SCROUDS

I've been slowly working on my bike (from hell it seems, but so far it’s been an interesting learning experience. Anyways, I'm wondering if 1.5 tire is going to just be too narrow to handle a ~360lb rider on brick streets. I was looking at the vittoria randonneur pro tires.

Would a 1.75 or 2.0 be more appropriate? Any other suggestions?

I was hoping to get something durable, rolls decent. The one above has a reflective strip, and I like that idea, but not totally sure its necessary. Would be nice as I will be riding at night.

xray1978

Narrow tire don't always roll better than wide ones, especially on rougher surfaces such as brick IMHO. If you change to a narrower/higher pressure tire you may find the ride harsh on brick. I know, because I did exactly what you propose (1.5" tires) on brick streets and I did not like it.

zoste

Yeah...for riding on rougher surfaces you'll be happier on wider tires with a little more give.

That being said, I have a Trek 7300 hybrid that came stock with 35 tires which are a tick less than 1.5's and had no issues with riding on crushed gravel MUPs.

SCROUDS

Hmmm, I'm all about the comfort. I was looking at the rather pricey marathon pluses 1.75s, but maybe will be better served by 2s. Any suggestions?

sonatageek

Why not Schwabe Big Apples? They have a reputation for a smooth and cushioned ride.

breadbin

i have 1.5" slicks on one of mine and love them although its up to the rider i suppose. i think the knobblies on the street are too slow.

emperorcezar

I started riding at 350 pounds. For a while I road 26" x 1.5 armadillos. They were fine. When I moved up to a Velocity Psycho rim I found them to be too narrow for my rim itself. Your tire will be fine at 1.5

As far as rolling resistance goes. I've found it to be much much more dependent on the quality and hardness of the rubber in the tire. My Marathon pluses at 1.75 and 70PSI roll much better than my 1.5 90PSI Armadillos ever did. It has much more to do with the tire quality than the PSI.

Kneez

That's odd. My bike only came with two.

zoste

I guess you have to know an insider

SCROUDS

I'm seriously looking at the big apple 26x2 now. Looks right up my alley, thanks for the advice. They also have 26x2.35, those are even bigger then the mtn bike tires I had on. I agree, I had some old knobbies on them before i started tearing the bike apart and it was slow as hell on the street.

acpeeps

I'm 260 (have been close to 300) and I run a 23c on my road. For my Mnt I have a couple of wheel sets, on the road I run a 26"x1" with Specialized Fat Boy 1.5" they are a HIGH pressure slick (i run mine at 110psi) and for the trails I run a 2.10 in the rear and a 2.40 in the front.......I have had no problems with any size I ride.

seenoweevil

I don't read much here about them, but I LOVE my 1.75 Michelin Country Rocks and will put more on my Fisher when these wear out.

SCROUDS

Cool. I went ahead and ordered the big apples. I'll let you guys know how they are, as well as pics of the build once its done.