garagegirl

Me neither. 28's on a road bike all the way.

tjspiel

And I said something similar in post 3

I think the OP is leaning towards 28's which seems pretty sensible. I don't know what the typical hybrid has for rims but the couple I saw in the office today didn't look like they had much wider rims than what's on my road bike. If they are at all wider then I would say 23 is definitely too skinny and 25 isn't that much wider than a 23 so...

As for that I don't know if anybody was really recommending a 23 or 25. I think folks were mostly addressing what they viewed as misconceptions about tires that narrow.

DataJunkie

You said:
If you wind up putting a rear rack on the bike, you will really regret going smaller than 700x28

I suppose that would have made sense if I had bothered to read your post before it.
Egads.

DataJunkie

garagegirl

Hey, I'm not trying to take all the credit, I did say it had been said before

garagegirl

Sorry, I should have just edited my original post. I can see now how that would seem like an attack on 700x23's.

Daily Commute

I had 32's, then moved to 28's, now I'm back to 32's. (I use studded 35's in the winter.) Wider tires can absorb bumps better and are less likely to get stuck in small cracks. Narrower tires will help you go faster. I think 32's are the best balance, but you really have to just try it to decide what works best for you.

I have had Schwalbe Marathon Pluses for a couple of years, and they are bomb proof. I have not had a puncture flat since I got them. The only flats were when I was careless switching between the Schwalbe's and the winter studded tires. If I were buying tires today, I'd probably go for 32 Marathon Supreme's, but those weren't available at the time.

Tylox

In that case, would I notice any difference riding with 32's vs. 35's with a rack attached? It is starting to look like my potential mini-turbocharge upgrade (smaller tires) may completely roll over the road bike fund.

mijome07

Hey Brian Sorrell. Are you a member of the Cycledelics?

JeffB502

I have a 2007 Trek 7.2FX that came stock with 700x35 Bontrager Select Invert Hard Case tires rated at 80psi. When the rear tire wore out I replaced it with a 700x32 Bontrager Race Lite Hard Case 110psi tire. I noticed an apparent increase in cruising speed, but I could also feel the bumps slightly more running at the full pressure. Currently I'm running about 75-80psi in the front tire (still the original 700x35, almost 4000 miles on it with no flats) and I'm running about 100-105psi in the rear tire. This is working well for me. I think when it's time to get a new tire I'll get another 700x32 race lite hard case and see if that's still comfortable enough. If not I'll go back to an 80 or 90 psi tire for the front for the extra shock absorption.

DataJunkie

No. Not an attack. Just a small misunderstanding on my part.
I have a tendency to be a bit blunt when tired. It does not mean anything besides that.

DataJunkie

Oh and if it makes you feel better, I was hauling my lickton cycles order home from work in one heavy pannier. I forgot to increase my PSI a bit and pinch flatted a half mile from home. Serves me right.

daredevil

Another consideration, and sorry if it has already been mentioned. I find 26" tires a lot easier to change than 700's. If I'm on my way to work, I want it fixed fast.

Fortunately I don't get flats and I ride anywhere from 25's to currently some 1.5 city tires.

Studs in the winter.

late

You don't need to run that high a pressure. I don't know what you weigh, but try dropping pressure until there is just a tiny bit of squish. That will give you a nicer ride.

jgedwa

I have always been a skinny tire guy. I do a lot of urban riding on a fixy MTB with 1.25 slicks. My commuters are 700x28. But I just put huge 700x60 Schwalbe Big Apples on my 29er. Holy cow, what a ride. They are heavy as hell, but the rolling resistence seems reasonable. I am toying with the idea of going wider on everything now.

jim

JeffB502

When they get more squishy I feel like I'm putting more energy into the bike for the same amount of movement, and that gets frustrating. I like running the tires where they're at because I feel like I'm getting what I want out of my riding experience. Obviously if I were looking to sacrifice a little bit of speed/efficiency for some comfort I have plenty of room to drop the pressure, but I'd rather not since the front tire at 75psi already feels pretty squishy to me and the rear at 100-105 feels just right .

FWIW I'm at about 155 lbs right now. When I started commuting/riding my bike everywhere last April I was over 200. I always made sure to keep the tires at max psi when I was heavier from what I heard on here about heavier riders/pinch flats. Recently I've gotten a bit lazier about keeping the tires pumped up, but when they drop down to about 70 front/90 rear I can definitely tell a difference (and I don't like it).

Daily Commute

You would notice a difference. The questions is whether you the slightly less-jarring ride is worth the slightly higher rolling resistance. Unfortunately, the only way to know is to try. Fortunately, either width will do just fine.

jmonkey

+1

The 'dillos are quite a bit heavier (nearly twice as) and ride like bricks...not sure if they are that much slower. Its a great tire.

I've been running the Continental Ultra Gatorskins (700X28) for a couple pf months and love them. They have taken quite a bit of abuse without a mark (or flat). My commute is mostly paved roads (typical city stuff)...with an industrial park section which seems to be paved with some strange aggregate of gravel/sand/sparkplugs/bolts/nails/glass.

dynaryder

Depends on the tires. Air pressure,tread design,and casing weight all make a difference.

Example: according to Bontrager's site,your tires weigh 500gr. If I remember right,I had the same tires on my old 7200 and they took like 80-85psi. They also have alot of tread. Now,Specialized All Condition Sports in 28 weigh 330gr,take 120psi,and basically have no real tread. So the lighter weight,greater psi,and smooth surface would make these tires much faster than what you have now. If however you went with some Specialized Infinitys in 32,they weigh 600gr,are treaded,and go to 100psi. These would be skinnier than what you have now,have a smoother tread,and take higher psi,but they are also heavier. So they may or may not be faster. You'd have to try them back to back with the Hardcases to see if the greater psi and smoother tread could overcome the increased weight.

Understand now? You can't just look at the tire's width,you have to look at all it's characteristics.

HardyWeinberg

I can't believe the advice columnist at freaking zipp.com fessed up that skinny high-pressure tires are only efficient on perfect surfaces.

https://www.zipp.com/Support/AskJosh/...4/Default.aspx

Of course to them, a fat low pressure tire probably is a 28 at 100 psi.

dynaryder

Go with the Marathon Supremes instead of the Big Apples. Same concept,but much less weight. Loving the 26x2's on my commuter.

MichaelW

I ride one bike for just about everything, commuting, hauling stuff and day rides, roads and trails. I vary between narrow 28 and 32 mm. I prefer wider tyres in winter when I ride in the dark but the narrower ones feel a bit sharper for long day rides on the road.
Your hybrid rims probably limit you to 28mm. If you have 35, keep them for winter and get some 28mm for summer.
My current 28 are Schwalbe Marathon (not the Plus version) , they are generously sized for 28 and tough enough and unlike the Plus version are easy to remove.

alhedges

Sure - and keep in mind you can remove the rack itself in just a minute or two - it's only attached by four screws.

Tylox

Very good point! This has been a very education thread for me. I will definitely have to take the tire weight into consideration as well.

Tylox

Really, only four screws? That isn't bad at all, contrary to what the bike store told me when I was looking at them (maybe they wanted me to pay for them to install one). They said there was around 70 parts and an hours worth of labor. I thought that sounded a bit off for such a simple device.