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1.25 inch tire vs 1.5 inch tire on vintage mountain bike rim

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1.25 inch tire vs 1.5 inch tire on vintage mountain bike rim

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Old 08-10-10, 10:00 AM
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1.25 inch tire vs 1.5 inch tire on vintage mountain bike rim

So I have this 86 Novara XR mountain bike that I am fixing up to be a little commuter bike. It needs new tires. It had 1.5 inch slick tires on it.

I found some nice looking, and more importantly cheap 1.25 inch tires at performance bike. They are the Forte Metro K kelvar tires, on sale for 12.99.

My concern is that because the 1.25 inch tires are narrower, they might be more prone to pinch flats.

The rims have a 20mm inside the wall dimension. 1.25 inch tires are basically 32mm, but I think Forte may be a little smaller than advertised.

So do you think those tires will work ok? Or should I take them back and get the 1.5 version? The downside to the 1.5 version is obviously weight, and they don't have a kelvar version.

The bike in question:



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Old 08-10-10, 10:10 AM
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I dunno about the Forte 1.25s, but I did put 26 x 1.25 slick Primo tires on a hybrid/mountain bike with 26 x 1.5 wheels as requested, and it worked great. Owner is thrilled. YMMV.
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Old 08-10-10, 10:18 AM
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for commuting I would get the 1.5s, peace of mind is important here and you likely will never notice a rolling resistance between the two.

PS that is a cool looking bike, 6spd? looks a bit like the sensational flop, Specialized Rock Cross.
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Old 08-10-10, 10:22 AM
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I never had any problems with the tires you posted about until the sidewall on the front tire got chewed up by some construction people as I stored the bike in my apartment's garage over the winter. Replaced them with a similar tire that had just a touch of tread because I wanted to try something different.
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Old 08-10-10, 11:28 AM
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I have an 85 Stumpjumper with 1.5 Slickasaurus on it, the ride is really nice and smooth.
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Old 08-10-10, 06:26 PM
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20mm inner wall width is no problem for 1.25" That's the old requirement for 27x1 1/4" tires.
But 1.5" will be a bit more forgiving on rutted surfaces.

+1 on the Novara conversion...neat. I will be attempting the same idea for my stepson;
with a Trek 800 frame. But itll need some rattle can first.
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Old 08-10-10, 06:57 PM
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I put 1.25 inch Nashbar slicks on my wife's 950 Trek MTB. I used them on mine as well. I like them.

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