Recreational & Family - 700 x 20c vs. 27 x 1.25

Hello,

I am new to this forum, and tried to glance through, but if I missed my answer, please direct me to it.

When I was quite a bit younger, I used to ride 50 miles a day on average on my 27 in tires.

At some point I replaced my bike a few years ago, and the new bike has 700 x 20 c tires on it.

I used to ride for months without a flat on the 27 in tires, but it seems like every time I take out the 700 c tires for a 10 mile ride, that I end up getting a flat, and having to walk back home. That sucks, and so for a couple of years now I have had my new bike in storage, and just not riden much much, if at all.

My question then is this somewhat normal behavior for the 700 x 20 c tires? I noticed when I went to a bike store a week ago, that aparently 700 x 23 c is the new standard, does this size tire have better lasting ability on the street? I really do want to be able to ride this bike again, but I hate having to deal with the pain of fixing the tires constantly.

Is this because of the other valves? Presta vs. Schrader? I know that I like the older valves that I grew up with, never have figured out why they changed to the new style. I always have a hard time pumping up the tire, and then screwing that little thing down before I lose all of the air that I just pumped into it. I never had that problem with the older valves. I forget which one is which.

Thanks in advance for your help,

Patrick

If youre getting pinch flats, try a bigger tire, 700x25 might be even better than 700x23

if youre getting puncture flats, try one of those speacial tough tires or liners designed to prevent that

the ones with the bit you have to screw down are presta valves, I dont think thats causing your trouble

700 x 20 tires are racing tires that offer the least rolling resistance but will be a twitchier ride and more suceptible to pinch flats.

700x 23 or higher will give you increased comfort and more stability. On the material side, if recreation is your main goal then definitely get puncture prooof tires like specialized armadillos or Conti gatorskins. Finally make sire to check pressure on these tires regularly (like every 2-3 days) and keep them at about 85 psi and above (check the tire recoimmended psi). The most common cause of pinch flats is under inflation.

Thanks, that kind of comfirms my thoughts about the tires being too skinny.

So now, do I need to trade out the wheels to increase the width?

Or just trade out the tubes and tires?

Thanks for all of your help,

Patrick

P.S. I do want the bike for recreation.

If you're not experiencing any pain or discomfort then x 23 or 25 tires should be fine. You will not need to change the wheels or the tubes (I'm actually a bit surprised that it came with 700 x 20s to begin with).

That being said tires will flat so just remember the advise to keep them at recommended PSI at all times, watch out for glass (eamine tires should you run thru a patch) and to get some puncture proof , kevlar lined tires.


Good luck and have fun.

Go with a 25 or even wider tire. They'll roll better than the skinny tire if you're on the heavy side, and you'll find 'em more comfortable as well. A 27x1-1/8" like you used to ride, is something like a 28 in a metric size.... I still ride 27x1-1/4" (a 32 in metric) on several of my daily riders, and rarely flat.

Thanks, that kind of comfirms my thoughts about the tires being too skinny.

So now, do I need to trade out the wheels to increase the width?

Or just trade out the tubes and tires?

Thanks for all of your help,

Patrick

P.S. I do want the bike for recreation.
Patrick, you will need to buy new tires, but not new tubes. Inner tubes are stretchy, so as long as they aren't stretched TOO much, they'll be fine. Unless you're trying to save tiny amounts of weight, the same inner tube can be used for any road tire 19-26 mm.

You don't need new wheels either, which is a good thing because they're a lot more expensive than tires or tubes. Again, any rim can reasonably accomodate a range of tire widths. Of course, the tire diameter must be the same (so you can't put a "27 inch" tire on a "700C" rime). For more information on what size tires and rims work well together, see this chart: http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html#width

You said you used to ride 27x1.25 tires, these are 32 mm wide. If you found those comfortable, why not go with some 700x32 tires? I have an older road bike and use 27x1.25 tires on it. They give a very comfortable ride and are not much slower than 700x25 tires on my newer bike.

(By the way, about the Presta valves... they are mostly used because they are narrower, and because they're a fad. A Schrader valve is a bad idea for a narrow rim because the hole in the rim is wider and weakens the rim more. Presta valves have the advantage that they are slightly lighter as well. You can get a little adapter for about $1 that screws onto the top of your Presta valve and turns it into a Schrader valve.)

Great information!

Thanks one and all.

Patrick

Great information!

Thanks one and all.

Patrick
Good luck! If you're gonna do anything close to that 50 miles/day you used to do, you'll be much happier with the wider tires.

Your max tyre width is limited by clearance at the brake and the frame. Any racing bike can take a 25mm and most (but not all)can take a 28.
25mm is a good size for fast sport/recreational riding on the road.
Puncture protection strips in the tyre (such as a Kevlar band)really do work.

If you're going to ride 50 miles a day, you should get a portable pump and learn to fix a flat on the road. It will save you a lot of walking. ALL tires can get flats.

That said, I like 28c or wider tires for ride comfort. Make sure you check the pressure and top them up often.

Schrader valves are the ones they use on cars. Nothing wrong with them if the holes in your rims are big enough to fit the valves through. You can get Schrader tubes and switch them if you like them better.

If you're riding 50 miles (or anything close to that) get a seat pack (something like this) and carry emergency stuff in it. You'll need a patch kit (glue-type or glueless), tire levers, multitool, and a spare tube (in case the punctured tube can't be repaired). Also get a minipump or CO2 cartridges to inflate the tire after repairing.

Look for tires with a Kevlar or Aramid belt (not bead) for good puncture resistance.

Right, I do carry a tire pump, and I have fixed a tire on the road before, but it is not necessarilly something that I want to do every 10 miles.

I have on longer rides carried along some tools with me to take care of problems, just tired of dealing with them.

I think that I will go ahead and get the wider tires, and see how it goes.

I doubt that I will be riding 50 miles a day anymore, that was much more in my youth. I am too old for all of that now, plus have to work, so maybe I will do some nice 20-30 mile rides on the weekends, but I won't be doing the 50 miles a day anymore, I doubt.

Thanks for all of the help, I will try out the other tires this weekend, hopefully.

Patrick

Right, I do carry a tire pump, and I have fixed a tire on the road before, but it is not necessarilly something that I want to do every 10 miles.

I have on longer rides carried along some tools with me to take care of problems, just tired of dealing with them.

I think that I will go ahead and get the wider tires, and see how it goes.

I doubt that I will be riding 50 miles a day anymore, that was much more in my youth. I am too old for all of that now, plus have to work, so maybe I will do some nice 20-30 mile rides on the weekends, but I won't be doing the 50 miles a day anymore, I doubt.

Thanks for all of the help, I will try out the other tires this weekend, hopefully.

Patrick


You'd be surprised at how many miles you will start racking up once you get going so definitely don't sell yourself short.

On the whole tire width deal, I would suggest also not going overboard and getting the widest tire around especially if your main issue with the 700x20s is flats (and not as much comfort).