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Wheel/tire clearance

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Old 08-14-23 | 06:30 AM
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Wheel/tire clearance

frame manufacturer says max 32, would wheels with an inner/out of 25/32 fit my frame with 32-622 tires? this is a disc brake bike
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Old 08-14-23 | 06:43 AM
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Should work, but there’s really only one way to find out for sure.
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Old 08-14-23 | 09:33 AM
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Ignoring the frame for a moment, a 32mm wide rim seems very wide for a 32mm tire.

Ideally, you want the tire to have an omega shaped profile that flares out from the rim. I shoot for roughly 5/3rds the rim's inner width, though there's plenty of latitude, so those rims would be best suited for tires in the 40-55mm range.

So, while it might fit, I suggest you look for a wheel with narrower rims, closer to 19mm inner width.

BTW there's usually some latitude in tire width spec for any frame, since it includes an allowance for untrue wheels. Meaning you can go wider IF you're willing to risk having to walk should the wheel break a spoke and go untrue.

Last edited by FBinNY; 08-14-23 at 09:42 AM.
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Old 08-14-23 | 10:41 AM
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What's on the bike right now. Measure your clearances to the stays and forks. Then you'll know how much more you can go. But leave some clearance for foreign objects that sometime get caught in the wheel. And also for the normal flexing of the wheel.

But I'm not certain why you wish to change the wheel just because you are going wider on the tire. More info is always helpful here. If you have some idea about aesthetics or aerodynamics that is part of the reason for your change, then tell us so we can factor that in.

Otherwise I've run some really wide tires on skinny rims and they weren't an issue for me. The ballooned out tires did look funny though.
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Old 08-14-23 | 01:48 PM
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Originally Posted by FBinNY
Ignoring the frame for a moment, a 32mm wide rim seems very wide for a 32mm tire.

Ideally, you want the tire to have an omega shaped profile that flares out from the rim. I shoot for roughly 5/3rds the rim's inner width, though there's plenty of latitude, so those rims would be best suited for tires in the 40-55mm range.

So, while it might fit, I suggest you look for a wheel with narrower rims, closer to 19mm inner width.

BTW there's usually some latitude in tire width spec for any frame, since it includes an allowance for untrue wheels. Meaning you can go wider IF you're willing to risk having to walk should the wheel break a spoke and go untrue.
So we can assume you're not a proponent of the 105 'rule'?
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Old 08-14-23 | 02:01 PM
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Originally Posted by Sy Reene
So we can assume you're not a proponent of the 105 'rule'?
Probably not, because I tend to be skeptical of rules.

However, I can't argue the rule per se because I don't have a wind tunnel. But, it's much more complicated than a simple rule would imply.

The rule is based on moving through still air, so may well apply to the front wheel when riding solo. The air in a Pelton, or over the rear wheel is much more turbulent, so aerodynamics are very different.

In any case, all decisions depend on the totality of factors. Wind becomes more important at higher speeds, and I doubt that someone shopping 36mm tires is riding at 20+ mph that much of the time. So, given the big picture, I'm more focused on traction and handling.

Last edited by FBinNY; 08-14-23 at 02:11 PM.
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Old 08-15-23 | 01:40 PM
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Originally Posted by FBinNY
Ignoring the frame for a moment, a 32mm wide rim seems very wide for a 32mm tire.

Ideally, you want the tire to have an omega shaped profile that flares out from the rim. I shoot for roughly 5/3rds the rim's inner width, though there's plenty of latitude, so those rims would be best suited for tires in the 40-55mm range.

So, while it might fit, I suggest you look for a wheel with narrower rims, closer to 19mm inner width.
This is the way I feel too. Unfortunately, in the last 15 years, we have trended from rims that were ridiculously narrow to rims that are ridiculously wide. Because here in America, if a little is good, more is better and too much is just enough.
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Old 08-15-23 | 11:13 PM
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Originally Posted by Chigh59
frame manufacturer says max 32, would wheels with an inner/out of 25/32 fit my frame with 32-622 tires? this is a disc brake bike
Maybe not. Most nominally 32 mm wide tires would measure 32 mm wide only on wheels with a narrower inner width, e.g., 17 mm or 19 mm. A nominally 32 mm wide tire would likely measure at > 32 mm wide on a wheel having an inner width of 25 mm
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