Originally Posted by
hardtdavid
In an effort to change the confident feel of the bike, I plan to replace the original single wall wheels with new, lighter, stronger wheels soon, and will probably get a "stickier" slick tire than the Kenda Kwests, to see if that changes my perceptions.
My high racer came with 23mm 650C Kwests. I've since switched to Conti GP4000s for better puncture resistance and tire life, at the expense of weight. However, any road tire on road should give you sufficient grip, unless you're over-inflating.
Definitely go with dual-wall rims though, they're MUCH stronger.
Originally Posted by
hardtdavid
Would a change to 650B make any difference on a recumbent? What would those differences (benefits & drawbacks) be? Any thoughts or experiences?
Absolutely. However, make sure the rim + tire will clear your fork and the body. I built up a set of 26" (a few mm smaller in diameter than 650C) just so I could put wider than 23mm tires on it safely. I'm running a 28mm tire (Conti Gatorskin) in front and rear now, and even with that slight size difference the ride is night & day different. I could probably even fit a 32mm in the rear, where it matters most. I'm still happy with the 23mm tries on the 650C rims for asphalt and paved trails, but for gravel, crushed limestone, or chipseal, wider is not only much more comfortable, especially on a recumbent, but probably more efficient from a rolling standpoint.
Edit: Aside from making sure the tire diameter will fit, also make sure the rim will fit between your brake pads if rim-braked. Luckily moving the pads up and down is all I need, as they clear the walls on both the 17c (which are the 26") rims and the 15c (which are the 650C).