Tire Size
 

Hello all,

I've been a long-time "reader" of these forums, but this is my first time registering for an actual account to post!

I just recently purchased a Kona Jake for my work commute. It came with a pair of tires sized 700 X 32. I am tempted to run thinner tires on it until the weather turns for the worse, to maybe ride a bit faster and make my transition from my non-commuting bike (KHS Flite 100) a bit smoother.

Is there a limit to the tire size I can run on the rims? The bike came stock with Alex Black Dragon rims. I have some extra 700 X 23 tires laying around, but intuition tells me those may be too small (they are the tire size I run on my Flite.)

Any feedback would be appreciated!

Luis

IF these are your rims, 23mm tires shouldn't be a problem.

http://www.alexrims.com/product_deta...&cat2=9&pid=38

I wouldn't expect you to run into any problems with the 23mm tires. I run anywhere from 22mm up to 38mm tires on my touring bike and have never had an issue with incompatibility between the tires and rims. What's the outside width of your rims? I thought Black Dragons were pretty narrow.

They are as far as I can tell! I was cross-referencing with the chart from Sheldon Brown, but I just wanted to make sure.

Thanks!

The Alex Rims site lists the width as 15 mm.

Will the disc brakes pose any difficulties when removing the removing? I've never used disc brakes before in all my years of cycling.

Even if you can go narrower, possibly all the way to 23mm or less, you have to decide if it's desirable on a commuter.

Narrower tires don't necessarily offer lower rolling resistance, though they are lighter. The flip side is that commuters are usually riding poorer roads in heavier traffic, so the chances of dropping a wheel into a pothole, sewer grate, or expansion seam on a concrete road are much greater. Also, it's starting to get dark earlier which makes things that much worse.

I ride 25mm tubulars on the road, but use 26x1.9 slicks at 60/50psi for the commuter. There's a marginal difference in how they roll (if any), but these monsters are immune to all the road hazards urban riding offers. They also have a fringe benefit of higher air volume at lower pressure. This allows me to make it all the way with a small leak. Most of the flats I deal with are found in the morning, which spares me doing on the road repairs. Of course the on the road repairs are always in the rain.

"to maybe ride a bit faster" Whether or not you will ride any faster is debatable; the narrower tires will have a harsher ride and be more susceptible to tire and rim damage from potholes, pavement joints, drain grates and the like. 32mm is not an excessively wide tire, perhaps you should inflate them to sensible pressure and give them a try.