Schwalbe “Big Apple” inflated widths

I want to fit a set of Schwalbe “Big Apples” to my new bike and wish to use the largest possible size (700c). Big Apples are available in three ‘sizes’: 50, 55 and 60 millimeters. As you may well know, what they say may not completely coincide with what one gets!

Do any of you have the measured width of 55-622 or 60-622 Big Apples?

I must order them on-line since no LBS around here carries them --- it would help enormously if I could reasonably predict whether I can use the 60-622 or have to settle for the 55-622s.

Thanx,
Joe

Missing an important portion, the Rim.

Just how wide is the rim is on the bike? that is outside the control of the tire company..

and that is the inside section of the cross section the tire completes..




...

Rim width, as said, determines tire width. Going with a 25 -35 mm wide rim? Bike used? Measured the fork and rear tire clearance?

A problem I found with the 559-size 60mm Big Apples was that there was no fenders that would fit around them.

There are lots of fenders that are wide enough, but the problem is that the outer diameter of the center of the tire is too big to fit inside the radial curve of most fenders. The tire rubs at the forward and back ends of the fenders.

If you had metal fenders maybe you could bend them out a bit more, but 99% of bicycle fenders now are plastic that you can't easily reshape....

So if you want to be able to run fenders at all, you should probably stick to the 50mm tires.

here's a search for you on RBW owners bunch google group - should be plenty of measurements in here...
https://groups.google.com/forum/?fro...sort:relevance

I have a friend with a trike and the chain rubs the tire on the big cog. I think hers is the 55, but it's been a while since I have seen it.

Do be aware that Big Apples have a tall profile. I never was happy with the outer diameter of the 28x2.35 versions that I bought years ago, and wished afterward that I had bought the 2.00 version instead. I ended up on that bike running some 1.90" Bontrager tires. The smaller diameter felt better.

Thank y'all for your replies and questions.

I just measured the over-all width of the rims: --- 26 millimeters.

I normally ride a full suspension MTB converted to street use. This new bike, a Raleigh with Shimano STEPS, has no suspension and its stock 40 mm tires are pretty stiff; I am looking for the best ride possible and Big Apples look to be the best in that regard.

I hope that someone out there can answer my original question: How wide are the 55 & 60 mm Big Apples?

Joe

BTW: The power boost of the STEPS system allowed me to average a little more than 20 mph on the 22 mile trip home from the dealer, into a 10 mph headwind and some hills. I would have only averaged about 8 mph on my normal bike. I used one-third of the battery's capacity and still got a healthy work out. The electric assist will allow me to go places and do things that would otherwise be difficult and unlikely. -- JM

That's pretty good -- 22 miles and only one-third used on the battery. Flat ground? Lot of hills where I live, and I often wonder how an electric would hold up on those. I imagine the battery burn would be greater.

I'll mount one of my Big Apples on a spare rim and measure it for you. Give me a few hours, maybe until lunch, and I'm pretty sure I can get it done by then.

I have 60mm Big Apple mounted on ZTR Flow EX rim, 29.1mm external and 25.5mm internal width.

Tire width 61.5mm (2bar)

Ok. My Big apple is 60-622. I've mounted it to a Bontrager Rhythm rim that is 622x22. So that's a 22 mm wide rim versus yours that is 26 mm. (Edit: And I put in 25 psi). My tire width measured with my calipers is 57 mm. My outer tire diameter measured using a tape appears to be 29 3/8". I put the wheel against the door jamb in my office, nicked the jamb where the top of the tire came to, and measured using a tape from the floor to the nick.

Hope all that helps. Make sure to leave yourself some reasonable clearance. It's a crapshoot if you're pushing things to the last millimeter. Sometimes you just have to mount the tires onto the bike and see where things fall.

Thanks Jonathan & hartsu, you've given me what I needed to know.

Looks like I'll have to settle for the 50 mm version. Both your measurements indicate that the Big Apples run true-to-size which (my) Continental tires do not. A 55 might rub; a 60 wouldn't even go in the chain stay.

Again, Thanks to all who have helped!

Joe

I have 55mm BA's on some 1995 MTB rims and they measure 54mm. I have 60mm BA's on Dyad rims and I haven't measured them but they are HUGE. I do a lot of reading on bicycle forums and websites and the 50mm BA's seem to consistently measure closer to 45mm. The LBS has a bike with 50mm Big Bens and they are tiny, even compared to my 55's. My experience is you will get fat tires with 55 or 60mm BA's but you may not get fat tires with 50mm BA's.

Joe, you're welcome.

There is the diameter to worry about as well. The other week I helped a friend go from 32 mm to 38 mm tires. The larger tires wouldn't fit into the dropouts at first, because the tread would jam against the chainstay bridge. Letting the air out helped, but in the end we had to make use of the sliding dropouts to make enough room to get the tire in place. Had it not been for the sliding dropouts, we would not have gotten the tire into the frame. Side-to-side clearance is fine, but the diameter of the larger tire was almost a show-stopper.

Jonathan:

Over-all diameter is not a problem with this bike.

Joe