titani

My bike is all-aluminum, and it is old. I feel every road imperfection, and my hands get numb quickly. I am thinking about replacing the tires, to improve ride quality. Which tires provide smooth comfortable ride? (28mm).

BoSoxYacht

I love the ride of Michelin Pro4 sc tires, but I'm pretty sure 25mm is as wide as they come.

Velo Dog

There's a school of thought that nobody should ride tires smaller than 28mm, and bigger is better. I weigh 240, so I'm not a typical case, but I haven't bought anything smaller than 35mm in years, and do most of my riding these days on 37mm Paselas (I have 41mm Contis on my tourer, but haven't ridden it much lately).
I haven't noticed much difference, if any, in the comfort of various brands of tires. Use the largest that will fit and run them at the lowest pressure you can without pinch flats. I keep my Paselas at 75psi and the Continentals as low as 50. Depending on your bike, though, 28mm may be about as big as you can go.

bbattle

I'd see about checking your fit on the bike; your hands should not go numb, no matter what material was used to make the bike.

NealH

A good fit and never more than 80# in a 25 tire. I tame the ride of my SL3 Tarmac with Conti 4000 tires pumped to 80# in latex tubes (sometimes a little less on the front tire). The ride is sublime and performance is superb. And never a flat.

knobster

I was always a believer that 23's were the best for speed and 25's for comfort. Either or, never both. One of my bikes I can go quite large with tires, so I took a chance with some tires that I've read many reviews of how comfortable and fast they were, even though they were 32's. Got them on and I was amazed at how fast they were. I didn't feel that I lost any speed at all with them over 23/25's but really picked up a lot of comfort and the ability to go on dirt/gravel without having to slow down.

They are made with the same rubber that Panaracer makes their tubulars and are as light as typical 23/25's. No flat protection, but with the high volume they are less prone than higher pressure tires. I've got several hundred miles on them so far and they don't show any sign of wear and not the first flat. These are Grand Bois Cypress tires.

Beaker

It's more about tire pressure - how much do you weigh and what pressure are you riding now?

titani

Very good information. Thanks.

kimconyc

I've ridden on a steel bike with Roll-y Pol-y 700c x 28 at around 80 psi. Those are some SMOOOTH tires. It almost feels like the boss's cruiser.

Tire pressure is also important. Before shelling out money for new tires, try lowering pressure if you haven't already (dependent on your weight).

Personally, I run 80-85 psi on my road bikes and I weight around 145 lbs. Hope this info. helps!

titani

My weight is 190lb. My tires are 35mm for a hybrid. I inflate them to the Max, 70 psi.

ThermionicScott 

Those tires should be nice and cushy -- try less pressure before going skinnier. Maybe 10 psi less in back and 15 psi less in front?

titani

My tires are old and balding. Could that be why the ride quality is not good?

ThermionicScott 

If anything, thinner tread should ride better. Seriously old tires should be replaced, though.

revchuck 

A lot of us on this forum are old and balding. Watch it, kid.

As noted above, if your hands go numb quickly, there's a problem with your fit. You need to take care of that first.

If you've got 700x35s on your bike now, going to 28s isn't going to improve your ride. You might try less air in them - the max pressure on your tires is just that, a recommended max pressure, not a recommendation.

I've got 700x32 Continental Contacts on my commuter, and they're quite comfortable. I inflate them to 70 psi front and 80 psi rear. I weigh ~180.

titani

[QUOTE=revchuck;16085437]A lot of us on this forum are old and balding. Watch it, kid.]

There is a kid inside each and every happy one of us, and when we have a new hobby, there is more kid.
I am older and balder and bolder than most.

AdelaaR

That's not the TT school, right?

squatchy

There really isn't any speed difference between 23 and 25 wide tires. Science says your rolling resistance is better with 25's. The higher the thread count the better your ride quality should be. I use Conti 4 seasons and love them.