j814wong

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...liberty_cx.htm
It uses Alex R450 rims with 700x32C Kenda KwickTrax tires. What other tire sizes can fit on it? What other types of tires can I use? Rather then buying entirely new wheels for alternate tires, can I simply switch tires? How long does this take? Would these tires fit? https://www.amazon.com/CST-Czar-Tire-...hu-rd_add_1_dp

halfspeed

You need tires for a 622mm diameter. They're commonly labeled 700c or 29er. The frame clearances and rim width will determine your minimum and maximum tire width. The 23mm tires you linked are likely narrower than you want with those rims. The full story on tire sizing is here: https://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html

MikeWMass

I agree. According to their website, the Alex rims have a width of just over 19 mm. According to the chart in the link provided by halfspeed, you should not go narrower than 28 mm. IMO, you could probably get away with 25, but I'm not sure what that would gain you.
I guess my question for you is, what are you trying to accomplish? You bought what is advertised as a cyclocross bike. It is not going to be a criterium racer no matter what tires you put on it, and it will likely be less comfortable with smaller higher pressure tires.

j814wong

I'm not trying to make a racer out of it. I just want to be able to use a different type of tire without the knobs for use when I'm going to travel exclusively on roads for a ride.

Could this tire work? https://www.amazon.com/Avenir-Discove...+tire+700+x+28 It's 700x28. It has far less knobs than the default tires.

halfspeed

Yes. And to answer your previous question, you don't need a separate set of wheels. Changing tires takes a few minutes, but it's an important skill and the practice is good for you.

MikeWMass

You can get road tires in pretty much any width. My daughter's Sirrus has 32 mm road tires, no knobs. I would suggest you check out Nashbar or Performance (or any of the online discount retailers), or go to your LBS.

fettsvenska 

As per half speed...you just need to use tires designed for 622mm diameter rims. On that specific rim you probably don't want to go too narrow. One thing to remember is that with narrower tires your bike will be closer to the ground so you start to run the risk of your pedals scraping the pavement when you are pedaling through turns. I don't think that it is a huge risk but just something to keep in mind. There are plenty of decent road tires that are in the 32mm width range. I personally really like Panaracer Pasela Tourguards.

j814wong

Thanks for the help everyone. Thanks MikeWMass and fettsvenska for teh suggestions. I'll look into them the next time I get spending money that I can use on tires.

MinnMan

Changing wheels is not necessarily easier than changing tires unless each rear wheel has its own cassette. Well, swapping the cassette between wheels isn't *that* hard, but it does require a couple of specialized tools.

Probably better just to swap tires.

IthaDan 

What? NO. You read it wrong. The chart is for the INNER rim dimension. The Alex site has that as 14mm:



Which means, according to the chart:



That the OP is actually using some of the LARGEST that can safely fit his rims. Of course that's bunk as well, you could easily run a 37 on there, the not on the sheldon site itself states the chart errs on the side of the conservative.

prathmann

Agreed. The 700c (622mm) rims on my touring bike are just a bit wider than the OPs and I've run tires ranging from 20mm up to 38mm without any problems - and wider tires would work ok on the rims as well but I'd run into issues with them rubbing on the bike frame. That chart of rim vs. tire width compatibility is needlessly conservative.

MikeWMass

I'm sorry. The site I originally went to listed it as 19, or else my eyes were blurry.

Sidney Porter

The bike he has a 8 speed cassette those are cheap, like around $20. If he goes the 2nd wheel set I would spend the $20 on a 2nd cassette.

IthaDan 

It wasn't really intended to be a personal attack, more a obvious walkthrough of where the chart broke down. I had the time to fire up photoshop, so I went for it. Believe me, it happens, and in your defense the rims do have an outside width of 19mm.

j814wong

Thanks again for the replies. Now I'll know which sizes fit though the smallest I'd go might be 28 mm or at the least 25 mm.

IthaDan 

Yeah, all the sizes fit, until you get into 29er tires.

j814wong

Does 29er refer to tire width just as 32 refers to my tires' width?

halfspeed

No. 29 is a marketing term for the same rim diameter as 700C and 28". Since they are normally intended for MTBs, 29" tires tend to be wider than road or CX tires, but there's no reason for them to be necessarily so. See the link in my first reply.

j814wong

For my tires, the aforementioned Kenda ones, how much pressure should be in the tire when I pump it up tomorrow? Max PSI for it is listed at 85.