Originally Posted by
operator
That *is* narrow for your typical dept. store/low end commuter bike e.g $1k bike that everyone buys everywhere. In the 26" size anyways. You don't see 26x1.5 tyres very often on bikes, the vast majority are the dept store variety size 26x2.1. It's rare to see any thing < 1.5 as the rim width often precludes using such a narrow tyre.
It's narrow for mountain bikes. And Department store bikes pretending to be mountain bikes. However most bikes I've seen sold as 'commuters' tend to have narrower tires (narrow of course being relative). And I have yet to meet a mountain bike rim that won't comfortably take a 1.5 pretty comfortably. Whenever someone gives me a bike for repairs, I swap out their tires for some 1.5 inch slicks, just so it seems like my repairs made the world of difference.