire that came with the bike. the kendas i have are 38s too and look thinner, maybe cause they're all black. but thank you very much.

fietsbob
10-15-12, 10:54 AM
them's the numbers 622 is bead seat diameter so rim and tire makers are synchronized.

38 is the width.
BlazingPedals
10-15-12, 01:55 PM
Any 700c (622mm) tire will fit on a 700c rim, but there are combinations that work better than others. For instance, a very narrow tire might not span well across a very wide rim. Likewise a very narrrow rim won't support a very wide tire. There's a tire/rim compatibility chart near the bottom of this page:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html
It's fairly conservative, so going slightly outside the recommended choices will be okay. (Rim width is measured on the inside.)
Velo Dog
10-15-12, 04:46 PM
Just FYI, there's a wide variation in width on tires that are marked the same size. I have a set of "38mm" tires that are actually between 33 and 34, and a set of alleged 32s that are closer to 28.
As somebody else mentioned, Sheldon's tire/rim guide is conservative. You can fudge by at least a size, maybe two, if the rubber will fit your bike.
Jim Kukula
10-15-12, 07:57 PM
Rims have two widths - inner and outer. Here is a chart

http://www.schwalbetires.com/tech_info/tire_dimensions#rim

which says a 37 mm wide tire should go on a rim that is between 17mm inner width and 23mm inner width. The outer width is usually around 5 mm wider - here are some nice pictures:

http://www.sun-ringle.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/rim_profiles.pdf

So a Sun CR-18 would be one good option.