big50_1

What's a good width to handle touring on a 26"? I'm running 700x35/38 on my road bike and 26x1.5/1.75 on my 26". Seems the 26" feels "slower". That seem right?

ClemY

I have done my touring on 700x37c Conti Top Touring 2000 tires. I am preparing for a cross country ride on my expedition touring bike on Panaracer Pasela Tour Guard 26x1.75" tires. I have only riden them a few times, but so far they seem ok. In the past I, too, have generally found many 26" tires slower than 700c tires. I plan on some timed rides of 30 mi. on different bikes with different tires to see what works best.

bautieri

What terrain is this ride going to take place on?

If you're already running 35s and 38s, I suspect you already have a touring or cyclocross bike. Why not use that for your tour? Touring isn't about speed so if you're comfortable on your current 26'' set up, then go for it! Take lots of pictures and share a few with us.

big50_1

Terrain will be mostly paved road with some (little?) packed dirt trail. I've tried some 26x2 Continental Traffic and Forte VersaTrac which have some knobbies but have a road "strip" on the tread. With them I'm constantly fixing flats. I've had great success with Schwalbe. For 26", 1.5, 1.75 or bigger? Or is there something else I should factor in? (I am so sick and tired of sitting on the side of the road fixing flats that I'll pay the extra for "bulletproof" tires)

Pinyon

26-inch tires are definitely slower than 700c over distance. I tend to go as fast commuting to work and such, but my speed is definitely slower on any ride that lasts more than an hour.

I ride with a standard and inexpensive 1.5-1.75 inch road-type tire with little or no tread. Usually Performance's house-brand, or right now Kenda. For flat protection, I ride with a 20 year-old slime barrier strip between the tire and the tube. It is clunky, and definitely slows me down, but I also have fewer than 3 flats per year. It is worth it.

Barrier strips don't work that well on 700c tires, but they really fit the bill with 26-inch tires. IMO.

exile

I have Panaracer RiBMo's (26" x 1.5 up to 80psi) on my LHT. I commute year round and haven't had a problem, but have never toured on them. The Schwalbe Marathon Plus are also highly recommended.

When test riding bikes the 26" wheels felt slower than the 700cc, but they were also different tires on different bikes. Maybe try a search and look for responses in the touring forum.

iforgotmename

I really like these https://smtp.schwalbetires.com/marathon_supreme_home

fietsbob

have Schwalbe Marathon Plus on my Trekking Bike , after the Continental Travel contacts.
both them are great tires on the road , the TC is a mixed pavement gravel road adventure touring tire.

keep the Floor pump handy and keep the PSI up there to optimize the rolling.

Lighter rotating mass is part of what make skinny tires feel faster, but the need to have higher PSI
to keep them from pinch flatting on big potholes ..

I take my time to get where I need to be, at a pace that makes the trip enjoyable..

ClemY

It warmed up to 40 yesterday and I got out on my expedition touring bike with the 26x1.75” Panaracer Pasela TG tires with my wife. She was on her road Trek with 700x25c Conti road tires. I was very pleasantly surprised that they seemed to roll as well as the Contis. I have found many 26” tires are slow enough to require one or two gears lower for any situation. I was pleased that this didn’t seem to be the case yesterday. More testing to come.

CraigB

When I got my Fisher, I realized I was likely going to be riding it on pavement for the most part. About as far off-road I would get would be the occasional recreational trail paved with packed limestone screenings (a la Elroy-Sparta). I got a second set of wheels for it, with slightly narrower rims, and put 1.5" tires on them, and they've been great. I kept the OEM wheels and knobbies just in case, but I've never ridden on them. Maybe when I get the new road bike, I'll switch the Fisher back over to its original configuration and use it to explore the off-road world a little more. But for now I'm extremely happy with the 1.5s. They seem to give me the best combination of (relatively) little rolling resistance and the extra versatility and cushion of a tire that's wider than most 700s.

stevel610 

https://www.thorncycles.co.uk/why26inchwheels.html

At Thorn cycles, we believe that, carefully weighing the pros and cons, there are probable overall advantages, for most cyclists, with 26” wheels on a lightweight sports touring solo.
We are certain that there are overall advantages to 26” wheels, for all cyclists, on a general touring solo.
We know, beyond all doubt, that there are overwhelming advantages to having 26” wheels on a tandem or heavy touring solo!

We believe that there are only a few disciplines where a 700c wheel should be considered, these are: - time trialing, road racing, track racing, triathlons, cyclosportif events, specific training for the previously listed disciplines and possibly some audax riding & very fast touring.